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* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Words, word lists and courses The courses and the word lists The Courses If you wish to investigate courses other than the Wordshark course – a brief description is given for each below. Wordshark course – is a general spelling course starting with letter sounds and simple words and follows through systematically to long difficult words. Tick the phonics box when you want a phonics approach. Supplementary lists – gives some more lists to dip into if you want to supplement the Wordshark course at any stage; selection will be necessary on an individual list basis. ‘Letters and Sounds’ (English phonics) – follows week by week progression for ‘Letters and Sounds’ (an English Government synthetic phonics scheme). Nat. Curriculum 2014 England: spellings – follows the English Government’s spellings for KS1 and KS2 – including the statutory lists, and practice for the Year 1 Phonics Screening Check. ‘Alpha to Omega’ – follows the progression found in the book ‘Alpha to Omega’ by Bevé Hornsby and Frula Shear. Brief phonics – briefly covers single letters and only the most frequently taught letter patterns, using synthetic phonics. Everyday vocabulary lists – useful for EAL. (Set 1) has the simplest of greetings, colours numbers etc. (Set 2) introduces extra words and simple sentences. (Set 3) provides many more words and uses them in both simple and more complex sentences. Secondary subject lists – are arranged under 13 subject headings. The Crossword game uses these words in context. Alphabet and dictionary course – practises single letter sounds and names. It also practises the alphabetical ordering of letters and words. High Frequency Words (HFW) – gives comprehensive lists of common words most often needed for children’s reading and writing. Administrator/Teacher’s own lists – found here if you have added your own list(s). Wordshark1 The word lists There is a variety of courses to choose from but if in doubt it is suggested that you use the Wordshark course. You can work systematically down through this course or ‘dip into it’ as required. As a reminder: This is the screen from which you find the word lists. The middle column shows the word list headings (green) and individual word list titles (black). Click on green headings to find more lists. The right hand column shows the chosen word list. Green titles giving Mixed words will be described later under “Important features”. You can move from list to list by clicking on these arrows. Extended lists Your chosen list may have an extended list. Selecting the Extended Sample draws in different words (sometimes slightly more difficult words) from a larger pool. If you click on Extended Sample you can refresh the words before each game. Selecting Extended will show you the whole extended list from which the words are drawn. Revision word lists The words in revision lists change for each game. Wordshark2 Using Search to find a word list If you want to find a particular word, or letter pattern or topic, you can use Search to do this quickly. Go to Search (menu bar) and click. Type the word or spelling pattern you need into the box, for example ‘ee’. Click on the titles in the left hand column to find a suitable list – the words are shown over on the far right. Click on the i if you need more information. Click on Select to return with this list to the games screen. Which word list to start with – using Test Where to start – using Test If you are not sure where to start in the Wordshark course, you can use the Test facility. Choose the Wordshark course and select Test. This will lead you through a series of spelling tests and then place you in the course at a suggested suitable starting point. As it can be quite a long test, it can be spread over more than one session. It is best done with an adult present. Wordshark3 When the student starts to make errors they are taken to a suggested point in the Wordshark course. There is also a facility to give this as a paper test. Go to Help\Printable word lists and resources (pdf) in the program. In the Word lists folder you will find TEST print-out. This gives each test with the words presented in sentences, together with instructions for the test. Splitting words into syllables etc. If you choose a Split words game (usually for longer words) you are asked to set the game up ready to play. Do this by splitting at least 4 of the words from the list in any suitable way (into syllables etc). As you move across the words, click where you want the splits to be placed. To delete a split, highlight it, then click on it to remove it. When you have placed your splits, they will be ready to play in the split word games. To remove splits from the whole list, click on the delete button. When you move to another list, your splits will not be kept. If you want to save them, click on the save button. If you un-tick the Use splits box, the splits will not be used in the reading and spelling games. You can split words in your own lists. Tick the Add splits box Follow the instructions above. Wordshark4 Mixed words mode (for fast track and for revision) Mixed words (green headings) When choosing a list, if you select a green heading you are offered Mixed Words. Mixed Words addresses the following: • A ‘fast track’ revision of words from lists under the selected green heading • A possible baseline and assessment for lists under this heading Its features include: • A new set of words provided for every game • Words taken from more than one list under the current green heading • A spelling game ensured every fourth game Homophones These are dealt with in specific lists, and have a spoken clue following a ‘bleep’ sound. When words have a different meaning but share the same spelling, the accompanying picture will include an ‘h’ in a circle for ‘homonym’. Homophones are introduced at appropriate places in the courses. To find all the lists which contain homophones, you need to go to Search and type in ‘homophones’. Homophones 1 and homophones 2 contain vey common words. The homophones from the English National Curriculum are all included in the lists with ‘NC’ in their title. Wordshark5 Some of the lists have an extended list, especially the one entitled 150 homophones – see extended list where you will have a very wide choice of homophones. These are shown if you click on Extended. Click on Extended sample to get different selections. Whichever sample is currently showing will be used in the games, so keep clicking until you have a selection you would like to work with. There is a separate list entitled it its it’s Words in present and past tense Words in the present and past tense share the same picture; however the past tense one will show a clock with a backward arrow. For example ‘fill’ and ‘filled’. Wordshark6