OuiSi · Multilingual learners

Words for connecting

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Grades K–5 Teaching 35 min Plus 3 to set out, 3 to clear Class any size Set any Prep board or chart paper

set out 3′ Teach the two words first 8′ Pairs, one card at a time 12′ Now a sentence 10′ Close 5′ clear 3′

Goal: New English speakers get the words for comparing before they are asked to compare, then use them with a partner on something that needs no English to understand.
Materials: One OuiSi Photo-Card set. About eight cards per pair. Board or chart paper.

Newcomers: Step two alone is a full lesson. You supply the word — about 20 min
Developing: All four steps, one word before the sentence — the full 35 min
Grades 4–5: Two sentences joined with but, to get at contrast — the full 35 min

1 · Teach the two words first

8 min

Write connection on the board. Hold up two cards that obviously match.

These two go together. That is a connection.

Write visual beside it. Point at your own eyes.

Visual means with your eyes. A visual connection is one you can see.

Teaching the meta-vocabulary before the task is what separates this from the other connecting guides. A child who does not have the word connection cannot follow an instruction built on it.

Build a word bank down the side of the board as the lesson runs. Start it now with four: same, different, because, looks like.

2 · Pairs, one card at a time

12 min

Pairs, about eight cards, face up between them.

Take turns. Put down one card next to another card, and say one word about why.

One word, not a sentence. Blue. Round. Water. The sentence comes later, and asking for it now is what makes children go quiet.

Circulate and collect words onto the board as you hear them. Say each one back once, clearly.

You said round. Round goes on the board.

3 · Now a sentence

10 min

Point at the word bank, which by now has fifteen or twenty words in it, all supplied by the children.

These two go together because they are ______.

Or, if that does not fit — these two go together because they both have ______.

Two frames, because one will not stretch. Both show water is a real connection and the cards are not water, so a child forced into the first frame has to break their own answer to say it.

Pick your word from the board.

They are reading back their own vocabulary, which is why this step works when a cold sentence frame would not.

To pairs who are fluent in the frame.

Now one that is not about color.

4 · Close

5 min

Which word on the board is new to you today? Point at it.

Pointing, not speaking. Everyone can take part in the close, and you get a usable read on what landed.

Watch for

Asking for sentences too early. The single most common way this lesson fails. One word in step two, every time.
Correcting pronunciation mid-flow. Say the word back correctly once and move on. Stopping to fix it ends the willingness to offer the next one.
An empty word bank. If step two produces few words, your cards may be too similar. Spread a wider selection.
Pairing two silent children together. Pair a newer speaker with a more confident one, and the confident one goes second.

Adapt

Home language welcome — let them say it in their language first, then put the English next to it on the board. Both go up.
Mixed proficiency — the word bank levels the room, because everyone draws from the same list.
Literacy support — add a small sketch beside each word on the board.
Keep the chart — leave the word bank on the wall and add to it every time you use the cards.

Curriculum links. Meeting comparison vocabulary before being asked to use it · Contributing a single word to a shared bank · Completing a sentence frame with a word you chose · Reaching for vocabulary beyond color terms.
Standard codes vary by state and district — these are the skills exercised, for you to map to your own.

Screen-free. No codes and no devices. Works with any OuiSi Photo-Card set.
Also an icebreaker. Children learn each other's names and voices while the task carries the language load.