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Put On Your Thinking Cap In Following Directions - Understanding Sentences is designed to provide practice in following directions through critical reading and good thinking skills in the areas of quantity, money, time, calendars, seasons, spatial directions, positions, map skills, and general directions.
Consists of 80 uniquely illustrated blackline masters and a manual. The manual includes answers for all the activity pages and provides hints and suggestions for solving some of the more complex activities.
The subject material and art illustrations are geared to the interest level of older students and adults.
The blackline masters are divided into:
This resource is intended for students and adults, functioning on or above a fifth grade language comprehension level, who need practice in critical reading, comprehension, and thinking skills. The material will be especially helpful for students who require high motivational activities, limited reading and visual reinforcement.
Critical Reading
Since skipping introductory information such as keys and special directions and attempting to answer questions without reading the material are quite common for students who are weak in reading and/or language comprehension skills, many pages have hints, directions, keys, and special information above the questions and activities. The students will quickly learn the importance of reading this introductory information first if they are to be successful in answering the questions or in solving the problems or tasks. Because each statement has several critical elements, students will also learn the importance of not skipping over words.
Smaller Units - Visualising
Often, students who have weak comprehension skills cannot understand directions because they are unable to break the directions down into smaller parts. These worksheets are designed to strengthen these skills. Each page has six separate tasks. As each task is attempted, the student should first read the entire statement or question. The information should then be read again, phrase by phrase, as the student relates each phrase to the illustration. If the information or wording is tricky, the student may need to mark the part of the illustration being described or use markers to mark parts of the illustration. It is important for the student to visualise what is being read phrase by phrase.
Spatial Hints
In the spatial category, students must place themselves in the spatial positions of the cartoon characters. They must realise the right hand of a cartoon character facing them is on the opposite side of their own. As the students follow trails, etc., right and left change according to the direction the person is travelling. In some instances, it may be necessary for students to use little cars or markers to solve the problems.
Word-Problem Style
Because the information is presented in "word-problem" style, many students who are weak in comprehension skills may feel defeated before they start, based on prior experiences with word problems. As they learn to break the directions into smaller units and to visualise the material, they will gain confidence as they solve each task.
Sentence Variations
In order to provide more comprehension practice of various sentence styles, punctuation and sentence styles sometime vary within the same activity.
Most Difficult Activities
On some of the most difficult pages, wording is tricky, negatives make comprehension more difficult, and higher-level thinking skills are required for solving the problems. These pages should not be attempted until the students have mastered the skills of breaking down directions for easier comprehension.
