Procedure Guide: IN YOUR OWN WORDS

Purpose: To assist students in recognizing and interpreting idioms.

Preparation

• Create a passage that is made primarily of idioms. (Sources of idioms are plentiful on the Internet. For instance, search for idioms at www.google.com or another search engine.)
• Make an overhead and student copies of the passage.

Before

• Explain the purpose of this activity.
• Using a Think-Aloud, model interpreting the idiom(s) in the first sentence.
• In pairs, have students attempt interpreting the next idiom in the passage.
• Observe any difficulties students may be having and reteach if necessary.

During

• Have students read the passage with their partner, interpreting the idioms as they read.

After

• Have the pairs join another pair to compare their interpretations and determine the best interpretations.
• In whole group, have students discuss their interpretations and correct any that students can't correct themselves.

Assessment

Accuracy of initial interpretations

Accuracy of final interpretations