Vocabulary · Tier 1: everyday words
Total physical response
Students respond to spoken instructions with actions before they are asked to speak. It builds understanding of everyday words quickly and lowers the pressure of the first weeks.
- Bands
- 1 to 2
- Stages
- Early Years, Lower elementary, Upper elementary and Middle school
- Settings
- Mainstream class, Pull-out support and Small group
- Prep
- No prep
How to do it
- Choose five to eight action words or phrases for the session, such as stand up, sit down, open your book, put it on the table.
- Say and model each action while students copy.
- Give each instruction without modelling it, and watch who responds.
- Combine instructions, for example “Open your book and point to the picture.”
- When students respond confidently, invite one of them to give the instructions.
In a lesson
PE (lower elementary)
In a warm-up, the teacher calls, “Jump, turn around, touch the floor.” A new arrival watches classmates the first time and follows alone by the third round. By the end of the week, he is calling out the instructions for a small group.
What commonly goes wrong
- Going so fast that new arrivals copy classmates instead of understanding the words.
- Using it in the first week and then stopping.
- Using content that feels childish for older students. Science practicals and PE drills work well with secondary students.
Adapting it
For a lower band
Use fewer actions and repeat the same set over several days.
For a higher band
Add sequences and prepositions, such as “Put the ruler under the book, then close it.”