Glyphs

I love doing glyphs with my students.  It incorporates many parts of languages, reading, writing, speaking…  I hope this description will make sense to you.  Keep in mind that this is done in the TL but I have switched it to English because some of you are not Spanish teachers….

Glyphs make pictures out of information.  Students draw a portion of a picture for each prompt given.  This one is an example of one that I use for the end of the first month for review.  Some of the prompts require a bit of charades to explain in the TL, or vocabulary drawn on the whiteboard (eyes, pointy, etc.).  I have changed the sentences to English, they would be in Spanish.  It forces them to read and apply what they are learning.  Instructions include telling them to read all of the prompts before beginning.  Below this glyph I have some further examples of how I use it in my class:

 

 

• If you are 14, draw a large cat’s body (80% of page).  15, draw a medium cat (50%).   Any other age, draw a small cat (30%).

• If you prefer to write with a pencil, draw a fat cat.  Pen, draw a skinny cat.

• If you have a calculator in your book bag, draw a long tail.  If not draw a short tail.

• If you have a cell phone, color the eyes green.  If not, color them blue.

• If you have more than 3 pencils with you, give the cat pointy ears.  If not, draw rounded ears.

• If it is sunny today, draw a black nose and mouth.  If it is not sunny, draw a brown nose.

• Draw a stripe on the cat  that represents the number of the month in which you were born.  Example:  May = 5 stripes

• Draw a whisker for the day of the month that you were born.  (Ex: 10th = 10 whiskers)

 

Extensions:

 

 

• Tape up the cats and have students try to identify to whom each belongs.

• Have students exchange glyphs and write the facts they learn in the TL about the other student from examining the picture.

• Have students write facts about their own glyph to substantiate the drawing.

 

I have also used a house as a glyph.  The prompts can be changed so students have to color the house, draw a certain number of windows, etc.

You can really have them draw any picture you wish and make the prompts fill it in.