DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE WORKSHEETS

Presented by:Ms. Fatima Anwaar

(Linguist and Interpreter)

WHAT IS A WORKSHEET?

It commonly refers to a sheet of paper with questions for students and places to record answers.

ETYMOLOGY

The word “worksheet” is a compound noun composed of the words “work” and “sheet”.

The first attested use of the word “worksheet” was around the year 1990.

EDUCATION In the classroom setting, worksheets

usually refer to a loose sheet of paper with questions or exercises for students to complete and record answers.

They are being used almost for all the subjects but are frequently used in the subject Mathematics.

REPUTATION OF WORKSHEETS IN SOCIETIES "Worksheets" have a bad reputation. For some of us, the term conjures up

images of teachers assigning a page, with little guidance or instruction, and then sitting back while students work silently at their desks. Others might recall not just single sheets, but thick stacks of paper (affectionately called "packets").

Worksheets like this are used more for practicing skills and recalling facts than for learning something new.

WHAT ARE EFFECTIVE WORKSHEETS?

The term “effective” means to adequate to accomplish a purpose; producing the intended or expected result and to produce a vivid or deep impression.

Therefore, an effective worksheet has more clarity and direction as compared to any other worksheet out there.

CONTENTS OF AN EFFECTIVE WORKSHEETWhen selecting or making a worksheet, bear

in mind that an effective worksheet: is clear clearly labels questions/tasks with numbers

or letters (so they can easily be referred to orally during feedback or answers)

is straightforward and fit for purpose; unnecessary complication, colour etc detracts from its usefulness

is appropriate to the age, level and ability of the students

CONTINUE…. can be created (and stored) on a

computer and is thus easy to edit and print repeatedly

has excellent presentation has a font that is easy to read and of

large enough size uses images for a specific purpose only,

and without cluttering up the worksheet

CONTINUE…… does not have irrelevant graphics and

borders has margins that are wide enough to avoid

edges getting cut off when photocopying makes good use of space without being

cluttered has a descriptive title at the top and a

space for the student to write their name gives students sufficient space to write

their answers has clear, unambiguous instructions

CONTINUE….. uses bold OR italics OR underline for

emphasis, but not all three uses colour sparingly, and with regard to

available photocopying resources/costs focusses on one learning point (except

perhaps for more advanced students) is no longer than one or two pages (that is,

front and back of a single sheet) should be accessible to the learner (at that

level) and answerable in a relatively short period, say 5 to 15 minutes (worksheets are not exam papers)

CONTINUE ….. should have the easier tasks first -

success is motivational only uses images that can be photocopied

clearly (line drawings, for example, tend to photocopy better than photographs)

if appropriate is divided into sections, each with a clear heading

is not formal or stuffy; instead it uses words in a way that encourages students to explore and learn on their own

TYPES OF WORKSHEETS Worksheets range in type from straight-

text multiple-choice questions to illustrated puzzles and mind games. Here are a few examples of worksheet types that have proved particularly effective in teaching English and Urdu subjects followed by some Mathematics and Science worksheets.

WORKSHEETS FOR ENGLISH AND URDU SUBJECTSMatching Worksheets:

This type of worksheet usually asks students to match up pairs of items.

This is often done by having one column of items on the left and the matching items, not in the same order, in a column on the right. Students have to draw lines between the matching items.

(This is sometimes known as a spaghetti exercise.)

HERE ARE SOME IDEAS match abbreviations or contractions to

long form (etc. ↔ et cetera) match synonyms (right ↔ correct) or

antonyms (right ↔ left) match word to definition (hot ↔ having a

high temperature) match baby animal to adult animal (cub

↔ lion) match sound to animal (croak ↔ frog) match numeral to written number (5 ↔

five)

WORD SCRAMBLES WORKSHEETS

Word scrambles or jumbles help improve vocabulary and spelling. In this type of worksheet the letters of each word are mixed up and students have to put them into the proper order.

HERE ARE SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF WORDS YOU CAN SCRAMBLE:

key vocabulary spelling list words names of students in the classroom teachers’ last names names of places number words (thousand, million etc) words that are commonly misspelled words with silent letters or other unique

features words based on a sound you are working on holiday or special event vocabulary grammar terms

JUMBLED SENTENCES WORKSHEETS

Here, each sentence is presented with its words all mixed up and students have to put them into the correct order (for example: walked/dog/the/boy/his → The boy walked his dog | time/go/to/it's/almost/school/to → It's almost time to go to school).

HERE ARE SOME EXAMPLES:

sentences in a particular tense sentences in mixed tenses interrogative sentences negative sentences adjective order (complete sentence, or

just adjectives and noun)

SORTING WORKSHEETS A type of worksheet, in which students

are asked to sort the gender of the objects.

For instance the word “chair” is a he or she?

Moreover students are asked to sort out the stressed syllables given In a sentence of a poem to differentiate whether the poem is written in iambic meter or trochaic meter.

SAMPLES OF ENGLISH – URDU WORKSHEETS

OTHER WORKSHEETS

There are several other types of worksheet, including:

Multiple Choice Worksheets are basically quiz-type exercises

Gap Fill Worksheets where students insert the right words in gaps in the text

Word Puzzle Worksheets include crosswords, word search and word maze

Labelling Worksheets where students annotate an illustration

MATHEMATIC WORKSHEETS Basically there are two major types of

worksheets that we can find in a Mathematics Curriculum.

 The first type of math worksheet contains a collection of similar math problems or exercises. Theses are intended to help a student become proficient in a particular mathematical skill that was taught to them in class. They are commonly given to students as homework.

The second type of math worksheet is intended to introduce new topics, and are often completed in the classroom. They are made up of a progressive set of questions that leads to an understanding of the topic to be learned.

SAMPLES OF MATHEMATIC WORKSHEETS

SCIENCE WORKSHEETS Science worksheets mostly contain

labeling the diagram or drawing a diagram itself.

It could contain; MCQs, gap filling, matching columns,

True-False statements, definitions of the terms and Short Question-Answers.

SAMPLE FOR SCIENCE WORKSHEETS

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS What does an ideal worksheet contain?

Thank-You for your patience!!!