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B. Foundations of Language · Foundations: Speaking, Listening, Words and Fluency

Foundations: Speaking, Listening, Words and Fluency: Unit Review

A1.1 A1.2 A3.1 A3.2 B1.1 B1.2 B1.3 B1.4 B1.5 B2.1 B2.2 B2.3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can listen, paraphrase and respond to help a group discuss and decide.
  • I can choose listening strategies for longer oral texts and take Cornell notes.
  • I can plan talks for a purpose and audience and use voice and body to support my message.
  • I can use Grade 7 prefixes, suffixes and roots to read and understand complex words.
  • I can learn subject vocabulary and figure out new words in context.
  • I can read complex texts fluently and read aloud with expression that fits the purpose.

Words to know

paraphrase
Say someone's idea in your own words without changing the meaning.
probing question
A question that pushes the speaker to think deeper.
PREP
Point, Reason, Example, Point: a plan for short talks.
paralanguage
The non-verbal parts of the voice: pitch, pace, volume, pauses, tone.
suffix chain
Several suffixes added one after another.
root
A word part that carries the core meaning of a word family.
academic word
A word used across subjects for thinking and tasks.
context clue
A hint around a word that helps you figure out its meaning.
scan
Read quickly to find one specific fact.

Let's review!

In this unit you grew as a listener, speaker and word expert. You learned to paraphrase, probe and help a group reach a decision; to take Cornell notes and separate facts from opinions in longer oral texts; to analyze your audience, choose a structure and speak on the spot with PREP; to analyze paralanguage, body language and on-screen communication across cultures; and to choose precise words, sentence types and the active or passive voice when you speak. Then you read complex words using Grade 7 prefixes, suffix chains, Greek endings and Greek and Latin roots; learned academic words and words that change meaning by subject; became a word detective with context clues; read complex texts fluently with the right rate; and read aloud for different purposes.

This review has a few questions from every lesson. Try each one, then press Show answer to check.

un-notpredictbase: tell before-abil(-able) can be-itymakes a noun+++unpredictability = the quality of not being able to be predicted
Peeling unpredictability: a prefix, a base and two suffixes, each adding to the meaning.
Clarifying questionfixes MY understandingask early, at a pause"Did you mean the schoolfood bank or the city one?"Probing questionpushes the thinking deeperask once you understand"What evidence makes you thinkJanuary is the hardest month?"
Two kinds of listening questions from the unit: clarifying questions check understanding, probing questions dig deeper.

Listening in Discussions: Paraphrase, Probe and Reach Agreement

1

Paraphrase: "We should hold the dance in the gym because the cafeteria is too small for everyone."

2

Clarifying or probing? "What would happen if we tried it for one month first?"

3

What is the difference between consensus and compromise?

Listening Strategies for Podcasts, Presentations and Guest Speakers

1

Name the three parts of Cornell notes and when you fill each one.

2

Fact or opinion? "Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut." "Iqaluit is the most interesting capital in Canada."

3

A podcast plays dramatic music before a story. What should a critical listener ask?

Speaking with Purpose: Know Your Audience, Plan Your Talk, Speak on the Spot

1

What does PREP stand for?

2

Which structure fits a talk asking the council for a new crosswalk?

3

Name two questions for audience analysis.

Voice, Body and Screen: Analyzing Non-Verbal Communication

1

What is paralanguage? Give two examples.

2

On a video call, where should you look to seem to make eye contact?

3

Why should you check with words before judging someone's body language?

Speaking Precisely: Elaborate, Vary Your Sentences and Choose Your Voice

1

Replace very + weak word: very tired.

2

Active or passive, and why might it be chosen? The window was broken during the night.

3

Fix the unclear pronoun: Kai told Ben he was chosen for the team.

Prefixes for Grade 7: First, New, Back, False, Same, Different, Big and Equal

1

What does pseudo- mean? Give a word.

2

Homogeneous or heterogeneous: a bowl of cereal with milk?

3

Use the prefix to explain equidistant.

Suffix Chains and Greek Endings: -ologist, -graphy, -meter, -cide, -phobia

1

Peel formalization from the end.

2

What does a thermometer measure, and why is it spelled -meter, not -metre?

3

What do herbicides do?

Greek and Latin Roots for Grade 7: Know, Follow, Shut, Judge, Run, People, Wise and City

1

Which root means follow? Give a word.

2

Explain prejudice with its parts.

3

What does encrypt mean?

4

Is cure part of the cur (run) family?

Words for Every Subject: Academic Words and Same Word, Different Meaning

1

What does a question that says justify want?

2

Give the science meaning and the everyday meaning of solution.

3

Find the range: 7, 15, 3, 10.

Word Detective: Figuring Out New Words with Context and Word Parts

1

Name the clue type: Many coniferous trees, such as pines and spruces, keep their needles all winter.

2

What does invaluable really mean?

3

Name the four word-detective steps.

Reading Complex Texts Fluently: Phrasing Long Sentences and Choosing Your Rate

1

Skim or scan: you want to find the year a fort was built.

2

Find the skeleton: The snowplow, which had been working all night, finally reached our street.

3

What rate fits a primary source from the 1800s?

Reading Aloud for a Purpose: Reports, Quotations, Picture Books and Performances

1

Say aloud in words: −15 °C and 100 km/h.

2

How should your voice change for a quotation?

3

Name two things that make a picture-book read-aloud work for young children.

Just for fun

Word riddle: What word gets shorter when you add two letters to it?

Short! Add the suffix -er and you get shorter.

How to use this review

Try every question before you look at the answer. Put a check mark beside the ones you got right and a star beside the ones you missed. For each star, go back to that lesson (its title is on the question group) and reread the explanation and worked example. Then take the quiz. If you miss a quiz question, the parent notes show which lesson to revisit.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which response paraphrases before responding?

2.

In Cornell notes, the cue column is for...

3.

Which plan works best for an impromptu answer?

4.

Speaking more slowly before a key point is an example of...

5.

Which sentence is in the active voice?

6.

Heterogeneous means...

7.

A seismologist studies...

8.

Which word comes from the root meaning know?

9.

Unlike her taciturn brother, Maya talked all the way home. Taciturn means...

10.

How do you read 1867 aloud?

For parents and teachers

Which lesson to revisit:

  • Mistakes with paraphrasing, clarifying vs. probing questions, or consensus and compromise → Listening in Discussions: Paraphrase, Probe and Reach Agreement.
  • Trouble with Cornell notes, fact and opinion, or credibility → Listening Strategies for Podcasts, Presentations and Guest Speakers.
  • Trouble with purpose, audience, structure or PREP (quiz 3) → Speaking with Purpose: Know Your Audience, Plan Your Talk, Speak on the Spot.
  • Confusion about paralanguage, gestures, video calls or cultural differences (quiz 4) → Voice, Body and Screen: Analyzing Non-Verbal Communication.
  • Mixing up active and passive voice, sentence types or vague words (quiz 5) → Speaking Precisely: Elaborate, Vary Your Sentences and Choose Your Voice.
  • Errors with proto-, neo-, retro-, pseudo-, homo-, hetero-, macro-, mega-, equi- (quiz 6) → Prefixes for Grade 7: First, New, Back, False, Same, Different, Big and Equal.
  • Trouble peeling long words or with -ology, -graphy, -meter, -cide, -phobia (quiz 7) → Suffix Chains and Greek Endings: -ologist, -graphy, -meter, -cide, -phobia.
  • Errors with Latin and Greek roots (quiz 8) → Greek and Latin Roots for Grade 7: Know, Follow, Shut, Judge, Run, People, Wise and City.
  • Using an everyday meaning in a subject context, or misreading academic words → Words for Every Subject: Academic Words and Same Word, Different Meaning.
  • Missing context clues or being fooled by word parts (quiz 9) → Word Detective: Figuring Out New Words with Context and Word Parts.
  • Reading everything at one speed or losing track in long sentences → Reading Complex Texts Fluently: Phrasing Long Sentences and Choosing Your Rate.
  • Reading numbers, units or quotations aloud incorrectly (quiz 10) → Reading Aloud for a Purpose: Reports, Quotations, Picture Books and Performances.

Quiz questions 1 and 2 match the first two lessons. Keep the review relaxed: celebrate what your child knows, and revisit only one or two lessons at a time. Spelling, grammar, punctuation and handwriting are reviewed in the companion unit Foundations of Writing.