'Carpentry vocabulary' tutor notes

This module is designed specifically to help adults who are studying to improve their basic skills in the workplace. However, we very much hope that any adult who has carpentry-related responsibilities or an interest in carpentry will find this material useful and engaging.

After lots of consultation with tutors, professional bodies, workplace providers and the votes you cast over the summer of 2003 we shortlisted childcare, care, retail and construction trades as the other workplace vocabulary areas we will be focusing on. We chose these on the basis of your votes and your feedback and because we felt they offered lots of scope to be of interest to people in their daily lives as well as at work.

The primary aim of the module is to enable learners to 'spell correctly words used most often in work and daily life', but the exercises within this module cover a multitude of other Level 1 curriculum points (please see below).

Other areas on the site which particularly link in with some of the learning points covered in this module are:
'Root words'
'Prefixes'
'Suffixes'
'Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check'

How does this tie in with the curriculums?

• England
  Ww/L1.1 - 'spell correctly words used most often in work, studies and daily life'.
  Rw/L1.3 - 'recognise and understand an increasing range of vocabulary'.
  Also -
  Wt/L1.6 / Ws/L1.1 / Ww/L1.2 / Rw/L1.1/
• Wales
  As England.
• Northern Ireland
  As England.
• Scotland
  See www.aloscotland.com for details of the Scottish curriculum.

In the Skillswise module you'll find:

Carpentry vocabulary factsheets
There are four factsheets in this module. The first one is a word lists, while the rest offer some hints and tips on ways to remember spellings.
If you or your learners would like to contribute their mnemonics or tips for spelling and vocabulary please email them to skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

Carpentry vocabulary crossword
This is an interactive crossword that sits within the game page and encourages learners to practise their spelling and understanding of words often used in carpentry.

Carpentry vocabulary worksheets
Here you'll find printable exercises for further practice. Including worksheets on word puzzles, antonyms and anagrams.

If you have any comments on these worksheets, or if you would like to contribute a worksheet of your own, please get in touch at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

Carpentry 'Look, say, cover, write and check' game
This is an interactive variation on the 'Look, say, cover, write and check' method. Learners can choose a Carpentry word list and then see different objects come out to cover the words. There are 3 attempts to get the word right before the next word will appear. This adds more of a game quality and challenge to the activity.
Send us a list of 10 carpentry words and we will try to add them into the game. Send them to skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk.

If you have any comments on these games, please do get in touch at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

Technical help:

To get the most out of this topic area you need the following 'plug-ins':

• Flash
  The game in this module uses the Flash browser plug-in. This is free to download and should only take a few minutes. You can follow the BBC WebWise instructions to download it to your machine.
  Find out more.
  If you don't have Flash the same learning points are covered in the quiz and in the worksheets and factsheets.

If you are new to the web, why not try the BBC WebWise online course, Becoming WebWise? It's free, you can do it in your own time from any computer and it will take you through everything you need to know to use the web successfully in your teaching.
Find out more about WebWise.

You can find out more about the technical requirements for Skillswise in our Help - Technical Information section.

Taking it further:

With Skillswise:
Don't forget to check out the Skillswise Lesson plans and Teaching inspirations areas for more ideas about teaching vocabulary.
If you have any worksheets or ideas about teaching vocabulary, especially in any of the four work areas we will be looking at (building trades, retail, catering / hospitality and childcare) don't forget to share! Just email us at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk

On the web:
We have only been able to find a couple of resources which help with teaching carpentry vocabulary. If you know of any great online resources, please do let us know at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk
We can, however, offer you a range of links that should provide you with a wealth of carpentry-related materials you can adapt and use in class.

• Carpentry and Construction Career Guide
  A US site which provides Carpentry and Construction career advise, including features on job descriptions and training.
   
• The Science of DIY
  A BBC radio 4 programme which looks at the principles behind the use of everyday tools. Taking the stress and the pain out of DIY.
   
• Homes
  This page features experts offering a wide range of handy DIY tips.
   
• Home Repair
  This site looks some of the technical terms used in home repair and renovation. Including a glossary which provides in-depth explanations of some carpentry terms. (Note: this site has commercial pop-ups.)
   
• dfes Trowel occupations
  You need to search the term 'trowel' in the 'keyword' space. The site includes Module 1: Signs: a reminder of the importance of site safety and gives the learners the opportunity to practise strategies for reading and understanding a wide range of written and graphical information (including signs and symbols used around the site, hand signals to move loads, health and safety law, risk assessment and method statements, accident report forms). The basic requirements of measuring are also covered - reading and understanding large numbers, calculating with metric measurements, and accurate metric measuring using a range of builders' tape measures.
   
  Module 4 (Setting out) covers basic setting out techniques using pegs and profiles, calculation of running dimensions, checking for 'square' by using a builder's square and the 3:4:5 method.
   
  Finally, Module 5 (Construction activities) provides opportunities for learners to practise a range of essential numeracy skills. The skill areas cover: determining quantities of material by working out straightforward areas of brick and block work, calculating areas with windows and doors, estimating and rounding up quantities of bricks and blocks, understanding tolerances, keeping to a schedule, calculating time and wages.
  
   

Please note that the BBC is not responsible for the content of other websites.

Do you know of any great online resources for practising carpentry vocabulary? Tell us about them!