'Plumbing 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 plumbing-related responsibilities or an interest in plumbing 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, catering and hospitality and construction trades as the workplace vocabulary areas we are 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:

Plumbing vocabulary factsheets
There are four factsheets in this module. The first one is a word list, 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

Plumbing 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 plumbing.

Plumbing 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

Plumbing vocabulary quiz
A three-level quiz to practise reading texts used in plumbing along with comprehension and spelling of plumbing vocabulary.

Plumbing '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 plumbing 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 plumbing 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 five work areas we are 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 been able to find quite a few resources which may help with teaching plumbing vocabulary. If you know of any more great online resources, please do let us know at skillswise.feedback@bbc.co.uk
These links also offer a range of plumbing-related materials you can adapt and use in class.

• Glossary of plumbing terms
  A very helpful glossary, complete with installation tips for hardware.
   
• Glossary of Industry terms
  The Plumbing, Heating and Gas group's website glossary. There is also lots of other useful information for plumbers on this site.
   
• Plumbing - a career with a future
  This page features information about choosing a career in plumbing. There is also a technical talk section with useful information about installations, repairs, etc.
   
• Plumbing Glossary
  This glossary is split into sections for showers, pipework, heating systems, etc.
   
• 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 plumbing vocabulary? Tell us about them!