I teach ESL to young learners and am new to WBT. Since teaching new vocabulary and structures is at key componetent of what I do I was wondering how important it was to be consistent with te type of gestures you use? Can the same gestures be used for different words? For example question words (who what where when why how much-many) by definition all ask questions. Could the same gestures, or set of gestures be used interchangeably in this type of situation? Could somebody direct me to any research in this area?

This is a great question, and I sure hope that one of The Chrises (plural of Chris) or Jackie, or Deb, or some other fabulous WBT Intern or moderator answers this question.

Now, as an ESL certified teacher myself, this is how I would answer this question. (And if I read something later in an Ebook or find a better answer, I will post again.) But consistency has definitely worked for me with my ESL and non-ESL students. In fact, giving those super important vocabulary words their own gesture helps them understand how to use it and why it's so important to whatever we are studying. In fact, months later, my students still remember the different gestures for the many...many....MANY vocabulary words. And what really motivates them is when they come up with the the gesture themselves, or even when a class leader makes it up, they would rather use their peer's gesture than something uncool that I come up with.

Now, if you want to make sure your students chunk question words together, like the five W's, maybe come up with a gesture for the "5W's" and then precede with the individual gestures for these words. What is so special about Why and What? What do your students need to know about these words to use them properly? Ask them to make up a helpful gesture for them to remember the meaning and correct usage of this word, so they will know how to use any of these vocabulary words in meaningful ways.

For instance, in fifth grade science, earth science is where my class struggles. I chunk some physical features of the earth and the processes that form them into two categories "destructive forces" and "constructive forces." Both categories have a gesture, and that makes it easier to review the different features and processes that form them. Does that make any sense?

You're the expert for what your students need to know. So go with your gut, but consistency in any area usually leads to good routines and success! And it's just fun to watch them do the gestures when they're working independently and they don't know you are watching!

Have you checked out Biffytoons or any of the grade level power pix? Not only do you have a gesture, you have a picture with it.

And to sum up my long-winded response from earlier, chunk those categories. A gesture for quantity words, 5Ws, articles, any category you are teaching.

The only time I would repeat a gesture for a different word is if I was teaching words with the same meanings (synonyms). Otherwise, you run the risk of causing confusion for your students when they are trying to recall the meaning of different words. You want them to know the difference between When and Why. They are used for different questions, so giving them the same gesture won't help them know when a situation calls for the word WHY and if a situation calls for the word WHEN.

The fear of overwhelming and confusing students is understandable. What many of the WBT teachers at my school do is a weekly gesture review. Usually at the end of the week, teachers will come in and do nothing but gestures for the warm-up/hook. Students will call out what the gestures represent. A ton of fun!

I think it is important for gestures to be unique to one concept so that students can build a memory bank and draw clear connections to concepts.

I teach Title I Reading, so I have small groups all day. My groups come in and we start right off with review. We review the 5 classroom rules with gestures, all our Biffy Tune words, and the Power Pix gestures for each grade level. We have all that done in a matter of a few minutes. My class leader usually leads some of the review. For example, my leader may choose a Biffy Tune word. He/she says the word and the class gives the gesture. Then one of the students can go up and point out the word. It is amazing the power the gestures have. When a student is reading and gets stuck on a word, I have seen him/her look at the word, do the gesture, then say the word. It is great!!