How to Use Cuisenaire Rods to Teach English
- 1). Use the rods to represent people in stories that you read to the students. The rods help your students to understand the story, particularly if they do not understand each word that is a part of your story. This will help students learn by context. For example, the rods can be used to represent the characters in "Little Red Riding Hood," or "The Three Bears." You can even have your students tell their own stories using the rods as characters.
- 2). Use the rods to teach your students verbs. They can be used to represent the particles that make up a phrasal verb. Make sure to use different colored rods for different parts of the verb, as your students will associate a color with a specific verbal part. For example, in the verbal phrase, "make off with," you can use the long brown rod to represent the verb particle, and use other colors to represent the preposition or adverb. Additionally, consider using longer rods for longer words.
- 3). Use the rods to teach students phrase chunks. Like the rods used for verbal phrases, they can be used to represent different words in these chunks. For example, you can use different colored rods for each word in the chunks "I have got," or "have you got." Again, use the same rod for the same parts of each part of the chunk. For example, use the longer, brown rod for first, second or third person singular pronouns.
