Self-Access Box
Self-access boxes contain activities or materials of different skills and levels and allow learners to supplement their learning with activities/materials of their own choice. The teacher organizes the materials (e.g., color coding for level and skill) and teaches learners how to use the boxes.
Self-access boxes offer flexibility; learners can go to the boxes for more learning anytime. They can get more exercises when they finish classwork early, or redo an exercise if they feel they need more practice. They can also look for activities that suit their level when they find a class activity too challenging. This is helpful especially for big classes, where the teacher may not be able to address every learner's needs in each lesson.
Self-access boxes also promote learner autonomy, helping learners become independent learners, who are confident that they are capable of taking care of their own learning.
Self-access boxes offer flexibility; learners can go to the boxes for more learning anytime. They can get more exercises when they finish classwork early, or redo an exercise if they feel they need more practice. They can also look for activities that suit their level when they find a class activity too challenging. This is helpful especially for big classes, where the teacher may not be able to address every learner's needs in each lesson.
Self-access boxes also promote learner autonomy, helping learners become independent learners, who are confident that they are capable of taking care of their own learning.
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What can be put in a self-access box?
Teachers can prepare new materials or put in worksheets or activity materials that can be recycled or are not used. Student-generated materials can also been kept in the box. The following are some suggestions for activities:
- Match words and pictures
- Complete cloze activities
- Board games
- Card games such as Go Fish, Snap
- Scramble sentences with each word written on a card
- Dictated stories or task completions on recordings.
- Writing tasks:
e.g., Draw a picture of your neighborhood. Label the streets.
e.g., Draw your family. Write names and ages.
(adapted from Croydon, 2005, p.83)