Cue cards have been around as a classroom resource for a very long time.

Nevertheless, it seems that most teachers do not find either the time needed to make them or the opportunities to use them. So the main purpose of this short article is to provide some ideas for solving these two main problems.

What Are Cue Cards?

Cue cards are small photos or pictures stuck onto cards. They are flashcards with images.

Making Cue Cards

Traditionally the teacher has been considered the only person who must make or provide materials for use in class. However, teaching materials can also be made by the pupils themselves as a class activity with the teachers help. In order to prepare cue cards as a class activity, ask the pupils in plenty of time to look in magazines for small pictures relating to particular topics you are going to work on or the students are familiar with (e.g. sports, famous people, free time activities, shopping, etc.). Ask them also to cut the pictures out. If it is difficult to find suitable photographs for a particular topic, the pupils can draw the pictures instead. Once the students have given you all the pictures, choose the ones you think will be most suitable. Then ask the pupils to cut out any part of the picture that isnt relevant to the topic. Ask the pupils to stick the pictures onto white cards (you will have to prepare these beforehand). Collect the cards, and write a code in the top right-hand corner of each one: a letter to identify the semantic field and a number to identify that particular picture. For example, a picture of Cameron Diaz could be F23 (Famous people, card 23). In this way, you can build up a collection of cue cards to be used by the pupils in different activities.

Using Cue Cards

In a short article like this, it is quite impossible to present a reasonable number of activities using cue cards. We have decided therefore to give a few examples of simple activities where pupils are shown working in pairs or by themselves. These activities can be used by both primary and secondary school teachers.

Guess the Picture

Preparation. For this activity you need an envelope containing 20 cue cards for each pair of pupils. Go through the activity beforehand with the whole class so that the pupils know what the objective is, and what they have to do. Give the pupils guidance as to the sort of questions they should ask. Procedure. The pupils work in pairs. Each pair chooses an envelope and puts their

cards on the table, looking at them very carefully. They then turn the cards face down, and shuffle them. The first pupil takes a card and looks at it, without showing it to his or her partner. The partner has to guess which picture it is by asking questions, e.g. Is it round/yellow? Can you play with it/eat it? Is it an animal?, etc.

Do You Remember?
Preparation. For this activity you need an envelope containing 10 cue cards belonging to one or more semantic fields. Write the following instructions where they can be seen, e.g. on a card which is kept with the activity: Follow these instructions. Put the cue cards on the table. Look at the pictures for two minutes. Pupil number 1 holds the ten cue cards. Pupil number 2 tries to remember all the cards. Procedure. Working in pairs, the pupils follow the instructions for the activity. Every time pupil number 2 gets the right answer, he or she wins a point and the card is put on the table. If this pupil makes a mistake, he or she loses a point. The pupils can then swap roles and repeat the activity with a different set of cue cards. The winner is the one who gets the most points.

Fast
Preparation. For this activity, you need about 20 cue cards. Procedure. This activity can be carried out in pairs or small groups. The pupils take the cards and place them face down in a heap. They take turns picking up cards, looking at them, and saying the appropriate word in English. Any pupil who makes a mistake or waits more than three seconds before speaking is given a point. The winner is the pupil with fewest points.

Lucky You
Preparation. For this activity you need 30 cue cards for each pair of pupils. The cue cards should belong to two semantic fields (i.e. there should be 15 pictures from each). Put the cards in a non-transparent bag. Procedure. This is a pair work activity. Each pupil in the pair chooses one of the semantic fields. The first pupil puts his hand in the bag and takes out a card. If it belongs to the semantic field that the pupil has chosen, and he or she can pronounce the appropriate word in English, the pupil keeps the card and continues to play. However, if the word is not from the right group or the pupil doesnt pronounce the word correctly, his or her partner has the next turn. The winner is the first to collect all the fifteen cards for his or her semantic field. As a variation, fold the cards in half and pin the two halves together with a paper clip. Place the cards on the floor. Using short canes with magnets as hooks, the pupils have to fish for the cards.

We hope that the ideas presented in this article about how to make and use cue cards will stimulate teachers to make their own cue cards and develop new and more challenging activities according to the level of their students. Cue cards will help the teacher respond to individual differences in a class by providing a framework of core activities which can be adapted or extended in different ways to stimulate both less and more able pupils.
ABSTRAK FARIDATUL HIKMAH. S891008030. 2012. Improving Students Writing Skill by Using Cue Card (A Classroom Action Research in the VIII A Grade of SMPN 2 Barat, Magetan in the Academic Year of 2011-2012). Pembimbing 1: Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd. Pembimbing 2: Drs. Martono, M.A. Thesis: Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Pasca Sarjana Universitas Sebelas Maret surakarta, 2012. Thesis ini bertujuan untuk membuktikan apakah Cue card sebagai media dapat meningkatkan kemampuan menulis atau tidak, dan apa kelebihan dan kelemahannya ketika menggunakan Cue card untuk pengajaran menulis. Penelitian awal menunjukkan bahwa murid-murid mempunyai permasalahan dalam elemen-elemen menulis yaitu: ide/isi, organisasi, kosa kata, tata bahasa, dan aturan penulisan. Mereka juga tidak tahu tentang proses menulis. Penelitian dilakukan di SMP Negeri 2 Barat, Magetan dari bulan November 2011-Februari 2012. Sasaran dari penelitian ini adalah siswa-siswa klas VIIIA SMP Negeri 2 Barat, Magetan, yang berjumlah 30. Penelitian ini berupa Penelitian Tindakan Kelas. Peneliti menggunakan beberapa langkah untuk tiap siklusnya. Yaitu: perencanaan, tindakan, penelitian, dan refleksi. Dalam pengumpulan data peneliti menggunakan beberapa tehnik yaitu: penelitian, wawancara, tanya jawab, dan ujian. Untuk menganalisa data kuantitatif menggunakan deskripsi statistik. Yang membandingkan antara hasil pre-test (sebelum menggunakan cue card) dan post-test (setelah menggunakan cue card), sedangkan untuk menganalisa data kualitatif menggunakan metode perbandingan tetap yang terdiri dari empat langkah, yaitu: (1) membandingkan perbedaan tiap-tiap peristiwa; (2) menggabungkan perbedaan-perbedaan dan peralatannya; (3) membatasi teori; dan (4) menulis teori. Penelitian menjawab tentang permasalahan yang timbul yaitu sebagai berikut: pertama, dengan menggunakan media cue card, kemampuan menulis siswa meningkat. Hal ini dibuktikan dengan peningkatan yang signifikan dari hasil rata-rata pre-test, pot-test siklus 1, dan post-test siklus 2. Kedua, adanya kelebihan-kelebihan dan kelemahan-kelemahan. Kelebihannya adalah: (1) adanya peningkatan dari hasil rata-rata tiap komponen menulis yang diatas KKM; dan (2) adanya peningkatan situasi kelas, yaitu: peningkatan motivasi, ketertarikan, dan kreatifitas siswa. Disamping itu kelemahan-kelemahanya adalah: (1) siswa membutuhkan waktu yang lama untuk membuat media ini; (2) siswa sangat ramai pada saat pembelajaran menulis menggunakan cue card, karena mereka suka berbicara sendiri tentang gambargambar idola yang ada pada cue card. Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, maka dapat disimpulkan bahwa cue card dapat meningkatkan kemampuan menulis siswa dan kondisi kelas. Oleh sebab itu maka para guru disarankan untuk menggunakan cue card dalam mengajar menulis. Kata kunci: improving, writing, Cue card ABSTRACT FARIDATUL HIKMAH. S891008030. 2012. Improving Students Writing Skill by Using Cue Card (A Classroom Action Research in the VIII A Grade of SMPN 2 Barat, Magetan in the Academic Year of 2011-2012). Consultant 1: Dr. Ngadiso, M.Pd. Consultant 2: Drs. Martono, M.A. Thesis: English Education Department Graduate School, Sebelas Maret University, 2012. This thesis is aimed at knowing whether cue card media can improve students writing skill or not, and the strengths and weaknesses of using cue card when it is implemented to teach writing. The preliminary research showed that the students had problems in writing elements: idea/content, organization, vocabulary, grammar, and mechanics. They also did not know the process of writing. The research was done in SMP Negeri 2 Barat, Magetan from November 2011-Februari 2012. The subject of the study was the students of the VIII A of SMP Negeri 2 Barat, Magetan, consisting of 30 students. It was a Classroom Action Research. The researcher did some steps for each cycle. They were planning, action,

observation, and reflection. In collecting the data, the researcher applied several techniques including observation, interview, questionnaire, and test. The quantitative data were anayzed by using descriptive statistic. It compared between the scores of pre-test (before implementing cue card) and post-test (after implementing cue card), while the qualitative data were analyzed by using Constant Comparative Method which consists of four steps, namely: (1) comparing incidents to each category; (2) integrating categories and their properties; (3) delimiting theory; and (4) writing the theory. The research findings are described in line with the problem statements as follows: first, by using cue card media, the students writing skill improves. This is proved by the significant increase of the mean score of pre-test, post-test cycle 1, and post-test cycle 2. The second, there are strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are: (1) there were improvements of students mean score in each component of writing who got score above KKM; and (2) there were improvements of class situation, namely: improvement of students motivation, interest, and creativity. Besides, the weaknesses are: (1) the students have to spend long time to make this media; and (2) the students were crowded while implementing the cue card in writing process, because they like to speak about their idol in cue card. Based on the result of the research, it can be concluded that the use of cue card improves students writing skill and class condition. Therefore, it is recommended that the teachers use cue card media in teaching writing.