View Content #2566
| Contentid | 2566 |
|---|---|
| Content Type | 1 |
| Title | Classic Activities |
| Body | Editor's note: A recent request on the TESL listserv for classic lesson ideas generated the following interesting suggestions. They were designed for English classes but could be used for any language. ----- This isn't so much a lesson as an entertaining speaking prompt: Story in a Bag - level intermediate and above. Before class, I assemble paper bags with around 6 random objects in each bag. There should be enough bags per group of 4 students. At a signal, each group opens its bag, removes its objects and concocts an oral story incorporating all the objects found in the bag. To make this activity interesting, the objects should be diverse and unrelated to each other. An example of a diverse content bag from my class is: a postcard from Singapore, a can opener, a candle, a surgical mask, a theater playbill(program), a teddy bear. More advanced speakers can be told that a crime has been committed and that these objects are their clues. They then explain who comitted the crime and how the crime occurred, incorporating all their clues. (The teacher needs to flesh out the crime a little- what happened, where and when. Everything else is pure fantasy on the part of the group.) At the end, each group takes a turn telling its story, showing each object to the class as they come to its part in the narrative. Spelleri, M. Re: classic lessons. Teachers of English to speakers of other languages electronic list. TESL-L@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (11 Jan. 2005). ----- This one, Funny Hobbies, practices the present simple, present perfect simple and the present perfect continuous. 1. I prepare cards, on which I write sentences (one per card) like: I dissect dinosaurs, I pinch babies' bottoms, I kick kangaroos, I suck snakes, I lick lampposts, I tumble tortoises, etcetera. 2. I demonstrate with a couple of good students - using normal hobbies (like I collect stamps) - and get them to practice in pairs. 3. Each student gets a hobby card and starts to talk to another. But first, having received their hobby, they get a couple of minutes to consult dictionaries to understand their hobby. I go round helping the slower ones. You usually get a few roars of laughter as they discover what their hobby is! 4. Now they start talking to another in their group. This is how the conversation goes (more or less!): Student A: What's your hobby? Student B: I cuddle cockroaches. (Student A: What does 'cuddle' mean? Student B: It means ...................... ). Student A: Oh, and how long have you been cuddling cockroaches? Student B: U-mm, for about three years. Student A: But why do you cuddle cockroaches? Student B: I think they're cute! Student A: And how many cockroaches have you cuddled? Student B: Oh, a thousand and twenty three. Before switching partners, not during the conversation, they must take a few seconds to quickly record the information. 6. When I see that most have spoken to about three others, we come together as a class, and individuals give reports. Deb, A.K. Re: classic lessons. Teachers of English to speakers of other languages electronic list. TESL-L@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (11 Jan. 2005). |
| Source | TESL-L |
| Inputdate | 2005-01-27 18:00:00 |
| Lastmodifieddate | 2005-01-27 18:00:00 |
| Expdate | Not set |
| Publishdate | Not set |
| Displaydate | Not set |
| Active | 1 |
| Emailed | 1 |
| Isarchived | 1 |
