Express Publishing ELT » Classroom Activities

Teaching with Photographs

admin — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:15:01 +0000

A teacher shares her thoughts on using photographs to spark discussion and prod students into producing language.

Photographs have layers of meaning and can be classified in a number of ways depending on the context and the intent.

On a personal note, photography serves as a channel that bridges my inner thought processes with a creative artistic outlet. It is a form of self-expression. Photography allows me to express in a non-verbal way my emotions, thoughts, ideas, and feelings as well as focusing on taking aesthetically appealing photographs. I’ve found that photography is an intensely personal experience. It’s me and the camera.

I’ve been drawn to capture on film images that surround me and express aspects of my urban existence. They record my changing urban landscape and fleeting moments in time. With regards to my exhibitions, besides being a celebration of the art form, they direct the gaze of the spectator to ponder the theme/subject of my show.

Photographs can be used to teach various tenses depending on the level of the students. Here are some examples:

Present tense: What do you see in the photograph? What do you remember of the day? Who are the people in the photograph? Why is this photograph special to you?

Present Continuous: What is happening in the photograph? What are the people doing? What are the people wearing? How are they feeling?

Simple Past: Who took the picture? What happened? Why did you choose this particular photograph to write about? Why did you take this photograph?

Pass Continuous: What were the people doing?

Passive Voice: Where was the photograph taken? When was it taken?

Family photographs provide a visual record of a family’s existence. They can serve as a jumping point for narrative writing. They serve as a testament to a family’s history. They document and record a lived experience. They tell a story. They anchor the past and contextualize experience. They offer proof of past experience. They capture important events that mark one’s life. Many tend to record information about the significant events which document the passage of life such as birthdays, parties, graduation ceremonies, weddings, births and so on. They allow us to travel back in time and remember details about people, places visited, and significant events. They anchor memory. They prod us into remembering a bygone era and the way things were. They are also portable records which make them ideal for classroom use.

Some photographs more than others remind me of man’s capacity to sink to the lowest depths of inhumanity and inflict pain and suffering on a catastrophic level. They are reminders of man’s capacity to commit evil. They become larger than life and become part of our collective consciousness and assist in the process of remembering acts of injustice.
Photographic images of the holocaust and Nazi atrocities remind me of a time when being of the Jewish faith, or a gypsy, or a homosexual were grounds for extermination. Photographs help us to remember the past and man’s inhumanity to man, which continue to rear its ugly head to his day. Look at Iraq. They can also help us to remember man’s humanity to man (i.e. Mother Teresa). They anchor historical reality. Some photographs more than others have the power to haunt and penetrate and resonate in the psyche.

On another personal note, photographs have allowed me to travel to another time and explore historical reality. They allow me to penetrate the surface of the image and enter the concrete details of previous existences. Photographs assist in the process of remembering. They preserve a specific reality. And as such they have intrinsic value in and of themselves.

Photographs have social uses, are a tool for education and can be used to provoke discussion on contemporary issues or historical reality. They can be used as a writing tool to teach students how to write personal narratives and reflect on past experiences using a second language. Perhaps, you might consider their use in your classroom.

Topics

admin — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 15:11:03 +0000

Most EFL course books are organized around topics – themes such as the body, transport, clothes, animals or sports. At higher levels the concepts may be more abstract – the environment or culture. This seems logical as we need something to talk about; a topic provides a context making language learning and use more meaningful and purposeful.

The structural approach to language learning emphasizes knowing about and being able to use grammar and vocabulary items. The communicative approach seeks to provide tasks in which learners use language to do the sorts of things they would do in their native language. Activity-based learning realizes that children learn by doing, exploring their interests and experimenting. Teaching through topics can draw on all three approaches. Learners are also using their own knowledge as well as learning something apart from the language.

Your course book uses topics to present and practice language and develop skills.

Click on the image below to see a large pdf version

“Sample Page from Access 1″

Let’s take a topic – animals – and see how we can expand it.
We can firstly brainstorm around the topic and draw up a topic web from which we can select classroom activities relevant to our particular learners’ level, age, interests and needs.

Here are some specific ideas. I’m sure you can add to them.
* Compare different animals (faster / bigger than)
* Perform rhyme Incey Wincy Spider
* Sing song There was an old woman who swallowed a fly
* Match animals to origins
* Guess which animal I am (I live in… / I can… I eat…)
* List your 5 favourite / least liked animals
* Listen to story The hungry caterpillar/ How the leopard got its spots
* Survey who has what pets
* Complete crossword with animal names
* Watch nature documentary and note down how many animals you see
* Make models of animals
* Do a project on endangered species
* Imagine you are an animal. What would you be and why?
* Read and tell elephant jokes. Draw pictures to illustrate them

Talking Pictures – From Art to Literacy

admin — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 08:43:40 +0000

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” – Pablo Picasso

We obviously use images extensively with junior classes to convey meaning and get them to talk about what they can see. We encourage them to draw, colour and write about their pictures and they are usually keen to do so.

But what about art with older, higher levels? Teens can feel embarrassed, inept or resentful if asked to draw. They may not see the point in what is supposed to be an English lesson. But there are engaging activities we can present them with as a stimulus for speaking and writing. Here are some ideas:

* Psycho Doodles – students have 5 minutes to draw anything they like while listening to music. They exchange papers, imagine they are a psychologist, make up and write a personality analysis of what they have in front of them.
* Ink blots – students drip paint or ink onto the centre of a piece of paper, fold it in half, open it, imagine what the blot might represent and use it as the stimulus for a short story or poem.
* Paper shapes – provide students with (coloured) paper, scissors and glue. Get them to cut up the paper into simple shapes, arrange and glue them onto a piece of paper in any way they wish, then discuss with a partner / group what their composition represents.
* Face to face – pair students up and have them draw a full face portrait of their partner. (An alternative is to draw the face without removing the pencil/pen from the paper.) Stick the results on the wall and have students get up and try and identify the subjects.
* Photos – students bring in a photo they’ve taken (a print or on a flash stick) and talk about it to the class.
* Project an artwork – drawing, painting, sculpture or photograph – on the whiteboard and if possible give copies to pairs (useful sites: www.moma.org, www.louvre.fr, www.tate.org, www.commons.wikimedia.org, www.en.easyart.com). Give a little context, history and biography of the artist / work. Ask students to describe it and speculate on its meaning. Ask them for their initial impressions and feelings about it. What is noticeable? Where is it? What are the characters doing? What atmosphere is created?

With a portrait students can imagine the life of the person and write an imaginary biography. With a group they can write about the incident portrayed. What is the relationship between the people? How did the person come to be there? What came before and after the incident? They could take one character and write a story from that point of view.

With a place they could imagine who lives there and write their story or the story of the place. What happened there?

For examples of EFL writing projects based on artworks, go to www.art-kitchen.net.

Using art as an inspiration for writing can enhance and support literacy. It stimulates the imagination and emotional engagement. A work of art has elements of a piece of writing waiting to be articulated.

“Art is the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” – Leonardo da Vinci

Famous last words

admin — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 11:39:52 +0000

Apologies to all you Trekkies out there, but Space is not the final frontier; that space is reserved for death: “the undiscovered country, from whose bourn no traveller returns.” – Hamlet

Is it a bit of a taboo subject in class – death?
Well, if the only two sure things in life are death and taxes, and we can at least try to fiddle our way out of the latter, why not think a bit about the former, which we cannot wriggle out of.

We may not be afraid to die, but we probably don’t want to be there when it happens – unless it’s Robert Patterson sinking his canines into your neck perhaps.

So, doing death in class. (Not the practical!)
First a warning! Do not use activities which might upset students in your culture! You have to be sensitive when dealing with death, ghosts, vampires, zombies and intolerance.

Vampires & Ghosts

Fact: As I write, Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books about teen vampires occupy four out of the top five spots in the U. K. best seller list for young fiction. I expect you know the films.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2T7d8j6I5I – trailer of Twilight

Fact: The most popular BBC drama series this year was Being Human. It’s about a ghost, a vampire and a werewolf living together in contemporary England.

Fact: Dracula is the second most common character in movie history. (Sherlock Holmes is first)

Fact: Michael Jackson’s 1983 song “Thriller” is listed in the 2006 Guinness Book of Records as the most successful music video ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lNiJOS2KAc – Michael Jackson “Thriller”

So, vampires, ghosts and werewolves are rather popular.

Here’s a definition: Ghost: The soul or spirit as the source of life – Oxford English Dictionary

“The two most misunderstood groups in our society are teenagers and ghosts… They are mischievous… simply trying to attract attention. My message is simply this:
Be kind to ghosts. And whatever you do, don’t scream when you see one. People are always doing this to the poor souls and turning them into nervous wrecks.” – Alfred Hitchcock

Probably the most famous ghosts in English literature are Hamlet’s father, those appearing to Scrooge in Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” and Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost”. But you too have ghost stories, don’t you?

View the “A Christmas Carol” View the “The Canterville Ghost”
reader here! reader here!

Here are some class activities you might wish to consider.

SPEAKING
Tell us about a vampire or ghost film you have seen.

READING
Read or tell short ghost stories in class. (Do you have any in your culture?)

DISCUSSION
What problems might there be about living for ever?
As the world’s population lives longer, what problems does this bring for societies?
What are the pros and cons of euthanasia?
What do you believe about an afterlife?

WRITING
“It was a dark and stormy night…” Write a ghost / scary story (Some advice from Roald Dahl: “The best ghost stories don’t have ghosts in them. At least you don’t see the ghost. Instead you see only the result of his actions”).

PROJECT
Find out what different religions believe about death and an afterlife.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS
Here are two true stories:

In 1887 in Chicago, a policeman was killed during riots by workers protesting against their terrible working conditions. Adolph Fischer was hanged for his involvement. He wasn’t there and didn’t organize the riot. He was wrongfully executed, but his last words were: “This is the happiest moment of my life.” Why did he say this? He had tried to improve workers’ lives, failed and died poor and a wrongly convicted criminal.

The next year George Eastman invented the Kodak camera, became one of the richest men in the world, while also doing what Fischer had been hoping for: providing his workers with shorter hours, life insurance, profit sharing, disability allowances and stock shares. This incredibly rich inventor, businessman and philanthropist killed himself in 1925. Why?

Can you correctly choose the last words of these famous people?

1. My work is done. Why not / wait / die? – G. Eastman

2. Drink to me / us / liberty – P. Picasso

3. More life / light / literature – J. W. Goethe

4. Friends applaud; the comedy is playing / over / funny – L. V. Beethoven

5. The fog is thick / foggy / rising – E. Dickinson

6. I am about to make my last voyage; a great leap in the dark / river / air – T. Hobbes

7. I owe a cock to Asclepius; will you remember to pay the price / ferryman /debt? – Socrates

8. It is well. I die hard, but I am not afraid to die / go / fly – G. Washington

9. Go away…I’m dying / sleepy / alright – H. G. Wells

10. And now, I am dying beyond my means / days / country (said while sipping champagne) – O. Wilde

(11. And to end: last words of Hamlet – the rest is good / silence / unbalanced)

Answers:

1. me
2. light
3. over
4. wait
5. rising
6. dark
7. debt
8. go
9. alright
10. means

(11. silence)

We have converted the exercise above into a pdf in-class exercise ready for you to use with your students which you will find HERE!

Adobe by clicking here

You will need Adobe Reader to open the files downloaded. In case you don’t have it installed, visit Adobe by clicking on the icon to the right:

‘Most unfortunate names’ revealed

admin — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:53:33 +0000

This text and exercise can be used with higher level classes as a fun activity. After the matching task, they could try and make up their own silly author names and books or share any amusing names in their own language.

What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain?

Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still. It sounds like a bad joke, but a study of online telephone records has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK. Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Mary Christmas, and Anna Sasin. And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole, Tim Burr or Dawn Hobbs. Researchers also scoured phone records in the US and found some unlikely names there too. Spare a thought for Anna Prentice, Annette Curtain and Bill Board the next time you sign your name.

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A string of Americans also have very job-specific names, including Dr Leslie Doctor, Dr Thoulton Surgeon and Les Plack – a dentist in San Francisco. There’s a word for having a name appropriate to your job; it’s aptonym. This may lead to nominative determinism, which happens when you take up a job described by your name – so Joe Butcher becomes a butcher and Anna Baker ends up owning a bakery. There is a real dentist named Dr. Chiew, a surgeon rejoicing in the name of I. Hack and a firearms store owner – Mr. Bang. (Cardinal Sin of the Philippines unfortunately passed away a few years ago.)

Some people name their children after a hotel – Paris Hilton – the place they were conceived – Brooklyn Beckham – or a fruit – Peaches Geldorf. There are the American actresses Eva Green and Minnie Driver (sponsored by a certain auto maker?). Holly Hunter shouldn’t have far to search if she lives in Hollywood.

Some people were meant to marry. Take the lawyer Sue Wright who tied the knot with banker Rob Mee (and who should shun any temptation to name a male offspring Roger). Mr Curry is now sp(l)iced with Ms. Rice, a couple who should be good friends with John Mutton and his partner Ann Veale; Perhaps they could invite along Richard Dinner and his lovely wife Mary Cook. Madonna’s current toy boy is named Jesus – would that be a marriage made in heaven?

Try and match the following people with the books they wrote:

1. Joe King	a. Good Gardening
2. Carrie Oakey	b. African Animals
3. Barrie Cade	c. National Celebrations around the World
4. Hazel Nutt	d. Teaching one-to-one
5. Rose Bush	e. On your Bike
6. Amanda Lynne	f. Sing- along Songs
7. Ivana Carr	g. Coastal Life
8. Jerry Ettrick	h. Introduction to Psychiatry
9. Randy Beaver	i. DIY Plumbing
10. Olive Greene	j. Painting by Numbers
11. Anais Bottom	k. British Public Schools
12. Honour Day	l. The French Revolution
13. Penny Farthing	m. Early String Instruments
14. Ann Tellope	n. My Eskimo Adventure
15. Robin Banks	o. Foretelling the Future
16. Ima Hogg	p. Coping with Altzeimer’s
17. Ivor Lerner	q. Vintage Automobiles
18. Theresa Forrest	r The Eye of the Storm
19. Esau Snow	s. The Mating Habits of Canadian Animals
20. Dwaine Pipe	t. The Story of Chocolate
21. Sandy Shaw	u. The Hypochondriac
22. Ben Dover	v. Getting Away With It
23. Harry Caine	w. The Nude in Art
24. Candy Barr	x. It’s A Fact
25. Ivor Paine	y. Animal Farm Revisited
26. June Owen	z. A Laugh a Minute

Answers:1 z, 2 f, 3 l, 4 h , 5 a, 6 m, 7 q, 8 p, 9 s, 10 j, 11 w, 12 c, 13 e, 14 b, 15 v, 16 y, 17 d, 18 x, 19 n , 20 i, 21 g, 22 k, 23 r, 24 t, 25 u, 26 o

More unfortunate names: Jo King, Barrie Cade, Carrie Oakey, Ivy Plant, Hazel Nutt and Rose Bush

We have converted the exercise above into a pdf in-class exercise ready for you to use with your students which you will find HERE!

Adobe by clicking here

You will need Adobe Reader to open the files downloaded. In case you don’t have it installed, visit Adobe by clicking on the icon to the right:

Twelve brain teasers

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:26:39 +0000

1. Think of a number… double it… add ten… divide by two… take away the first number… and the answer is? (always 5)

2. Think of a number… multiply it by three… add one… multiply this by three… add the number you first thought of… add two… take away five… divide by ten… and the answer is… (the number you first thought of)

3. Write down how many brothers and sisters you have… write down how many uncles and aunts you have… add the number of uncles and aunts together… double it… add three… multiply by five… add the total number of brothers and sisters… take away fifteen… and the number on the right is how many brothers and sisters you have; the number on the left is how many uncles and aunts you have.

4. Write down a seven digit phone number… mix up the digits… take the smaller number away from the larger one… add the digits of this number together… add the two digits together… and the answer is? (always 9)

Example: 7247579… 9742775… 9742775 – 7247579= 2495196… 2+4+9+5+1+9+6=36… 3+6=? (always 9)

5. 1 ) Pick a number between 1 and 10 (including 1 or 10).
2 ) Multiply your number by 9.
3 ) Add the digits of the number created in step two.
4 ) Subtract 5 from the number created in step three.
5 ) Find the letter in the alphabet that corresponds to the number created in step four

Example: 1=A, 2=B, 3=C…

6 ) Pick a country in Europe that starts with the letter you found in step five.
7 ) Pick an animal that starts with the last letter of your country.
8 ) Pick a colour that starts with the last letter of your animal.
9 ) Let me guess what you got!! Is it an orange kangaroo from Denmark?

6. 1 ) Pick a number between 1 and 9 (including 1 or 9).
2 ) Multiply your number by 2.
3 ) Add 5 to the number you created in step two.
4 ) Multiply the number you created in step three by 50.
5 ) If you haven’t had your birthday yet this year, add 1757 to the number you created in step four.. If you’ve had your birthday, add 1758 to that number.
6 ) Subtract the year you were born (ex: 1995) from the number you created in step five.
7 ) Let me guess what you got!! The first digit is the number you started with and the others are your age.

7. Take a close look at the following figure… How many triangles can you find?

Answer: 35

8. You have TEN trees and you want to plant them in FIVE rows with FOUR trees in each row. How do you do it?

Answer:

9. Are you a genius? Take this test and check your score at the end!

1 ) A clerk in the butcher shop is 5’10″ tall. What does he weigh?
2 ) How many birthdays does the average man have?
3 ) Some months have 31 days; how many have 28?
4 ) Is it legal for a man in California to marry his widow’s sister?
5 ) How many two cents stamps are there in a dozen?
6 ) What’s the answer when you divide 30 by 1/2 and add 10?
7 ) If there are 3 apples and you take away 2, how many do you have?
8 ) If a doctor gives you three pills, telling you to take one every half hour, how many minutes will the pills last?
9 ) A farmer has 17 sheep and all but 9 die. How many are left?
10 ) How many animals of each sex did Moses take on the ark?

Answers:

1. The meat	6. 60
2. One	7. 2
3. All of them	8. 60
4. He can’t – he’s dead	9. 9
5. 12	10. None. It was Noah.

10. The Fox, the Chicken and the Corn

You have a boat and need to take a fox, a chicken and some corn across a river.
The boat will only hold you and one other thing.
If you leave the chicken alone with the corn, the chicken will eat the corn.
If you leave the fox alone with the chicken, the chicken’s in big trouble.
How can you get them all across in the least amount of trips possible?

Answer:

First, take the chicken across and leave it there… you and the chicken
Go back alone… you
Take the fox across… you and the fox
Leave the fox and take the chicken back… you and the chicken
Leave the chicken and take the corn across… you and the corn
Leave the corn with the fox and go back alone… you
Finally, take the chicken across… you and chicken

11. The Two Doors

You are trapped in a room with two doors… One door leads to (certain) freedom and the other leads to a ton of worms that you’ll have to eat. You don’t know which door (goes) leads you to the worms and which door gets you out.
There are two guards in the room. One guard always tells the truth and the other guard always lies. You don’t know which one is honest and which one is the liar.
If you just guessed, you’d have a 50-50 shot.
To figure out which door to choose, you get to ask one guard one question
What is your question and which guard will you ask?

Answer:
This is very tricky and one of the world’s most famous logic problems. Here’s the question you should ask… and it doesn’t matter which guard you ask:

“If I want freedom, what door will HE say I should go through?”

Think long and hard about it. Let’s say that the red door leads to freedom. If you ask the honest guard, he will honestly tell you that the other guard will lie and tell you the blue door. If you ask the lying guard, he will lie and tell you the honest guard will say the blue door. They’ve both said the blue door — the one that leads to the worms. So, you ask your question… and, then, go through the OTHER door!

12. Can you move just TWO toothpicks and create SEVEN squares?

Answer:

Making a predictor

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:08:00 +0000

This is a supplementary article from the “Art and Craft in the Young Learners Class” article depicting an example of how to make a predictor.

Predictor
(Pairs)

Focus: Any language area
Level: Pre-Intermediate/Intermediate
Time: 10′+
Materials: Paper, pencil

Procedure:
Students play in pairs.
Give students instructions on how to make a predictor from a square of paper.
Student A holds the predictor and asks student B to say a number. Student A opens and closes the predictor that many times to reveal four numbers in the centre. Student B chooses one of the four numbers and student A again opens and closes the predictor that many times.

Student B chooses one of the revealed numbers and that flap is opened to reveal a prediction.
Student A tells student B what is predicted on the inside flap and student B says whether they agree with the prediction or not and why.

EXAMPLE:
Student A: Tell me a number.
Student B: 6
Student A: (opens – closes predictor 6 times to reveal numbers in the centre) Choose a number.
Student B: 3
Student A: (opens and closes predictor 3 times) Choose another number.
Student B: 8
Student A: ( opens flap 8 ) You will live in another country.
Student B: I don’t think I agree. I would like to visit many countries but I don’t think I will live in another country.

Student B gets a point for completing the task successfully and it is now student A’s turn to play. Other language areas that can be practised by writing different prompts on the predictor:

Prompt	Structure / Function	Language
Places	Present perfect/simple past	Have you been to…? When did you go?
Actions	Expressing preference	Would you like to fly a helicopter? Why (not)?
Food, activities	Likes/dislikes	Do you like…? Why (not)?
Situations (e.g. break a leg)	Second conditional	What would you do if you broke a leg?
Problems (e.g. a cough)	Giving advice (You should/ought to/If I were you/imperatives)	I’ve got a cough. If I were you, I’d take some medicine.
Times/dates/seasons	Simple past/Simple present	What did you do last weekend? I visited my grandparents.
Animals (e.g. elephant)	Qualities (is/has/do)	What do you know about elephants? An elephant is big and it has a long nose.
Objects (e.g. hair)	Verb+noun practice	What can you do with your hair? Yo u wash hair, cut hair, brush hair.

Example with animals:

Each student makes a predictor and writes the names of different animals on the inside flaps.

EXAMPLE:
Student A: Tell me a number.
Student B: 4
Student A: (opens and closes predictor 4 times) Choose a number.
Student B: 5
Student A: (opens and closes predictor 5 times) Choose another number.
Student B: 3
Student A: (opens flap 3) Tell me three things about a parrot.
Student B: It is usually colourful. It can talk. It has a strong beak.

How to make a predictor

Use a square piece of paper (21cm by 21cm is a good size). Fold one corner to meet the other and make a sharp crease. Open the paper and make a crease with the other corners.

Take one corner and fold it to the centre and make a sharp crease. Do the same with the other three corners.

Keep the paper folded and turn it over. Fold one corner to the centre pressing hard to make a sharp crease. Do the same with the other three corners.

Fold the square in half so that the flaps are on the outside making sure to press hard on the crease. Open it and fold it the other way.

Put your fingers under the flaps and practise opening and closing your predictor.

Open the predictor and write numbers on the inside flaps.

Open each flap and under the flaps write a prediction or prompts for whatever language area you are practising.

The article about making a predictor was taken from the book “Game On!” page 83 & page 192.

View the “Game On!” book here!

Art and Craft in the Young Learners Class

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 03:58:04 +0000

Consider the following activities.

1. Children collect pictures of animals and make a collage by sticking them (on) to a large sheet of card which is then displayed on the wall of the classroom.

2. Using card and pins, children draw, colour and cut out clocks with moveable hands. The clocks are then displayed on the class notice-board.

3. After having read a story, children create their own masks of characters in the story and then act out a dialogue or part of the story.

4. Using “play-doh” or modelling clay, children try to make statues of some of the main characters of a book or dialogue.

5. Using various odds and ends (paper, glue, cotton, wool etc), each child makes a simple puppet and describes its character to the rest of the class. When several puppets have been described in this way, the children work together in groups to produce a scene using the characters. They could alternatively make puppets of characters in their (course book) one word!!! and enact dialogues from the book. (Hand puppets can be made using old socks, stick puppets with ice-cream lolly sticks.)

6. Children follow instructions on how to make a paper house. (fold back along lines as shown below – with just 4 folds the house will stand up) They then colour their model and draw in pieces of furniture.

7. Using wooden blocks as buildings, children work in groups to produce a model of their town-centre or an imaginary town.

8.Make a predictor. *(see complete instructions here)

What language would the students need to know to do these activities?
What does the teacher do while the students are creating?
What could the students do with their creations to practice English?

ADVANTAGES

1. Such activities provide a meaningful context for language practice and motivate children to use language constructively.

2. Puppet, mask and modelling tasks draw upon the child’s out-of-school experience and interests.

3. The creation of masks, puppets, etc involves the child (in action and activity) in activities which reinforce the process of language learning, which reinforces the process of language learning.

4. Hands-on tasks draw upon the child’s knowledge of other subject areas, such as Maths or Geography, and thus allow him/her to transfer skills gained in one area to another.

5. Shy students can hide behind the character of their puppet/mask and may be more willing to participate.

DISADVANTAGES

1. Resources – The creation of puppets, masks and models requires card, glue, coloured pens etc Quantity? Who supplies these? Who pays for them? (Younger children may have toys, puppets, bricks etc – these can be brought in and exploited).

2. Accidents – Scissors can cut “little fingers” if care isn’t taken. Coloured pens and glue can mark good clothes etc (Monitor children working with scissors or paints, warn them/their parents one/two lessons beforehand so that they come appropriately dressed.)

3. Storage Space – What happens to all the puppets, masks and models after the lesson?
    - The children take them home.
    - You take them home.
    - They are thrown away.
    - They are stored in a “resource corner/cupboard” at the school.

4. Level of Difficulty – Tasks should be fairly simple to carry out. The more difficult, the greater the possibility of something going wrong and discouraging the children.

5. Time – Such activities may need a lot of time during which little or no language is being generated / practiced.

POINTS TO REMEMBER

- Keep things simple.
- Try out the activity at home to see if it can be done/identify difficult stages.
- Think about setting the activity up – instructions – demonstration?
- Practice demonstrating the activity in the mirror so that you see what the children will see.
- Make a checklist of all the materials that you need. Ask the children to bring some in for you – “I want you all to bring a stick of glue on Monday”.
- Think about timing – Spend too much time and the activity will become dull and boring.
- Monitor the activity as it progresses. Offer a helping hand if necessary and encourage the use of the target language.
- Praise the children for their efforts.

* Make a predictor