An activity for Unit 8

Activity Time
35 ~ 50 minutes depending on how much reinforcement / explicit teaching / grammatical accuracy
you fancy.

Activity Goals
Encourage understanding of descriptions and comparisons.
Allow practice with comparatives and superlatives.
Motivate basic inferencing skills.
Passive review of the past tense.
Active review of adjectives.

comparatives.superlatives.practice

This is a commercial that I found on the net. I have used and still use it in my reading classes. I have prepared a number of comprehension questions that I give the students or ask the students to find the answers for. There are some other extension questions too.The commercial is about “Grandpa Chew”watch?v=9ll-bDmK3EAThe questions are at this link reading-comprehension-questions-for-grandpa-chew-life-insurance-commercial

Here are a couple of late-breakers that didn’t make it into the binder at the start of the semester. You might want to use them to help your students prepare for Speaking Task 1 (summer vacation interview).

Activity to promote accuracy in questions (PDF): Past tense question writing worksheet

If you decide to follow the same interview pattern as on the DVD, this document may help you guide your students through the various stages of the interview. Either hand it out, or write on the board doing the final practice session.

Interview pattern (PDF): Interview Pattern

These documents can also be found in Shared Files, and in the level binder.

This is a sheet with Classroom English that I often use in class. Attached with this is a set of audio files that students can download and listen to if they want to practice them.
Classroom English audio files:classroom-english
Classroom English handout: Classroom English Handout

This is a description of the first Speaking Task for Level 1 Eigo II A.

Level 1 Eigo IIA Speaking Task 1 Overview + Worksheets

This PowerPoint is additional material for the Passages unit on Storytelling. In this case the story is about Dan and an unfortunate incident on the way to work last year. There are worksheets to accompany the story and as a special surprise, some pronunciation exercises with audio. The story also lends itself to the ‘grammar focus’ on page 59, as several of the adverbs are included in the slides and on the worksheets.

Powerpoint: PowerPoint file

Student Worksheet:dans-story-worksheet-students-copy.doc

Teacher’s Answer sheet:dans-story-worksheet-teachers-copy.doc

Teacher’s notes page:passages-unit-7a.doc

There are many ways to approach Task 1 – both in terms of exactly what you want your students to do, and how you want them to prepare for it. In the Level 1 L&S binder there is a set of worksheets to help your students prepare for the task – which may well fit in exactly with your plans. However, just in case you want to approach the prep in a slightly different way, here is an alternative set of worksheets.

They focus strongly on the concept of one ‘big’ event, and two ‘small’ events. There are no Teacher’s Notes, but the worksheets themselves should prove self-explanatory, especially if you have already seen the example interview on the DVD. You may want to use them very early in the semester – in fact I plan to start work on them in my first class.

Download the worksheets (3 worksheets, in one PDF file): Alternative Task 1 student prep worksheets

The following worksheet, contributed by Damian Fitzpatrick, can be used in conjunction with the topic of ‘What’s in the News’ in Passages Unit 7B.
Basically it gives students the chance to browse through some English language newspapers, search for specific information and learn about recent events around the world.
In addition to the worksheet, teachers will need to bring to class enough newspapers for pairs or small groups. A bundle will be made available, so please check on the Level 3 shelf or ask Hans.

Worksheet: the-language-of-newspapers-level-3.doc

Speaking task 1 is a pair interview in which students talk about what they did during the summer vacation. An example conversation (performed by 2 ELP teachers) can be found on the Level 1 DVD, and on the Resources web site. This worksheet can be used with the video, and may be useful in preparing your students for the task.

Worksheet (includes Teacher’s Notes): Task 1 DVD Worksheet

This document is a suggested course outline for the Speaking/Listening classes in Semester 2. There are some changes to the course which have been highlighted and useful units from Passages are listed. All the Assessment requirements are also listed.

Download File:level-3-semester-two-2007.doc

Past Tense. From words to a story

This activities make use of the u12 Vocabulary Map (in the back of the text book).

Two different ways of using the vocabulary listed in the unit 12 Vocabulary Map as prompts for writing/telling a story.

File is basically Teacher’s Notes, and also includes a set of vocab cards which would need cutting-up.

Download file: Unit 12. Vocabulary Map. PDF.

Past Tense: Predicting / Listening / Drawing / Writing

This activity could be done at any time (and by any level), not just to supplement unit 12.

Stage 1: Students look at 6 pictures which illustrate a true story, and predict the correct order of the pictures, and the story itself. They then listen to the story and check their predictions.

Stage 2: Students then illustrate their own true ‘interesting’ story, and pass it to another student. The other student predicts the story.

Sounds complicated, but it’s not really! Extensive instructions, and transcript, are included in the PDF.

Download file: Unit 12. Picture Story. PDF.

 Download audio MP3 file: Unit 12. Picture Story. MP3.

Past Tense. Chain writing a story: Replacement ‘Ensemble’ activity.

This is a substitute for the Ensemble activity ~ which has poor picture prompts in the text book. This activity may be quite demanding!

Students write the first half of a short story, based on a picture prompt. They then pass their story to other students, who finish the story.

Brief Teacher’s Notes are included, but the rubrics on the worksheet itself should be clear enough.

Download file: Unit 12. Our own story. PDF

Modals. Pair Work Activity: What do the signs mean?

The pair work activity in the text book is lame. You might prefer to do this instead!

Students look at images taken from real (old..) Japanese street signs, and write down what they think the sings mean. They then hand their sentences (not the pictures) to another student, who then draws what he/she thinks the original sign looked like.

Your students should be reasonably familiar with the target modals before attempting this task. It does require a considerable amount of imagination, so please keep this in mind when deciding if it will be suitable for your class.

Teacher’s Notes are included in the PDF.

Download file: Unit 11. Signs Pair Work. PDF.

Modals. Language covered:

Card game played in small groups. Instructions are included in the PDF. There are no Teacher’s Notes.

Download file: Unit 11. Card Game. PDF.

Superlatives

Board game, played in groups. Land on a square & talk about the topic for 30 seconds, followed by Q+A from other students in the group.

Materials needed: one worksheet per group // one ¥10 per group

No teacher’s notes, as it should be clear how the game is played. You may want to blow-up the worksheet to A3 size.

Download: u8 Talk about Game

Superlatives Class Survey

Students write survey questions in order to find the ‘Most ….’, or ‘… est’ person in the class.

Teacher’s Notes (These instructions are included in the pdf)

The student worksheet has been kept as clean and simple as possible, to leave more space for writing ~ & to reduce confusion!

Suggested lesson plan

1 Ask three students these questions (Also ask follow-up questions to get a little more information.):

How often do you laugh?
Do you like to watch comedy shows on TV?
Are you worried about anything?
Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
How many friends do you have?

Write short, memo notes summarising their answers on a grid on the board.

2 Look at the answers for a short time, and decide who is the ‘happiest’ of the three students. On the board, write ‘(name)……….. is the ____est student.’
Elicit ‘happiest’.

3 Tell the students that they are going to write questions to find the ‘most ….’, or ‘… est’ student in the class. Put students into pairs, then go round to each pair and tell them the theme of their survey (Make sure other students can’t hear!).

Suggested themes (Obviously substitute with your own ideas, if you like.): laziest most serious craziest fittest

coolest most healthy most unhealthy cleanest etc etc …

4 Pair works together to write 5 questions. Explain that the theme of the survey shouldn’t be 100% obvious from the questions.

5 Divide the class in half ~ one student from the pair in each half. Students then talk to 5 students, writing short memo notes on the worksheet. Encourage follow-up questions. Explain that the theme of their survey is secret, so they shouldn’t tell anyone!

6 Students get back into original pairs, and compare the results of their surveys. They then talk together to decide who is the winner. (Each pair chooses one winner.)

7 Awards ceremony. Organise the announcing of winners in any way you consider appropriate.

Download File: u8 Class survey

Comparatives & Superlatives

Running dictation quiz, which reviews the facts and structures in unit 8. Best done as a review activity, after most of the unit has been covered.

Teacher’s notes are included in the pdf.

Download file: Unit 8. Running Quiz. PDF

This is one way to launch unit 4 of the text book. It is a quiz, in which groups of students write definitions of places in a town (eg, bank, bus stop) – followed by a class quiz.

The file

Places in a town (cut into strips, and give each group 4 places to define)

Possible lesson plan

1 Use ‘bank’ as an example of how to write a definition (either of the 2 structures is OK)

2 Put students into groups. Students work together and write definitions.

3 Class quiz: There are many ways to do this!

Follow-up

~ Collect strips after quiz. Copy them, and hand out to all students in the next class.

~ Use the definitions to make a crossword puzzle – to use as a warmer or filler in the next class.

I’ve posted some crossword puzzles to support for Units 1 to 16 of the Level 2 Eigo A book, Let’s Talk 1. The crosswords target the new vocab that is selected and defined in the Teacher’s Book. There are 2 files per unit, a student puzzle and an answer key.

These puzzles can also be done online by students on the elpweb.com site. Here is the link: http://elpweb.com/resources/slevel2listspeaking.php

U1.pdf
U1 answers
U2.pdf
U2 answers.pdf
U3.pdf
U3 answers.pdf
U4.pdf
U4 answers.pdf
U5.pdf
U5 answers.pdf
U6.pdf
U6 answers.pdf
U7.pdf
U7 answers.pdf
U8.pdf
U8 answers.pdf
u9.pdf\
u9-answers.pdf
u10.pdf
u10-answers.pdf
u11.pdf
u11-answers.pdf
u12.pdf
u12-answers.pdf
u13.pdf
u13-answers.pdf
u14.pdf
u14-answers.pdf
u15.pdf
u15-answers.pdf
u16.pdf
u16-answers.pdf