Activity 54- Mini Drama

                                          Video snippets taken from Youtube

Here is a great strategy that can be adapted to different short video segments. Students will definitely have a ball!

Level: Any

Skill: speaking

Material needed: short video segments from popular tv series 

Instructions:

Show the video segment with no sound on. Then ask students to work in groups and create the lines for the scene. After groups have prepared and rehearsed the lines, volunteers go to the front and speak the lines as the scene is being shown in the screen. 

Tip: write on the board the number of times each character speaks so that the group can work on the necessary number of lines properly.Example:

 Everybody Hates Chris

GREG

CHRIS

GREG

CHRIS (students can invent a line for the moment Chris is screaming)

Glee

SANTANA

FINN

SANTANA

RACHEL

SANTANA

FINN

SANTANA 

FINN

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 53- 2012 Audi Superbowl Commercial

Here is a short activity that can be done with groups of teens using one of the traditionally creative Superbowl adds.

Level:  basic/intermediate

Skill: speaking

Material needed: Youtube video

Instructions: 

Show the first 25 seconds of the video (moment right before the vampire in the car actually arrives at the party) and elicit what students know about vampires (things they like to do, eat, drink, limitations, habits,skills,etc). Then, continue showing the rest of the video until 0:45 (after all vampires at the party have been destroyed) and ask the students "WHAT HAPPENED? WHY DO YOU THINK ALL THE VAMPIRES WERE DESTROYED?". Ask students to sit in small groups and give them some time to discuss and speculate what might have happened. Elicit their ideas and then show the rest of the video so that they can check what really happened and if they were right about their guesses. Follow-up discussion: Ask students " HOW DO VAMPIRES TODAY DIFFER FROM THE ONES IN THE PAST? HAVE THEY CHANGED MUCH?" This is a nice wrap-up question that can get a lot of students engaged, specially if they are fan of the Twilight saga.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 52- Ask Me If You Can!

                                                  picture credits: clivejones.com.au

In this activity, students exercise spontaneity and creativity as they practice questions and answers using common question words. This activity is easily adaptable to different levels and verb tenses.

Level: Basic or Intermediate

Skill: Speaking

Materials needed: as many cards with different question words as the number of students and 2 balls

Instructions:

Give each student a card with a question word and ask them to make a circle, so that they can see each other. Explain that the card they are holding has the question word the other classmates are going to use in questions directed to them (for example: if I am holding a card with the question word WHAT , it means that people are going to ask me questions using WHAT ). Give a student a ball and give another student a different ball (other objects can be used). Decide with the students which ball represents the questions and which ball represents the answers. Just like a hot potato game, play some music and ask them to pass the balls around. When the music stops, the student who has the ball representing the questions should ask a question to the student with the ball representing the answers. After playing it for a while the cards can be shuffled and redistributed.

Suggestions of question words to be used:

WHO

WHAT

WHERE

WHEN

HOW MUCH
HOW MANY

WHOSE

WHY

HOW OFTEN

HOW LONG

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 51- Writing a Simile

                                              picture credits: libestpvlearners.blogspot.com

 Level: advanced

Skill: writing

Material needed: 2 piles of cards

Instructions: 

Put two sets of cards on the table. One set contains abstract words and the other set contains concrete words.  Ask students to pick a card from each pile and write a simile. Example: DRAMA     MONEY   “Drama is like money, the more you have it the more people you attract” “ Drama is like money, sometimes you keep it for a long time and suddenly you feel like showing the world you have got lots of it”

Suggestions of abstract words:

LOVE 

FEAR

HAPPINESS

FRIENDSHIP

HATE

COMPETENCE

DRAMA

SADNESS

PASSION

Suggestion of concrete words:

MOTHERS

A BALL

A CAR

DOGS

MONEY

SUGAR

A PHONE

A MIRROR

THE SUN

Source:  Vinicius Lemos