Activity 68- News Session

                                          picture credits: ehow.com

Here is a strategy that can be used in the beginning of every week!

Level: Intermediate or Advanced

Skill:Speaking

Material Needed: none

Instructions: 

This is a task that should be assigned the previous class. Ask students to bring to class a story about their weekend or a piece of news they read or watched on tv. Students should then share with classmates their story in a very informal way just as if they were chatting with their friends. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 67- I was... when...

                                                      picture credits: picornot.com

Are you teaching the relationship between simple past and past continuous? This game will definitely please your students!

Level: Basic and Intermediate

Skill: speaking

Grammar point: simple past and past continuous

Material needed: slips with sentences

Instructions:

Divide class into 2 teams. Spread slips with sentences on the table. A volunteer from the team goes to the front, picks up a slip and mimes the sentence to his group. Each group has one minute to guess the sentence correctly. 

Tip: Explain that all sentences follow the same pattern: "I was______ when _________"

Some suggestions:

I was sleeping when the telephone rang.

I was taking a shower when a butterfly flew over my head.

I was running when a dog bit my leg.

I was cooking when the cat jumped onto the stove.

I was dancing when I broke my arm.

I was writing an email when my girlfriend/boyfriend kissed me.

I was walking on the street when I slipped on a banana skin.

I was eating pizza when I started to cry.

I was playing soccer when the ball hit my face.

I was eating soup when a fly landed on my spoon.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

M that learning!

 Here is a great piece of news for teachers who are into technology: "M that learning!" is Vinicius`s new blog that features great activities using mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones in the classroom! Do you want to learn how to take advantage of all the techy gadgets that students bring to class nowadays? Join in and learn about a new activity every week!
mthatlearning.blogspot.com

Activity 66- The Right Answer

                                               picture credits: fhalosangeles.net

Here is an idea for a fun yet challenging activity!

Level: All

Skill: speaking

Material needed: pile of cards with words 

Instructions:

Divide students into 2 teams. Explain that a volunteer from the team should come to the front and pick up a card from the pile. Let`s suppose the word written in the card is "never". Then, in 30 seconds, the student should ask as many questions as necessary so that members of his group answer "never". (ex: How often do you eat vegetables? When will you live in the North Pole? ). Reinforce the idea that the team only gets the point if their answer is exactly like the word in the card.

Some suggestions:

NEVER

TOMORROW

ONCE A WEEK

SPRING

WATER, PLEASE

I WOULD CRY

OK

YESTERDAY

NEXT YEAR

RED

STUPID

NO, THANK YOU

NO, I`M NOT

YES, HE CAN

DOGS

TEN

THIS WEEK

SOMETIMES

 Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 65- Paraphrase Dictation

                                              picture credits: myenglishpages.com

Level: Intermediate and Advanced

Skill: Listening and writing

Grammar point: Idioms

Material needed: list of sentences to be dictated

Instructions: 

In this dictation, students don`t actually write what you say. Explain that the sentences contain slangs and idiomatic expressions and  the challenge is to paraphrase as much as they can using their own words. In the end, students pair up and compare their sentences before the exercise is corrected. Here are some suggestions for the dictation:

I guess I have a crush on that guy.

I`m feeling blue today.

It`s raining cats and dogs.

Hey, what`s up dude?

Julia is fed up with John.

That noise gets on my nerves.

I can`t help laying my eyes on her.

Those boots are in vogue.

Knock it off! I need to take a nap.

She is dressed to kill.

I don`t have the guts to try that sport.

Does this picture ring you a bell?

For more idiomatic expressions go to :  http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

Tip: This strategy can be adapted to different realities by taking and using learned vocabulary from the students' coursebook.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 64- Paraphrasing the news

                                                     picture credits: studenthacks.org

This is a great opportunity for students to learn and practice vocabulary!

Level: Intermediate or Advanced

Skill: writing

Material needed:  copies of a short magazine article (with words and sentences previously underlined)

Instructions: 

Give each student a copy of the same magazine article. Tell them that the objective is that students re-write that article paraphrasing the words or sentences that have been underlined by the teacher. After they are finished, ask students to pair up and read their finished work. To wrap it up, call on volunteers to read their articles so that everyone in class can listen to what their classmates have produced.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 63- Role-play that Conversation (TESOL 2012 special post)

                                          picture credits: electrokami.com

Pick any picture with two or more people and the activity is ready! Simple and fun! 

Level: any

Skill: speaking

Material needed: pictures with two or more people in it.

Instructions: 

Ask students to pair up or sit in groups. Show the students a picture taken from a magazine. Tell them that they should imagine the conversation between the people in it and prepare a dialog to be role-played to the whole class.

Tip: A different picture can be assigned to each pair/group.

Source: Vinicius Lemos