Last minute writing exercise...

for those days when your supposed to show a movie and your technology never comes... and there just happens to be a newsstand across from the facultad...  well, at least it worked for me!

If you want to take the time to plan this one and your students have access to the internet and a printer, have them go onto craigslist.org and find any classified ad from any city as long as it's in English. It can be an ad for anything; a car, a job, a used jacket, even a personal ad or a "casual encounter".   Have them print the ad out and bring it in to class.  

If you want to use this opportunity to expose the students to a little literature, bring in any vignette from "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros.  I use "No Speak English" but it's just because I randomly got a copy of it. Read it, and explain what a vignette is... you know, like a snapshot as opposed to a story (vignettes don't really have a typical beginning, middle, end).

The assignment:

Write two vignettes based on the classified ad.  One will be about the person who places the ad, and the other will be about the person who answers it. This should not be a boring description of a character, but rather a creative snippet of this character's life.  Use a minimum of 1/2 page per vignette. Attach the ad to the vignettes.

So, have them share with each other, then collect them and correct the grammar, spelling, etc.  These are really fun to read for us, too! 

If you want to use this as a last minute thing and don't have time to ask them to bring in a craigslist ad, just get some newspapers before class, and even the the ads are in Castellano, they can still write in English. Obviously, they can share newspapers if you have a big class... that way they can bounce ideas off each other too.

Enjoy,

Kristal

Hey hey!

Hey all,

This blog was an excellent idea, and even though up until now I haven’t posted, I have been reading everyone’s suggestions. I used that mystery stories website the other day. It worked great! Here are some of mine:

1) 20 questions with the vocab that you have been learning throughout the year. This is better for reviewing EVERYTHING and not just one unit or one class. Otherwise, the guessing game will be too easy.
2) With my first years, I made us play Jenny McCarthy’s game show Singled Out to review physical characteristics and personality traits. For the high school/ early college age group, this can be a big hit. You dress up as Jenny McCarthy (haha, already a good time) and make up questions beforehand. Have one contestant be the one everyone wants to date and choose 5 or so others to step toward or away from the contestant as they agree or disagree with the statements involving whatever vocab you are studying. You can adapt the game to lots of different lessons. When someone reaches the contestant, they win the date. You don’t have to make them go on a real date, although that would be funny too.
3) Jeopardy!! (Do I watch too many game shows?) Seriously, this is a great group review game too.
4) When reviewing stories, I write key points of the plot on posters and make the students tape what happened on a timeline that I draw on the board. It gets everyone up and moving and thinking about what happened when.
5) To review a grammar lesson, split the class into two teams. Divide the board in half. One player from each team comes up to the board and holds chalk ready in their hand. You say a sentence (that involves recently learned grammar) and the students race to write the sentence correctly. The first one to get the sentence written correctly earns a point for their team. Team members are not allowed to shout what to do. If neither student gets the sentence correct, you can call “substitute” and another person from the team runs up and fixes the sentence. This rule keeps everyone paying attention. My first years LOVED it.

Ok, ask me a question if you have any! See you all soon!

online resources

I have been searching for quite some time now for short stories/plays. http://www.scribd.com/ has full texts of a wide variety of literary pieces in an easy to email/print format. Also, classicreaders.com is another good resource.

besos, kt

Collective Storytelling

This is a great activity to fill up 10 minutes at the end of class if your lesson ends ahead of schedule.

1. The teacher starts off the story and sets the mood. "On a dark and stormy night, Mark set off into the night..."
2. Next, the teacher either throws a paper ball at or uses a hand guesture to signal to another student. This student then must continue the story before passing the storyteller role to another student and so on and so forth.
3. When time is up, the teacher should tell which ever student is selected next to make up an ending to the story.

Notes:
1. You can practice the concept of this by doing a modified written version of the activity before trying the oral version. Write down an opening phrase on a piece of paper and fold it down so that only that line is showing. Pass this around during class having each student add to the story based on only the line written by the previous student. At the end of class, collectively read the story.
2. Emphasize that the students should just add whatever comes to mind. There should be no, or few, "uhhh.. ahhh... I don't know!!" pauses. This activity practices spontaneous language. When a student runs out of something to say, he or she should pass to the next student.

Another Great Icebreaker

Another fun icebreaker...

1. Explain the term icebreaker (and the expression "to break the ice")

2. Have everyone write down 3 facts (could be modified to 1 to save time) about themselves. Give examples: "I am left-handed." "I speak three languages." "I had a pet ferret growing up."

3. Collect all the pieces of paper and redistribute them.

4. Choose a random student and have him or her read (in a loud, clear voice) what is written on his or her paper. This student then has to guess who the paper belongs to.

5. The person who wrote it will identify him or herself and explain one (the most interesting) fact. You can stimulate discussion by asking questions (ex: wow? three languages, huh? which ones? why those languages? etc.). This person then continues the game by reading what is on his or her paper.

This icebreaker works well both on the first day and later on in the semester once students already know one another. It can be shortened (by using one fact) to fill in the last 10-15 minutes of a class.

The Giving tree

Here's a lesson that I did with my third year students. Or...I think they're third years but I don't really have a clear idea. We read "The Giving Tree" in class and tried to listen to the following audio (spoken in very slow english, ideal for our students) but technology doesn't like me. Maybe it will work better for you: http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/archive/2008-01/2008-01-06-voa1.cfm. VOA, in general, is an awesome source for audio clips and the likes. Here are some of the questions I asked:
Giving/taking
• Did the tree give too much? Is the boy happy in the end of the story? The text always says the tree was happy except for when the boy moved far away. Do you believe that she really was happy? Can the Tree be happy in such a diminished state? How would you explain the tree’s happiness? Is this how you would define happiness? Who are we to judge someone else’s happiness?

• Describe the codependent relationship between the Tree and the boy.


• How would you characterize the boy’s love for the Tree?

The stages of the boy’s life
• Describe the boy’s relationship with the Tree. How does it change over time? Consider what he takes from the tree as he ages. Does he ever give back? Why is this significant?

• Compare and contrast the life stages of the boy with those of the Tree. What does this signify?


Parental relationships
• The tree, unlike most parents, never faces the moment in which the boy asks for something that she cannot provide. Is this a realistic portrayal of parenthood or is this relationship a mixture of the human and divine? Should parents aim to be like The Giving Tree, giving, bending, breaking themselves down until they no longer are physically there? Did the Tree spoil the boy? Has she failed as a mother? Or is this a beautiful story of the ultimate parenthood? Do you aspire to be like the tree, to have nothing left but a stump in old age?

• Why does the boy keep coming back to the tree? Is it because he is greedy or because he truly loves her? Clearly, the tree loves the boy, and it is this love that allows him to come and go so many times.


• Is the tree victorious in the end? The boy stays with her, but can she enjoy his presence?

Language of the story:
• What is the significance of the ellipses?
o “And the tree was happy/…but not really”
o “Then you can/Sail away…/And be happy.”
o “I wish I could give you something…/But I have nothing left to give/I am just an old stump/I am sorry…”

• The Boy never grows up, and the reader never knows his name. Why?

The lesson went well because it's a very simple story (linguistically speaking) with a lot of interesting themes/issues to discuss afterwards.

My Favorite Icebreaker

Hi all,

Here's my favorite icebreaker.  It takes no prep time and no material.  It's good for most levels... actually, pretty much any level can do this.  It's also good for all ages. It's perfect for the first day, but it also works for a group that's been together for a while.  It's called 2 Truths and a Lie.  It goes like this:

1.) Have each student introduce themselves, and maybe give another random fact if it's the first day (i.e. their favorite musical group in English). This is good for the first day or when you're still learning names, and you can covertly take attendance all the while ;)

2.) Then have them say 2 true things about themselves and one lie, but without telling the class which is the lie.  Then, the rest of the class guesses.  

Sometimes it's fun if you have a hacky-sack or a soft ball so that each student that goes picks the next one by throwing the ball at them.  Also, the teacher should start do they get the idea.  For example, I usually saw "My name is Kristal, and my favorite group in English is Midnite.  (Holding up one finger) I hate to cook, (holding up 2 fingers) I have a pet frog in the US, (holding up 3 fingers) I have 8 brothers and sisters.  Which is the lie?"  Also, if your students are shy, it's good to guess which are their lies first.  This can be tricky when the game is good.  One said "I have 1 girlfriend, I have 2 girlfriends, I'm gay"  and didn't get that there should only be 1 lie... Funny things happen!  It's a good game!!! 

*Kristal