|
|
|
|
The Biggest and the Best!
The activities below provide fun exercises for the entire class when you have extra time. They are designed to be taught with specific exercises in this unit. Click on an activity in the list below or scroll down the page.
|
|
Go to the Resources Page for This Unit |
Guess the word
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 1, "Word Power: Geography."
Time: 10–15 minutes. This activity practices giving definitions and descriptions.
Preparation: Use index cards or pieces of paper (approx. 3" X 5") to make a set of vocabulary cards (around 20), with one word on each card. The words should be any that were generated while studying a certain exercise or cycle (e.g., here, the Word Power on page 86).
- Divide the class into groups of four or five and place the cards facedown on a desk at the front of the class.
- Explain the activity: Groups take turns. One student from a group comes to the front of the class and picks up a card. That student gives clues (i.e., short definitions or descriptions, synonyms, antonyms) to his or her group who, in turn, tries to guess the word on the card.
- Model the game with the word cliff, like this:
It's higher than the low land next to it.
It's often on a coast above a beach.
It's the opposite of canyon.
- Now start the activity. If a group can't guess the word in 30 seconds, the student gives the answer. Then a student from another group takes a turn. The winner is the group that guesses the most correct words.
|
Back to Top
|
That's not right!
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 8, "Snapshot: The five tallest buildings in the world."
Time: 15 minutes. This is a world-knowledge quiz.
- Explain the task: In pairs, students think of a country and write down six statements about it – five true and one false. These should be factual statements, not opinions (e.g., I think X is more beautiful than Y.). Write these example sentences on the board:
The Netherlands is a small country. It's in northern Europe. It's also known as Holland. The people speak French. The capital city is Amsterdam. There are a lot of windmills in the Netherlands.
(Answer: The false statement here is "The people speak French." Correction: Dutch.)
- Students work in pairs to do the activity.
- Now groups of four (two pairs each) get together. The members of one pair take turns reading their statements aloud. The other pair tries to identify the false statement and to correct the false information in it.
|
Back to Top
|
Game – What's the question?
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 10, "Grammar Focus: Questions with how."
Time: 10–15 minutes. This activity reviews Wh-questions.
Preparation: Each student will need three blank cards.
- Divide the class into two teams – Teams A and B. (Note: This activity can also be done in groups.) Give each student three blank cards.
- Students think of three statements that could be answers to Wh-questions (e.g., She works in a zoo. He's a flight attendant for United. I study dance at UCLA.). Then students write one statement on each card. Walk around the class and give help when needed.
- Collect all of the students' cards and put them in a pile facedown.
- Team A starts: One student picks up a card and reads it aloud to a student from Team B. That student then tries to make a suitable Wh-question for it. Students on both teams decide whether the question is correct or not. If it is, Team B wins a point; if it isn't, a student from Team A tries to correct it. If the correction is acceptable, Team A gets the point instead. Keep a tally of the scores on the board. The team with the most points wins.
|
Back to Top
|
Vacation snapshots and souvenirs
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 10, "Grammar Focus: Questions with how."
Preparation: Ask students to bring real vacation photos along with any other things that they have from a trip (e.g., guidebooks, brochures, souvenirs) to share with others in the class.
- Students form small groups. Then they take turns sharing their photos and other souvenirs while telling one another about their vacations.
|
Back to Top
|
What an interesting place!
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 10, "Grammar Focus: Questions with how."
Time: About 3 minutes for each group's presentation. This activity requires students to do some outside research for a group presentation to the class.
- Describe the task: Students work in groups and choose a country or city that none of them has ever visited but one they would all like to go to someday. Then they prepare a short, three-minute class presentation on it, using information from guidebooks, encyclopedias, and/or travel brochures. Write these topics on the board for the groups to focus their research on:
| place |
|
best time of the year |
| location |
|
what to see and do |
| weather |
|
why it's interesting |
| shopping |
|
|
| people |
|
|
| food |
|
|
- Class activity: Group members divide up the topics and take turns presenting different facts and information on the country or city they chose, like this:
Student 1: Algeria is a beautiful country in North Africa. The weather is . . . .
Student 2: There are many things to see in Algeria. For example, you can/should . . . .
- Optional: If time permits, allow the class to ask a few questions after each group's presentation in order to get additional information about the place.
|
Back to Top
|
|
|
