|
|
|
|
Life's Little Lessons
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 |
What's your story?
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 3, "Grammar Focus: Time clauses."
Time: 25–30 minutes. This creative activity involves students in reading and writing collaboratively in groups. It also practices using time clauses.
- Students form groups and choose a group secretary. Explain that students will work together to write sentences with time clauses to create some interesting stories.
- Write these seven time phrases on the board:
1. By the time
2. The moment
3. Before
|
|
4. Once
5. After
|
|
6. As soon as
7. Until
|
Tell the group secretaries to copy the phrases on a sheet of paper, leaving several lines or spaces between each one so that students can use them to write sentences for a story.
- Assign each group a number (e.g., Group 1; Group 2); tell the secretaries to write it at the top of their paper. Then give each group a minute to think up an interesting or a funny event that they want to write about (e.g., a baby's first year; winning the lottery; taking a trip). After that, students need to make some suggestions for the first sentence of their story that begins with By the time. When they agree on one, the secretary writes it down.
- Now explain the rest of the activity. Each group leaves their story paper on top of a desk and moves in a clockwise direction around the room (e.g., Group 1 moves to Group 2's story; Group 2 moves to Group 3's story). Students have two minutes to read the other group's story and to add another sentence, using the next time clause on the list. Groups continue moving around the class in this way until all seven sentences are written for each story.
- Groups return to their own seats and stories. Tell them to read their whole story first and then to add a clever ending starting with Finally. After that, ask them to think up an interesting title.
- Now groups take turns reading their stories aloud to the rest of the class. Who had the most creative story?
|
Back to Top
|
An interesting chain of events
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 11, "Writing: Turning points."
Time: 10–15 minutes. This is a group or class activity that practices using if clauses to describe unreal past situations.
- Write on the board some if clauses in the past perfect like these:
If I'd been more ambitious in high school, . . . .
If I'd moved abroad at 18, . . . .
If I'd learned how to speak Italian, . . . .
- Explain the activity: One student completes a clause; another student takes the completed clause and builds on it. The goal is for students to keep the chain going for as long as they can. For example:
Student 1: If I'd been more ambitious in high school, I would have gone to a better university.
Student 2: If I'd gone to a better university, I could have gotten a really good job.
Student 3: If I'd gotten a really good job, I . . . .
- Either form students into groups or conduct the activity with the whole class participating.
|
Back to Top
|
Sentence-making contest
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 12, "Reading: If you could do it all again."
Time: 10–15 minutes. This activity reviews describing people, their careers, and changes in their lives.
Preparation: In the class before the activity is done, each student brings one color magazine picture showing several people doing various activities. Collect the pictures and choose the best ones for the task. The number of pictures should equal the number of groups (e.g., class size 20 = 4 students in each group = 5 pictures needed). Then number each picture (#1, #2, etc.).
- Give each group a picture and explain the game: Students try to make up as many sentences as they can – in three minutes – about the people in the picture. On a separate sheet of paper, the group secretary writes down the picture's number and every sentence the group can think up.
- When the first three-minute limit is up, groups exchange pictures (clockwise around the class) and do the task again with the next picture. On the same piece of paper, the group secretary again writes down the picture's number and all the sentences that the group forms. Continue the activity until every group has written sentences for each picture.
- Now find out which group wrote the most sentences for each picture. Then that group holds up the picture while the group secretary reads their sentences aloud to the class.
|
Back to Top
|
Verb contest
This activity is designed to be taught with Exercise 12, "Reading: If you could do it all again."
Time: 15 minutes. This activity provides an opportunity for students to review the spelling of verb forms – here, the simple past and the past participle. This contest can easily be conducted with another focus (e.g., singular and plural nouns; comparative forms of adjectives).
Preparation: Make a list of verbs for the contest. Choose verbs from the current unit and from previous units, focusing on verbs that have irregular forms (see the appendix at the back of the Student's Book for a handy list of irregular verbs). You will need the same number of verbs for each group (e.g., 5 groups x 5 verbs = 25 verbs).
- Books closed. Divide the class into groups and assign them letters (Group A, Group B, etc.). Then choose a verb from your list and ask Group A how to say and spell the simple past and past participle. Give the group a few seconds to discuss how each verb is spelled. If both forms are correct, the group gets two points; if only one is correct, the group gets only one point and the next group gets a chance for a point. If both forms are incorrect, spell the words correctly for the class and go on to the next group and the next verb.
- Continue the contest until you have used all the verbs on your list and all the groups have had the same number of turns. The winner is the group with the most points.
|
Back to Top
|
|
|
