'Teaching reading' is a subject at the very heart of learning. What steps can we take to make students more confident readers? And how can we find a variety of materials - or 'texts' - for our students to read?
Load the Dinosaur dig story. Ss help to make the pre-story puzzle. Ss tell you where the picture comes from (a computer game) and how they know (“3 lives left”).
Play the story. Ss complete as much as they can of part 1 of the activity sheet. Play the story again to help Ss finish. Give the Ss the text of the story to check their answers.
Ss write about their favourite computer game on part 3 of the activity sheet.
Ss design their own computer game. They should decide: the name, the characters, what you have to find in the game, what you mustn’t do, what you have to watch out for, how many lives you have got, etc. Ss can design the front and back cover of the game box, or an advertising poster for it.
Ss re-write the story, based on their own game, with themselves as the characters. Low levels can copy the original story, just changing details, high levels can be more creative.
Ss review some dinosaur vocabulary with this labelling game or through mime. Afterwards you can feed in some more vocabulary from the following activity.
Ss do some dinosaur research. Put up information about different dinosaurs around the room, separated by category not dinosaur: i.e. don’t put all the T-Rex information in one place, put the diet information of all the dinosaurs in one place, the size information in another place, etc. You can find much of the information on the flashcards. Give Ss this report to complete in pairs (tell them what dinosaur they’re going to research). Ss go round the room and find out the information. Once the reports have been completed, display the reports either around the room or on a large map of the world where each dinosaur lived. Then give the Ss the dinosaur facts worksheet, and they read each others’ reports in order to complete/check their answers. Or, Ss can give a mini-presentation on their dinosaur, acting out how their dinosaur walked/behaved etc.
Ss play the Quiz-o-saurus game to review their dinosaur research. Higher levels can try the dinosaur history game and then the dinosaur expert quiz. Ideal if Ss can work in pairs on a computer in a computer room. Or, Ss in pairs can write a quiz for another pair to complete.
Ss play the game in part 2 of the activity sheet.
Experiment: make a fossil! Use the instructions in the discovering dinosaurs worksheet. Ss can imagine a dinosaur or pre-historic creature which their fossil came from.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 22 May, 2012 - 12:12
The beginning of a meeting presents a major dilemma: is it better to get straight down to business, or is it important to allow or even encourage small talk? The texts in this lesson present arguments from opposing viewpoints, which may help students to question their own assumptions. The lesson goes on to introduce useful language for both small talk and getting down to business, with practice in the form of role-plays.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 15 May, 2012 - 12:20
Many learners of English worry about their mistakes and allow their insecurities to prevent them from participating in meetings fully. This lesson provides reassurance that such insecurities are very common and normal. It also presents some strategies for increasing their confidence and ability to participate actively in meetings in English. The lesson also warns students that they themselves are responsible for overcoming this barrier to communication. There is also some guidance for learners with the opposite problem: overconfidence and dominance. It is suitable for a wide range of professional contexts, not just businesspeople.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 14 May, 2012 - 12:27
This lesson focuses on two important aspects of managing a meeting: setting up the meeting with a series of emails, and keep the meeting under control. Two other important parts of managing a meeting, introducing the meeting and closing the meeting, are covered in lessons 1 and 5.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 13 May, 2012 - 12:33
Since its development in the 1950s, brainstorming has become one of the most common techniques used in meetings to generate ideas. However, despite its clear benefits, the technique has its faults and many improvements have been suggested and analysed. This lesson aims to provide practice of brainstorming at the same time as exploring possible improvements. The second half of the lesson focuses on the necessary follow-up to brainstorming: evaluating ideas. This means the lesson covers two of the key language functions of meetings: making suggestions and agreeing/disagreeing.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 13 May, 2012 - 11:00
In a negotiation, it’s very important to know when to speak, when to ask and when to shut up and listen. In this lesson students rank and discuss the stages of negotiation, do a reading activity and look at negotiations vocabulary, examine question types, then finish with a role play to practise clarifying, summarising and responding.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 12 May, 2012 - 13:10
Why is it that when you go to a conference or business gathering, everyone else seems to know each other already? At least part of the answer to the puzzle seems to be social networking: getting to know business contacts online first, so that by the time you meet face to face for the first time, you already have plenty to talk about. For many people, social networking is seen as something to do instead of work. This lesson emphasises that social networking is real work. The lesson introduces useful language and techniques, building up to a large social networking simulation at the end.
Submitted by Sally Trowbridge on 10 May, 2012 - 13:30
While it is natural to focus on the challenge of starting conversations with strangers and keeping these conversations going, the real purpose of socialising is to turn these contacts into partners or even friends. Even a simple task like inviting a person out to a restaurant can cause embarrassment and stress. For this reason, this lesson includes discussions of why such situations are difficult, as well as plenty of practice.
Topic: Socialising and turning new contacts into partners
Submitted by Paul Braddock on 12 April, 2012 - 08:26
This is a lesson based on money, though students’ own attitudes can be kept private if they so desire. And it can remain so, but as a conversation topic, money is a veritable gold mine!
