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CREATIVE WRITING IN CLASS
MICRO FICTION Ask students to write down the main points of a well-known story (50 -100 words) POETRY Choose a poem with a regular structure. First analyze its structure, then students write their own. PICTURE PROMPTS Give students a series of pictures. Ask them to write a short story that includes something from each picture.…
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Smart Idioms – PART III
Elvis has left the building The show has come to an end. It’s all over. Every cloud has a silver lining Be optimistic, even difficult times will lead to better days. Far cry from Very different from. Feel a bit under the weather Meaning: Feeling slightly ill. Give the benefit of the doubt Believe someone’s…
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Smart Idioms – PART II
Can’t judge a book by its cover Cannot judge something primarily on appearance. Caught between two stools When someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives. Costs an arm and a leg This idiom is used when something is very expensive. Cross that bridge when you come to it Deal with a problem if…
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Smart Idioms – PART I
A hot potato Speak of an issue (mostly current) which many people are talking about and which is usually disputed A penny for your thoughts A way of asking what someone is thinking, Actions speak louder than words People’s intentions can be judged better by what they do than what they say. Add insult to…
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Activities for Conversation Class – INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (PART II)
MAKING PLANS Students plan a fieldtrip to a sports game, an elaborate holiday meal, details for room and board at a family reunion, or some other tasks that will use the vocabulary they are in the process of learning. COMMUNAL STORY Students sit in a circle. Student 1 starts a story with “once upon a…
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Activities for Conversation Class – INTERMEDIATE LEVEL (PART I)
A PICTURE’S WORTH Give each student an unusual photograph and ask him/her to create a story go along with the picture. After students have planned their stories, have them share their pictures and their stories. CONVERSATION REDO Students identify a conversation in their past that was unsuccessful, perhaps when they were first learning to speak…
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Activities for Teaching the PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE (PART II)
MUST BLUFF Pairs of students ask each other if they have been doing certain activities for specific lengths of time. “Have you been studying English for 3 years? Every S2 must always answer “yes” to the questions they are given. S1 must determine if their partner is telling the truth of bluffing. Award points for…
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Activities for Teaching the PRESENT PERFECT PROGRESSIVE (PART I)
IT SEEMS LIKE FOREVER Write several time phrases on slips of paper (for 2 weeks, last year, for my whole life, etc) and put them in a hat. Each student draws a time and then expresses an activity he has been doing since that time or for that length of time. STATIVE VERBS Stative verbs…
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Activities for Teaching the PAST PERFECT (PART II)
JUST DONE Each students write out some things that he’d just done for each hour during the day. Example: “I’d just woken up at 6 a.m I’d just finished my breakfast at 7 a.m” REPORTED SPEECH When using reported speech, verb tenses change. Any verbs expressed in the simple past in the original statement will…
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Activities for Teaching the PAST PERFECT (PART I)
TIME FLIES Write several past times on small slips of paper and put them in a hat. Students draw a past time and then state something they had already done by that time using the past perfect and including “already”: “I had already applied to school in February.” RECENT EVENTS What things have your students…