Transcript Lesson Flow

A Guide to Teaching ESL
Lesson Flow and Activities for
Oral Practice
Lesson Flow
“Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember;
involve me and I’ll understand.”
-Chinese Proverb
http://www.online-stopwatch.com/candle-timer/full-screen/
The Big Picture
• The teacher carefully guides students to the point in
which they are prepared to produce language
independently.
• Students leave class with a sense that they have
accomplished the goal for the day (the SWBAT).
The Big Picture
I = Teacher
You = Student
Presentation:
I do; you watch.
Practice: We do together.
Production: You do; I watch.
All the bits and pieces…
The Beginning
• Check in and Warm Up
• Housekeeping
The Core
• Presentation
• Practice
• Production
The End
• Closing and Reflection
Check in and Warm up
Housekeeping
Presentation
Practice
Production
Closing and Reflection
Activities
Models for Facilitating Activities
• 1) Think, Pair Share – When you ask students
a question, give them time to think. Then, have
them talk about their answers in pairs; then,
share answers as a whole group: “What is one
interesting thing you learn about your
partner?”
• 2) Model, Do, Review – Never ask your
student to do an activity unless you have
demonstrated it first. Always model! Then,
after students do an activity, be sure to review
by asking questions.
Tip: Activities are versatile
• Several of the following activities could
be used for a warm up, a practice,
and/or a production activity.
• The appropriate place for an activity in
a lesson depends on…
– how hard or easy you make the
activity
– whether the language used in the
activity is new or old
Tip: Warm ups should be easy!
• The purpose of a warm-up is to help
students feel relaxed and ready to
speak in English. Choose activities
that involve language that is familiar
and comfortable for students.
• Warm-ups are good for revisiting
language from past classes.
Tip: Use different groupings
• Have different groupings for different
activities. Include pair, small group, and
whole group arrangements.
Different ways of
forming pairs or groups
• It is useful to know a variety of ways to have students form pairs or
groups. In my experience, it is too intimidating to simply say
students, “Okay, get in groups of four!” Students often need more
structured instruction.
Tip: Have students count off. Students form a group with those who
have the same number (If you have a group of 12 and want students
in small groups of 3, then have students count off 1-4).
Tip: Create a set of pictures. Each picture has a match. Pass out a
picture to each student. Students find the person with a matching
picture. Then, they begin the activity, whatever it may be.
Activities
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Chain Q&A
Say 5
Four Corners
Line Ups
Find Someone Who
Grids
Mapping
Information Gaps
Role Plays / Dialogues
Chain Q & A
• Choose a question for students to ask and
answer. Example: What did you do this
weekend?
• The teacher begins the chain by asking
the question to a student. That student
answers and then asks the next student
the question. The chain continues until it
reaches the teacher again.
Say 5
• Choose a topic for which students can
make a list of five. Examples: Say five
things you like, things you don’t like,
things you can do, foods you like, places
you want to go.
• Tell students your list of five. Then, have
students get in pairs to share theirs.
• After students talk to one another, have
each pair share one thing they learned
about one another with the group.
Four Corners
• Four corners is a great whole group activity
and can be tailored for a variety of topics.
• Examples:
– Four corners with seasons
• Place signs and pictures of the seasons in corners of the room.
Have students walk to the corner of their favorite season. With
other students, they can make a list of what they like about it.
Next, they could move to their least favorite season.
– Four corners with adverbs of frequency
• Place the words “often, sometimes, rarely, and, never in corners
of the room.
• Ask questions such as, “Do you ride the bus?” and have students
move to the corner that has their answer. Have students create
their questions to ask the group.
Line Ups
• Students line up in order of ____ (something related to
the lesson focus). Students must talk to one another in
English to determine the correct order.
• Setting a time limit provides extra motivation and
challenge.
• Examples: Line up in order of your birthday, how far
away your home is from class, what time you get up,
what time you go to bed, how many hours of TV you
watch every week.
Find Someone Who
• This is a great activity for a large group of students.
Students have a sheet with several statements. They
walk around and ask questions, trying to find someone
who fits each statement. When they find someone, they
write the person’s name in the appropriate square.
• This can be used as a broad get-to-know-you activity or
it can be tailored to a specific topic.
Example Find Someone Who
• Topic: Technology
Find Someone Who…
Does not
have a TV.
Likes to
send text
messages.
Kelli
Uses the
computer
more than 2
hours each
day.
Uses
Skype.
Jin
Uses a
GPS.
Drives a
car.
Plays video
games.
Has a cell
phone.
Watches TV
every day.
Reads the
news on the
Internet.
Checks
email every
day.
Uses
Facebook.
Grids
– Grids give students repeated practice with specific
grammatical structures and generate conversation.
Students interview one another to find out specific
information.
– Grids can be tailored to accommodate low-literacy
students. Instead of having students write words in
the grid boxes, they can write a check mark for yes
and an X for no.
Example Grids
What time do you…?
Name
Get up
Juan
10:00
Rose
Santi
Vazgen
Eat
breakfast
Go to work
Go to bed
Mapping
• Students map out something familiar
to them by drawing pictures. Students
then explain their drawings to a
partner.
• Drawing the pictures provides good
“think time” for students. While they
draw, they think about the oral
language that corresponds to the
pictures and are then more prepared
to speak about themselves.
• The drawings don’t have to look nice!
Examples of Mapping
• Map out the events in your typical day.
• Map out important places in your neighborhood.
Information Gap
• In information gap
activities one student
knows the answer and
another students needs
the answer. Therefore,
the two students need
to communicate in
order to retrieve
needed information.
Role Plays / Dialogues
• Role plays are great for practicing real-life language.
• Choose a specific situation for a dialogue. Example: Buying stamps
at the post office.
• Teach the participants a basic dialogue and practice together.
• Then, have the participants do role plays with you and with each
other, using props if possible. Participants can modify the dialogue.
Example: They can change how many stamps they purchase and
the total price of their order.
Tip: Practice dialogues and role plays orally first. After students have
practiced orally, then you could write it out for them. This forces
students to develop their listening skills. If you give the written form
first, they will rely on the text and will not have as much of a need to
practice listening.
Example Role Play
• Postal clerk: Next!
• Customer: Hi. I would like a book of
stamps.
• Postal clerk: Forever stamps?
• Customer: Yes, please.
• Postal clerk: That’s $8.40.
• Customer: Thank you.
Feeling Overwhelmed?
• Don’t worry! You will have more time to practice
creating your own activities and lessons on
curriculum day.