NEW BLOG

HEY EVERYONE,

I HAVE FINALLY MOVED ALL MY POSTS ON WORDPRESS. THIS IS MY NEW BLOG 

http://learnwithstella.com/

I have transferred THERE all the good stuff. More substantial post are coming up soon and if you’d like to check them out you can follow the blog😊😊😀

Caterpillar sentences

CATERPILLAR SENTENCES 

I was thinking of a way to get my students (9-10 years old) to  formulate their own sentences and at same time have fun.  An then I came up with the idea of the caterpillar sentences and they absolutely loved it. 😀😘😎

How to use this idea: Get students to cut down and then stick the caterpillar in their notebooks. Then, get them to write a word and a sentence using the words from the caterpillar (as seen in the example).

DOWNLOAD THE WORKSHEET HERE

Best Friend's Challenge

 BEST FRIEND'S CHALLENGE

I came up with the idea of using the 'Best Friends Challenge' (as seen in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallow) with my teens as they are all friends and they hang out together. I have to say that it worked really well and we had quite a lot of fun too 😁😃💛So here's how it works:

How to play: write the following questions in different cards and cut them down. Place them in a box. Student A draws a questions and tries to guess how Student B would have answered the question. Student A and B write the answer down and show their answers with the count of 3. If the answers match they get a point. 

1.   What’s my favourite colour?

2.   What are the place I would like to visit?

3.   What’s my favourite food?

4.   What’s the food I hate the most?

5.   How many minutes do I take to get dressed?

6.   What are the things I carry with me all the time?

7.   What my favourite subject at school?

8.   What my worst subject at school?

9.   What annoys me the most?

10. What’s my favourite sport?

11. What’s the craziest thing I have done?

12. What do I usually have for breakfast?

13. What my favourite song at the moment?

14. Where am I going on holiday this Christmas/Easter?

15. What’s my favourite TV show?

16. What do I do in my free time?

17. What’s my favourite kind of sweet?

18. Which is my favourite type of film? Horror, Comedy, Action etc..

19. If I could meet anyone, who would it be?

20. What would I do if I won the lottery?

21. What's my favourite kind of sandwich?

22. What's my favourite hobby?

23. How do I spend my free time? 

After finishing the game we worked on fluency. So I asked my students to answer the questions, expand their answers and I recorded them.  In that way, I had the chance to listen to the audio again and correct some basic mistakes.  To avoid making them feel embarrassed I gave them the corrections in handouts and we practised again. This activity is great for students preparing for exams. 
   You can also get your students to come up with more questions and play the game again :)
   
   Click here to download the handout with the questions. 

Hope you like it, let me know how it goes :) 

The worst and BEST moments of 2016

Christmas theme lesson

Description: This lesson plan is organised around the theme of the best moments of 2016 from the BBC news through the use of videos and visuals ' It also includes , vocabulary building activities and discussions around the topic of 'the best moments'.

Level: Intermediate / Upper-Intermediate

Learners: Adults

Theme: Christmas

Skills: Speaking, reading , watching videos, Vocabulary.

Materials: worksheets, short video, BBC news, Visuals. 

Time: 1:15-1:30 (Depending on the group and Students' pace)

Click here for the worksheet

Click here for the article-reading activity

Click here for the pictures/visuals 

Click here for the article online (BBC) 

Step one: Write on the whiteboard ´The worst moments of 2016´.  Elicit of an example (e.g. bombing of Aleppo). Tell students to work in pairs and make a lists of the worst moments of 2016. Ask learners to discuss and give reasons why is one of the worst moments of 2016. Give time to students to share their ideas with their partner. Allow 8 min

Step two: Elicit students' thoughts and ideas. For higher levels students it's important to 'stretch' Ss in order to make the most of their abilities. Write down on the whiteboard any interesting words or phrases that can students learn.

Step three: Tell students that you are going to show some pictures related to 'The best moments of 2016 around the world'. Ask Ss if they know the story behind the photo. Get Ss share their ideas and also predict the story. Allow 8-10mins for this tasks.  

Step four: Elicit Ss idea, and give them the article. Depending on the number of Ss give one each or two each. Give strong Ss more articles if needed. Ask students to read the titles and match it with the pictures. Then ask SS to read the article, and describe the story to their partner and then to the class. Tell them not to worry about unknown words and we will talk about them later. Allow 8 mins

Step five: Elicit answers and get Ss to share their stories. Ask students which story they find more interesting and show videos of the most interesting stories. Allow 8-10 mins. Videos can be found in the article.  

Step six: Work on vocabulary and phrases (activities/worksheet). Get Ss talk about the meaning of phrases and then match them with the definition.  Allow 8-10mins. Elicit answers, concept-checking questions to ensure that ss have understood, give more examples if needed.

A.    Vocabulary

1.     To spark a worldwide hunt

2.     To go viral

3.     Touch the heart

4.     Devoted human companion

5.     A leap forward

6.     Call of duty

7.     Faith in humanity restored

8.     Hang up their slippers / hang up (one’s) boots

9.     Warm and fuzzy feeling

1.     Work in pair and guess the meaning of this phrases in context.

2.     Match phrases 1-9 with definitions a-i

a.     Usually a pet that is loyal to his owner for the rest of his life

b.     When something becomes really popular and many people share or like it.

c.     When you feel emotional, or moved.

d.     To permanently stop staying at home/ stop playing a sport.

e.     An emotional response.

f.      To carry a job or a duty a police case, military assault/wartime actions, or other military or highly important jobs.

g.     To move forward.

h.     When you start (again) to believe in people.

i.      an action or event that causes something important to develop. In this case, people started searching, or looking.

 

Step seven: Get students talk in pairs about their best stories from their countries/worldwide. Allow 10-15 minutes. Tell students that they are going to present the stories in class. Encourage them to write down any words-phrases. Teacher write down any errors for error-correction at the end of the lesson, or good expressions. Elicit students' ideas and stories. 

1.     TALK ABOUT STORIES THAT

a.     that restored your faith in humanity

b.     that went viral/

c.     about a devoted human companion that touch hearts.

d.     that sparked a worldwide hunt/ revolution/ movement

e.     about athletes that hang up their boots.

Step eight:  Get students to think about their own stories (positive) e.g. something they have accomplished, a happy moment, and talk about it in pairs. Elicit students' stories and close the lesson. You can also share your story *I am sure students would love  to hear your story :) 

 

Wish them a Happy Christmas and may all their expectations and goals be fulfilled. 

 

Merry Christmas everyone :)