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List of contents

Here’s a list of all the resources on this blog in case it comes in handy. I’ll keep it at the top of the blog and will be updating it every time a new post is published!

1. Grammar and vocabulary
2. Listening
3. Pronunciation
4. Reading
5. Speaking
6. Teaching strategies
7. Writing

1. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

– Habits and routines: a flip book

– Making the right choices: “Lean On Me”

– Greg is grateful for those great green Greek grapes

– From “pakkeleg” to “ordleg” (or how a Danish tradition became an effective English language game)

– Reported speech and creative writing: fifty ways

– There are places I remember

– Paper, scissors, new words

– Rewriting established texts: the day they got creative

– Pathways to accuracy: “Somewhere Only We Know”

– Talking about the environment: “Big Yellow Taxi”

– The Alphabet Game

– Don’t get me wrong!

– Film dubbing: a flexible integrated skills task

– “Your Song”

– Anagrams and meaning: “The Longest Time”

– Dominoes

– Puzzling it out: “Everybody’s Changing”

– Conditional sentences: “Count On Me”

– Mad Libs and Songs

– For the joy of home: a vocabulary-building activity
– “Think About Things”: referencing and comprehension

– Are you a robot?

– Music Borders: some lesson ideas

– Come rain or shine

– The history of Bluetooth

– “Dream A Little Dream Of Me”

– Endless stories

– Greetings from 1980!

– “’Twas the Night before Christmas”

– Relative clauses

– If I hadn’t…

– “Make You Feel My Love”


2. LISTENING

– Parties, story maps, and all that jazz
– Reconstructing a story from questions: “Tom’s Diner”

– Listening for detail: “Kilkelly, Ireland”

– Misunderstandings

– The football pitch

– The rotating house

– Chicago’s best ice cream

– Roller coasters

– Am I invisible?

– Food waste

– Life in the year 2100

– The seed vault

– Dancing Teens

– The tumbleweed invasion


3. PRONUNCIATION

– Working on connected speech: The Fresh Prince
– “-ed” endings

4. READING

– “The Lost Thing”

– Double-entry journals: a flexible reading comprehension tool

– “All Summer in a Day”

– 10 Halloween songs

– “Oranges”

– “Annabel Lee”

– “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”

– Critical thinking and language skills: “There Was Once”

– “Seven In…”

– Two-sentence stories

– Extensive reading and learner autonomy: 10 websites

– A book report

– 15 post-reading activities

– One-pagers: “The House on Mango Street”

– “The Great Gatsby”

– “To Space and Back”

– “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas”

– “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” alphabet book

– The climber

– “Romeo and Juliet”: a post-reading mini-project

– “Killing Me Softly”

– “You’re Aging Well”

– “Fast Car”

– Charting the skies: a lesson idea with Space Elevator

– “Closer to Fine”

– Christmas Around the World


5. SPEAKING

– The Burning House

– Communication strategies

– Team-building and collaboration: up for a challenge?

– Guess what’s being advertised

– Film dubbing: a flexible integrated skills task

– Online generators to practise speaking and writing

– Roll & explain!

– Two online tools to practise speaking and listening with emoji

– Describing windows around the world

– Once Upon A Picture

– Libraries and bookshops around the world: a video project

– Hitting the headlines

– Inside a painting

– A helmet has always been a good idea

– Roller coasters: a follow-up project

– Oral presentations

– The tumbleweed invasion


6. TEACHING STRATEGIES

– Three content-based teaching strategies

– Bringing closure to a lesson

– Cooperative learning and the language classroom

– Avoid randomness: three other ways of grouping students

– Question charts

– Holding students accountable

– Developing learner autonomy: a homework choice board

– End product ideas for language projects or tasks

– Graphic organisers

– Voices Magazine: “Ways to use song lyrics to improve comprehension”

– About Me: exploring student interests and learning perspectives

– Creativity in the digital era: a live session

– Video: Question Charts


7. WRITING

– Punctuation matters

– World Refugee Day

– Daily routines: writing a report

– 6 simple web-based applications for short writing tasks

– I’m going back

– Description, down to a fine art

– Writing a paragraph: “The Marvelous Toy”

– “On The Same Page”: a video-based lesson

– Simultaneous writing and peer correction

– School excuses: a creative writing lesson

– Finish the picture

– Narrative beginnings

– Transforming everyday objects: two lesson examples

– “Bookshelves”

– Story cubes: ideas and resources

– A fashionable Halloween

– Wonders of Street View: some activity ideas

– Defining nouns

8. OTHER

– 5 activities for the first days of school

– The blog anniversary

– 16 short films and videos that work well with teenagers

– (The Good), the Bad and the Funky: a trip down memory lane



“Make You Feel My Love”

VOCABULARY

KEY: 1. D; 2. B; 3. E; 4. F; 5. A ; 6. C

KEY: 1. comforting ; 2. confident ; 3. selfless ; 4. sincere ; 5. supportive ; 6. committed

Make_You_Feel_My_Love.pdfDownload

READING

Make_You_Feel_My_Love.pdfDownload

KEY: 1. on your case; 2. warm embrace; 3. evening shadows; 4. dry your tears; 5. hold you for a million years; 6. made your mind up; 7. do you wrong; 8. no doubt; 9. go black and blue; 10. the storms are raging; 11. highway of regret; 12. winds of change 13. make your dreams come true; 14. go to the ends of the earth

LISTENING

The students listen to the song to check their answers.

SPEAKING

POSSIBLE ANSWERS:

a. unconditional love; support and comfort; commitment and hope; relationship uncertainties

b. The singer has strong, genuine, and selfless feelings for the person he/she is addressing, with a deep commitment to making them feel loved and supported in various circumstances.

c. “I know you haven’t made your mind up yet”: this line indicates that there may be uncertainty or indecision on the part of the person the singer is addressing; the other person is still contemplating their feelings or perhaps hasn’t committed to the relationship.

d. Some natural elements are used metaphorically to convey various emotions, including love, support, comfort, and commitment:

– rain: often associated with challenges, difficult times, or a sense of melancholy; in this context, the singer offers a “warm embrace” during these challenging moments, symbolising comfort and support in times of adversity

– evening shadows and stars: they evoke a sense of calm and serenity

– storms and rolling sea: turbulent and unpredictable phases in life; the singer’s promise to be there during these storms signifies a commitment to providing stability and support during challenging times

– winds of change: transitions and transformations; the singer may be expressing a commitment to stand by the person even during periods of change and uncertainty

WRITING

Make_You_Feel_My_Love.pdfDownload

The tumbleweed invasion

Lead-in

1. Have the students read four sentences with the following adjectives: “prickly”, “bouncy”, “rambling” and “restless”. Then ask them to match each adjective to their definition:

The_Tumbleweed_Invasion_1.pdfDownload

2. Explain that today’s lesson is about something that is prickly, bouncy, rambling and restless. Think-Pair-Share: have the students guess what it might be.

3. Confirm or explain that the lesson is about tumbleweeds. If necessary, elicit its meaning. Display pictures or videos of tumbleweeds in action!

Before Listening

4. Ask the students to write down what they know about tumbleweeds under the KNOW column in the K-W-L chart in Activity 1. Share with the whole class. Then ask them to think of anything they would like to know more about and to write a few questions under the WANT TO KNOW column.

The_Tumbleweed_Invasion_2.pdfDownload

5. Before watching a video about tumbleweeds, check if the students can label the different parts of a plant (these terms will be used in the video). Provide any words if necessary.

Listening

6. The students watch “Why do tumbleweeds tumble?” till 1:45:

As they watch, the students complete the line in Activity 3, “From seedling to dead tumbleweed”, writing down what happens at each time of the year during this process. Play again if necessary. Check with the whole group.

7. The students watch the rest of the video and complete the LEARNT column of the K-W-L chart with at least 5 new things they have learnt. Have all their previous questions been answered?

Writing

8. Explain that Alex is a teenager who woke up one day only to find that his house had been invaded by tumbleweeds! Have the students chat to Alex here, a chatbot that will provide details about what happened, how he managed to solve it, or how he felt.

To guide the students, encourage them to follow the grid in Activity 4 and write down the key information. Invite the students to add three questions of their own, too.

The_Tumbleweed_Invasion_2.pdfDownload

9. Alex will provide different information for each student, so before comparing what Alex has told each of them, you may want to have them write a short report or a first person narrative and put all the information together. (I personally had them practise reported speech structures and had the students write a reported account of their conversation with the chatbot!). Finally, compare and discuss the different stories that Alex may have come up with and how they might differ.

Speaking

10. Use these cards with different situations for alternative endings to the tumbleweed invasion at Alex’s, and have groups of students role-play the ending, provide a short oral presentation with further details, hold a debate discussing the pros and cons of each of them, or even have them persuade the rest of the class that their option is the best one (and then vote!).

The_Tumbleweed_Invasion_3.pdfDownload

16 short films and videos that work well with teenagers

Here are 16 short films and videos I’ve been using for the past few years in my classes and which have worked well with teenagers (at least in my context!) The selection includes different types of video content, but they all provide such unique contexts that any lesson or task we design around them will help to make that skill or specific language area we’re practising a little bit more stimulating and engaging. Their flexibility is another advantage, since we can use the videos both to suit different levels and to adapt them to meet specific learning objectives.

It is difficult to keep up with so many changes around us, and teenagers’ interests and expectations today are different from, say, just five years ago. In our case here, though, I think this is not a bad thing, and actually the older certain short films and videos the better: the students are not likely to be familiar with the material, so that element of surprise or engagement many of them bring will not be missed.

By the way, I first tried categorising them in some way, but finally decided to list them in alphabetical order for easier reference. I hope you find this useful!

1. Alike

This short film on how the system affects our creativity and imagination, the relationship between father and son, and the use of colour as a symbol for change and transformation, is the perfect introduction to a lively discussion or an opinion essay. Stop the film at regular intervals to analyse the characters’ feelings and how these change throughout the film.

2. Are you a robot?
I wrote this activity based on a video by Stevie Martin which explores the different ways in which computers ask us to prove our humanity.

3. BBC Interview
Ah, if only we knew we’d be doing video calls for such long hours from home in a few years’ time! We did find this video hilarious back in 2017, when Professor Robert Kelly’s daughter and son walked into the room as he was explaining South Korean politics live on the BBC. Has anything similar happened to you in the past few months? 😉

Here’s an interesting lesson plan by Luiz Otavio Barros based on this. And make sure you don’t miss the parodies that followed!

4. Choice

A lovely lesson plan from AllatC based on “Choice”, a visual poem which documents the filmmaker’s thoughts and emotions on a four-week holiday travelling around South Africa and Mozambique.

5. Dumb Ways to Die
Back in 2012, this Australian campaign video which promotes railway safety went viral:

The pre-watching speaking task from AllatC will certainly get your students talking!

6. Fresh Prince: Google translated
Google Translate may have got a little better, but meanings are often missed in context and the results are often rather bizarre. You may want to warn your students by watching and discussing this video (and perhaps having them try for themselves with lyrics they’re familiar with!)

7. Going viral

I used this lesson from AllatC a few weeks ago and, yes, the videos have dated a little. Still, the activities in the lesson are great practice.

Students can then agree or disagree with Kevin Allocca’s reasons for videos to go viral, decide if these elements are still true these days, and provide any new ideas:

8. I forgot my phone

The students work on vocabulary and word formation as they analyse this thought-provoking short film about how much mobile phones have taken over our lives.

9. I’m a creep
“Fear lies. Learn to conquer it.” Stop the video after each scene to describe the place, the characters, their feelings, and the students’ personal reactions.

For a writing activity idea based on the video, click here.

10. Just
What would you do if you found a middle-aged man in a suit lying on the pavement? Radiohead’s iconic video clip is a fantastic opportunity to work on pronunciation as the students take turns reading the dialogues and answer questions related to the scene and the people involved. Have students write down what they think the man uttered at the end!

11. Kidnap

When was the last time you got one of those hilarious excuses for being absent or failing to do some homework? This lesson revolves around the theme of school excuses and gets students working on past tenses, reading and listening comprehension, and creative writing.

12. Procrastination
A great lesson on procrastination from LessonStream!

13. Multiple Choice

Three students oversleep and miss a final exam. They phone their teacher telling him they’ve had a terrible car accident. Will they get away with this excuse?

14. The rotating house
Revise vocabulary related to the house with this project: a space-saving, four-room house in which every floor is also a wall and it rotates on command!

15. Tick Tock
What if you were told you only have 5 minutes to live? What would you do? This frenetic short film shot in one take and viewed in reverse shows what a young guy would do in this situation. Apart from having students reconstruct the plot and put it in chronological order, the words we can read throughout the film (cowardice, reputation, greed, indifference, laziness) will certainly help to analyse the meaning of the film.

16. Wallet mystery
A wallet full of money lying on Regent Street? And only one circle around it to prevent it from being stolen?

Which short films and videos you have used would you recommend?

Christmas Around the World

1. Cut the paper globe and worksheet. Fold the worksheet as shown below:

Christmas_Around_The_World_1.pdfDownload

2. Cut the paper globe along the dotted line. Glue each half to each side of the worksheet. This will be your front cover!

3. The booklet features 11 Christmas traditions from different countries, so you can write something like “Chistmas Around the World”, or any other title you can think of, in the space provided. Feel free to decorate it!

4. Now look at this Christmas tree with 25 words. Classify them according to their last vowel sound, writing them under the correct column.

Christmas_Around_The_World_2.pdfDownload

5. Use these words to complete the 25 gaps in the booklet. Bear in mind that the texts for each country follow an AABB rhyme scheme, which should help you choose the right words. TIP: start with the gaps that already have a rhyming word in one of the lines (see Italy, South Korea, Norway, Greece or India), and then work on the rest.

(NOTE TO YOUR TEACHER: you can of course make the activity easier by providing a few of these words).

6. (Oh, this is just something for busy teachers! Skip it and go to step 7).

ANSWER KEY: 

1. cheer, 2. here, 3. tow, 4. delight, 5. night, 6. stage, 7. unfold, 8. sweet, 9. meet, 10. embrace, 11. space, 12. wave, 13. brave, 14. flight, 15. past, 16. fast, 17. arrive, 18. rage, 19. flood, 20. love, 21. near, 22. dear, 23. star, 24. call, 25. enthrall

7. Look at the pictures and match them with each country by writing the name of the country in the space provided. Notice that some of them may be used for more than one country, but you need at least one for each of them! Who said life was easy?

Christmas_Around_The_World_2.pdfDownload

8. Draw the pictures where they belong in the booklet!

9. Complete the last square by writing about a Christmas tradition of your choice. Can you make it rhyme? Get ready to share it with your classmates!

10. What’s your favourite Christmas tradition in the booklet, anyway?

Defining nouns

In this activity, the students learn to write simple definitions of nouns in English. My students needed some work on this for their history lessons, and I thought blending a structured approach with a touch of creative writing, word formation and wordplay could be a good idea. This might be good practice for mastering the different components of a definition before attempting more formal terms related to geography and history.

Defining_Nouns.pdfDownload

ACTIVITY 2: KEY

1. doodlequack

2. chocoloony

3. infinipizza

4. sonicblasters

5. moodmirror

6. giggletron

ACTIVITY 4: Suggested procedure
Encourage students to invent a new term, illustrate it on a separate sheet of paper or digitally, and provide a definition. Assign numbers to the pictures and display them. Challenge the students by asking a few to try to define the terms. Then, have the creators reveal their definitions, asking their classmates to match them with the corresponding pictures.

Creativity in the digital era: a live session

Here’s a video of the online session Svetlana Kandybovich from ELT-cation and I did today. We talked about creativity in materials writing and using digital tools to help us be even more creative. Svetlana’s ideas were brilliant as usual, so make sure you check them!

If you would like to share your own back-to-school activities and read ideas from other colleagues, please join our group: facebook.com/groups/eltcreatives

Your feedback will be much appreciated!

Charting the skies: a lesson idea with Space Elevator

A few months ago, I shared Wonders of Street View: some activity ideas using Neal Agarwal’s fascinating website, neal.fun. One of the latest additions to the site, Space Elevator, allows us to simulate travelling up into space simply by scrolling up!

This interactive tool provides insights into the changes that occur in the atmosphere, including information about animals, various natural phenomena, or the types of aircraft we might expect to find.

So how about using this captivating content in an interactive lesson that allows the students to practise their reading and speaking skills?

LEAD-IN

1. Elicit the different layers of the atmosphere: Troposphere, Statosphere, Mesosphere and Thermosphere. How high does a regular passenger plane fly? And a monarch butterfly? How about the highest paper plane flight? Where would you need a spacesuit?

JIGSAW READING

2. Make groups of 6 and provide each student with a chart on one of the following categories: clouds, natural phenomena, aircraft and aviation, space, animals, and altitude-related records. Ask the students to explore Space Elevator and complete their charts with as much information about their assigned category as possible.


3. Encourage the students to use online dictionaries to clarify the meaning of unfamiliar words. You may also want them to write down any new or key words, or even write a collaborative glossary between the six members of each group as they read.

Space_Elevator_1.pdfDownload

(Please find a fillable PDF file version here.)

4. Ask the students to work together and share their findings within their groups. They can use this summary chart to write down the most interesting facts they have found for each category:

Space_Elevator_2.pdfDownload

(You can download the fillable version here.)

5. Allow each group to share a few interesting facts or examples with the whole class.

FOLLOW-UP

6. Ask each group to choose one thing they have read that they would like to know more about. The students use the internet and other resources to research and gather information, taking notes and collecting relevant sources for future reference.

7. Each group prepares a brief presentation to share with the rest of the class, followed by any questions the rest of the students may want to ask.

CLOSURE

8. Play this quiz game as a whole group!

9. Stand and Share: have all the students in the class write down one thing they have learnt or found interesting and have them stand up. Students take turns sharing their choices. If another student has written the same thing that their partner is sharing, they can sit down. The activity goes on until everyone is sitting down. (You can also focus on vocabulary and repeat the same procedure by having the students share one word they have learnt during the lesson!)

About Me: exploring student interests and learning perspectives

The aims of the following reflection sheet are, on the one hand, to collect information about the students’ interests and motivations that will help us to build rapport or make decisions regarding the types of materials, tasks or projects during the school year, and on the other, to check what the students’ ideas and feelings about their own learning are at this moment.

About_Me.pdfDownload

The wheel in the centre provides a visual tool that makes it easy to identify strengths and weaknesses across the four skills, grammar, vocabulary, or independent work and groupwork. It can also help us to analyse any possible connections. This wheel could be the basis for one-to-one meetings during the first term, but if used during the school year, it might become a fantastic formative assessment tool, too!

I hope you find it useful!

“Fast Car”

Here’s a reading and listening activity based on Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” (1988):

Fast_Car.pdfDownload

KEY:

2. 

1- 5 – 3 – 6 – 4 – 8  – 7 – 2

You got a fast car

I got a plan to get us outta here

I’ve been working at the convenience store

Managed to save just a little bit of money

Won’t have to drive too far

Just ‘cross the border and into the city

You and I can both get jobs

And finally see what it means to be living

3. 

The singer’s father: alcoholic; he doesn’t work; unhealthy 

The singer’s mother: she left her husband 

What the singer did: she quit school to look after her father

5. 

1. remember

2. speed

3. drunk 

4. lights 

5. arm

6. belonged 

6. 

1. cruising 

2. ourselves

3. still 

4. market

5. get 

6. work 

7. promoted

8. move