Activity 15- Present Continuous Practice

What is more meaningful than students producing their own material for language practice with pictures of people they really know? Here is an idea for a simple yet fun project to make students practice the Present Continuous in a contextualized way. Moreover, it's a great chance for the teacher and students to build rapport once they will get to know more about their family members and friends as well! 

Level: Beginning

Grammar topic: Present Continuous
Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with a built-in camera
Number of devices needed: one per student

Instructions:

Model the activity by showing students a picture of a family member performing an action and eliciting what that person is doing. Explain that they are going to do the same thing using their own devices.  Assign the task as homework: they should choose family members or friends and take pictures of them doing any action. On the following class students share their pictures and classmates describe what the people are doing using the Present Continuous (images can be projected on the board or be seen directly in the students' own devices). 

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 14- What´s the News?

Here is a nice warmer for adults with higher proficiency levels. It requires absolutely no preparation!

Level: Intermediate/Advanced
Language skills: reading,listening and speaking
Device needed:  a cellphone or a tablet
Number of devices needed: one per student
Internet connection: on

Instructions:
Ask students to visit the website www.shortnews.com and choose one piece of news they find interesting( explain that there are many different categories to choose from and the news are always really short!). After reading, tell them to pair up with a classmate,report  their news and talk a little bit about them. As a follow-up, volunteers can share their news with everyone to generate group discussion on different topics.

Picture credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/62693815@N03/6277336776/
Source: Vinicius Lemos

Tip 3- TeacherKit app

Here is the app every teacher should know about: TeacherKit (formerly known as TeacherPal). I have recently started using it with my groups and it has proved to be very useful. In TeacherKit you can:
- send e-emails to students and parents
- add a picture to each student profile (tap on the desk and edit Student Info)
- keep track of absences (Attendance)
- feed in all grades (Gradebook)
- take notes on students' behavior (Behavior)
- organize seating arrangement (tap and hold the desk until it wiggles, then move the students around)

TeacherKit is very user friendly and will definitely keep you more organized throughout the term! Here is the link to the app's official page in case you want to learn more about all its features:
TeacherKit official page

Here is a short YouTube video explaining the main features in TeacherKit:
YouTube demo video

TeacherKit is a free app and it can be used in iPads and iPhones only.