Activity 27- What Did They Say?

Are you teaching Reported Speech? Learn how to connect students with this grammar topic in a very meaningful way!

Level: beginning/low internediate/intermediate
Language skills: speaking and/or writing
Grammar Topic: Reported Speech
Device needed: a tablet or a smartphone (students' own mobile devices) 
Number of devices needed:  one per student or one per group of students
Internet connection: on
App: Twitter
Price: free
Operating System: iOS or Android

Instructions:

Ask your students to enter Twitter and check what some of the celebrities they follow are saying. Ask them to report what they have said recently using the Report Speech structure. The students can write down their sentences or simply sit in small groups and orally report their findings.

Ex: 
Justin Bieber said that he loved music.
On October 13, Oprah Winfrey said that she had just finished a delightful meeting with her 8th graders.
In July, Michael Phelps said that airports might be the best people watching place ever.
Katy Perry said that she was really excited to share those songs with her fans and that she was proud of them. She asked if they would let her know what they thought and how they made them feel. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos
Picture credits: Twitter

Activity 24- Vocabulary Ping Pong

Here is another idea for a very dynamic activity that requires absolutely no preparation. Guess where the material for this activity will come from: students` own mobile devices! 

Level: any
Language skill: speakingFocus: vocabulary
Device needed: any device with a camera
Number of devices needed:  one per pair of students
Internet connection: off

Instructions:

Use ping pong to draw a metaphor to this activity: students are competing against each other and they have to think fast while they alternate their turn in the game. In pairs, they should choose a picture from their own mobile device's photo library. Explain that the challenge is to point out as many vocabulary words as possible from the picture they are looking at. Remind them that words do not need to be about concrete objects and that they can use words that describe feelings or abstract things (examples from the picture I took a while ago: Student A: statue, student B: church, student A: tired, student B:  family, student A:  money, student B: music, student A: shopping, etc). Each student should say a word at a time. If a student is unable to say any more words, then the opponent is the winner in this competition. Pairs can pick up another photo and compete against each other again. 


Tips:

-Model the activity before so that students understand how it works.
-You don`t need to set the time for each opponent to come up with a new word but remind them that common sense is a must. If  the student takes more than 15-20 seconds to think of a word, he/she should  admit the defeat.
-Since they are working on the activity in pairs and independently, set a 5-minute time limit and let them challenge each other as many times as time allows.
-It would be interesting to establish a rule: no naming body parts allowed in the competition. Otherwise, students might focus only on the body parts vocabulary. The idea is that they explore the picture as a whole. 
-This activity works better in tablets because the picture is larger and more details can be spotted.
-If the classroom has a projector and a VGA cable, you can project the photo on the board and turn this activity into a two-group competition. In this case, group members could raise their hand when it`s their turn to say a word.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 21 - This is Me

As teachers we know how good it is to share and exchange ideas with workmates. The post today was inspired by one of those moments! The idea belongs to my colleague Maria Cristina and I added a little flavor to it based on an idea suggested by blog visitor Denise Özdeniz. Thank you ladies!

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with images stored in the photo library

Number of devices needed: one per student
App: Pic Collage (iOS and Android)
Price: free

Instructions: 

Explain that the purpose of this warmer is to get students to know a bit more about each other by having very informal conversations about meaningful things to them. Ask them to select some of their pictures in their mobile devices. Reinforce that they should pick pictures that they feel comfortable showing to everyone and that, in a way, reveal a bit more about who they are, what they like to do, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, etc. Sit them in small groups and let them show their pictures and talk freely about them. As a follow-up, invite some volunteers to show some pictures and talk about them or invite classmates to report interesting things they have learned about each other.

Tip: You can ask students to select their images and use the app Pic Collage to put all the images together in only one. 

Sources: Maria Cristina and Denise Özdeniz

Activity 20- Things in Common

Here is another speaking activity that requires zero preparation and a lot of critical thinking!

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with images stored in the photo library

Number of devices needed: one per student

Instructions:

Pair up students and explain that for this activity they are going to be using the images from their photo library. They should randomly pick out any image from their device`s photo library (an object, a place, food, people, a situation, etc) and share them with their partner. Then, they should discuss what their chosen images have in common. Set up a time limit (2 minutes, for example) and check out what pairs were able to come up with. Have students do it a few times with different partners so that they can use different images and explore different ideas.

Tip: If you wish, you can turn it into a competition to see who can come up with more similarities faster. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Picture credits: Flickr (Loony Libberswick)

Activity 19- Odd One Out!

Does everyone in your class have a mobile device? If so, here is a speaking activity that requires zero preparation and a lot of critical thinking!

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with images stored in the photo libraryNumber of devices needed: one per student

Instructions:

Sit students in groups of 3/4 and explain that for this activity they are going to be using the images from their photo library. They should randomly pick out any image from their device`s photo library (an object, a place, food, people, a situation, etc) and share them with group members. Then, they should discuss which image should be considered the odd one out and provide a reason for that.  Remind them that there is no right or wrong answers, anything is possible as long as they explain it properly! Have students do it a few times so that they can use different images. Be ready to witness how creative your students can get!

Source: Vinicius Lemos
Picture credits: Flickr (@thejustifiedsinner)

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