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.

Activity 13- Past Continuous Dictation

How about turning a very traditional classroom practice into something more creative and engaging? Students will definitely have fun working on this different "dictation" that is totally created by them!

Level: Beginning/Intermediate
Grammar topic: Past Continuous
Language skill: writing
Device needed:  a digital camera (cellphone, tablet)
Number of devices needed: one per student

Instructions:
The objective of this activity is to have students practice the Past Continuous is a semi-controlled way. First, assign the task to be done at home: they should use a digital camera to record themselves performing any action. The video should last around 10 seconds and they should interrupt what they were doing to answer the telephone. Then, ask them to email their video to you. On the following class, tell them that they are going to watch all the videos and that each video corresponds to one sentence of the dictation. Write a sentence on the board so they have a model to follow (Ex: " John was dancing when the telephone rang" ). Show them the videos and have them write the sentences.
Here are some videos that my own students have produced for this activity:

Tip: turn it into a more challenging task by not establishing that their action should be interrupted by the telephone ringing, let them decide what is going to interrupt it!

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 12- What`s the Occasion?

This activity can be used to practice vocabulary related to clothing and the present continuous as well!

Level: beginning/intermediate
Vocabulary: clothingGrammar topic: Present Continuous
Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with a built-in digital camera
Number of devices needed: one per student
Internet connection: offline

Instructions: 

This is a class project that requires in-class and outside-class work.

Part 1: 
On the first day, give each student a slip with a particular situation written in it (EX: GOING TO SCHOOL/CHURCH/WORK/THE BEACH/THE CHURCH/THE MALL/THE GYM/A WEDDING/A JOB INTERVIEW/ A ROMANTIC DINNER/ A FAMILY PICNIC/A NIGHTCLUB/ETC...). Remind them that they should not reveal which situation they were given. Then, explain that they should go home, pick up in their closet the outfit they would wear for that occasion and take pictures of all items (clothes/shoes/accessories) and a picture of themselves wearing the outfit for that occasion.

Part 2:
On the second day, ask students to sit in small groups. Explain that they should show the pictures they have taken (and orally say the name of all clothing items) and other group members should guess where their classmates are going dressed like that. As a follow-up, ask students to show the picture in which they are wearing their outfit and have other classmates describe using the Present Continuous (ex: you are wearing a pink dress, high heels, a watch and a necklace). You can also have them vote on the student who was best dressed for the assigned occasion.

Alternative suggestion: In part 1, ask students to send you via e-mail their picture wearing the outfit. Then, in part 2, you can show the pictures of all students in a slide presentation and elicit from them the sentences in the Present Continuous (follow-up part).

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 11- What are they doing?

                                     

                                          

How about practicing the Present Continuous in a different fun way?

Level: Beginning
Grammar topic: Present Continuous
Language skill: speaking
Device needed: iPad
Number of devices needed: one per student
App: Photo Crop
Price: free
Internet connection: online (offline if built-in camera is used instead)

Instructions: 
Explain that in this activity students are going to practice the Present Continuous by asking questions. Write the model questions on the board:
Is he ____________________-ing?
Is she ___________________- ing?
Are they _________________-ing?

Students, then, should go to Google Images and save an image of someone doing an activity (ex: running, dancing, swimming, sleeping, etc). Then , using Photo Crop (app), they should cut up the image so that only part of it can be seen. Students should then sit in small groups. One student shows the cropped image and the others ask the yes/no questions until they guess it correctly. Students then take turns to guess the other cropped pictures. 

Tips:
-Model it before students actually work on the activity.
-If there is no internet connection, students can use their cameras and take pictures of each other performing different actions.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 10- What is that noise?

Level: Any
Language Skill: Speaking/Listening (but it does not involve language)
Device needed: voice recorder (cellphone, tablet or any other device that can record sounds in it)
Objective: Guessing what is happening

Grammar point: Present Continuous

Instructions: 

You need two classes to work on this activity. On the first day explain that students are going to have a very different homework: they should use their devices to record someone doing something that we can guess what it is by only listening to it. It is a good idea to bring some samples to class so that students understand exactly what is expected from them. Suggest some ideas if necessary:
taking a shower
typing on the computer
chopping food
watching tv
swimming
dancing
etc
Set a time limit of 20 seconds for each recording (they can do more than one if they want to). Write on the board the model sentence you expect students to produce " Someone is __________-ing..." . Then break students into small groups and have them listen to their classmates' recording. Remind them that they should use the model sentence when guessing what the noise is ( Someone is chopping vegetables/ Someone is singing/someone is taking a shower/Someone is snoring/etc). As a wrap-up, students can listen to all recordings again as the teacher elicits the correct sentence. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos
Picture credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jm999uk/182297015/ (Creative Commons)

Tip 2: "iTalk" app

                                                        picture credits: leahlacrosse.blogspot.com

Operating system: iOS

Price: free

This is a very simple voice recorder app that allows you to send the audio files to anybody`s email. Teachers can take advantage of this app to:

1. send students oral feedback on their writing assingments;

2. record students speaking during a classroom speaking activity and e-mail the file so that they can listen to themselves and work on some self-reflection or even correct their mistakes as a homework assignment;

3. send students a recorded question and ask them to reply using the app;

4. send a personalized message or feedback on the student`s overall performance in class (praise, suggestions,etc).

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 9- The Alphabet Game

    

                                                               picture credits: @Jim Davies (Flickr)

Here is an idea for teens and young learners!

Level: any
Device needed: camera (cellphone, tablet,digital camera or any other device that has a camera in it)
Aim: vocabulary review/awareness

Instructions: 

Students can work individually or in pairs/groups in case not everyone has a camera. Set a time limit of 10 minutes and ask them to go around the school taking pictures of different objects. However, tell them that there is a very important rule: They should take pictures of objects obeying the alphabetical order (the first picture should be of something beginning with letter "A" , the second picture should be of something beginning with letter "B", the third picture with letter "C"...). When the time is up, students get back to class, sit in small groups and show their pictures to their group members. That is a great opportunity for them to practice pronunciation and learn new vocabulary words. The student with more pictures in the correct alphabetical order is the winner.

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Activity 8- A Typical Week In My Life

                                          picture credits: corsa2012.blogspot.com

Here is a simple idea for a very communicative and meaningful activity.
 

Grammar point:Simple Present

 Level: Beginning
Language Skill: Speaking
Device needed: camera (cellphone, tablet,digital camera or any other device that has a camera in it)
Objective: Describing routine

Instructions:

This is a project that should be carried out outside the classroom for a period of a week. Explain that they should use their device to take pictures that can be used to illustrate their activities on a typical week (at school, playing sports, lunch, family, hanging out with friends, etc). Then, in the end of a week taking pictures, they should pick up 5 images that best represent their week. Reinforce the idea that those 5 images are the ones that are going to be used for the class activity.

On the day assigned by the teacher students should bring their devices with the 5 selected photos. Pair them up and ask them to show the pictures as they use the simple present to talk about their routine. Explain that they should not only make a sentence in the simple present as they show the picture but also give additional details about it. Partners should be encouraged to ask questions about details. After students have had a chance to show their pictures and talk to their partners invite some volunteers to talk about their routine to the whole group. As a follow-up students can write 3 new things they learned about their classmates`routine and share it with the whole group. 

Tip: Model the activity before students actually start working on it. A great way to do it is by showing students 5 of your own pictures to illustrate your weekly routine. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos