Unit 3 Activities

Pair
“Calendar: Information Gap Activity”
Estimated time:
30 minutes

Materials:
Blank and filled-in Calendar Handouts (enough for class size - see below for how teacher/parent can create calendar), pencils

Objective(s):
The students will ask and answer questions in order to fill in information on a calendar in the target language.

Procedure:
Before the activity, the teacher/parent creates a calendar in the target language, using the blank Calendar Handout. The teacher/parent should fill simple information on the calendar, such as the month and dates, as well as information about what a fictional person might do on the days of the month. For example, the teacher/parent might choose the month of March and fill in the corresponding days of the week and calendar dates. S/he might then choose five or six days within the month on which to write things like “go shopping” or “visit friends,” etc. Be creative and use the target language vocabulary already learned in Units 1 through 3. The teacher/parent will need enough blank calendars and enough filled-in calendars for every pair of students in the class.

The teacher/parent tells the students that they will be solving another mystery today. They will pretend to be police or detectives who are talking on the telephone, and one will have to give information to the other. They will have to do this entirely in the target language, so that the criminals can not understand what they are doing! One student will have a blank calendar, and one will have the critical missing information. The student with the information knows what month it is, and what is happening during that month on which days. Together, they can solve the mystery! The teacher/parent models the following activity with a student, and then asks the students to complete this “information gap” activity in pairs.

Working in pairs, one student has the filled-in calendar, and the other has the blank calendar. Each student must pretend s/he is on the telephone, and therefore should not be able to see his or her partner’s calendar. The student with the blank calendar must ask the student with the filled-in calendar questions, so as to fill-in the missing information. For example, the student might ask what month it is, or what day of the week is the first of the month. The student might then ask what is happening on a giving day, for example “When is the person shopping?” or “What does s/he do on Wednesday, March 2?” If time allows, the students can change roles after the first round is complete.

Assessment/Monitoring Progress:
This is a challenging activity, as it requires the students to use the target language to get information that they do not know. The teacher must actively circulate the room and facilitate the activity. Students may need a lot of target language help, and this is to be expected. Tell them not to give up, and provide as much support as necessary. If students have trouble, try limiting the calendar to one week instead of one month. Also, try spending more time modeling the activity beforehand, and provide some target language structures/vocabulary on a chalk board or other place the students can refer to. It will help to do this activity and similar types of activities more than once, as this type of task requires practice. It is, however, a great example of what students will need to be able to do in the real world. Encourage them to try this type of activity again and again. Be creative in coming up with variations on this “information gap” activity.

The students can include their work in their “sleuthing books.”

Group
“Day Books” (Individuals present to the group)
Estimated time:
45 minutes

Materials:
Large pieces of paper, scissors, crayons or markers, example of “day book” made by teacher/parent

Objective(s):
The students will create books in the target language, showing things they do on a typical day.
The students will write sentences in the target language using time expressions.
The students will present/read their books to the group.

Procedure:
The teacher/parent ties the activity into the “sleuthing” theme by presenting an example of a “day book” s/he has made. The “day book” describes the things that a criminal does in a particular day (e.g.: On page one, “At 8:00 I eat breakfast;” on page two, “At 10:00 I ride the train;” on page three, “At 12:00 I meet for lunch with my criminal friends,” etc.). The teacher/parent tells the students that they will get to make their own personal “day books” today, and present them to the group when they are done.

The teacher/parent gives each student a large piece of paper, scissors, and crayons or markers. The teacher/parent then leads the students in making the “day book” as follows:

Fold the paper in half length-wise (to make a long rectangle), and open it up again. Fold the paper in half width-wise (to make a fat rectangle). Fold it one more time in the same direction, and then open it up half way (so you have a paper folded in half once, width-wise. Cut a slit in the middle of the paper by cutting perpendicular to the fold, going until you reach the next fold line. The books can then be flipped and folded into a book-shape that will stay folded. On each of the pages, students write the time of day, what they do at that time of day, and draw a corresponding picture. For example, students may want to draw a picture of them doing an activity and a picture of the hands of a clock at the appropriate time of day. The target language sentences should be something like, “At 8:00, I eat breakfast.” When the “day books” are complete, they can be presented/read to the group.

Assessment/Monitoring Progress:
Each book will be individual, which is to be expected and encouraged. Understand that students will have varying degrees of ability in writing and presenting in the target language. Encourage students to write about themselves and to take pride in their work. Students should be able to write some things about themselves in the target language. If they have trouble with spelling or remember vocabulary, write it on the board or another place that they can refer to.

The students can include their work in their “sleuthing books.”