Unit 8 Activities

Pair
“Daily Schedule Information Gap Activity”
Estimated time:
20 minutes

Materials:
Daily schedule handouts

Objective(s):
The students will ask and answer questions in the target language about class schedules.
The students will write their partner’s answers on their handouts.

Procedure:
Beforehand, the teacher/parent prepares the daily schedule handouts hyperlink by printing out two copies of handout and writing on it, or by copying it into a computer document and word-processing onto two copies. The blank spaces on Handout A correspond to information that is only on Handout B, and vice verse. The teacher/parent creates the two handouts using information from his or her students’ typical daily schedules, or a fictional schedule. Be creative! Enough handouts should be photocopied so that each pair of students will receive one copy of Handout A and one copy of Handout B.

The teacher/parent engages the students in a quick conversation about their class schedules or any type of schedule they may have. As a warm-up, the students can work in pairs, asking and answering questions about each others’ daily and/or class schedules in the target language. The teacher/parent then tells the students that they will be working in pairs to solve a puzzle. Each partner in the pair has some information that the other partner does not have. It is their job to ask each other for the missing information, and to write it on their handouts. The teacher models the following activity with a student before pairs of students work on the activity.

The teacher/parent passes out the daily schedule handouts to each pair. One member of the pair receives Handout A and the other receives Handout B. The students take turns asking and answering questions in order to fill in the blanks on their handouts. For example, Student A (with Handout A) might ask Student B (with Handout B), “When do I brush my teeth?” or “What do I do at 9:00 a.m.?” Once the handouts are complete, the students compare handouts with their partners. The handouts should match.

Assessment/Monitoring Progress:
Most students should be able to ask and answer simple questions in the target language, especially if the basic structure has been modeled for them and practiced as a group. During the pair activity, the teacher/parent should facilitate, walking around the room and assisting with target language vocabulary and structures. If students run into difficulty, try limiting the number of items they need to fill-in on the handouts by either providing them with some of the answers beforehand, or by working on a few examples as a group before working in pairs. If desired, students can compete to see which pair completes the activity first in the group.

For an added challenge, have students create their own activity based on the idea of exchanging information. For example, students could create a shopping list with missing items, or a set of directions.

This type of activity can be used again and again with different target language structure and vocabulary. Students will have a good opportunity to use the target language to get information from their peers.

Group
“Love/Hate Poem”
Estimated time:
30 to 40 minutes

Materials:
Pictures (visuals)
Large chart paper
Markers

Objective(s):
The students will state their intense likes and dislikes.
The students will create a group poem using the words love and hate in the target language.
The students will recite their poem as a group.

Procedure:
The teacher/parent reminds the students of how to express intense like and dislike (love and hate) in the target language by modeling and asking the students questions. For example, the teacher/parent holds up pictures or visuals of things s/he loves and hates, and says the appropriate target language expression. The teacher might say, “I love chocolate, but I hate spinach,” or “I love friends, but I hate war,” etc. The teacher/parent asks individual students to express their intense likes and dislikes for more examples.

The teacher/parent asks the students to create two sentences – one about what they love and one about what they hate. Each student writes a line as follows, “(Name) loves _________, but s/he hates _____________.”

The poem can be set to rhythm and said as a chant or song. If time allows, the poem can be elaborated on by including more lines or making the sentences more complicated. Students may choose to be creative and add a refrain after each pair of lines in poem, or may want to choose movements that go along with the poem as they read. Some students may wish to accompany the song using instruments, perhaps from the target culture (such as maracas).

Assessment/Monitoring Progress:
Even students with minimal target language vocabulary and ability should be able to mimic the sentence structure provided by the teacher/parent. If students run into difficulty finding the appropriate words, have them review the Units on the website for inspiration. If students choose words that are not on the website, a target language dictionary can be used.

For an added challenge, try making the sentence format more complicated, or allow students to write target language sentences completely in their own words. Some students may even wish to write and recite an entire target language poem of their own.