Food vocabulary - beginners

This activity combines vocabulary practice and an oral task in a fun way.

PRESENTATION

Talking about wishes

As you probably have noticed, I'm really into activities that create opportunities for students to speak. This one is another example how comic strips can help generate discussions in class. Students will produce sentences expressing wishes and will share their opinions.

PRESENTATION

Bedtime Stories

This is an activity for conversation time in class.
1. Students dicuss the questions in small groups.
2. Individual work: Students complete the comic strip with the past tense of the verbs.
3. Peer check: Students chech their answers in pairs.
4. Show the slide and check with the whole group.
5. Pair work: Students read the comic strip and discuss the questions in pairs.
6. Homework: web search.

PRESENTATION

ANSWER KEY

Blank Balloons

This activity requires student collaboration and creativity.
1. Make enough copies of the comic strip for your students.
2. Cut it up in frames.
3. Give a set to each pair/group.
4. Students work in pairs and organize the frames in sequence.
5. Students write the lines for each balloon.
6. Students share their stories.
7. Students check the original sequence.
8. Students compare their stories to the original comic strip.
9. Students choose the story they like the most.

PRESENTATION

TO BE COPIED

Original Comic Strip


Let's talk about TV programs

This activity was designed for a conversation class. Students share their opinions about TV programs. This is a topic that suits different age groups as they always have something to say about it.
1. Pair work: Students discuss the questions.
2. Individual work: Students complete their lists.
3. Groups of 3: Students compare their lists and jot down new ideas they get from their partners.
4. Pair work: Different partners - Students answer the questions about the comic strip.
5. Whole group share: Have a class discussion.

PRESENTATION

WORKSHEET

Cloze Exercise

This is a cloze exercise combined with a speaking task. This is also an example of how you can use the same cartoon (used in a previous post) to create different activities.  Hope you like it.
- Give each student a copy of the worksheet.
- Students do the cloze exercise.
- Students check their answers in pairs.
- Show them the slide so that they check and read the cartoon.
- Pair work: Students talk about the perfect boy/girlfriend.

WORKSHEET


PRESENTATION

Reading Activity - Upper-intermediate

This reading activity leads to a writing task. It requires students to use different thinking skills so as to organize the story.
1. Make as many copies of the cartoon as necessary.
2. Cut it up in frames.
3. Give a set to each pair/group.
4. Students work together to organize the frames.
5. Check their work.

Then have a class discussion:
a) What helped you identify the sequence of the story?
b) Which words were they?
c) Which words can you use to help you organize a sequence of events? Make a list of them.
d) Now write a story using these words to organize it.

PRESENTATION

TO BE COPIED

Info-gap Activity

This activity provides speaking practice. Students ask and answer and talk about their preferences, thus personalizing language.
Part 1- Make enough copies for your students to work in pairs.
- Give eah student a picture (St A or St B).
- Pair work: Students read the cartoon and think about the questions they have to ask to find the information missing.
- Students ask questions and complete the blanks in the cartoon.

Part 2
Presentation
- Write 3 qualities you want your perfect boyfriend/girlfriend to have
- Write 3 things he or she does/doesn't do for you.
- PW - Compare your lists and give reasons.
- Write a paragraph describing your perfect boyfriend/girlfriend.


St A and St B

PRESENTATION

Contextualizing grammar

For an effective grammar presentation, we should present language in context. Comic strips and cartoons are great for contextualizing a grammar topic.

Here is an example for had better.

Past Modals - Grammar Production

- Read the strip and talk to your partner.
- Make sentences using must have, could have or should have.


Pronouns

This is an activity for beginners. Students fill in the blanks with appropriate pronouns and then do an oral activity.

PRESENTATION

WORKSHEET

Jigsaw Reading

This is a reading activity that also promotes language awareness. Students have to analyse the language so as to be able to organize the frames into the original cartoon.
1. Make as many copies of the cartoon as necessary.
2. Cut the it up in frames.
3. Give a set to each pair/group.
4. Students work together to organize the frames.
5. Check their work.

Then have a class discussion:
a) What helped you identify the sequence of the story?
b) Which words were they?
c) Which words can you use to help you organize a sequence of events? Make a list of them.
d) Now write a story using these words to organize it.





You can read about language awareness HERE

Writing

This is an activity that integrates writing and speaking. It's appropriate for beginners.

PRESENTATION

Information about Peanuts can be found HERE

WORKSHEET

Past Tense Practice

Complete the lines in the strip using the past tense of the verbs given:

say - be - chase - live - eat