Lazy stories to practice hypothesis: 3rd conditionals + modals ( might have, may have...)

Level: intermediate to high

Previous knowledge: 3rd conditionals/ compound modals 

Procedure:

• Download the handout with the texts to read: Click HERE to download the texts by George Chilton 
• Teacher (or students) read short texts for students to decide what might be happening or what they would have done.

Example: Text One.

I awoke one night to the sound of an insistent scratching at my bedroom window.
The wind was howling loudly and, very close-by, there was the distinctive cry of a baby wailing in distress.Where was it? On my window-ledge? This could not be! My whole body shook with fear.
Then I turned over and went back to sleep.

Click HERE to download the texts 

The source of the is: https://designerlessons.org/2012/01/21/esl-lesson-plan-student-centred-writing-activities/

Reported speech task

Aim: Students  practice sentence transformation by applying reported speech rules.
Previous knowledge: Students need to understand how reported speech works. You may show models or use the examples provided in the student's texbooks.
Materials: a piece of paper per student

Procedure: 

A) Students work alone

1. Make sure  every student has  a piece of paper.
2. Students write their names at the top of the page.
3. Students write the name of a student in the class at the bottom of the page. 
4. Students write sentences on the page.  These sentences are aimed at the student whose name is at the bottom of the page.  Ask the student to write sentences in present simple, past, or whatever tense they have studied. You may ask them to write some questions too. 

B) Students work in pairs 

1. Students give their piece of paper to any person in the class EXCEPT the student whose name is at the bottom of the page. 
2. Tell the students that 2 days later,  they meet a friend and they need to tell him/her about what the student whose name is on top wanted to know  about the student at the bottom or what he/she said to him/her . They take turns to  explain adding the necessary transformations.
3. Students start their conversation by saying: Two days ago I heard a conversation between ... and ...
4. Students need to invent the answers.

EXAMPLE:

                                                         LUCY:

• Do you like french fries?
• What did you do yesterday?
• I know you smoke in the toilets of the school 
• Will you come with me to the party tomorrow? 

                                                    Sentences for ROY 

Lucy gives her piece of paper to a student named Lucas

The conversation between Lucas and his classmate (any other student) goes as follows: 

LUCAS: Two days ago I heard a conversation between Lucy and Roy.  Lucy wanted to know if Roy liked french fries and what he had done on Monday. Roy said the he did not like fries and didn't want to give away any information about his Moday routine. Then Lucy told him that she knew he smoked int the school but he denied it. 

ETC. 

Extension: 

Students exchange information to see if their  guesses were right! 

Verb tense practice with silly sentences

Aim: students have fun practicing the formation of different verb tenses.

Alliteration is a stylistic literary device identified by the repeated sound of the first consonant in a series of multiple words. Using this technique students create silly sentences that could be joined together to create a fun to read poem. 

Materials: none
Level: all 
Procedure: 
Part A) Ask students to think of :

• the name of a person 
• something to eat 
• an adjective 
• a city, a place or  a country

... that start by a letter of their choice:

Using those words and adding any extra words they may  need,  students have to create a sentence in the verbal tense  you indicate.

Example:
Letter F in present perfect: Ferdinand, Fig, fantastic, Findlad .

 

Ferdinand has eaten some fantastic figs in Findland 

If students read all the sentences they have created, one after the other, the alliteradion creates the sensation of a poem. 

Part B) for higher levels. Students follow the same procedure again and add a connector to join the senteces.  Allow absurd sentences

Example:

Letter F

Fiona, french fries, forbidden, fun fair 

Ferdinand has eaten some fantastic figs in Findland but  Fiona  has preferred the forbiden french fries she had at the fun fair .

This activity was suggested by Vanessa Reis at the Barcelona,  2015 Macmillan Teachers Da and adapted by myself, Maria Zabala Peña 

Third Conditional Drill. The story of Penelope and Ferdinand + three wishes extension

OLD TASK WITH EXTENSION EXERCISE ADDED. CHECK THIS AGAIN!!

Aim: practice the third conditional structure

Procedure: teacher tells students an extravagant story, which includes an evitable death. The plot is devised in such a way that various characters (or weather conditions) could be blamed for the demise of one of the characters.
Ask students to take notes as you tell them the story. Otherwise they will forget the plot.
When the teacher finishes telling the story, students work in pairs to decide who is to blame and why. They need to produce several different sentences.

Sample sentences you may expect from your students:

• Caroline is guilty: If she had not said anything about Ferdinand and Penelope, Gabriela would not have listened. 
• Ferdinand is to blame:  If he has not driven fast, the car would not have crashed.

This can be your  base story. Adapt it to the level of your students.

The story

A friend of mine has just died. I am going to tell you how it happened.

My friend’s name was Ferdinand. Not a long time ago he started dating a girl, whose name is Penelope. Penelope’s family is really upper class and since Ferdinand was the son of the baker, Penelope’s mother disapproved of their relationship. Last week the mother, Caroline, said publicly that Ferdinand was not worth of her daughter. She said this aloud while shopping on market day. Unfortunately Ferdinand’s cousin, Gabriela, was among the listeners. Gabriela could not help but tell Ferdinand about the gossip in the market...

Click HERE to download the rest of the story.

EXTENSION: 

THREE WISHES 1 minute  VIDEO  by BBC Express English

Procedure:

• Ask the students this question:

IF YOU HAD THREE WISHES WHAT WOULD THEY BE? 

• Watch BBC three wishes video
• Compare your answers 

   
  
Video source. BBC Learning English HERE 

Cindy Lauper. Girls just wanna have fun. Writing and speaking task.

Aim: students write a composition based on picture prompts. These prompts are taken from Cindy Lauper's Girls just wanna have fun song. Later students watch the video.

Level: picture prompts allow the teacher to decide on the level of the task.This task is suitable for heterogeneous groups. Most questions can be answered by using present continuous.

Download the teacher pack with these and other related tasks!

Materials: 
You can download all the materials by cliking HERE
You will need:  

• Provided power point with picture prompts.            
• Teacher's instructions.
• Video of the wanna have fun song from youtube. See link underneath.

You can download all the materials by cliking HERE


This is the video: 

Crumpled up questions

These are some of the questions on the handout (3 our of 17)

Aim: Students practice asking and answering a variety of questions in past, present perfect, present simple and future.
Procedure: Teacher cuts questions and students take turns asking and answering the questions. Students pass the questions around or, if you want to risk it, throw the crumpled up questions to their classmates.
Extension: Students can take notes of their classmate's answers and write a report about that student.

Download the materials from this site HERE

Materials:

• Print the questions on the handout (once or twice, depending on how many students you have). The same handout contains the instructions to carry out the task.

Download the materials from this site HERE

Source of the task: http://eslsite.com/rd/Speaking/crumpled_up_questions.html, adapted by myself, María Zabala Peña

Verb tenses external links. Autonomous Practice

This is a link to a post  written by  Ingrid Chavarria
Click HERE to go to Ingrid's Post

Ingrid has grouped links to a variety of verbal tenses so that you can practice autonomously.
The links include, among other items.

• Present simple
• Present continuous
• Past simple
• Past continuous      
• Present perfect
• Past perfect
• Future (will/ to be going to)
• Modal verbs
• Conditional
• Passive voice
• Reported speech
• and more!

Click HERE to go to Ingrid's Post

Many thanks to Ingrid Chavarria for having put together all of these links for us :-) 

Second conditional prompt. If I were a boy by Beyonce

Download provided Power Point to guide your students through the task

Aim: fun practice of second conditional by using Beyonce's song If I were a boy.
Level: students need to have prior practise of  second conditional sentence structure.
Vocabulary: vocabulary needed for the task is provided in attached Power Point presentation. Vocabulary ranges form easy (go to drink beer, understand how it feels...) to medium (roll out of bed, take somebody for granted...).
This tasks is suitable for a multilevel classroom.

You can download the Power Point and videos from this site HERE

Materials:

For the students:

• If I were a boy video (download it or watch it on-line underneath)
• Tasks provided in attached Power Point
• If I were a boy karaoke video  (download it or watch it on-line underneath)

For the teacher:

• Lyrics for the song If I were a boy 

Procedure:
Follow the steps in the provided Power Point presentation.
Summary of steps in Power Point:

• Introduction to the vocabulary of the song by means of task 1. Are boys or girls more likely to...?
• Students watch first video, which tells us the story of what Beyonce would do if she were a boy. 
• Students answer question in task 2: What would Beyonce do if she were a boy?
• Students answer the same question about themselves.
• Students  sing along with the prompt of the second video so  as to memorize new vocabulary and remember the second conditional structure.

 
You can download the Power Point and videos from this site HERE

Did you finish the task? (View task in provided Power Point)

You are ready to watch the video

Beyonce. 

If I were a boy

 Now, sing along with Beyonce

KARAOKE 

You can download the Power Point and videos from this site HERE
 
Thanks to Mike O'Neill for this idea.
Mike O'Neill was our Teacher Trainer at the British Council. Summer 2012

Why on-line translators don't work. The importance of sentence structure (English-Spanish)

Aim: Understand that word for word translation does not work

         Learn how to use a dictionary by observing the information that a dictionary provides 

Warning! This task is has been designed for Spanish speakers. 

If you are not teaching Spanish students, don't bother to download the task! 

   No photocopies needed. Just project the provided Power Point on Whiteboard  

Students need to be familiar with the simple past in order to carry out this task 

Download the materials HERE

Sample task

Materials:

• Power Point Presentations 
• Teacher's Key 

Download the materials HERE

This task focuses on sentence structure. If you want to focus on meaning  you may complete this with this other task: HERE

Listen to some sounds and write a story in the the past

Aim: provide students with some prompts to write a story in the past.
Level: students need to know how to use and combine simple past and past continuous.
Some connectors such as "while" or "suddenly" will be handy.
Procedure: download the sounds  (see below) and play them in provided order. You may want to change the order.
There are 4 music audio files  and 3 very short strange sounds.
The music excerpts allow students time to elaborate on their  story. Students need to incorporate their interpretation of the strange sounds in their composition.  Note that the strange sounds are very short and their meaning is not clear. This is just a prompt to get the students to write a story. The order in which they incorporate the sound is not important.

Download the sounds by clicking HERE
There is a total of 7 sounds.

Bank robbery prompt. Dick and Jane scene

 Use this robbery scene as an oral prompt or a writing task prompt. 

Materials: short silent video (2 minutes, 16  seconds)
Level: students need to be able to explain the story in the past. This can be done using simple past or compound tenses, depending on the level of students
Useful vocabulary:  Robbery, bank, safe, machine gun or weapons, wig, fake moustache,   rubber gloves, ground.
Useful verbs:  to rob, to faint, to pretend (to faint), to wear, to breath, to swipe a card, to shoot, to impersonate, to ring the bell, to walk on  all fours = to  crawl, to wave at somebody.

If  you want to download the video,you can do it HERE 

Underneath you the You Tube link. Clink on the image to see the You Tube video on-line . 

Saint Valentine's Day. Oil and vinegar

 Use this scene as an oral prompt or a writing task prompt.


This short film features a night in the kitchen. Utensils fall in love while the oil bottle feels lonely. The the Modena Vinegar bottle shows up. Wait until after the credits so see the struggle of Mrs. Modena

Materials: short silent video (3minutes)
Level: any as long as student...
Option A) students are  able to explain the story in the past
Option B) students can tell the story using present/ present continuous.
The  outcome will depend on the level of your students. See below for higher level vocabulary
Possible special occasion: Saint Valentine
Useful  upper level vocabulary: Tears, pool of oil, bottle spout, moonshine, cutting board, salt shaker, pitcher, mucus, lonely, wooden salad servers, bouquet/posy, the sink, slippery
Upper level Verbs: cry /weep, rub against, sniff, frolic,pick up, fall in love, hope, shine, reflect on the eyes, slip, sigh, drop, try to climb up

To see the video in You tube, click HERE

You can also watch the video underneath

Don't Judge Too Quicky: Man walking his dog

 Use this scene as an oral prompt or a writing task prompt.  

Materials: short silent video (33 seconds)
Level: students need to be able to explain the story in the past. This can be done using simple past or compound tenses, depending on the level of students

If you want to practise the future, stop the video when the man  drops his biscuit  and students can predict the end of the story.
Useful vocabulary:  Biscuits/cookies, paper bag/wrapping, dog's pooh = dog's poop= faeces / ˈfiːsiːz/, dog's leash,  bench
If  you want to download the video,you can do it HERE 

View the video  here. It is a link to YOUTOUBE

Present Simple or Present Continuous

Purpose: students  listen to a video in which scientists and inventors Mark and Betty prepare to receive a host.

Creator: the video and exercises have been created by Martams, at ESL quiz. tudents
  
Two options to view the video and questions
A) You can project the questions on the whitboard. Click here to see the video and the questions online, at the ESL quiz page.


B) Click here if you want to download a photocopiable version of the questions 

This is the video

To see it on Youtube, click Here

Past Tense: Don't Judge Too Quickly: Potential Cat Killer

General Description of Activity:

Students are confronted with a picture in which a man is seen with a knife on one hand, a cat on the other and a red stain on the floor. The students  need to decide what happened. After watching a 30 second  video  they may realize they judged too quickly

Level:  Students need to be able to explain the story in the past. This can be done using simple past or compound tenses, depending on the level of students

The students well need these words:

• Verbs: enter, open/ carry, look at, cook, add spices/salt, chop food, set table, lean on pot/drop sauce, jump, pick up cat,  look guilty, hold, be scared/alarmed
• Other nouns: cat, key, kitchen counter, flower vase, knife

Materials:

1. Instruction sheet

2. Related picture

3. Related short silent video (30s)

4. Overhead projector

To download the materials: Instruction sheet + Video  click HERE. 


To see the video in YouTube click HERE

You can also see the video on line underneath.
 

Procedure

1. Show the picture of the potential killer:

    Ask the questions:

How did this happen? Why did the man do this?   

(Make sure you don’t mislead the students by using the word “kill” in your sentence)

2. Make teams. Students have 10 minutes to explain the situation

3. Students compare their answers

4. Students watch the video and decide whose explanation was closer to the one seen in the video 
To download the VIDEO: click HERE
To see the video in YouTube click HERE

Using a picture prompt to ask questions to intertwined characters

Purpose: students practice asking questions in the past. The level of the questions and answers depends on the level of the students. At the end of the activity, as a follow-up to the speaking task, students could write a letter or email.

Level: students need to know how to ask questions in the past using question words and they need enough vocabulary to ask about age, family, relationships, job, likes, dislikes and past life.  Students may have to use modals and a variety of pasts in their answers.

The teacher may have to help the students with vocabulary or can give them a dictionary.

Materials: a photo of a person. At the end of this post I propose some photos the teacher can project on the white board with the  Projector . There are many more pictures/portraits available at google images.  I offer a variety of pictures that  may appeal to children, teenagers and adults. The one of the girl in the office could cater for the needs of students in administration related vocational training programs.

Procedure:  Students may work individually or in groups.

A) Show a picture of a character to the students and ask them to write down 15 questions for that character. Note that the first 6 questions will be very similar in all groups (how old are you? Are you married? etc.) The aim of asking the students to write down 15 questions is to force them to produce more creative questions as well as to practice question structures.  You may not have to wait until everybody has 15 questions if the production is adequate.

B) When the students are ready, tell one of them to come to the front of the class and impersonate the character in the picture. He/she has to answer his/her classmates’ questions.  As he/she answers, the other students will spontaneously change their questions according to the characters' answers. This allows students to practice question structures without previously having written them down.

Note that as the character-student answers, new characters will pop out: his/her mother, his/her husband, his/her boss...

C) When you spot an interesting character (the husband, for example), tell the student at the front of the classroom to go back to his/her seat. Ask another student to come to the front of the classroom. His/her role is to impersonate “the husband” by answering  his/her  classmates’ questions.

D) Proceed this way until 4 or 5 students-characters have answered their classmates’ questions.

F) Possible follow-up: divide the students in 4 or 5 teams, depending on how many characters you have had.

Each group of students represents a character (eg. the mother, the husband, the cleaner, the child, the boss, or the secretary of the person in the picture).  Ask students to write an email or a letter to the character.  

Thanks to Roger Hunt, our English methodology teacher at International House, summer 2010 for this idea. The course  I took was "Language Analysis for Teaching Purposes"