dimarts, 1 d’abril del 2014

Starting out with a letter

Level: low intermediate to high
Skills: reading, speaking, listening, writing 
Grammar / Vocabulary Content: questions

This is a good activity for the beginning of the school year, especially if you are a new teacher for the students, but you can also do it without a problem if they already know you. It can be used as an ice-breaking activity, as an initial assessment exercise or as a get-to-know-each-other activity.

Development

1. Hand out this letter to all your students and give them some time to read.
2. Tell your students that they will have to fill out the gaps in the letter by asking you questions to get the information they need.
3. Review the grammar on how to ask questions (if needed).
3. Each student writes his or her own letter and turns it in for evaluation.

Variation

3. Each student writes his or her own letter and leaves 5 gaps in it.
4. With a partner that they don't know very well, they ask and answer questions to complete the letters.
5. Students turn in the letter for evaluation.



What is this blog about?

As a teacher of English at a secondary school, I usually do activities in class that I myself create or that I take from websites, books, blogs or other sources. This blog aims at collecting some of the ideas that I find useful because I have tried them out in class and have turned out effective, fun and meaningful both for me and for my students. But I would also like this blog to be a place for sharing ideas, opinions and comments on ESL practices with other professionals. Welcome!