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Saw this on Facebook and thought it’d make a fun warmer for higher levels. It’s probably best to black out the one in the top right!!!
Print them, hand them out and ask:
Why are they dumb?
Why are they funny?
Image credit: www.groupon.co.in
Credit to Jonathan Watts at the Guardian for the article.
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This is a reading and speaking lesson plan based around an article about the WHO’s recent revelation linking consumption of red meat to cancer for B2+. Download the student’s and teacher’s copy of the article below:
Argentines meat cancer article TEACHERS COPY
Argentines meat cancer article STUDENT’S COPY
Influenced by my wonderful DELTA tutors I’ve split the text up into sections. Before reading each section students make a prediction about what they’re about to read and then read to confirm their predictions. They then read again and complete comprehension questions that go into more detail.
Lesson structure:
Give students ample time between sections and after finishing the article to respond and interact with the text.
The article:
Argentinians react to report linking meat to cancer.
As he prepared to order lunch in one of Buenos Aires’ many steak restaurants, Jorge Bacaloni declared himself unlikely to change his beef-centred diet despite the World Health Organisation’s conclusion that red meats are more carcinogenic than previously thought.
In a report published on Monday, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that red meat is “probably carcinogenic to humans”.
But in Argentina, which has one of the highest levels of meat consumption in the world, the study was met with scepticism.
“I’m aware of the health risks, but it’s part of our culture,” said Bacaloni, who estimates that he eats between a kilogram and 1.5kgs of meat each week.
Most of that is from cattle, putting Bacaloni around the average in Argentina, where consumption per capita was 59.4kg of beef in 2014.
As well as the pure pleasure of home grills and estraña dishes in beef houses, the lawyer said that it was a custom. “This is part of our history. Part of our life,” he says. “And at least cows in Argentina are raised on pastures rather than in sheds. It’s more natural.”
But he was more concerned for his family that the World Health Organisation had classified processed meat in the same cancer-risk category as cigarettes, alcohol and asbestos.
“I have a three-year-old son. We’ve been giving him sausage, but I’ll stop that,” he said. He too is adjusting his diet, though for different reasons. “I’ll have chicken today, but only because I’m on a diet.”
Fashion designer Marcela Duhalde laughs when she explains how often she eats steak. “l hate cooking so when I have to make food I always choose a T-bone steak and tomatoes because it’s easy and delicious. I have it maybe four or five times a week,” she says. “I ought to be huge.”
Raised on a farm, she says eating meat is a custom. “My family was very carnivorous. If we didn’t have meat, we didn’t consider it a meal.”
This is a common refrain. The first cattle were introduced by the Spanish conquistadores in the 16th century and they soon became a feature on the pampas – the vast grasslands that stretch across much of the country – while their meat was an integral part of the gaucho “cowboy” culture.
Duhalde says she is concerned about the agrochemicals, antibiotics, tainted cattle feed and the generally poor conditions that many cattle are kept in, but vegetarianism is not option. Nor it seems is cutting back.
“Everything I like is unhealthy – steak, alcohol, drugs and other things. I’d rather die than give it all up. I don’t have the energy to be happy without them.”
She didn’t expect the WHO decision to make much of an impact on Argentina’s love of steaks in the short term, but she thought it could make a difference in the distant future if the evidence mounted up and led to the same sort of health campaigns that are now common with tobacco.
“This makes us start thinking about the risks, but there is a big distance between thinking about things and actually changing our habits.”
Follow up
Students write an essay examining the importance of meat in their culture and the effect they think the announcement will have.
Image credit: Savvy in Second: Stoplight Paragraphs: Helping Structure Writing
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This is worksheet to help students structure their paragraphs correctly when writing formal essays. I prepared it with CAE students preparing for writing part 1 in mind. Download the handout below:
Image credit: www.learnaboutislam.co.uk
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This is a conversation lesson plan for intermediate (B1) upwards around the topic of blame. Download the powerpoint below:
Warmer
SS discuss in pairs:
Language of blaming:
SS complete the sentences with the following words:
for
on
blame
wrong
fault (x2)
Show the first slide from the powerpoint and have students discuss who is to blame in small groups. Ss then report back in open class. You might want to assign roles from the different situations to different students to make it a bit more exciting.
Image credit: cartoon-clipart.disneyimage.com
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This is a Halloween themed lesson for young learners. There are two spooky short stories for students to act out in small groups. Download the stories here:
Depending on the time and the student’s level there are two procedures for this lesson.
Students should work in groups of 3-4, designate 1-2 strong students to act as narrators. Help ss with vocabulary and pronunciation problems.
Give ss 10 minutes to practice and then have them perform their stories to the rest of the class.
The Stories
The Werewolf
Once upon a time there was a farmer. One day he went walking in the forest. He was very tired so he decided to go to sleep under a tree. When he woke up it was dark and he was very cold. He looked in the sky and he saw a full moon. Suddenly, he heard a wolf howl very close.
There was a huge wolf behind him! He was very scared and he screamed. The wolf attacked him and bit him on the arm. He felt very strange, he ran to the river and looked in the water, his face was transforming into a wolf’s! Hair covered all his body and his teeth grew very long. He tried to shout but a long howl came out of his mouth.
Now if you go into that forest on the night of a full moon, maybe you will meet him…..
The hunter and the witches
Once upon a time there was a brave hunter. One day he was chasing a rabbit in the mountains with his dogs. They ran to the top of the mountain where they found 2 witches making a magic potion. The rabbit ran past the witches and the dog chased it. The dog crashed into the magic potion and it fell onto the floor. The witches were extremely angry and shouted at the hunter as he ran away after the rabbit.
The witches were very angry so they made a plan. One of the witches transformed herself into a rabbit. The other witch made a very powerful potion and put it in a little bottle. The rabbit witch ran to the hunter’s house, knocked on the door and ran away. The hunter and the dogs ran out of the house and chased the rabbit witch up the mountain. But at the top the other witch was waiting. When the hunter arrived she threw the potion at him and his dogs and they all turned to stone!!!
If you go to the top of the mountain you can still see the stone hunter and his dogs.
Follow up
Do you know any traditional scary stories from your country?
Halloween Quizlet set:
Here’s a good quizlet set to practice Halloween vocabulary.
A thought for the day:
Image credit: publicradiotulsa.org
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This is the second in a series of lesson plans based around podcasts for high level learners (high C1+). This one is based on the first part of Words by radiolab. The link, transcript and lesson plan are below:
http://www.radiolab.org/story/91725-words/
Proficiency Podcasts words, Lesson plan
Words Transcript – divided into sections.
Warmer – Charades
SS have to sign the following sentences:
I don’t like bananas
I love soup
I think it will rain
Where is Joan?
I went swimming yesterday.
Can I have a pen?
Was it easy? Which sentences were the easiest? Do you ever play this game with your family?
Listening – Radiolab, words
1st section 00:15 – 01:02
Listen and answer these questions:
Listen once, ss share answers in pairs. Listen again for specific detail and language.
Follow same sequence with each section, general comprehension questions, then listen again and clear up language problems.
2nd section 01:02 – 1:40
2nd listen for language.
Make a prediction in pairs:
3rd section 01:40 – 2:15
Predict: What’s going to happen next?
4th sections 2:15 – 3:05
5th section 3:05 – 3:50
6th section 3:50 – 4:48
7th section 4:48 – 5:07
Discuss these questions as a class.
Set the rest of this part of the podcast as homework with the following questions:
5:07 – 8:35
Discussion
Accuracy vs Fluency
Image credit: maybusch.com
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This is a speaking activity for intermediate and upwards on the subject of persuading and convincing. It can be used as preparation for FCE and CAE due to its similarity to part 3 of the speaking test.
You will need this powerpoint:
Split the class into groups of 4 or 5. Use this quizlet set to practice language for convincing and persuading. For higher levels get them to brainstorm the language in pairs first and then board it.
Language from the quizlet set:
Key:
think
Wouldn’t
should
going
ought
insist
far
about
Students discuss the different situations in the powerpoint in their groups of 4-5. Nominate one person from the group to be the person who the others must persuade (parent, headmaster, boss, editor, friend)
Report back at the end. Who was the most persuasive?
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This year I’m doing the DELTA part-time at IH Barcelona and I’m going to start blogging some of my lesson plans, feedback and general reactions to the course as I go.
Two weeks ago I had my diagnostic observation, basically my tutor and teaching practice group observed me while I taught a group of upper-intermediate adults for 45 minutes. Despite my nerves it went pretty well but my tutor’s main criticism was that it was too teacher centred and not learner-led enough. So it’s my second observed class tomorrow and I’ve prepared the following lesson plan to teach present perfect/past simple to the same group. My tutors are big on reactive teaching so I’m going to throw my students straight into a communicative exercise and then I’m going to correct them as I go and clear up any issues they have afterwards.
My aims are for the students to use the two tenses accurately and also use a range of time expressions. I’ve included they time expressions in the questions they have to ask in a classic “Find someone who” exercise. Let me know what you think and wish me luck!
TP 2nd class Present Per/Past Simple
Warmer
I’ve injured my foot. Questions. Have you ever had an accident? What happened? Were you ok? Reactions: Oooo, that’s gotta hurt! Nasty! You poor thing!
Find someone who
Sentences to collect:
| Present Perfect | Past simple | both |
| For, since, already, yet just,
Over the last fortnight |
Ago, in the summer, this time last week, earlier today, last month | For |
| Uses:
Past experiences, don’t say when, unfinished times: never, in my life, this year, today etc.
Recent events, no exact time, some relevance to present. Just/already etc. Do you want a cup of coffee? No thanks I’ve just had one.
Continuing situations, started in past, continue now: for/since I’ve lived here for 6 years.
|
Uses:
Complete/finished event, time is given: last month, yesterday etc. or obvious.
Did you see the game? I went to the cinema last night.
Situation/habit that started and finished in past.
I lived in France for 3 years. I played piano for 5 years when I was a child. |
Memory Game:
1 student covers their paper while the other asks questions to see what they remember. Focus should be on remembering the correct tense and time expression.
Demonstrate:
Who has been to the cinema over the last fortnight?
What did _______take up last month?
What has _______ just bought?
Who hasn’t washed last night’s dishes yet?
Find someone in the class who has done all these things:
| Name | Details | |
| Has been to Morocco
|
||
| Has just bought a new gadget | ||
| Visited another country in the summer | ||
| Hasn’t washed last night’s dishes yet | ||
| Wasn’t in class this time last week. | ||
| Has lived in their house for over 30 years | ||
| Went shopping earlier today | ||
| Has been to the cinema over the last fortnight | ||
| Has already planned dinner for tonight | ||
| Took up a new hobby last month | ||
| Has tried a new dish lately. |
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Download tekhnologic’s amazing game templates from here. This week I’m going to play jeopardy with my teenagers and a like/dislike boardgame with my young learners. Try out my completed ones below or download the templates yourself and make your own.
like-dislike-boardgame – target language: I like/don’t like/hate/love/don’t mind. Ss in groups role the dice, move round the board and make sentences about the corresponding picture.
jeopardy-trivia-1-Put ss in teams, they roll a dice to decide which category they answer: Sport, art, geography, science, music, literature. They decide how difficult a question they want on a scale of 1-5. They are given the answer to a question, they have to guess what the question is, for example:
Answer: Usain Bolt
Question: Who’s the fastest man in the world?
If they get it right they get the corresponding number of points depending how difficult the question was.