Edutopia
Edutopia, a website created by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, is a fantastic resource for any and every educator. If you are looking for inspiration, advice, educational research or just want to learn what methods other schools and communities around the country (USA) are using, you will certainly want to visit this site.
Showing posts with label tefl. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tefl. Show all posts
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Body Image- What is Beautiful in your Country?
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/specials/nat-geo-live-specials/cobb-bonusbeauty-nglive/
Body Image and Self Esteem
A great segue or transition from a unit on physical descriptions is a class activity or even entire unit on body image. This is an especially great follow up for the magazine activity in my physical description post.
You could even extend it into bullying and tolerance depending on your students' levels. I have to admit, I did some of these activities with my beginner level students and they still really enjoyed it so don't be afraid to take a chance. As long as you have great visuals, multimedia, vocabulary building and of course- scaffold- your lesson, it will be a productive and effective one.
A great way to introduce the topic is to show one of the Dove Ads. They say so much without actually saying anything and are great conversation starters.
Click here for some extra activities from the Dove web site, specifically aimed at young girls.
After talking about the video and getting student responses, we briefly discussed magazines and how they show a distorted view of beauty and the human body. If you don't want to show the video or you would like something to supplement it, you can also show them some photo shopping flubs. Here are two websites that have some funny and amusing examples. Photoshop Fails 1 , Photoship fails 2
Beauty around the World
We continued the lesson with this video from Jessica Simpson's the Price of Beauty. At first I wasn't sure about the show but when I actually watched an episode I found that it really brought up a lot of important personal, social and global issues. The video portrays how, unlike in the USA and many other countries, in some societies being overweight is a sign of beauty and affluence. I stopped the video from time to time to ask students comprehension questions and after I split them into groups and asked them to write a list of characteristsics that is beautiful or attractive n their country. After sharing our findings I asked students to write their personal idea of beauty and to find if it differed from that of the greater society.
Continuing with body image, here is a video that addresses how the media and specifically the fashion industry affect our body images. It is from ABC Australia and also includes the transcript!
Body Image Video-ABC Australia
If you want to focus on the media aspect you can use the link below for an article about photoshopping and warning labels on magazines. It includes comprehension checks and exercises. I'm not a huge fan of worksheets but this is always another option.
Breaking News English- Body Image Reading
A great follow-up would be to bring in real magazines (yay for realia) and ask students to design a poster which displays what they just learned about body image. Ask them to be creative, candid and to use the pictures form the magazines as well as any words or phrases they wish.
Music
Body Image and Self Esteem
A great segue or transition from a unit on physical descriptions is a class activity or even entire unit on body image. This is an especially great follow up for the magazine activity in my physical description post.
You could even extend it into bullying and tolerance depending on your students' levels. I have to admit, I did some of these activities with my beginner level students and they still really enjoyed it so don't be afraid to take a chance. As long as you have great visuals, multimedia, vocabulary building and of course- scaffold- your lesson, it will be a productive and effective one.
A great way to introduce the topic is to show one of the Dove Ads. They say so much without actually saying anything and are great conversation starters.
Click here for some extra activities from the Dove web site, specifically aimed at young girls.
After talking about the video and getting student responses, we briefly discussed magazines and how they show a distorted view of beauty and the human body. If you don't want to show the video or you would like something to supplement it, you can also show them some photo shopping flubs. Here are two websites that have some funny and amusing examples. Photoshop Fails 1 , Photoship fails 2
Beauty around the World
We continued the lesson with this video from Jessica Simpson's the Price of Beauty. At first I wasn't sure about the show but when I actually watched an episode I found that it really brought up a lot of important personal, social and global issues. The video portrays how, unlike in the USA and many other countries, in some societies being overweight is a sign of beauty and affluence. I stopped the video from time to time to ask students comprehension questions and after I split them into groups and asked them to write a list of characteristsics that is beautiful or attractive n their country. After sharing our findings I asked students to write their personal idea of beauty and to find if it differed from that of the greater society.
Continuing with body image, here is a video that addresses how the media and specifically the fashion industry affect our body images. It is from ABC Australia and also includes the transcript!
Body Image Video-ABC Australia
If you want to focus on the media aspect you can use the link below for an article about photoshopping and warning labels on magazines. It includes comprehension checks and exercises. I'm not a huge fan of worksheets but this is always another option.
Breaking News English- Body Image Reading
A great follow-up would be to bring in real magazines (yay for realia) and ask students to design a poster which displays what they just learned about body image. Ask them to be creative, candid and to use the pictures form the magazines as well as any words or phrases they wish.
Music
TLC-Unpretty
Christina Aguilera- Beautiful
Bruno Mars- Just the Way You Are
Describing Physical Appearances
The old saying goes, "don't judge a book by its cover". Though I wholeheartedly agree that it is never good to make assumptions, having students make judgements and predictions is a great way to not only check their comprehension but also a creative way to have them organize, analyze and synthesize new information.Here are some ways they can do just that with description words and body vocabulary.
Activities
Sketch Artist
This activity requires students to be put into pairs. Ideally each partner should receive a print out of a different caricature but if you don't have access to a printer you could also just have one student face the board where the picture is projected and one have their back to it. Once the caricature is shown they must help their partner draw a picture by describing in English or whatever the target language may be (I also used this when teaching Italian), the features of the person's face. You could also change this a bit and give a crime scene scenario. Later, after the allotted time is finished, the students can finally see the picture, share theirs with the class and then switch.
Below is a website of some caricatures of famous celebrities but if you don't see any you like, a simple google search will do the trick.
http://naldzgraphics.net/inspirations/30-hilarious-and-entertaining-caricatures-of-famous-celebrities/
Guess Who?
Another fun activity is to split students in groups and have them describe the person in the picture given to them. Later, after the students all finish, they give the picture back and the class has to describe who is who or which descriptions belong to which people. This is also fun because in my experience it has led into a debate of opinion. For example, my students argued whether or not Justin Bieber was talented or Madonna was beautiful.
Readings and Discussion Starters
Easy Group Discussıon Questıons:
Is it better to be feared or loved?
........................ tall or short?
........................ rich or beautiful?
........................ intelligent or artistic?
........................ athletic or intelligent?
Body Language from around the World
http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/a-travellers-guide-to-avoiding-faux-pas/story-e6frfq80-1226112216345
Materials:
Magazines/Newspapers
Scissors
Glue
Poster-board
Students are put into groups of 3 or 4 (depending on the class size) and given the materials. They are asked to cut out images of (appropriate) body parts and glue them on their poster boards to create "the perfect" person. Then, they will present to the class their findings using the vocabulary they learned in previous classes. This is a great group exercise because students can also be assigned many different challenging roles such as image finder, description writer, speaker etc. not to mention it's just alot of fun (which is always a perk!)
Wacky Body Part Reading
Something that can include pop culture and would be funny for students would be to read an article about how valuable (socially and financially) some famous people's body parts are. It sounds strange, which it is, but supposedly some celebrities have actually insured their various body parts for millions of dollars. Below is a link.
http://www.businessinsider.com/20-celebrities-who-insured-their-bodies-for-millions-2012-3?op=1
Activities
Sketch Artist
This activity requires students to be put into pairs. Ideally each partner should receive a print out of a different caricature but if you don't have access to a printer you could also just have one student face the board where the picture is projected and one have their back to it. Once the caricature is shown they must help their partner draw a picture by describing in English or whatever the target language may be (I also used this when teaching Italian), the features of the person's face. You could also change this a bit and give a crime scene scenario. Later, after the allotted time is finished, the students can finally see the picture, share theirs with the class and then switch.
Below is a website of some caricatures of famous celebrities but if you don't see any you like, a simple google search will do the trick.
http://naldzgraphics.net/inspirations/30-hilarious-and-entertaining-caricatures-of-famous-celebrities/
Guess Who?
Another fun activity is to split students in groups and have them describe the person in the picture given to them. Later, after the students all finish, they give the picture back and the class has to describe who is who or which descriptions belong to which people. This is also fun because in my experience it has led into a debate of opinion. For example, my students argued whether or not Justin Bieber was talented or Madonna was beautiful.
Readings and Discussion Starters
Easy Group Discussıon Questıons:
Is it better to be feared or loved?
........................ tall or short?
........................ rich or beautiful?
........................ intelligent or artistic?
........................ athletic or intelligent?
Body Language from around the World
Is the "OK" hand symbol okay in every country? Does a thumbs up always
mean good job? This is a fun activity for students of all ages, though
it may be better for older students since some may not be age
-appropriate or taboo. A fun way to have students interact with the
information is to ask them to first make a list of common symbols from
their country and then guess the meaning of images from other countries.
Here is one of many articles about different examples of body language from around the world.:
Here is one of many articles about different examples of body language from around the world.:
The Most Beautiful Woman/Man in the World
This is a great activity for young adults and teens that is educational and fun.Materials:
Magazines/Newspapers
Scissors
Glue
Poster-board
Students are put into groups of 3 or 4 (depending on the class size) and given the materials. They are asked to cut out images of (appropriate) body parts and glue them on their poster boards to create "the perfect" person. Then, they will present to the class their findings using the vocabulary they learned in previous classes. This is a great group exercise because students can also be assigned many different challenging roles such as image finder, description writer, speaker etc. not to mention it's just alot of fun (which is always a perk!)
Wacky Body Part Reading
Something that can include pop culture and would be funny for students would be to read an article about how valuable (socially and financially) some famous people's body parts are. It sounds strange, which it is, but supposedly some celebrities have actually insured their various body parts for millions of dollars. Below is a link.
http://www.businessinsider.com/20-celebrities-who-insured-their-bodies-for-millions-2012-3?op=1
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Blog Spotlight- I-Learn Technology
I Learn Technology is one of my absolute favorite teaching blogs and by far, in my opinion, the best blog for technology integration. You can spend hours if not days reading her posts and trust me, both you and your students will be happier for it! There is everything from links to innovative new websites to fun online games, articles about technology integration, podcasts from effective teachers and much much more. You just have to see it to believe it!
Friday, October 5, 2012
What not to Wear?
Teaching a unit on clothing is one of the best opportunities to use realia or real objects. One fun way to start class and introduce new vocabulary is by bringing your "shopping bag" and showing students the various articles of clothing you bought.
Shopping Spree
For classrooms with computers students can be put in pairs or small groups and given $100 imaginary dollars which they must spend to create an outfit. Students can chose their online store of choice or all be given the same one ( either way its always in English) and after finishing the task they present their decisions to the class, which later votes on the coolest outfit within the alloted
budget.
What do your clothes say about you?
http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/07/03/14/clothes-psychology-what-your-clothing-tells-others-about-who-you-are-and-who-you-want-to-be.htm
Suitcase Challenge
A short activity you can do is bring in weather related realia (rain boots, scarves, gloves, sandals, sun glasses etc.) and have students pack their suitcase for a trip during a specific season. A way to make a little competetive and get them moving would be to put the clothes around the room and time the students to see who can pack their bag the fastest with the most appropriate clothing.
This video of Mr. Bean is a great way to introduce the activity and get the students laughing.
Reader's Theater: The Emporer's New Clothes
Reader's Theater is a great way to get students involved! Literacy Connection is one of the many websites out there that offer free scripts, stories and activities for student. It is also my personal favorite.
Below is a link to the Emporer's New Clothes text along with some comprehension questions and activities.
http://www.sharlagillard.com/eslgarden/stories/dl/emperors_new_clothes.pdf
Fashion Show
Students have a lot of fun with this activity, even those who are quieter in class. As always, break students into and have them choose their differing roles (scribe, writer, model etc), motivating students who are less likely to participate and keeping more advanced students from dominating the activity and instead serving as team leader or moderator. Together the group must describe what their model is wearing, with a different adjective for each article of clothing. then, after all groups are finished the class holds a mock fashion show along with music and a make-shift catwalk (the aisle between a row of desks is fine). This is not only a fun activity for clothing vocabulary but also a great exercise for the present continuous tense. For example, students may say, "He is wearing a gray sweatshirt".
Halloween Costume Creating
There are also a lot of fun ways to incorporate clothing vocabulary around Halloween. Students can describe their actual costume or an ideal one. Teachers can also provide students with a picture of a Halloween costume that they must describe and later have other students guess.
Here are some links for DIY costume ideas:
http://www.creatingreallyawesomefreethings.com/diy-adult-costumes/
http://www.marthastewart.com/275248/homemade-halloween-costumes-for-adults/@center/276965/halloween
http://blog.couponsherpa.com/50-cheap-and-easy-costumes-for-adults-and-children/
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