Relative Clauses
Intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide practice and clarification of defining and non defining Relative clauses in the context of texts about the internet
Subsidiary Aims
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To identify and provide practice in intonation movements in speech in non-defining relative clauses
Procedure (51-90 minutes)
- Show students pictures of different popular websites and ask them to point out what each of them is known for. - Ask them to discuss with their partner the following: * How often they use the internet * What they use it for * What websites they like to use it for - Tell them they are going to watch a 1 minute video. After watching they have answer the question: * How did the internet change this boy's life? http://www.rferl.org/media/video/how-a-little-afghan-boy-charmed-the-internet/27519540.html
- Elicit the meaning of the word ENTREPRENEUR - Students read Ex 4 and find out why YOUTUBE became successful - Check answer as a class
- Write these sentences on the board: * Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, who were also colleagues, were having problems trying to email a video clip. * Within two hours they came up with the idea which would solve the problem and change internet history, * YouTube was a place where you posted videos. - Ask them what they notice in each one them. - Highlight the use of WHO, WHICH, WHERE in relative clauses
- One by one present the different rules for Relative Clauses: * Describe or provide information about something or someone that we have usually specified * Enable us to combine clauses together without repeating things e.g. i tried to help a child. The child was crying out loud. I tried to help a child who was crying out loud. * They usually come immediately after the main clause I like taking care of babies who smile a lot. * They usually start with a relative pronoun. - Elicit rules for relative pronouns
- In pairs students match the main clauses to their corresponding relative clauses - Check as a class - Using the underlined phrases they make sentences that are true for them
- Write two of the sentences on the board. * That's the website which I visit every day. * You Tube, which is very popular, allows you to post your own videos. - Elicit from the students where the relative clauses are - 'which i visit everyday.' + 'which is very popular' - Remove these two clauses from the sentences and ask the students which sentence has lost it's main piece of information (That's the website) - Ask the students which sentence has kept it's main piece of information (YouTube allows you to post your own videos) T - Introduce to the students the idea that a defining relative clause has essential information or defines something and that a non-defining relative clause has only additional or extra information. Use this opportunity to explain that 'that' can only be used in defining clauses. - Ss then separate the cut outs they had earlier matched into defining and non defining relative clauses - Check as a class -
- Ask students to complete Ex 6 A. CCQs to ensure they have understood what they have to do in the exercise. - Check as a class. - Elicit the use of commas to separate relative clauses in non defining clauses. - Highlight the fact that wherever there is a comma, it requires a pause
- Students read instructions and teacher checks for understanding. - Sts do Ex 7 A - Check as a class - Students work in pairs to practice thr sentences in 7 A out loud.
- Show students activities in Ex 8 A - Ask them which of these they like doing online and which ones they prefer in the real world. - Very quickly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a few. - Elicit a few conjunctions that are used to join to sentences together (and, but, or, because, when, that, which, so). Highlight the fact that clauses make sentences more complex. - Ask them to discuss their opinions on the advantages and disadvantages of the activities mentioned in Ex 8 A using complex sentences.