Reading lesson about time-keeping
Intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide detailed reading practice using a questionnaire about time-keeping.
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide review of prepositions of time in the context of time-keeping.
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To provide fluency speaking practice in a conversation in the context of time-keeping, if time allows.
Procedure (50-68 minutes)
- Students speak in pairs about the attitudes towards time in Turkey or wherever they're familiar with. Ask sts: "How do you feel about being late? Is it better to be early? What kinds of things can you be late for, and what can you not be late for?" - Take a short survey.
- Students will now be introduced to the important vocab in the text. Using the projector, I'll show students a few of the vocabulary words in a word bank, and then example sentences with gaps on the other. Students work in pairs to fill the gaps, and we check answers as a WC
- Ask: What is time-keeping? (Being on time or how you keep track of the time.) Then, students individually complete the questionnaire. If they don't understand a word, they can ask another student or me. (5 minutes) - Students form new pairs and compare their answers. - Tell students to look at their answers and see if they have more As, Bs, or Cs. Students read the bottom section and find out what their score means. - Take short survey, raising hands. - Ask sts about in time vs. on time. CCQs.
- After students check their answers, they are asked the question: Which is the best attitude towards time-keeping, and why? Students discuss in pairs, then a few share their opinion with the whole class, and a small debate can form.
- Students are put into teams of 3 or 4 depending upon the class size. Each team receives an envelope with individual slips of words and phrases. Students must place the pieces in order to figure out the four sentences. Then, students run to the board and complete the table which describes the rules for the usage of "at", "on", and "in". They will be given 5 minutes, and they may be done earlier. I'll walk around and monitor them, and from this I'll know if they'll need more review with this TL or if they are fairly competent and can move through the other exercises quickly and have time for more freer practice. - Get the students to deliver their sentences, and I write them on the WB. I stop whenever they've encountered a mistake, and get corrections from other groups.
- Students look at ex. 1 on the other side of HO1, do exercise in pairs. If they need help/examples, point them to the clarification on the left side ("Prepositions of time"). As students finish, they write their answers on the WB. We then check as a WC. - Most likely, clarification will not be necessary for "at", "on", and "in" since they'll have figured out that rule in the game beforehand. What may be necessary is clarification of when to use "during" and when to use "for". We'll broach this topic with example sentences if there is extra time, using the example sentences I've prepared and written in the language analysis.
- Tell sts: Change the statements into questions, mingle, and record your answers. I'll get a few sample questions ("I work best at night" = "When do you work best?" They should try to use "when" not "do" in order to get more elaborate answers, ie not just yes/no.) - Short survey when they finish.
- Introduce students to three English phrases ("The early bird gets the worm." "There's no time like the present." "Better late than never.") In pairs (different), see if they can explain the meaning to one another in English. Take short survey and write the official plain English version on the board.
- Students sit back down and discuss in groups of 3s about what things are a waste of time. They decide upon the 1 thing that is the most wasteful, share with the class.