Describing places
Pre-Intermediate level
Materials
Main Aims
-
To introduce and provide practice of speaking for fluency in the context of talking about places
Subsidiary Aims
-
To provide clarification of descriptive structures in the context of talking about places
Procedure (32-40 minutes)
T will do a brief self-introduction and repeat Ss' names to create rapport and a friendly environment. T will ask one S: "Where are you from?" T will pull up a map of S' city and ask S to briefly talk about their city. "Dou you have beaches? Is it usually warm? Are there many people living there?" T will ask 2 more Ss for their home cities and ask different questions to get them speaking about the subject in a controlled manner.
T will explain Ss they will be listening to a person talk about their home country: New Zealand. T will put a quiz on the board (Jamboard slide 2) and ask Ss to read the questions: "I will give you 1 minute to read these questions, but please don't answer them yet. Can you see the questions? (Yes) Are you going to answer them? (No)" T will allow for Ss to read. T will ask for Ss attention and go over new instructions: "I will play an audio and you will be answering these questions in a piece of paper. Do you have your pen and papers ready? (Yes) What are we gonna do? (Answer the questions)" T will play the audio and Ss will answer in their notebooks. When audio is done, T will let Ss peer-check their answers: "Please discuss your answers with your partner, see if you have the same answers. I will be putting you in breakout rooms for 2 minutes. Do you have your answers ready?" T will allow Ss to discuss their answers and will monitor BOR. T will bring Ss back to the main session after time is up. T will play the audio again for Ss to check their answers before nominating Ss to give out the answers. T will write down the answers on the board and emphasize the sentence structures that were used. T will go over Useful Language next. T will change to Jamboard slide 3 and introduce the structures used to talk about the location and important aspects of a place. T will present Ss with the questions we can ask to get more information on a place (jamboard slide 4). T will ask Ss to give examples of this structure: Where is __________________? T will go over pronunciation for this question. T will ask Ss why we would use this structure: Why is it important? (To talk about what makes a place special). T will go over the pronunciation of this sentence. T will show Ss a world map (Jamboard slide 5) and ask where Europe is, writing this structure on the board so Ss will use it: It’s in the north/south/west/east of the (Atlantic Ocean) T will ask CCQs: o [While showing a map] Where is Europe? Is it in the north of the Atlantic Ocean or in the south? (North) o Are we talking about size? (No) o Are we talking about location? (Yes) T will show a map of Cancún (Jamboard slide 6) and go over the meaning of the following structure: It’s on/off the east/west coast. T will ask Ss the following CCQs: o When we are talking about the coast, are we near the ocean or far from the ocean? (Near the ocean) o [While showing a map of Cancún] Is Isla Mujeres inside Cancún? (No, it’s outside) o Is it in the water? (Yes) o So is Isla Mujeres on the coast of Cancún, or off the coast? (Off the coast) o And is Cancún on the coast, or off the coast of Quintana Roo? (On the coast) o Is Cozumel on the coast or off the coast of Quintana Roo? (Off the coast) T will go over the pronunciation of the sentences as they are being given. T will show the picture in Jamboard slide 7 and ask present the following sentence: It’s the highest/biggest + (mountain) T will go over CCQs: Which is the highest mountain? (Mt. Everest) What would be the opposite? (The lowest) T will go over pronunciation of example sentence. T will present the last sentence and ask CCQ: It’s a good place for… o Do people usually go skiing there? (Yes) o Is there enough snow to skiing, or do you think there isn't? (There is enough snow) T will go over pronunciation for this sentence.
T will show Jamboard slide 8 with TL again. T will explain Ss will be using those sentences to keep talking about New Zealand. T will share a link with the Useful Language, a map and a list of questions with one half of the class through private chat. The other half will receive a different list of questions and map. T will go over new instructions: "You will be talking in pairs about important places in New Zealand. One of you will have one half of a map, and the other will have the other half. Ask each other about the missing information in your map" T will simultaneously screen-share example slide. T will give an example of a question and answer. "Where is Bay of Islands?" "It's in the north of the North Island." T will then nominate a S and ask: "Why is Bay of Islands important?" T will allow Ss to get the answer from the screen. "You have 4 minutes to make each other these questions. Do you have your maps ready? Is only one of you making the questions or both of you? (Both)" T will create BOR and monitor Ss as they complete the task. T will take note of good and bad language use to discuss during DEC. T will bring Ss back to the main session. T will give new instructions: "Now, we are going to talk about the place where you live. Ask each other about location and the things that make that place special. You have 4 minutes to talk about this." T will give an example with a student by asking them 2 general questions about their home city before creating BOR. T will create BOR (making sure to change Ss pairs so they can speak to different peers) and monitor Ss as they complete the task. T will take note of good and bad language use to discuss during DEC. If time allows, T will prompt new topic: "Finally, let's talk about the place where we would love to live in. Again, you will have 4 minutes." T will nominate a different student to give an example. T will ask S where they would like to live, and why that place is special.
T will bring up slide 11 of the Jamboard, where 3 examples of sentences used by the Ss during the productive task will be written. 2 sentences will need correction, and 1 will be correct. T will go over each sentence with the Ss, eliciting the necessary corrections and praising good usage of the language. T will wrap up the lesson and thank Ss.