TP 4: Relative clauses
Upper-Intermediate level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To provide clarification and practice of relative clauses in the context of events and celebrations.
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide writing practice when describing something or someone in a video.
Procedure (45-61 minutes)
T reminds Sts of the previous lesson and shows a picture of a Queen's day celebration in the Netherlands. Sts are invited to talk about celebrations in other countries that they know of. T then shows a picture of the Day of the Dead celebration in Mexico and asks Sts if they know what it represents. Sts discuss in pairs.
T holds up a copy of HO1 with a text about the Day of the Dead with three relative clauses. The Sts are asked to complete the gaps in pairs. When everyone has finished, T projects the clauses from the text on WB. T elicits from class what the meaning of the colored parts are (GREEN = information about BLUE, RED = relative pronoun). T holds up a copy of HO2 and points to the first exercise and emphasizes Sts should only do this exercise. Sts are encouraged to work alone. T checks instructions by asking: 'What exercise will you do? Will you match a sentence in the left column with ... ? Will you work together or alone?' Sts check their answers in pairs, and T performs WC feedback by asking Sts for answers 1 by 1 while projecting exercise on WB.
T points at exercise 2 to on HO2 and instructs Sts to complete it in pairs. When Sts have finished, T conducts WC feedback by referring to the relevant sentences. T drills the pronunciation of the relative pronouns. Then Sts are asked to complete exercise 3 in pairs. T conducts WC feedback. Here T explains that one can omit the relative pronoun when the relative pronoun is the object of the clause. Now students will answer the questions from exercise 3 individually and write down their answers in a random order on a piece of paper. After they have done this, the class will be switched around and Sts will interview each other based on the answers they gave.
T projects slide with model sentences on WB and asks Sts to discuss their answers with their partner. T holds up a copy of HO2 again (exercise 4( and shows slide with model sentence. T instructs Sts to complete the exercise in pairs. T checks instructions: 'Will the sentences stay in the same order? Which part of the sentence will come first? Will you work together or alone?' After a few minutes, T projecs the answer key on WB and lets Sts check their answers in pairs.
T shows a 2-minute video of a BBC reporter who travels to Mexico during the Day of the Dead celebrations. T project 2 model sentences on the board. Students will be asked to wirte 5 such sentences, using relative clauses. After a few minutes, Sts will be asked to compare their answers with their partner. During this, T monitors carefully to correct possible errors. Lastly, Sts will share their sentences with the WC.
T divides the class in half: group A and group B. T gives a copy of crossword A to one group, and crossword B to the other. Sts are asked to line up in their groups, facing each other. T makes pairs of A and B students and emphasizes that they cannot look at each other's crosswords. Students take turns to define the words that appear on their half of the crossword, using relative clauses. (It's a place where ..., This is a person who ...) The partner has to guess the words and write them in his/her own crossword. T will instruct Sts to start with words they know and distribute dictionaries for the words they don't know. T asks: ' Will you look at each other's crosswords? Will you simply say the words that appear on your crossword? How will you describe them?'
T asks CCQs: When referring to a person what relative pronoun do we use? How about a thing? When we use commas in a relative clause, what does it mean? In this type of clause, can we leave the relative pronoun out? When can we omit the relative pronoun in a relative clause? When talking about possessions, what relative pronoun do we use? Where does one place the preposition in a clause about places?