Elsa van Latum Elsa van Latum

TP 4: Relative clauses
Upper-Intermediate level

Description

In this lesson, students will practice using relative clauses in the context of events and celebrations. They will become familiar with the target language by reading a small text containing relative clauses, after which a grammar analysis will guide them through its meaning and form, with a bit of focus on the pronunciation. A semi-controlled practices (constructing sentences with non-defining relative clauses) will consolidate their understanding of the target language and in the free exercise, the students will practice their writing skills when referring to people, events and things they see in a video.

Materials

Main Aims

  • To provide clarification and practice of relative clauses in the context of events and celebrations.

Subsidiary Aims

  • To provide writing practice when describing something or someone in a video.

Procedure

Warmer (4-6 minutes) • To energize the Sts after the previous lessons and set the topic of the lesson ahead

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.

Exposure (7-9 minutes) • To provide context for the target language through a text

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.

Highlighting and clarification (15-19 minutes) • To draw student's attention to the target language and clarify meaning and form

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.

Semi-controlled practice (4-6 minutes) • To concept check and consolidate understanding

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.

Free practice (6-8 minutes) • To provide students with free practice of the target language

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.

Potential Free practice (7-9 minutes) • To provide Sts with free practice of the target language if Sts need more practice

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?'

Wrap-up (2-4 minutes) • To ensure that the aims of the lesson have been understood

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?

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