Lesson Plan: Emojis

Lesson Level: Senior                       Duration:  45 Minutes

Lesson Title:     The Emoji Lesson

(Note: This lesson is a mash up of my Picture Story lesson and a similar lesson I found on the internet about emojis.)

Grammar and Vocabulary

Sentence building and story telling .

Lesson Objectives

Students will be able to create a story from prompts using complex sentences. 

Materials Required

The required worksheet is described here.

There should be ten sets of ten emojis each. These can either be randomly allocated or specifically chosen to be connected. The worksheet I use has a mix with some sets indicating an alien story, a ghost story, a fairy tale romance and so on and other sets being randomly chosen.

The instructions printed below the sheet are.

Choose one of the sets above.

Write a story of at least 75 words that include as many of the chosen set as possible.

You may use them in any order and do not have to use all of them.

You also need a set of ten emojis big enough to put on the board for the class to see and a way to attach them to the board.

Preparation

Prepare the materials.

Procedure

1

Introduce lesson.

Explain that it is to develop skills at writing more complicated sentences.

Break the class into small groups – four is the ideal number.

(2 Minutes)

2

Put the large emoji set  on board.

Elicit from the class what each emoji is and write one or two words beneath it.

(2 Minutes)

3.

Explain that we are going to write (or start to write) a story using these emojis. Explain that we can use them in any order and that we don’t need to use all of them.

Write a simple first sentence. Elicit ideas for how to continue the story and add sentences. When there are four or five sentences elicit ways to improve them (with adjectives, adverbs; joining separate sentences with conjunctions; adding clauses etc) and write the new versions.

(10 Minutes)

4

Give each group the worksheet.

Go through the work sheet instructions.

5

Give groups ten to fifteen minutes to write stories based on there chosen emoji set.

Monitor and assist as needed.

(15 Minutes)

6

In turn each group comes to the front and reads their story – bring whole group to front.

(15 Minutes)

Notes

1. Worksheet

Lesson Plan: Women of Achievement

Lesson Level:     Senior                   Duration:  45 Minutes

Lesson Title:     Women of Achievement

Grammar and Vocabulary

Words to describe achievements and characteristics.

.

Lesson Objectives

 Students will discuss various famous women in history and what an “achievement” actually is.

Materials Required

 List of famous women and their roles.¹

Text from Practical Oral English²

Preparation

Prepare materials.

Procedure

1 Write “Women of Achievement” on board and elicit the meaning,

2 Elicit famous women known to the students. (Use ball toss around class.)

3 Put students into groups of four.

Hand out list of women and their achievements. Tell students to match the achievement to the woman. Go through the answer with the students. 

4 Tell students to open their book at the reading text. (Hand out copies to students who don’t have the text.

5. Read text aloud to students. Students follow the text in the book. Stop at the end of each paragraph to check new vocabulary.

(Students are often reluctant to admit that they don’t know a word. Check with several individuals for words you believe they may not know.)

6 At the end ask questions to check understanding of the text.

What kind of background does May come from? (Poor)

Where does she want to volunteer? (Villages in India)

How long does she need to save for her trip? (2 years)

How does she feel when she arrives in India? (Nervous, excited,scared, positive.)

How is she treated by the villagers? (Like a queen)

What does she do to help? (Build a well, teach English, help to farm the land?

How does she feel when she has to leave? (Sad, devastated, happy to be going to see her family)

7 Write the questions from the book on the board.

What do you admire about May? Why?

What kind of person is she? How do you know?

What do you think her strengths and weaknesses are? Why?

Add these questions.

Do you think this kind of aid is always useful? Why? Why not?

Tell groups to discuss their thoughts on these questions and write them in their books.

EXTENSION TASK

Get students to look at the words from the book to describe people.³

Check that they understand all the meanings.

In groups students discuss which three words they think are the most desirable qualities in a person.

Notes

1.

Woman

Marie Curie Margaret Thatcher Mary Wolstonecraft Shelley Rosa Parks Florence Nightingale Diana Spencer Amelia Earhart Catherine the Great Frida Kahlo Indira Ghandi Wu Zetian Venus Williams

Famous For

American Civil Rights Mexican artist Married Prince Charles Tennis player Empress of Russia Discovered Radium Nurse Indian Prime Minister Prime Minisiter of the UK Empress of China Famous pilot Wrote Frankenstein

2. 

Here is a story about May. She is a poor girl from Manchester in England. She has a dream. She wants to work as a volunteer in India to help the local villages. She decides to save all her money to enable her to buy a plane ticket so that she can fulfil her dream. She does not earn a lot of money so it will take her two years to save enough money for the trip.

She works hard every day to earn money for the trip. She focuses her mind and is determined to succeed because she wants to fulfil her dream. She works, works and works, and does not do anything else for two years. Eventually the two years are up. She now has enough money for her trip. She organises her trip, books her ticket and off she goes to India.

She arrives in India. She is on the bus on route to her village, excited and scared at the same time she thinks about what she is about to face. It makes her a little nervous, but she stays positive because she knows it is her dream to help this village.  

She arrives at her village. The villagers treat her like a queen and crowd around her. She is overwhelmed and overjoyed by their reception. This makes her cry with happiness, but at the same time she is sad because they all look so thin and hungry. Their living conditions are very poor and they have very little water.

The next few months she works hard and has many projects to do. She helps the villagers build a well, helps to teach English in the local school and helps to farm the land so that the village can eat well. She observed their way of life closely and had lots of  respect for them. They lead a simple life, but come across as very happy and wonderful people.

The time comes and she has to leave. She is very sad to leave, she loves the people here and wants to help them more. She is devastated to leave, but has a great sense of achievement and is very happy to be going home to see her family. She misses them. The people in India inspired her so she intends to return again in a few years time to carry on helping and supporting them.

3. hard-working, generous, honest, energetic, kind, considerate,  active, helpful, unselfish,

     intelligent, confident, educated, fair, brave, warm-hearted

Lesson Plan: Animal idioms.

Lesson Level:   Senior                     Duration:  45

Lesson Title:     Animal Idioms

Grammar and Vocabulary

Use of idiomatic English, especially idioms involving animals. .

Lesson Objectives

 Students will learn a number of expressions and idioms that involve animals.

Materials Required

 Work sheet containing list of animal idioms with animal names removed, list of animal names to be inserted and list of meanings. (One per group of four students plus answer key for teacher.) The idioms should NOT include those used as examples in setting up the activity.

Preparation

 Prepare work sheets

Procedure

1 Write “Idiom” on the board. Elicit ideas about its meaning. Add correct meaning  “a group of words whose meaning is not obvious from just the words”.

2 Write some examples.

Once in a blue moon

A storm in a teacup

Round the bend

Raining cats and dogs.

3 Ask students for their ideas about the meanings.

   Explain the real meanings.

   

4 Highlight “Raining cats and dogs”.

   Explain that English has many idioms involving animals.

   Add “Like a red rag to a __________”. and “A ______ in the hand is worth two in the bush.” to the board.

Elicit the answers “bull/bird” and explain the meanings.

5 Explain the worksheet task.

There is one sheet for each group.

There are twenty five animal idioms.

There is a list of animals and a list of meanings.

Groups must discuss the idioms and match the three things

idiom/animal/meaning¹

DO NOT WRITE ON THE PAPER.

Groups can use dictionaries or ask for help with words they don’t

know..

6 Hand out the worksheets. Allow at least fifteen minutes. Monitor and assist as needed,

7 Go through the answers. Explain the correct animals for each one and what they idiom means (and why, if it isn’t already clear.)

8 EXTENSION TASK

If lesson finishes early tell groups to think of an idiom in Chinese that involve animals and to translate it into English.

Ask each group for their idiom and the meaning (literal and figurative).

Notes

1. My idioms are keyed as A-Z, the animals as a-z, and the meanings as 1-26. Students can write answers in the form Ab3.

2. Worksheet suggestions.

A. At a __________’s pace.

B. A busy as a __________.

C. Open a can of __________s.

D. A wild __________ chase.

E. The world is your __________.

F. It’s a __________ eat __________ world. (Same animal both times.)

G. Hold your __________s.

H. I’ll be a __________’s uncle.

I. Let sleeping __________s lie.

J. Like shooting __________ in a barrel.

K. Like a __________ with a sore head.

L. A little __________told me.

M. Like a __________ in a china shop.

N. I have __________ in  my stomach.

O. A __________ in __________’s clothing. (Two different animals.)

P. You can’t teach an old __________ new tricks.

Q. You can take a __________ to water but you can’t make him drink.

R. The black __________ of the family.

S. Look what the __________ dragged in.

T. Till the __________s come home.

U. The __________’s got your tongue.

V. A __________ can’t change its spots.

W. They are just __________tears.

X. Don’t count your __________s before they are hatched.

Y. The __________ in the room.

Z. __________ see, __________ do. (Same animal both times)

a. bear                      Note

b. bee                 Some of these animals

c. bird                 are used more than once.

d. bull

e. butterflies

f. cat

g. chicken

h. cow

I. crocodile

i. dog

j. elephant

k. fish

l. goose

m. horse

n. leopard

o. monkey

p. oyster

q. sheep

r. snail

s. wolf

worm

1 Don’t plan for something that might not happen.

2 It’s a surprise to see you.

3 Very busy.

4 You can do anything that you want to.

5 Don’t be in such a hurry.

6 Don’t disturb someone who might cause trouble.

7 You can encourage someone but can’t make them work.

8 For a long time.

9 People don’t change their personalities.

10 Very slowly.

11 Something no one talks about.

12 Find something is more complicated than you thought.

13 I am very surprised.

14 I am very nervous.

15 Someone who pretends to be something he isn’t.

16 People don’t change their habits.

17 Only silly people copy others.

18 Doing something that can’t succeed.

19 Doing something that is very easy.

20 Someone who is very clumsy.

21 I know a secret.

22 People will do anything to succeed.

23 Someone who is very bad tempered.

24 Someone who is always in trouble.

25 You have nothing to say.

26 You are not really sorry.

3. Answer key.

Af10 Bb3 Cc12 Dl18 Ep4 Fii22 Gm5 Ho13 Ii6 Jk19 Ka23 Lc21 Md20 Ne14 Osq15 Pi16 Qm7 Rq24 Sf2 Th8 Uf25 Vm9 Wl26 Xg1 Yj11 Z017