24 October 2011

Symphony in Slang:) Idioms!



1) Arrange your students in groups of 3 max. 4 people. Show "The Symphony in Slang" and ask groups to pay attention. Make strips of paper with the script (check below) written on it, and spread all over the classroom.  Play the video again and ask your students to pick up the idioms as they come up on the video. 

2) Ask groups to search the definition of the idioms online at http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/

3) To consolidate this activity students can create their own drawing, an image that reflects an idiom.

Script:

“I was born with a silver spoon in my mouth.”
“I grew up overnight.”
“At the crack of dawn…”
“….I woke up with the chickens.”
« Don’t count your chickens before they ‘re hatched » : you are warning them not to make plans according to what they expect to happen before it has actually happened ( informal epxression)
“I got a job slinging hash…”
“…because the proprietor was short-handed.”
“But I couldn’t cut the mustard…”
“…so the guy gave me the gate.”
“I went back to my hole in the wall.”
“I was beside myself with anger.”
“I decided to get a train ticket to Texas. There I made some dough punching some cattle.”
“From there, I flew to Chicago.”
“There, a beautiful girl stepped into the picture.”
“Our eyes met.”
“My breath came in short pants.”
“And I had goose pimples.”
“I was all thumbs.”
“Mary’s clothes fit her like a glove.
“…with her hair done up in a bun.”
“She had good lookin’ pins too!”
“Finally, she gives me a date.”
“I put on my white tie and tails.”
“And brother, did she put on the dog!”
“We went around together for some time…”
“…painting the town red….”
“…going to the Stork Club…”
“…we had a box at the opera.”
“…I had a cocktail and Mary had a Moscow Mule.”
“…Mary let her hair down…”
“…and ate like a horse.”
“By then, my money started running out on me.”
“So I wrote a check. It bounced!”
“I was in a pickle…”
“The proprietor drew a gun on me.”
“So I gave him the slip…”
“…and head to the foothills.”
“The law was on my heel.”
“…the judge tried to pump me.”
“…everytime I opened my mouth, I put my foot in it.”
“So he sent me up the river…”
“…to do a stretch in the jug.”
“I was up against it…”
“…and felt myself go to pot.”
“I raised a big stink.”
“…let me talk to an undercover man.”
“I went through a lot of red tape…”
“…he sprung me!”
“It sure felt good to stretch my legs…”
“…I caught a Greyhound…”
“…I dropped in on Mary…”
“…and threw myself at her feet.”
“But she turned her back on me.”
“But she got on her high horse. I couldn’t touch here with a 10 foot pole!”
“She wouldn’t say a word. Guess the cat got her tongue.”
“So, I walked out on her.”
“After that, I went to pieces.”
“…where a bunch of the boys were hangin’ around.”
“The guy at the piano played by ear.”
“I felt a tug at my elbow…”
“We sat down and chewed the rag a while.”
“I heard through the grapevine…”
“…Mary was going around with an old flame.”
“That burned me up!”
“Because I knew that he was feeding her a line.”
The guy really spent his money like water.”
“I think he was connected with the railroad.”
“As they danced, I tried to chisel in…”
“…but the guy got in my hair.”
“Outside it was raining cats and dogs.”
“I was feeling mighty blue.”
“And everything looked black.”
“But I carried on!”
“I went to the 1000 Islands.”
“There, I became a beachcomber.”
“…and a tear ran down my cheek.”
“So I sends her a cable.”
“The next day, she sends me a wire.”
“I rushed back to the US on a cattle boat…”
“…and I hotfooted it over to Mary’s apartment.”
“When I opened the door, I noticed quite a few changes…”
“Why Mary, she had a bunch of little ones.”
“The groom had his hands full, too!”
“So, all this struck me so funny, I died laughing!”

18 October 2011

The Fun Theory!


As teachers we should always try to create new ways to help students understand, relate to a subject and perhaps present rules. Teenagers respond a lot better to ideas that activate their brain or can be used on a day to day basis. 
During adolescence, the sense of perception towards the world changes which affects behavior, attitude, habits, personality, etc. It's an essential time for teachers to set good examples, help students organize their thoughts, and be supportive.

If there are ways of making things more appealing why not make it more fun. The Fun Theory project is an initiative of Volkswagen to help change people's behavior for the better. On their site (check below) there are great videos you can show your students, the one we selected is a great example of  how fun can go a long way and change people's attitude.

Enjoy:)
Special thanks to our friend and fellow teacher Andrea Catarineli for introducing us to this video:) Soon we will be posting more activities, we just love all the videos and we are full of ideas!




Site and video source: www.thefuntheory.com 

13 October 2011

The evolution of now: Vocabulary practice :)


This activity will increase the use of new vocabulary by promoting interaction amongst the students, and introducing a topic they are quite familiar with: Social networks.


1) Tell your students that they are going to watch a video that shows where we are in terms of social evolution. Ask them to write down all the information they consider surprising. 


2) Divide your students in pairs or trios and give each group a copy of the text below: The power influence has to make things happen.

3) Still in groups, the students can make posters about the social evolution numbers. Display on the board the social network word bank (check below).

4) Depending on their level, they can create a social network hit that has a great potential to go viral:

Eg:
 protect the environment
 protect the animals
 children’s rights, etc…

OBS: Remember, you don’t need to use a real social network to do this activity, it all can be done using paper, cut outs, or even drawings, what really matters is their creativity, and the use of new words and structures.

The Power Influence Has to Make Things Happen

source: http://mysuperchargedlife.com/blog/be-an-influence-you-are-a-powerful-force

Think of your influence like water.  Water in motion is a very powerful force.  We’ve all seen the pictures of a flood carrying away cars and even homes.
This is similar to what can happen today if you launch an idea and it goes viral on the Internet.  It becomes like a flood.  It moves rapidly over all the obstacles in its way.  Nothing can stop it.
We often hold back launching our ideas because we think it won’t make a difference, but what if others embrace it?  It happens every day.  Common people become famous in an instant.  Movements are created.  People rally together behind a cause.  Influence makes big things happen.
Of course, not all ideas go viral, still influence is powerful.  It can work like erosion.  Slowly, but surely, over time erosion changes entire landscapes.
You have this power inside you.  We all do.  It is all about how we choose to use it.

Social network word bank:

Tweetup - noun: a meeting or other gathering organised by means of posts on the social networking service Twitter. [from tweet + up on the pattern of MEETUP].

Hashtag - noun: a # [hash] sign added to a word or phrase that enables Twitter users to search for tweets (postings on the Twitter site) that contain similarly tagged items and view thematic sets.

Tag cloud - noun: a visual depiction of the word content of a website, or of user-generated tags attached to online content, typically using colour and font size to represent the prominence or frequency of the words or tags depicted.

Slashdot effect - noun: the slowing down or crashing of a small website due to a huge increase in traffic when the website is linked to another, much more popular one.

Unfriend/defriend - verb: to remove from one's 'friends' list (e.g. on a social networking website).

Freemium - noun: a business model in which some basic services are provided for free, with the aim of enticing users to pay for additional, premium features or content.

Paywall - noun: a way of blocking access to a part of a website which is only available to paying subscribers.

source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/185729/social_network_terms_go_mainstream.html

11 October 2011

Spot the difference using COMPARATIVES!

A great activity to consolidate comparatives is the online game "The Daily Diff".
"The Daily Diff"(Play at http://www.shockwave.com/gamelanding/dailydiff.jsp) is a game where students have to spot the 10 differences in the pictures, encourage them to use comparatives. There is a different picture everyday.

Eg.: 
The right side hat is bigger than the left side one.
The left hat is bluer than than the pink one.

Here there are some examples of "The Daily Diff" pictures:








10 October 2011

Personality Adjectives


Interpret others characteristics using Numerology.
Make copies of each number meaning and display them where all students can read it. Then ask them to write down a classmate’s full name and count each letter of their mate’s name following the formula below. 


1= a, j, s;
2= b, k, t;
3= c, l, u;
4= d, m, v;
5= e, n, w;
6= f, o, x;
7= g, p, y;
8= h, q, z;
9= i, r
E.g.: Steve = 1+2+5+4+5= 17 = 1+7= 8


After finding their friend’s number, ask your students to write their classmates' profile based on the description using personality adjectives. Ask your students to share with their pair.

VARIATION: If you don’t want to put your students on the spot, instead of getting their names ask your students to interpret their favorite celebrity's name, and make a poster using cut outs from magazines illustrating the celebrity’s characteristics.

This activity can also help students practice first conditional.  

e.g.: “If your number is 4, you will be successful in arts.

This activity promotes interaction amongst the students, and it makes students curious and interested. They will have a lot of fun with it:D

Interpretations:

Number 1 is the most individualistic of all numbers.
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 1 appears in your numerology chart:
Extraordinary leadership skills, very ambitious, driven, goal-oriented, strong will power, courageous, unconventional, inventive, creative, original, pioneer, unique approach to problems, independent, individualistic, great potential for success. 
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 1 is predominant in your chart:
Entrepreneur, leader, manager, business person, inventor, scientist, ideally you should be your own boss.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 1, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
Stubborn, dominant, impatient, concerned with status and appearance, selfish, egotistic, angry, aggressive, demands respect and attention, pride, need to feel in command.


Number 2 is the most sensitive of all numbers.
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 2 appears in your numerology chart:
You are gentle, subtle, cooperative, tactful, diplomatic, patient, sincere, harmonious, artistic, emphatic, intuitive, supportive, loving, humble and peaceful. You are considerate and sensitive to the needs of others.
You sense what other want and how they feel, you are a great team-worker and an organizational talent. You have an eye for beauty and you are often the power behind the throne.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 2 is predominant in your chart:
Healer, counselor, teacher, musician, designer, architect, diplomat, advisor
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 2, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
Timidity, fear, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, depressed. You are vulnerable and easily hurt and you try to escape from all kinds of confrontation and criticism.

Number 3 is the most playful of all numbers. 
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 3 appears in your numerology chart:
You are creative, socially active, artistic, very positive and optimistic, playful, happy and fun-loving, inspirational, imaginative, motivating, enthusiastic and uplifting.
You have great verbal skills and a talent for self expression. You are a great communicator, you enjoy life and you don't take things too seriously.
For more information on how to calculate your numbers, please check out my
numerology calculation chart and my article on numerology calculation.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 3 is predominant in your chart:
Entertainer, writer, actor, musician.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 3, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
You are disorganized, irresponsible, moody, emotional and vulnerable. You can be moody and cynical, you lack focus and discipline and you might have difficulties with handling money.
You tend to scatter your energies, you often lack direction and it might be difficult for you to finish projects.


Number 4 is the most practical of all numbers. 
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 4 appears in your numerology chart:
You are practical, detail-oriented, organized, orderly, systematic, methodical, precise, reliable, punctual, dependable, honest, trustworthy, without artifice.
You are the rock and cornerstone of an enterprise, you don't give up easily, you are perseverant and a hard worker.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 4 is predominant in your chart:
Banker, accountant, manager, scientist, lawyer.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 4, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
You can be rigid, judgmental, stubborn, too detail-oriented, bossy, overly cautious and too serious. You might lack flexibility and adaptability.
It is difficult for you to deal with changes and you are often too conventional in your approach.

Number 5 is the most flexible of all numbers. 
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 5 appears in your numerology chart:
You make friends easily, you are versatile and multi-talented, upbeat and inspirational and a good communicator and motivator. You have great verbal skills and you are very dynamic, persuasive, adaptable, versatile and curious, courageous, bright and quick-witted.
You are an explorer and adventurer who wants to experience all of life, you also like to perform in front of audiences and you like to do several things at the same time.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 5 is predominant in your chart:
Salesperson, promoter, entertainer, scientist, travel agent.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 5, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
It is difficult for you to commit to one relationship and you have difficulties to finish projects. You lack discipline and order, you are impatient, restless, easily distracted and you can be very impulsive.
You might also be susceptible to overindulgence in sensual pleasures. Discipline and focus are the keys to your success.



Number 6 is the most loving of all numbers.
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 6 appears in your numerology chart:
You are compassionate, responsible, sacrificing and unselfish, harmonious and balanced, generous, kind, humble, charismatic and charming.
You are also committed, protective, nurturing, domestic, community conscious and family oriented. You like to offer a shoulder for others and you are a good parent.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 6 is predominant in your chart:
Musician, actor, teacher, healer, artist, craftsperson.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 6, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
You can be too emotional and overly sentimental. You are susceptible to flattery. You also might sacrifice yourself too much for the sake of others and suppresses your own talents.
You have to find a balance truly between helping and interfering. Sometimes you are also self-righteousness, stubborn and egotistical and you tend to dominate family and friends.



Number 7 is the most spiritual of all numbers.
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 7 appears in your numerology chart:
You are analytical, intellectual, focused, scientific and inventive, contemplative, meditative, spiritual and enigmatic. You are a seeker of truth and an accumulator of knowledge and wisdom.
You prefer working alone and you need space and privacy. You enjoy solitude, but you also like to display your knowledge in public. You are an abstract thinker, you are self-oriented, a perfectionist and you possess great mental strength
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 7 is predominant in your chart:
Scientist, religious leader, philosopher, scholar, preacher, sage, teacher, inventor, researcher.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 7, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
Intimacy might be difficult for you. You can be cynical, selfish, egocentric, withdrawn, aloof, lonely, overly reserved and suspicions.
Maintain your independence, but be careful not to become too inward and isolated.

Number 8 is the most powerful of all numbers.
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 8 appears in your numerology chart:
You are inspiring, result-oriented, powerful, ambitious, visionary, generous, perseverant, forgiving, broad-minded, money-conscious and self-disciplined.
You have the potential for enormous success and the possibility to accumulate great wealth. You are also a good judge of character a natural leader and a survivor.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 8 is predominant in your chart:
Manager, investor, entrepreneur, business person, scientist, politician, financial expert, real estate, politician, athlete.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 8, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
You might be stubborn, intolerant, impatient, stressed, materialistic, impatient with people, arrogant and reckless. You have the power to accumulate great wealth, but you also susceptible to loosing everything.
You are a gambler, you have a strong desire for luxuries and you can fall for corruption. You have to find a balance between the spiritual and the material world. Learn to use your power for benefit of mankind.

Number 9 is the most humanitarian of all numbers.
You most likely have some of the following strengths and talents at your disposal if the number 9 appears in your numerology chart:
You are socially conscious, concerned about the betterment of the world, idealistic, visionary, tolerant, imaginative and creative, compassionate, romantic, selfless and generous. are also giving, sharing, loving, caring, noble and aristocratic.
You don't mind sacrificing time, money and energy for a better world. You usually finish what you start and you are ready to sacrifice without the need for reward.
Here are some of the career choices that might suit you particularly well if the number 9 is predominant in your chart:
Designer, photographer, politician, lawyer, teacher, healer, statesperson, writer, philosopher, artist.
Some of the following weaknesses, which are associated with the number 9, could slow down or even prevent your progress. But don't worry, it's very unlikely that all of the listed characteristics are part of your personality.
Most probably, only one or a few of them will belong to you:
You can be aloof, withdrawn, distracted, possessive, moody, timid and uncertain. You are often unsatisfied with achieved results and you might get disappointed with life's realities. You also tend to be careless with your finances.

Formula and interpretation's source:

4 October 2011

Modal Verbs Hot Potato:)

Teaching a Modal Verbs?
This is the hot potato dare game.
First create your dares on separate slips of paper. 
Eg.: 
Ask permission to touch someone's nose.
Can you you stand on one foot for 15 seconds?
Ask someone to sing you a song.
Ask permission to sing a song to someone.
Give an advice to someone.

Make sure to create dares that will either make your students use modal verbs or express an ability.

Ask your students to seat in a circle formation and give them a ball, or a hot potato (if you have one) to pass around. When the song stops ask the student holding the ball to get a slip of paper. Play an upbeat song and have fun!!

3 October 2011

Teen Brain


The teenage brain is a work in progress. 
It was believed that the brain was fully developed by the end of childhood, but research has shown that adolescence is a time of  brain growth and change.
Let's take a look at this video!