For the fourth session of classes my C1.1 level focused on the theme of Geography and Nature while my and B2.2 focused on the theme of Memories.
C1.1- Geography and Nature
Applying my knowledge of the United States, my session on Geography and Nature aimed to illustrate to my students just how diverse the US is in terms of geography, topography, climate, and landscapes.
I began with a short overview of the basic geography of the United States such as basic facts, climates and regions, a brief history of migrations and expansion, and finished with a short video of a Top-10 Countdown of the US' most famous National Parks. Whilst utilizing the topographic and regional maps, my students were able to connect the locations they had learned about in movies or the news to a spatially concrete representation. While not entirely necessary, I included the video of the National Parks to illustrate the incredibly different natural landscapes the United States has to offer. This section of my presentation usually lasted 10-15 minutes in length.
For this lecture's activity I created a game of Jeopardy using the online platform at jeopardylabs.com. This fun platform allows teachers to use and alter preexisting Jeopardy templates or make their very own! I was able to adapt a preexisting game while adding my own categories and adjusting a few questions to fit my level's needs. My game for ESL - Geography and Nature (EOI C1.1) can be found at jeopardylabs.com/play/esl-geography-and-nature-eoi-c11. My game's categories included:
Continents / Poles / Equator
Countries
Mountains / Rivers / Deserts
Explorers
United States Geography
One of my favorite features of the website -- besides being able to adapt and create games to my specific needs -- is the ability to create as many, or as few, teams as needed. Due to the fact that many of my C1.1 classes vary in size, this has proved to be a very useful feature!
This activity honed my students' advancement in learned to work in teams while speaking in English, consider difficult sentence structure, and develop their knowledge about the geography of the United States as well as the world. I have begun to find that activities such as these which foster a sense of competition have proven to be extremely advantageous for my students. Not only do they talk more, but they are excited and have fun while doing so!
B2.2 - Remember When: 50 Questions
I cannot lie to say that trying to come up with a lesson plan to speak on the theme of memories was easy. After a couple of hours staring at my computer screen, combing ESL websites, and bugging my roommates to help me brainstorm, I finally figured it out. For what are memories but things that we remember...things in the past! Using this to guide my lesson plan, I decided to create a game of 50 Questions.
For this lesson, I decided to jump right into the activity to spend our class period "Remembering when...". After formulating a list of 50 questions around the theme of memories and remembrance, I printed out -- as well as painstakingly cut out -- a randomized list of the numbers 1-50. Having broken into smaller groups, students were to take turns drawing numbers from the "deck" and then answering the corresponding questions from the list. The following are the questions I posed to my students:
While a very simple activity, many of my students enjoyed sharing stories and recalling nostalgic memories. Not only did this sustain my students' conversations for the entire hour of my lesson period, it also pushed them to practice using the past tense. Additionally, the ability to work with my students in small groups allows me to answer more specific questions and make grammar corrections on the fly. I find it very rewarding to have the ability to visit each group and speak with my students in a more informal setting. Even though these games allow my students to share past experiences and get to know one another in a fun and informal way, activities such as these --as previously mentioned -- can be greatly beneficial in the long run.
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