Level: Intermediate - Upper-Intermediate
Aim: Students learn about the effectiveness of non-verbal communication and discuss examples of positive and negative body language in an interview. Then, they are presented with the research of a social scientist (Amy Cuddy - Ted Talk “Your body language shapes who you are”) and discuss how this knowledge about body language can be applied to their own lives.
Body language examples:
Leaning forward/back
Crossed arms
Smiling
(Avoiding) Eye contact
Fidgeting hands
Nodding
Handshakes
High/Lower-power poses
PowerPoint presentations for TOEFL Speaking questions 1 and 2.
Lesson Aims:
-To introduce the type of question (open ended vs closed questions)
-To clarify the exam question timing (prep and speaking time)
-To recommend a clear note taking strategy
-To provide a clear structure for how to answer each question
-To give a clear speaking frame with sentence starters for guidance
-To give useful and relevant advice for answering each question
-To offer a model question and high level example answer
-To provide further example questions for extra practice
These lessons aim to develop student public speaking skills, teamwork and fluency. Students must work together to create stories for each picture and tell them to the group.
In this unit:
1- News Report - Students create a dialogue (reporter and witness Q&A) for a news story.
2- Colourised Pictures - Students tell the stories behind colourised historical photos.
3- Wild Animal Factfile - Students act as Wildlife TV Presenters and inform the audience about strange animals.
4- Freeze Frame - Students recreate a photo as a freeze frame. They are instructed by a team leader.
5- The Historian - Students tell the stories behind historical photos and answer questions about them.
6- Ghost Camera - Students tell ghost stories based on photos and are scored according to how scary their stories are.
7- Funny Animals - Students tell the stories behind funny pictures of animals.
8- Old people - Students create interesting back stories about old people’s former lives.
If you found this resource helpful, feel free to check out my facebook page for more useful links and resources. I hope you like it: www.facebook.com/tutorcharlie
Aim: Students review a badly written résumé and compare it to a model example to discover common résumé errors. Next students must write their own résumé (using a template for guidance). Then they will swap résumés with a partner to proofread each other’s work and give peer feedback. Finally, they must summarise the main tips and advice for people who are writing a résumé for the first time.
Advertising
Aim: Students discuss what makes a great advert with reference to several examples
Students will consider the different sources of advertising, look at studies showing how many ads a day the average person sees and view 8 examples of clever ads. Using discussion and brainstorming techniques to evaluate what makes an effective ad, students will then create their own ad for the school.
Sales Pitch
Aim: Students learn about brand logos and slogans then prepare a persuasive sales pitch using several sales techniques
Students will learn about: USP’s, celebrity endorsement, social proof, yes questions, creating urgency, positive facts and statistics and superlatives.
Publicity Stunts
Aim: Students read and discuss examples of publicity stunts by businesses, celebrities and political activists. Then they discuss publicity stunts that went wrong and how they could have been improved. Finally, they prepare a publicity stunt to raise awareness for your school.
Aim: Students learn what an Au Pair is and how they are different to baby sitters or nannies.
Students read examples of Au Pair profiles and compare them. Then they make their own Au Pair profiles and talk about themselves in an interview with parents.
Level: Upper-Intermediate
**Aim: ** Students learn about different crimes and punishments and discuss them with a partner. At the end of the lesson they discuss a case in which two tourists in Thailand were sentenced to 10 years in prison for doing graffiti on an old city wall.
Lesson Vocabulary
Crimes:
robbery, assault, fraud, vandalism, arson, murder, kidnapping, possessing drugs
Punishments:
community service, execution, fine, prison, solitary confinement, rehabilitation
Level: Intermediate - Upper-Intermediate
Aim: Students play a game of “Balderdash” to learn different business idioms related to body parts.
Then they complete a gap-fill and play Pictionary to practise using them.
Idioms in this lesson:
To keep an eye on something
To put your foot in it
To hand it to someone
To ask for an arm and a leg
To do a head count
To be up to your neck in work
To put your back into it
To keep your nose clean
To keep your ear to the ground
To give your right arm for something
These are “choose your own story” style lessons, similar to the Black Mirror episode - Bandersnatch
Treasure Hunt (tomb-raider-story)
Aim: to develop student’s problem solving skills and introduce them to coded messages and keys
In this role-play lesson, students will need to help Lara Croft and Indiana Jones in their search for a lost pirate treasure.
They must solve riddles and decode messages in order to progress from clue to clue.
Throughout the lesson students will have to make choices that affect what happens and their actions will be scored.
Spy Lesson (Stopping a bomb threat)
Aim: to develop student’s problem solving skills and get them to evaluate decisions in groups
In this role-play lesson, students act as spies while searching for stolen radioactive material that will be used for a bomb.
They must interview suspects, look for clues and decode messages in the search for their target.
Throughout the lesson students will have to make choices that affect what happens and their actions will be scored.
Level: Beginner
Aim: Students learn the days of the week with a focus on pronunciation and spelling.
The song in the lesson should be sung to the tune of “Heigh Ho” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
Level : Lower-Intermediate - Upper-Intermediate
Finding the Truth
Aim: Students play a game in which Batman and the citizens of Gotham City try to catch some killers before they kill everyone.
They must look for signs that someone is lying then accuse each other or defend themselves of being the killer.
(This is a turn based speaking role-play. The instructions of how to play are included in the teacher notes, there are also role-play card to print)
The role-play is followed by a game of 2 truths 1 lie and a discussion about lying.
Would I Lie to You?
Aim: Students play a game similar to the British TV game show (Would I Lie to You?). Firstly, one student must say a true or false statement about their life, then the other students in their group ask questions to help guess whether they are lying or not. For the second part of the lesson, the students will need their phones and the teacher will need a way to transfer pictures from the students’ phones to the computer. (My students send me the pics on Wechat and then it’s easy to transfer them). Students must then work together in groups of 3. One student is telling the truth but the others must lie about how they know the person in the chosen photograph. The rest of the class can interrogate them with difficult questions to help them guess who is telling the truth.
Level: Intermediate +
Aim: Students learn about the history and culture behind Valentine’s day.
Then they write their own simple love poem (Roses are red, Violets are blue…).
Finally, they guess the missing words in cheesy pick-up lines.
Level: Upper Intermediate
Aim: Students review common mistakes in useful email phrases.
Activities: Email grammar auction, Gap-fill reading, proof-reading annotation activity, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire Quiz.
Aim: Students learn about collective nouns for animals, people and things. They play a game of three rounds and work together to win points.
Animals - army of ants, swarm of bees, crash of rhinos, pod of dolphins, murder of crows, pack of wolves, pride of lions, school of sharks
People - team. class, band, mob, board, crew, audience
Things - pack, bunch, set, group, pair
Aim: Students learn about famous quotes from history
Game: Students must guess the missing words in incomplete quotes as well as the famous people who said them
Level: Lower - Upper Intermediate
Aim: Students learn about 5 supernatural creatures (witch, mummy, zombie, vampire, werewolf) and are quizzed about them. Following the quiz, students navigate a haunted house interactive story in which they must use what they know about each creature to survive.
Download and attach the sound clips to the relevant slides to create a scarier atmosphere for the story.
Christmas
Aim: Students learn about Christmas traditions and words related to Christmas.
Vocabulary set: Rudolf, Santa Claus, Reindeer, Christmas Pudding, Star, Sleigh, Christmas Tree, Snowman, Stocking, Christmas Present, Chimney, Turkey
Activities: Vocab games, Writing a Christmas wish list, Making a Christmas card
Santa Claus
The teacher pretends to be Santa Claus and gives a presentation about their life followed by questions.
Then the students prepare presentations about their lives while pretending to be different characters.
(Characters: The Abominable Snowman, Buddy the Elf, Rudolph, Olaf the Snowman, The Grinch and Elsa)
Christmas Song
Aim: Students learn specific Christmas vocabulary so that they can complete a listening gap fill to a Christmas song.
Vocabulary set: Presents, Stocking, Christmas Tree, Santa, Reindeer, Toys, North pole, Fireplace, Lights, Sleigh, Mistletoe
Song: Mariah Carey - All I want for Christmas is you
TOEFL Speaking question 3 - Presentation and 10 Practice Questions with Audio Files
Lesson aims:
-To introduce the format of TOEFL speaking 3 (Integrated Question - Campus Notice Reading - Dialogue Listening)
-To clarify the exam timing (reading / listening / preparation / speaking time)
-To recommend a clear note taking strategy
-To provide a clear structure for how to answer each question
-To give a clear speaking frame with sentence starters for guidance
-To give useful and relevant advice for answering each question
-To offer a model question and high level example answer
-To provide 10 example questions with audio files for listening for extra practice
(There are also hidden slides which allow the teacher to view the audio transcripts for extra support while teaching this lesson)
TOEFL Speaking question 4 - Presentation and 10 Practice Questions with Audio Files
Lesson aims:
-To introduce the format of TOEFL speaking 4 (Integrated Question - Academic Reading - Monologue Listening)
-To clarify the exam timing (reading / listening / preparation / speaking time)
-To recommend a clear note taking strategy
-To provide a clear structure for how to answer each question
-To give a clear speaking frame with sentence starters for guidance
-To give useful and relevant advice for answering each question
-To offer a model question and high level example answer
-To provide 10 example questions with audio files for listening for extra practice
(There are also hidden slides which allow the teacher to view the audio transcripts for extra support while teaching this lesson)
TOEFL Speaking question 6 - Presentation and 10 Practice Questions with Audio Files
Lesson Aims:
-To introduce TOEFL Speaking Question 6 (Academic Listening - Listening to a Lecture)
-To clarify the exam question timing (Listening / Preparation and speaking time)
-To recommend a clear note taking strategy
-To provide a clear structure for how to answer each question
-To give a clear speaking frame with sentence starters for guidance
-To give useful and relevant advice for answering each question
-To offer a model question and high level example answer
-To provide 10 example questions with audio files for extra practice
(This lesson also includes hidden slides with transcripts so that the teacher can clearly read the content of each audio file)