I’m writing this post in answer to Larisa Bezrukova’s comment in the Monsters Inc. post. First, I’m going to tell you how I do it. Maybe it’s not the best way, but I’m used to it. I have downloaded a programme called Real Player. Once you have installed it, whenever you find a video on the net, if you place the mouse cursor on it, a button will appear which says “Download video” (“Descargar este video” in my case). You click on it and Voila! you’ve got the video saved in your computer.
If you are not satisfied with that option, here you have a video Jamie Keddie has prepared. It is extremely clear. Have a look at it!
You may also have a look at Nancy Morales explanations. They are in Spanish but they are very easy to understand I believe.
If you have any other idea, share it in the comments section. Remember that if you don’t have access to video in your classroom, there is also a way of just listening to the videos from you tube. For more information have a look at this post.
As I have already told you in this post I love Claudio’s blog: Movie Segments to Asses Grammar Goals. I have been inspired by him so I will share with you one lesson plan I have prepared to revise the use of Present Simple and Present Continuous. It is based on this scene from the movie Monsters Inc. You should start watching from minute 5 onwards :
And here go the activities:
1) Complete the sentences with the appropriate tense ( Present Simple and Present Continuous)
a) Every day, Sulley _______________ (drive) to work. However, today they ____________ (walk)
b) Right now, Mike _______________ (talk) to Sulley’s mum on the phone.
c) Afterwards, they often ______________ (watch) tv, but today they __________ (also / star) on a tv commercial.
d) Sulley and Mike _____________ (not exercise) together. Sulley ______ (do) his routine and Mike __________ (guide) him.
e) Then, Sulley always ______________ (brush) his teeth.
f) Sulley usually ____________ (get up) at 6:00 but today he ____________ (still/ sleep) at 6:05.
2) Watch the film and put the sentences in the correct order.
3) Write 5 sentences about what the monsters Sulley and Mike encounter on their way to work are doing at the moment.
4) Did you like the scene? Why (not)?
Hope you like it and find it useful. If you have used it, please share your experience with us. If you have more ideas to work with this particular film or with movies in general, don’t hesitate to share your views.
I have already posted about the advantages of teaching with films in this post. However, all the pages I have found in that occasion were commercial ones. FIRST PAY and then get the lesson plan. Fortunately, yesterday I read a twit about two wonderful blogs with loads of lesson plans based on films. And what is more: they are free. I love this initiatives of collaborative learning in which we all get a benefit.
Well, let’s go to the point. The two blogs were created by Claudio Azevedo. He introduces himself in his blog saying “I’m a teacher at Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil. I’m a Branch Coordinator and Teacher Trainer as well. I really like movies and seeing them with “different” eyes, trying to see how I can use them in my classroom.” Apart from that, he discusses the advantages of teaching English with films in this post. What I like the most about his blogs is that he doesn’t only share the lesson plans, but he also gives tips on how to create our own lesson plans.
Well, by this point you must be all willing to know the addresses of his blogs. The first older one is ” Movie segments to assess grammar goals”. It cointains a series of movie segments and activities to assess or practice grammar points through fun, challenging exercises. The new one, which is only one week old, is “Movie segments for Warm-ups and follow-ups”. The lesson plans found here are to be used to brainstorm, warm up, follow up, and activate schemata, preparing the students for the topic that will be discussed in class.
Well, that’s all for now. I hope you find it as useful as I had and please Claudio, keep up the great job you are doing. If you have a good lesson plan to share don’t hesitate to contact me or Claudio, and we would be glad to publish it in our blogs.
You might be surprised at this! A great lover of the net has never prepared an online exercise. Well, it is said that there is a first time for everything and here’s my first experience!
Before sharing with you my first creation, I would like to introduce you to the webpage where I have placed my exercise. ESL printables is a great website created by Víctor Gayol an English language teacher in Spain. In his website English language teachers exchange resources: worksheets, lesson plans, activities, etc. Their collection is growing every day with the help of many teachers. If you want to download you have to send your own contributions. I have found wonderful material there, and of course I have made my own contributions too. I strongly recommend it.
And here goes MY online exercise. The episode of “Shaun the sheep” called “Still Life” is a great video to use with kids. It is mute, but they can practise farm animals, colours, numbers, parts of the day, sad, happy, angry. Hope you like it. Have a look at it and please leave your comments. All your opinions are welcomed!
If you don’t have access to a computer or to a DVD in your classroom and you would love to use you tube videos in your lessons, HERE IS THE SOLUTION FOR YOU! Listen to You Tube is a webpage that allows you to convert YouTube flash video to MP3 audio. This service is fast, free, and requires no signup. All you need is a YouTube URL, and the software will transfer the video to their server, extract the MP3, and give you a link to download the audio file. Very easy and very useful indeed! Enjoy it!
Today is another anniversary of 9/11. When such schocking things take place, we tend to remember them as if it was yesterday. For that reason, you may start the lesson by asking your students “what were you doing on 9/11 2001 (when the twin towers fell)?”
There is a very good explanatory video available in Brain Pop for free during September. You will also find a quiz your students can do after watching the video.
You may also watch the trailer of the movies United 93 or World Trade Center and have a class debate on films based on true events.
Here you have some questions you might want to use during the discussion:
1) Have you seen United 93 or World Trade Union?
2) If not, do you want to see them? Why (not)?
3)If so, what did you think of them? How well do they evoke the horror of the events of that day?
4)Do you think it is right to ake a film about such events?
If you want, you can share your point of view on this issue in the comment section. Feel free to add any other idea to make this lesson plan more appealing for our students.
It’s Madonna’s 50th birthday on Saturday 16th August, why not celebrate it in the classroom with this lesson plan (see attached file below) ?
You can start by asking students to guess whose birthday is it on the 16th of August by doing a reading activity based on Madonna’s biography. Then, to revise the past simple form of verbs, students can be asked to complete the song by Madonna “Drowned World (Substitute for Love)” with the verbs in the correct form. Finally, they will listen to the song to check their answers and do some comprehension questions.
Here you’ve got the video of the song. It is great fun for the students to watch it, instead of just listening to the song. Apart from that, it acts as a visual aid to help them understand the song better.
Hope you like it. My students loved it. If you have any other ideas, don’t hesitate to share them with us.
It’s been a long time since my last post. I’m sorry but I’ve been extremely busy. Well, in fact, I’m still busy but I’ve found a great resource online that I would like to share with you. If you are a fan of web 2.0 (just like me), and I’m sure you are. If you are always on the lookout for great new webpages, blogs, and so on and so forth. You will cherish In Suggest as much as I do.
In Suggest is an online tool that helps you find new websites based on your personal taste. You will just have to enter the addresses of your favourite websites, and you will instantly get recommendations for new ones. It is also possible to do the same with images from flickr and also with… your bookmarks in delicious (remember that I’m sabridv in delicious, if you would like to be part of my network)!!! It’s amazing. I’ve already tried it out and found lots of interesting sites related to esl, efl and tefl.
EXTRA BONUS: To make up for all the time I’ve been away from this blog, I will share with you another resource I’ve found using In Suggest. Esl pod tv is a great podcast for learners and teachers of English as a foreign or second language. There you will find short video clips and mp3 sound files which are available to download from the site as podcasts. The lessons are aimed at students with an intermediate to advanced level of English and are also supplemented by online interactive exercises. In addition there are PDF files of lesson plans based on the podcast materials that teachers can use in the classroom.
Hope you find it useful and don’t hesitate to share with us the wonderful resources and webpages you’ll find using In Suggest.
Surfing the net I came across an excellent tool: TIME TUBE. If you enter a key word, the system creates a timeline for you with videos taken mainly from you tube. I haven’t used it yet in any of my classes, but I believe it has a great potential for the English classroom (and for most of other subjects too). You can use it for practising narrative tenses, dealing with history topics, current news and whatever you can imagine. I’m planning to use it for discussing with my students the economic situation in our country (Argentina). I’m sure that you will have plenty more ideas. Why not share them with us?
Today is Bono’s birthday, so let’s take this opportunity to bring a bit of music into the classroom. I have prepared some activities for the song Bono has dedicated to his father: “Sometimes you can’t Make it on your Own”. You will find activities for teaching vocabulary, listening comprehension and grammar (don’t have to vs. mustn’t). Download the file, play the video from You Tube and that’s it.
A great fun lesson to enjoy with your students. Don’t forget to tell us how it works and if you have any other idea : SHARE IT WITH US
I have already posted about the advantages of teaching with films in this post. However, all the pages I have found in that occasion were commercial ones. FIRST PAY and then get the lesson plan. Fortunately, yesterday I read a twit about two wonderful blogs with loads of lesson plans based on films. And what is more: they are free. I love this initiatives of collaborative learning in which we all get a benefit.
