Masterchef

In this lesson, we wanted to practice writing recipes. You know how fond I am of games, so I prepared this Masterchef for my 4th ESO students. The game is so easy to implement, and most importantly, fun!! Here we go:

Prep time: 5 minutes (maybe 10 if you want to print pictures of the ingredients as I did)

Materials: envelopes, pictures of different ingredients, dictionaries if needed. I also gave my students pieces of paper with the basic verbs used in cooking.

How to:

Put 5 ingredients on each envelope (don’t be afraid of mixing strawberries with chicken!)

I have a group of 25 students, so I divided the group in two and made 2 sets of 4 envelopes. The students get into pairs or groups of three.

Stage 1: Each group sits in front of an envelope. They have 10 minutes to write a recipe with the ingredients of the envelope. After the time is up, the group moves to another envelope. Every group writes a recipe for each of the 4 envelopes in their half.

Stage 2:

Each group gets the recipes written by the other half of the class for one of the envelopes. They have to proofread them and choose the best, either because it’s the best written, or the most original… they have to agree on a criterion and explain it to the class.

Let me know if you try to implement this idea in your class! Have fun!!

Opinion paragraphs: organizing ideas

One of the most important (and most difficult) steps before writing is organizing our ideas. To do so, we have to brainstorm ideas on the topic and write them down. After that, we can analyze them and choose the best for our essay.

We did a very easy-to-prepare activity in order to get ready for writing opinion essays. Here it goes!

Prep time: 5 minutes.

Materials: paper, color pens and a timer. Dictionaries if needed.

How-to:

There are 25 students in my class, so I prepared 5 topics. For each topic, we have a FOR title and an AGAINST title. I wrote a title on top of each paper (10 in total, 5 for and 5 against) and distribute the papers on empty tables.

The students are divided in pairs or groups of three. Each person in the group has a different color pen.

STAGE 1:

The groups sit in front of a different paper and have 4 minutes to write as many ideas as they can on the topic. After the time is up, the students move to another table. Every group visit all the tables.

STAGE 2:

The students regroup themselves according to the color of their pens. After that, each new group sits in front of a filled paper from Stage 1. They have 15 minutes to analyze the ideas on the paper, choose the best three, and write a paragraph using them.

We had a lot of fun practicing, let me know how it goes if you try it!

Spill the beans!

Hi students! we are going to start this year by sharing some personal information. Here is the deal: you pick a candy from the bag (don’t look!) and before eating it, you have to share a piece of information about yourself with the class. The nature of the information depends on the color of the candy bean.

Have fun!

Quizlet

Dear students, please check this app out! Quizlet is a fun and easy way to practice vocabulary. If you search for my username mrscora you will find all the vocabulary sorted by topics. There you can choose which words to review, play with them and even listen to their pronunciation. Join your classroom in the menu “Clases”, this way I can follow your progress!

Play online quizzes which are personalized depending on your performance:

You can also practice vocabulary finding pairs of words + translation:

Let me know what you think! Enjoy your learning

Conditionals chain

Dear students,

today we will be practicing chain sentences using conditionals. If you are sitting at the front row in the class, choose a sentence from the picture below. Copy it at the top of a blank page, then complete it (make sure you know which conditional you are using!). When you are done, give the paper to the student behind you.

If you receive the paper, you have to write a full conditional sentence using the end of the last sentence in the paper. After you write your conditional sentence, fold the paper so as only your sentence is visible. Give it to the student behind you.

If you are the last person in the row, write your conditional sentence and read the whole paper to the rest of the class. Let’s vote for the best conditional chain!

Have fun!

Speak about the future!

Dear students, here we have a board game to practice speaking about the future. I hope you enjoy it!

You will play in pairs or groups of three. Roll the dice: if the number is even, move 1 square. Otherwise, move two. You have to speak for 30 seconds about the topic in your square. Your peers can ask you questions if they want: you must answer each and every question they make! Wins the first to reach FINISH!

Good luck!