Job Discussion Forums

[elliot_spencer]

Hey guys, it is coming to the end of the semester and I wanna spice things up a little bit and looking for ideas. So, I am interested in knowing - what's the most creative thing you�ve done in teaching?

Elliot

[Insubordination]

I made an assessment task which involved stuffing dates er.. the fruit.

I say get them to write a script and make a movie with them.

[artemisia]

Looking at slogans and jingles. Then the students decided on a product or service (real or made up) and made their own advertisements for "radio" (ie. recording themselves: audacity is good) or commercials "T.V" (ie. video camera). They really got into it and it was good to have a choice of just voice as some couldn't handle the idea of the camera.

With higher levels: Students wrote ghost stories (after reading a few) in small groups. These were then recorded (audacity) with an accompanying series of pre-recorded noises they could choose from (there was a limit) such as screams, chainsaws, footsteps, someone crying, creaking doors and floorboards etc. They wrote questions and then later played each other their stories. The other groups had to listen and answer the questions.

[mozzar]

Played a game of Cluedo which was fun. Link.

Also played a game of metro monopoly with the kids having to buy and sell their properties to see who would have the most valuable one at the end. Extra points for all the properties on one line, special bonuses for a mid-class pop quiz. Easy to personalise to the city/country of your choice.

Or building a bridge out of cardboard, straws and string that could withstand something being dropped on it. A really awesome way to encourage a class not to speak their L1 as you just remove some material when you hear it, add some when you hear English being used frequently.

[spanglish]

I did a series on the Barefoot Bandit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colton_Harris-Moore); I figured it was somebody they would be able to relate to - they read a newspaper article, did reading tasks, wrote their own articles, and checked out Colton Harris Moore's fan page on facebook. We looked at some other criminals, fictitious and real, and culminated with a discussion and essay on what it means to be a good or bad person.

[TwinCentre]

Actually, I taught a lesson all based around a bag of corriander...for 90 minutes. It was one of those DELTA experimental lesson modules.....enough said!

[johnslat]

We made a movie - got the students to decide who would write, direct, provide costumes/props, etc. It ended up being a short film (only about 12 minutes) about a drug deal gone bad, kind of like that scene from "Boogie Nights."

It turned out pretty well, fake money, fake guns, fake blood. Then, we showed it to all the other classes.

Regards,
John

P.S. I must admit that the administration was not too happy about the subject matter. Still, they let us show it. The students were really proud - and with good reason, I'd say. I still have a copy.

[mozzar]

I'd echo the movie idea. Did it on a summer course and managed to show it to all the students in the theatre on a proper cinema screen in the end.