Language Activities for Teenagers

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The activities included in this book will coax, cajole and tempt teenagers into learning English in a meaningful and enjoyable way. The activities can be used alongside any coursebook. The book covers topics including maintaining discipline in the classroom, using ice-breakers, warmers, fillers and closers, practising skills: speaking, reading, listening and writing, developing vocabulary, using literature, and promoting discussion. It contains material drawn from the real-life classroom experience of well-known ELT contributors: Judit Fehér, Jean Rüdiger-Harper, David Hill, Hanna Kryszewska, Seth Lindstromberg, Bonnie Tsai and Tessa Woodward.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (p. 1)
• 1 Maintaining discipline in the classroom (p. 12)
• Basics of maintaining order (p. 12)
• Routines for improving discipline (p. 22)
• 1.1 Jobs for friendship pairs and very useful persons (p. 22)
• 1.2 Spatial anchoring (p. 23)
• 1.3 Noise control: the disappearing word (p. 24)
• 1.4 Confiscating things (p. 25)
• 1.5 Behaviour charts (p. 26)
• Peer mediation: structured discussion of conflictual behaviour (p. 27)
• 1.6 Writing scenarios (p. 29)
• 1.7 Discussing ground rules (p. 32)
• 1.8 Asking questions about people's stories and thinking of solutions (p. 33)
• 1.9 Dry run, with role reversal and solutions brainstorm (p. 36)
• 2 Short, auxiliary activities: ice-breakers, warm ups, breaks and closers (p. 42)
• 2.1 Clap and say (p. 43)
• 2.2 Passing on (p. 44)
• 2.3 Flash the picture (p. 45)
• 2.4 Alphabetical vocabulary review (p. 46)
• 2.5 Surprise questions (p. 49)
• 2.6 From letters to grammar (p. 50)
• 2.7 Comparing it and me (p. 51)
• 2.8 Kill the text (then bring it back to life) (p. 52)
• 2.9 Question-question improvisation dialogues (p. 53)
• 2.10 Alphabet improvisation dialogues (p. 54)
• 3 Mainly speaking (p. 57)
• Oral fluency in pairs and groups: instructing, conversing, interviewing (p. 57)
• 3.1 LEGO constructions (p. 57)
• 3.2 Describe and draw ... the opposite (p. 59)
• 3.3 The same but different (p. 60)
• 3.4 Newspaper pictures (p. 61)
• 3.5 My map of the world (p. 63)
• 3.6 Be someone else (p. 65)
• 3.7 Picture interviews (p. 67)
• 3.8 Tell me about it (p. 70)
• 3.9 Stories from pictures (p. 72)
• 3.10 Graffiti (p. 73)
• Holding forth, being in the spotlight (p. 75)
• 3.11 Letter on the board (p. 75)
• 3.12 30-second stimulus talks (p. 76)
• 3.13 Pitching a wonderful new product (p. 77)
• 3.14 Questions to the head (p. 82)
• 3.15 The third degree about a text (p. 83)
• 3.16 Simulation and presentations by groups (p. 84)
• 3.17 Performing stories from sounds (p. 87)
• 4 Mainly listening (p. 89)
• Using your own voice (p. 89)
• 4.1 Ticking differences (p. 89)
• 4.2 General knowledge quizzes (p. 90)
• 4.3 Picture dictation--a basic version (p. 92)
• Using recordings (p. 94)
• 4.4 Which one was it? (p. 94)
• 4.5 Who said what, when and why--using film excerpts (p. 95)
• 4.6 Where do these words go? (p. 96)
• 4.7 Interactive song dictation (p. 98)
• 5 Mainly reading (p. 101)
• Reading tasks for authentic English (p. 102)
• 5.1 Mind-map the text (p. 102)
• 5.2 Listening for the differences (p. 104)
• 5.3 Put it in order (p. 105)
• 5.4 Take a good song and make it better (p. 107)
• 5.5 Quiz with a difference (p. 109)
• 5.6 Horoscopes (p. 110)
• Students read out or tell stories (p. 111)
• 5.7 Reading aloud (p. 111)
• 5.8 What comes next? (p. 114)
• 5.9 Imagine that! (p. 119)
• 6 Mainly writing (p. 123)
• 6.1 What's the number? (p. 124)
• 6.2 ABC sentences (p. 125)
• 6.3 Writing from a medley (p. 126)
• 6.4 Connecting the Top 50 (p. 127)
• 6.5 Fake biographies (p. 129)
• 6.6 What a story! (p. 131)
• 6.7 Put yourself in the picture (p. 132)
• 6.8 Write in the shape (p. 135)
• 6.9 Draw the text (p. 137)
• 6.10 Diary questions (p. 138)
• 7 Learning and reviewing vocabulary (p. 142)
• Activities completable in one or two lessons (p. 144)
• 7.1 Mime the text (p. 144)
• 7.2 What can I see in English? (p. 145)
• 7.3 How many? (p. 146)
• 7.4 Find the words in the picture (p. 147)
• 7.5 Lists from pictures, pictures from lists (p. 148)
• 7.6 My schoolbag, and yours? (p. 149)
• 7.7 The best ... (p. 150)
• 7.8 What can you hear and smell in the picture? (p. 152)
• Activities that can roll from lesson to lesson (p. 153)
• 7.9 Acting out prepositions (p. 153)
• 7.10 Memory poster circles (p. 156)
• 7.11 Physical action vocabulary and metaphor (p. 159)
• 8 Literature (p. 161)
• Writing poetic texts: learning about basic features of poetic writing (p. 162)
• 8.1 Writing haikus (p. 162)
• 8.2 Writing limericks (p. 164)
• 8.3 Word association poems (p. 166)
• First encounters with poetic texts: preparing for reception, hearing/reading (p. 167)
• 8.4 From words to predictions (p. 167)
• 8.5 Find the poem (p. 169)
• 8.6 Gradual reveal (p. 172)
• Learning a poem really well: reading out loud and/or memorising (p. 174)
• 8.7 Starting and ending with dashes (p. 174)
• 8.8 Picture poem (p. 176)
• 8.9 Technicolour reading: recital in voice groups (p. 178)
• Exploring the meanings of literary texts: reading, thinking, discussing (p. 180)
• 8.10 Poem picture metaphor (p. 180)
• 8.11 From sketch to discussion of a short story (p. 181)
• 8.12 Literature interpretation mandala (p. 183)
• 8.13 Summarap (p. 184)
• 8.14 Card quiz game on a novel (p. 185)
• 8.15 Two short texts on a similar topic (p. 188)
• 9 Building the skills of discussion and debate (p. 191)
• Fluency under pressure and other prerequisites of debating (p. 193)
• 9.1 Timed topic talks (p. 193)
• 9.2 Pro and con presentations (p. 196)
• 9.3 Challenge the assertion! (p. 199)
• 9.4 Just a minute! (p. 202)
• Additional prerequisites of debating (p. 204)
• 9.5 Collecting small-scale debate topics (p. 204)
• 9.6 Exploring small-scale debate topics (p. 204)
• 9.7 Controversy role plays (p. 206)
• 9.8 The PMI brainstorm (p. 208)
• 9.9 Great art debate (p. 210)
• 9.10 Research notes (p. 212)
• Doing debating (p. 214)
• 9.11 Single switch debating (p. 214)
• References (p. 219)
• Index (p. 221)