I really do like using pictures and visuals in the classroom. Do you?
When was the
last time you used a picture in the classroom? How did you use the picture?
What did you use the picture for? When was the last time you drew a picture in
the classroom? What did you draw? Did it work?
Pictures can be used in all stages of the lesson. Pictures can be used
in 1-2-1 classes, in small and big groups, in public and in-company classes, in
exam classes, in PMS classses, in conversation classes, in Business English
courses, with adults and … even big bosses from the banks, can´t they?
Here´s my word cloud on the topic of pictures. And here´s my
first task. I would like you to create your own (first ever?) word cloud using Wordle
or Tagxedo to tell us what you think about pictures in the classroom.
By the way, do
you/would you like to use word clouds in your classes? In order to create a
word cloud, you can make a list of key words, phrases or paste in full texts
from your textbook.
Here´s my top
word cloud list:
You can use it
to
-
brainstorm and collect topic vocabulary
-
collect words you have taught in the class (for Ss to use in
personalized sentences, to recycle, to prepare gapped sentences with, etc.)
-
break the ice and introduce yourself (ask students to introduce
themselves)
-
speculate about the text students will read based on the most frequent
words / jumbled headline, etc.
-
make a poem/story word cloud and ask students to write their own
poem/story
-
introduce a song to the classroom
-
make a wordle of functions and phrases you would like to activate and
recycle
-
get rid of fossilized mistakes
and …would you like
to add more ideas? You can learn more about word clouds and try out some activities
with your students. Let us know what works (and what does not).
Back to
pictures. I have already had three workshops on using pictures so it is
difficult ot come up with new ideas. Well, here are some easy-to-prepare
learner-centred activities I would like to use in my classes.
Taboo: I´m sure you remember this vocab game. The student
is asked to define a word but he can´t use the words in the list. Here´s the picture version: Ask each student
to choose one picture (of an object) from a course book. Then the student
writes down 5 words he would use to describe it on a Post-it note. Finally, he
passes the note with “banned words” to anoter person who must then describe the
picture without using the banned words.
Memory Teaser: Prepare a picture or let students choose a picture from a CB/a specific unit from the CB. They prepare 6 questions asking about the details. E.g. What colour is the shirt of the man? How many alliens are there? Is the man wearing shorts or trousers, etc. Then they work in pairs. Student B has 30 seconds to study the picture. Student A asks the questions from the list. B answers. Finally, they take turns. Variation: A numbers the questions 1-6. B rolls the dice and answers the questions accordingly.
Personalized Picture: Students find a picture in the book. Then they make
connections between what they see and themselves. E.g. talking about what they
did about the weekend. I also like using the clipart pictures for this topic.
Variation: Unit review:
Students use the picture from the book to recycle language they have learnt,
vocabulary they would like to remember, functional language to use.
Ministory: Ask each student to choose 2 people/2 objects from the drawing and write a dialogue between them.
Make a tick: Give a pair of students a picture to describe. They
take turns describing the picture, adding one sentence each. Give them a time
limit. How many sentences have they written?
Your task for
the following two weeks is to use one picture in each lesson you teach :) and to share activities you like using in your lessons with the rest
of the group.
Looking forward
to your ideas.
Katka
Here´s your extra challenge: Look at the photo of my white board in one of the public courses and send me the list of the words we practised :) The winner takes it all ...
See, we all are Picassos :)
Here´s your extra challenge: Look at the photo of my white board in one of the public courses and send me the list of the words we practised :) The winner takes it all ...
I use a lot of pictures in my lessons. I love using my own pictures because they offer a lot of opportunity for speculation. Usually it takes a few minutes before my sts manage to identify what is in the picture.
OdpovědětVymazatI created my own wordle as Kate forced us to do :-). It's somewhere on the internet and you might be able to find it. I'm afraid there is an issue with how to save or I just didn't have enough time to crack it out.
I'll write more as soon as I finish drawing pictures for my tomorrow lessons.
If you want to save the image, it is better to use Tagxedo. It offers both options - to save your word cloud as a jpg image or to print it. When I work with Wordle, I use PDF Creater which I have installed many years ago. I simply select the Wordle Print button but then select PDF creator (instead of the printer) which creates a pdf file. Give it a try and share your wordle with us. What a pity it gost tragically lost somewhere in Matrix :)
VymazatTento komentář byl odstraněn autorem.
VymazatTento komentář byl odstraněn autorem.
OdpovědětVymazatI think you can save it by using the Paint programme otherwise it just allows you to print it. Just google it.
OdpovědětVymazatIf you are eager to try out more activities, visit http://iteslj.org/Techniques/Werff-Pictures.html :-)
OdpovědětVymazatThanks Katarina for your tips. I like the "text balloons" activity most. I use a similar activity with pictures from advertisements or with photos of animals /e.g. from a Greenpeace give-us-your-donation calendar/. Students walk around the photos displayed on the classroom walls and add what the people/animals are thinking right at the moment. Stream of consciousness in Virginia Woolf´s style by A2+ students :)
VymazatWord clouds are great and I have been using them quite a lot, even though I have always stole them on Google Pictures and it never occurred to me that I can make my own . I definitely will!
OdpovědětVymazatI have to say honestly, I don´t like pictures. I guess I used to use them a lot some time ago and then I got tired of having loads of Lidl and Penny adverts on my desk, so I stopped. But it seems like the renaissance of pictures is here and I´ll definitely try to dig some activities.
On the other hand I LOVE using students´ pictures in their mobile phones. For me it´s one of the best ways to personalize grammar (eg .continuous vs. simple tenses), vocabulary (anything), to warm up at the beginning of the lesson (to avoid “what did you do since I last saw you” or “how was your holiday” questions), to set homework (eg. Write about ..., write to ...), really, you can teach almost everything with photos in their mobiles.
Using students´ pictures and photos in their mobile phones? That sounds great, Zuzka. I have asked my students to take a picture/photo on their way home many times but using the photos they already have in their phone is so tricky :) And it saves time, too. You all know I like using fotosearch.com clipart pictures to vary the "What was your weekend like..?" part of the lesson but I would like to use their photos next time. I also think this could make a nice icebreaker. Asking students to write down three facts or true and false sentences is soooo boring (at least for us, teachers).
VymazatI so wanted to use a wordle today to introduce myself to my new students but then Glossa computers failed me!!! But at least I drew three pictures to represent my past, present and future and asked sts to do the same. I drew the pictures beforehand on my ipad (ha! here we go:-)) so that everybody could see them clearly, the whiteboard was just too far. And as for your pictures, Katka, here is my guess: 1)arrow 2) rebel 3) resign 4)revolution 5) victims 6)victory Easy!
OdpovědětVymazatMarta, good job. 2,5 points out of 6... I´m really glad that the rebel one was clear. Another guess? By the way, what an icebreaker! I really like your idea to draw three pictures to tell people about your past, present, future. It sounds more like a personal development task to me this autumn :) I am ok with the past, unsure about my present and totally lost about my future. What would I draw? A great challenge....
VymazatIrmína Rohlíčková wrote: I use pictures in my classes quite a lot - last Friday I used some in my 1-2-1 business class - I would love to present them to you and YOU are going to guess the words I practised :-)) Otherwise my theory about your word list is : 1.weapon,2. rebel,3. to execute, 4.soldiers, 5. battle, 6.win :-) Irmína
VymazatA great source of ideas, Žaneta. A nice handout packed with ideas. I like the one called Flashcards without Flashcards... and of course Take a snap! ... not because I am mentioned as a source which is only partially true. I really believe that "making maximum effect with minimum effort" and reusing the same picture or resource for more purposes is the right challenge! Which activity from the list page 8 would you like to bring into your class?
OdpovědětVymazatDear Katka,
OdpovědětVymazatSorry for joining your blog that late. And sorry for my poor English – which is in fact the reason for my delay. Unfortunately, I found out that it hasn´t really improved (or didn´t improve?) in one week time of waiting.
So, at first – the jigsaw maker: I am not very sure how I would use it during my lessons but I tried it as homework motivation. It is not very sophisticated; in fact, it is simple – I found a picture on internet, made jigsaw and task is to write 3 sentences about the picture. I will see whether it works. The jigsaw is here: http://two.flash-gear.com/npuz/puz.php?c=v&id=3116124&k=7331497; next lesson I am going to bring a text about this person and compare it with student´s answers.
I love to use pictures in my lessons. Why? Look at my wordle http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/7197747/obr%C3%A1zky!
I mostly have 121 lessons so it happens to me quite often that students want to show me their own picture (typically what they did on the weekend). And of course, I make them to describe it in Czech. I also have collections of pictures which I have cut from magazines. Really collections – one file with “famous people” (useful for beginners – who is it, where is he from etc; practising verb to be which is so important and difficult in Czech), huge file “food and drinks with prices” (sometimes I have same feelings as you Zuzana – no more Billa leaflets!) – excellent for shopping topic, numbers and of course vocabulary. There is also file “verbs”, “house and flat” (thank you Jysk and Ikea), “illnesses”, “clothes” (my favourite activity – one student gets a picture and describes it to his partner which has to draw it. Then they exchange their roles. Finally I put all the original pictures on magnetic board – I usually put some other pictures as well. Then I show everybody´s picture and students should guess what was the original)... There is a huge file “weird pictures” – once I put about 30 such pictures on the table, students in pairs should have chosen 5-7 of them and they had to create a comics (they glued them on a white sheet and added comments). Lots of fun and new words!
And your extra task, Katka, is so easy: Somebody killed (with an arrow) a king that vomited on James Dean and then put flowers and pebbles on his grave. That is how The velvet revolution has begun.
Thank you very much and have a nice time!
Marcela, the jigsaw picture was really devilish and topical, too :) I hope it worked with the students. I used to have huge files of pictures at home but then my children pushed me away from the room and my collection disappered in the blue bin. Anyway, I really like using adverts in the classroom for many different tasks and I used to get great pictures and collections of adverts from Týden magazine. Nowadays, I use clipart or fotosearch pictures more often. I really like the idea of selecting pictures to create a comics. It sounds great. You can try to use the Comic Creator with your students. See http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/comic/. It is very simple but it works. By the way, your English is great!!!!!
VymazatI think Marcela is the winner of the picture mystery because the story was really unpredictable and a real page-turner :) The original words were ... well, why don´t you check New English FIle Advanced, File 1A :) Instead of doing the regular gap fill exercise, I drew the pictures on the board first for them to predict the story and think about the words in pairs, then I added the words to the board and I read the text pausing before the gaps ... I think they will remember the story forever.
VymazatAnička Hermanová sent us the following tips on activities she used in her classes and for homework:
OdpovědětVymazatIn-class activities
1 SS work in pairs, one S is making different grimaces, the other is taking photos. Then they can start describing the pictures using the appropriate language.
e.g. You look like..., you look as if...., you look + adjective
suitable for New English File Upper-Intermediate Unit 4C
2 SS get a piece of paper from the teacher saying what kind of grimace they should draw on a piece of paper, their neighbour has to guess what kind of grimace it is.
e.g. sadness
language: you look like..., you look as if..., you look+adjective or
you might be..., you must be..., you can be... or
S has to say and adjective and then the appropriate noun, e.g. sad-sadness
3 another activity suitable for NEF Upper-Intermediate Unit 4C, p 62-63
SS take photos of each other imitating different states of mind, then pass the mobile to another pair to guess what it is
language: body language vocab
you look like..., you look as if..., you look+adjective
4 SS take a photo of a part of their partner’s body, then they pass the mobile to another pair, they have to guess which part of the body it is
language: the body+it might be, it must be ....
5 NEF Upper-Intermediate, p.152, Idioms
S draws a part of the body which appears in an idiom, e.g. heart, their neighbour has to use the idiom in a sentence, e.g. You broke my heart.
language: idioms+the body
6 For Ss who are interested in politics you can make a wordle, e.g. Obamacare, shutdown, budget ceiling, veterans, national parks, etc. and get SS to tell you the whole story as a warmer
7 Get Ss to draw pairs of pictures, one refering to the past and the other to the present to practise “used to”. Their neighbours have to guess what it stands for.
8 Ss get photos of famous ex-couples, then they can tell a story, e.g. they met, kept in touch, they fell in love, they got married, had three kids and got divorced
language: relationship vocabulary
9 Ss work in pairs or group, their task is to draw a town with roads, crossroads, shops and offices, (they get a list from the teacher) then they are asked to walk through the town, ask for and give instructions and find the way to given places.
language: giving instructions, prepositions of place
Homework
1 SS get a list of grimaces they should make, at home they take photos of themselves, and then at the beginning of the next lesson they can in pairs describe their partner’s grimaces.
language: You look like..., you look as if...., you look + adjective
suitable for New English File Upper-Intermediate Unit 4C
2 NEF Upper-Intermediate, p.152, Idioms
S draws a part of the body which appears in an idiom, e.g. heart at home, back at school their neighbour has to use the idiom in a sentence, e.g. You broke my heart.
language: idioms+the body
3 SS go to a clothes shop to take pictures of different items or they can take pictures of clothes they have at home, back in the class they work in pairs and describe the clothes in terms of style, pattern or material.
language: clothes
4 SS go to a clothes shop to take pictures of different items, back in the class they work in pairs and use their mobile or camera as a shop, the mobile owner is a shop assistant an the other student is a customer.
language: shopping for clothes
Can be used with different kinds of shops. Men might prefer electronics :-).
Anička, I really appreciate your tips and the fact that you have made great use of mobile phones. Of course, I like the activity of taking pictures of different feelings and emotions. This is what I did when training senior teachers and it worked great. Well, they complained but did a great job. Then I created a powerful :) powerpoint presentation. I also think using pictures and photos not only in the classroom but also for homework is, at least for some of us, a great change and a challenge. For me, it used to be a typical classroom activity. Drawing idioms is also a great fun, we did it with the NEF upper-intermediate group and the following list of idioms: be a cold fish, have a heart of gold, be as hard as nails and be a pain in the neck. Next time we could mime the same idioms and take photos to share with you :)
VymazatA good source of pictures can be comics written in different scripts - Japanese Chinese, Hebrew - studnets can guess the story, make their own.
OdpovědětVymazat