Conversation Class Lesson Plan
Section: Advanced Conversation
Date: March 9, 2010
Class theme/topics discussed: Talking about our class project
How did you pick this theme or topic? Since we’re in the middle of the Spring Semester, I thought it’d be a great idea to start working on our class project.
How did you present the material? (handouts, group work, general discussion, student presentations, etc.)
In the beginning of the lesson I told the students that I would like to use this lesson to talk about our class project. I asked them what kind of project they would be interested in. We did some kind of brainstorming and I told them a little bit about possible projects that we might do. In the end, the students agreed on creating their own news show and videotaping it.
At first, I asked the students to make a list on the White Board with all the different aspects relating to a news show. Then, I asked them to do an outline of their news show and organize it into parts. After that, the students divided all parts among themselves. One would be the main anchor, talking about global news, economy, and an interesting crime scene. A second student would be in charge of sports and entertainment. And the third student would be in charge of local news, fashion, and the weather. For the last minutes of this lesson we brainstormed about topics which we could use for the different segments.
How did students react?
The students were excited to get started on their projects.
Did they engage with each other and you?
Yes, they did. The news show was their own idea and they were very creative in terms of how to implement it and make it fun and interesting to watch.
What materials or media did you use? (articles, satellite tv, digital projector, etc.)
Would you recommend this activity for a future class? Why or why not?
Yes, definitely. I think students always enjoy working on projects, because it is something that they create themselves. I also think that a news show is a great idea for a project and allows many different approaches and activities.