an archive of lesson plans

Tag: Games (Page 1 of 6)

FR INT/ADV S23 Introduction to French Literature

Objectives:

– To introduce students to French literature and its cultural significance

– To improve students’ reading comprehension in French

– To expand students’ vocabulary and improve their language skills through games and activities related to French literature

Materials:

– Copies of short stories or extracts from French literature (in French)

– Vocabulary lists for each story/extract

– Whiteboard and markers

– French literature-themed games such as Scrabble, and French literature trivia

Introduction:

– Begin the class by asking students what they know about French literature, what books from French authors they know and/or like/have read before.

– Discuss the significance of French literature in French and global culture and education.

Activity 1: Reading Comprehension

– Hand out copies of short stories or extracts from French literature.

– Divide the class into pairs or small groups of 3 and ask them to read the stories/extracts and answer questions.

– Each group presents their answers to the class

The following activities are examples of games you can use in this class:

Activity 2: Vocabulary Building

– Provide the students with a vocabulary list related to the short stories/extracts they read in the first activity.

– Have them work individually or in pairs to create flashcards or a quizlet deck with the new vocabulary.

– Once the vocabulary list is complete, conduct a quiz or game to test the students’ understanding of the new words.

OR

Activity 3: French Literature Trivia

– Divide the class into teams and conduct a French literature trivia game.

– Questions can include famous French writers, their works, and their impact on French culture.

Activity 4: French Literature-Themed Games

– Play Scrabble with French literature-themed words.

– This activity can help students expand their vocabulary, practice spelling, and improve their understanding of French literature.

Conclusion:

– Recap the class by discussing the importance of French literature and its contribution to French culture.

FR INT/ADV S23 French Online Influencers

Objective: To introduce French online influencers and improve French language skills through watching their videos and engaging in related activities.

Level: Intermediate and advanced

Materials:

– Access to the Internet and YouTube

– Activity sheets

Introduction:

1. Introduction of the concept of French online influencers, what they are, who some of the most popular ones are, and what they typically do (vlogs, gaming, comedy, etc.)

2. Present the influencers that will be focused on in this lesson: Squeezie, Mcfly et Carlito, and Le rire jaune, and make a brief overview of their content and why they are popular in France.

3. Ask students if they have heard of any of these influencers before, and if so, what they know about them. Encourage a discussion to get students engaged.

Activity 1: Watch a video by Squeezie

1. Have students watch a video by Squeezie on YouTube, such as his “Je teste des objets insolites” series or QUI EST L’IMPOSTEUR ? (ft Eric & Ramzy) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1Z1A46FknM .

2. While watching, have students take notes on any new vocabulary words or phrases they hear.

3. After watching, have students share some of the new words and phrases they learned. Create a vocabulary list on the board or in a shared Google doc online. What did they like/dislike about the videos?

Activity 2: Complete a listening comprehension activity with Mcfly et Carlito

1. Have students watch a video by Mcfly et Carlito, such as their CONCOURS D’ANECDOTES vs LE PRÉSIDENT DE LA RÉPUBLIQUE video ( this one is very long but you can show them just a part of it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neqCdyadqFA&t=156s ).

2. After watching, provide students with a worksheet with questions related to the video

3. Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss their answers and ensure they understood the video/what was shown.

Optional activity if there is time left, or can be done in the next class:

Activity 3: Create a sketch inspired by Le rire jaune

1. Introduce students to Le rire jaune, a famous French YouTuber who creates comic videos.

2. Have students watch a few of his videos and identify common themes or elements (e.g. humor, sarcasm, pop culture references).

3. Divide students into small groups and have them create a short sketch inspired by Le rire jaune. Encourage them to incorporate some of the elements they identified in his sketches.

4. Have groups perform their sketches for the class, allowing time for feedback and discussion.

Conclusion:

1. Review the new vocabulary words and phrases learned throughout the lesson.

2. Ask students to reflect on what they enjoyed about learning French through online influencers. Did they find it engaging? Did they feel like they learnt anything new?

3. Encourage students to continue watching videos by these youtubers and other French influencers as a way to continue improving their language skills outside of class.

FR S22 INT/ADV – Votre Week-End idéal

This class was done online and could also be done in person.

Warm –up (10 minutes) –group discussion = (main zoom chat : send the link of the Google Doc with vocabulary on the routine as well as the following questions students have to discuss in breakout rooms)

•Quel est selon-vous le WE idéal? Qu’est-ce que vous aimez faire en général le WE? – What do you think is the ideal WE? What do you usually like to do on weekends?

Activity 1: Video ‘French people describe their WE’ (20 minutes –8 minutes for the video, 10 minutes for the group discussion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unmu4yKfBg0

Instructions: jot down what you understand from the video –écrivez sur une feuille de papier / sur votre ordinateur -ce que vous comprenez dans cette vidéo: Quelles sont les activités que les personnes interviewées aiment faire le week –end ? – What are some activities that the persons interviewed like doing on Weekends? Qu’est-ce qu’ils aiment faire avec leurs amis ? – What do they like doing with their friends?

Then we discuss it as a class and the students share what they understood and think about it –10 to 15 minutes –

Vocabulary input: What do these words mean? (Habituellement, Je bosse, aller en boîte, le confinement, se balader, faire un tour à…, profiter, la province); If there is some time left I propose a game they would play in Breakout rooms– ‘Qui est-ce?’ OR ‘Tu préfères’:

Tu préfères…Voyagez dans le monde entier sans pouvoir revenir à ton pays d’origine ou jamais sortir de ton pays ? Arriver toujours 1 heure avant à tes rendez-vous ou toujours arriver 1 heure en retard ? Passer toute ta vie à manger de la junkfood ou ne plus jamais manger tes plats préférés ? Vivre dans la maison de tes rêves dans un quartier chaud ou vivre dans une maison moche dans le quartier de tes rêves ? Être pauvre aux côtés de l’amour de votre vie ou être multimillionnaire sans jamais connaître l’amour ?

Resources:Vocabulary sheet (google doc provided)with expressions and words to be able to talk about one’s routine, Zoom Screenshare, Youtube, Powerpoint

FR S22 ADV – Cartoons (Toy Story)

Warm-up (10 minutes): Students share in groups of 3/4 what are/were their favorite cartoons and animated movies growing up and nowadays.

Activity 1: Screening of a video extract from Toy Story 1 (animated movie)–10 minutes-,

the French version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cb-EW5gwkrk (l’arrivée de Buzz).

Students have to think about these two questions while watching the extract: Que se passe-t-il dans cette scène? Décrivez les personnages et ce qu’ils font? (What happens in this scene / describe the characters and what they are doing)

Vocabulary/cultural Input: (5/7 minutes) in this scene, as it is the French version, characters speak in a colloquial way and use a lot of idioms/expressions that French people use in their daily speech/conversations. Students are asked whether or not they know or understand the meaning of the following words and expressions mentioned in the extract:

Je l’ai pas fait exprès (faire exprès), Voilà qui tombe vraiment à pic (Tomber à pic), On arrête pas le progrès, causer (//parler), ultra moderne (at the cutting-edge)

Activity 2: Students are asked in groups of 3/4 to imagine they are film producers from Hollywood who wants to create a movie adaptation of Toy Story with real actors. They are casting directors and have to find actors and actresses who would according to them impersonate the best the animated versions. When they found the actors, they do a small presentation to convince me that their casting is the best one.

JP S22 INT/ADV: Find the imposter! game裏切り者は誰だ?!

Day and Date: 11th week (27th and 30th Mar 2022) 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Description game, Japanese school year

Goal of the class: To be able to describe different texture, patterns, colours.

How did you structure the class?

27th Mar 2022

16:15

            Find the imposter! game using the picture cards.

(Sophia has them)

17:10

            End

JP SP21 INT/ADV: Hyakunin Isshu, Waka, Renga

This topic can be done in a class or two classes.

anguage Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto  

Day and Date:  

Wednesday April 14, 2021   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Movie trailer 
  • Make Renga 

Goal of the class:  

  • Understand a movie trailer  

anguage Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto  

Day and Date:  

Wednesday April 12 – 15, 2021   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Movie trailer 
  • Hyakunin isshu 
  • Renga 

Goal of the class:  

  • Understand a movie trailer  
  • Understand hyakunin-isshu, waka poetry, and other ideas around waka
  • Make some renga 

How did you structure the class?  

  1. Trailer #1 (20 min) 
    1. https://youtu.be/ZjNlJLjDzjk  
    2. What kind of characters? 
  2. Karuta or Hyakunin isshu (15 min) 
    1. What is this? 
    2. A collection of Waka poems 
      1. 100 poems from 100 poets throughout the history  
      2. Created in the early 13th century 
      3. Who are poets? 
        1. Emperors, aristocrats, monks 
    3. There are lots of other waka collections 
      1. Some of them include regular people’s poems and poems with writers unknown from ancient times  
    4. What Is waka? 
      1. Haiku (5.7.5) vs. Waka (5.7.5.7.7.) 
      2. 柿くへば鐘が鳴るなり法隆寺 by 正岡子規 
      3. ちはやふる 神代もきかず 竜田川 からくれなゐに 水くくるとは by 在原 業平 (9th century) 
    5. As a game 
      1. How the game works 
    6. Renga 
      1. Difference between waka 
  3. Trailer #2 (15 min) 
    1. https://youtu.be/MU6FqgKawxQ   
    2. What’s new here 
    3. New Character? What’s she like?  
    4. What’s a message shown throughout the trailer? 
    5. The effect of adopting story that was originally written in a manga format. 
  4. Let’s make renga (30 min) 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)  Class agreement, breakout rooms 

Zoom, Sharescreen, Youtube, Whiteboard 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?   

Intermediate:

  • Today’s trailer was a lot easier to understand for them. They were able to guess the relationship of 3 main characters. 
  • They know some sort of card game is related, but they had little idea. One student was able to guess that it would be something with poems. That was great. 
  • Introduced this game, Hyakunin Isshu, Waka, and Renga. I talked a lot for this to explain what they are. It was like I’m doing a Japanese class in a junior high school in Japan. At least they got the new ideas and cultures around Hyakunin Isshu and Waka poems. 
  • The trailer #2 was fun. This time we guessed what’s going on and also tried to listen carefully each phrase in the trailer. From these phrases, we thought about shared value that these characters are having (team work) in contrast to the best player (individualistic). 
  • Renga was a fun activity. This is a collaborative poetry, so you have to follow 5-7-5 and 7-7 format and also develop the idea and theme that previous people present. They created funny poems collaboratively. 
  • I used whiteboard for this collaborative activity. They just type their work on to whiteboard by themselves. This worked out very well. 
  • I shared music when they were working on poems. It was a good and fun addition to the class. 

Advanced:

  • Today’s trailer was a lot easier for them to grasp the story. They were able to find more details than 11.1 students 
  • We talked a lot about Hyakunin Isshu, Waka, Haiku, and Renga. They knew Haiku but they didn’t know Waka. 
  • We discussed the difference between Karuta and Hyakunin Isshu, which also called karuta occasionally  
  • With trailer #2 we talked about certain values that Japanese society likes to hear and see in pop cultures and entertainment. Some elements, friendship, collaborative work, hard work, are so popular and they are seen a lot of pop cultures 
  • We also talked about a little strange cinematography. This might be because the film tries to adopt the styles of comic. 
  • Renga making was so fun. I used background music to play while they are thinking so there is no awkward silence. Their works are so funny. 
  • I used white board for the renga making activity, and it worked well 

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • Renga making was so fun. I used background music to play while they are thinking so there is no awkward silence. Their works are so funny. 
  • Renga activity can be done in breakout room instead of whiteboard. I was thinking which way to do. This time I used whiteboard. But I think breakout room works as well 

Trailers

Haiku, Waka, and Renga Whiteboard

Students’ Renga Works

DE SP21 Study Break: Easter Escape Room

Excel file used for Easter-themed virtual Escape Room:

(Each group of students playing against each other gets a separate file. We used Google Sheets so they can all work on the same sheet within their group. The Excel file can be imported into Google Sheets, if necessary).

The Key file has one tab with the solutions and one “Student” version tab that can be copied for the files to be used and filled by the students.

RUS SP21 ADV/INT: Untitled Goose Game

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name:

MARIA GLUKHOVA

Day and Date:

Thursday, 04/06/2021 and Thursday, 04/08/2021

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Russian, Advanced

Class theme/topics discussed:

Untitled Goose Game

Goal of the class:

To play Untitled Goose Game together, practice imperatives, and have fun.  

Untitled Goose Game for Nintendo Switch - Nintendo Game Details

How did you structure the class?

  1. Greetings, announcements, general questions.
  2. In advance, create a vocabulary list with necessary words (especially verbs). Work on this list together with your students and ask them to make imperative forms of verbs: run! swim! etc. It’s also helpful to talk about directions: go left, jump on, etc. 
  3. Open the Untitled Goose Game on your computer and share the screen. Most likely, you can change the settings and choose your target language as the language of the game.
  4. Explain the rules. You’ll be the one playing, but your student will have to tell you what to do.
  5. Show them the “To-Do List” for the first episode. Read it together. You can also play it together for a few minutes to give students an idea of how the game works.
  6. Divide students into groups. In the break-out rooms, each group has to come up with instructions for you to complete one of the tasks from the “To-Do List.” For example, one group can think about hiding the food, while the second group has to steal the key. They can brainstorm for 5 minutes or so.  
  7. Once everyone has a strategy, open the game again. Each group has 3-4 minutes. They have to guide you and tell you what to do to complete the task: “Run up, hide in the grass, wait until the farmer can’t see you, grab the carrot,” etc. 
  8. Have fun! 🙂

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Untitled Goose Game, Zoom

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class worked out great, we had a lot of fun! I did two classes on this game because it takes time to work on vocabulary, explain the rules, etc. Also, make sure you know how to play this game first because it’s not always intuitive.  

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would leave it as it is.

JP F20 ADV: Reading Kanji

Language Resident/Assistant Name:  

Kozue Matsumoto 

Day and Date:  

Tuesday November 24, 2020   

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):  

Advanced 

Class theme/topics discussed:  

  • Last class: kanji games 

Goal of the class:  

  • Guess how to read unusual kanji

How did you structure the class?  

  1. How are you doing? Hanging in there? Good news if any??? (7 min) 
    1. Hawaiian Thanksgiving dishes – lots of Asian food included  
  1. Guess and read the kanji (45 min) 
    1. Veggies
    2. Fruits 
    3. Things in the water 
    4. Family names 
  1. Most complicated kanji (10 min) 
    1. Some legendary mysterious kanji 
    2. Officially registered real kanji

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Class agreement, breakup rooms 

Zoom, white board 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?   

  • We talked how we feel at the end of the semester. Since everything happened online at home, there is not a huge difference compared to pre-COVID time when students used to move back to their hometown etc.  
  • We talked a bit about Hawaiian Thanksgiving food 
  • Kanji guessing game was fun, and they had very good questions such as when these vegetables were introduced to Japan and how their kanji were decided like that. 
  • One student was sharing her knowledge about how Taiwanese use the same kanji for the same fruits and how a kanji was chosen for a certain fruit because of the meaning of kanji (蕃) 
  • We guessed some strange and rare family names and some super complicated kanji as well. 
  • We had a pretty fun time. They used everything they know to guess the kanji, such as a documentary film about fish that they watched the other day, the knowledge of Taiwanese usage of kanji, etc. 

How could this class be improved/ modified? 

  • There are lots of kanji. Some are easy to guess, and others are just impossible to guess. We can do a lot about this. 

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well. 

Below are what we did with whiteboard

Fruits 

Vegetables 

Things in the water 

Rare and strange family names 

Complicated kanji 

Taito たいと – a family name (not officially recorded in anywhere but there is a story around this kanji) 

https://www.benricho.org/kanji/img-kakusuu/Taito_small.gif

Biang – From Chinese kanji 

https://www.benricho.org/kanji/img-kakusuu/biang-68-500.png

Jin ジン – dust 

https://glyphwiki.org/glyph/u269c4.png

JP F18 INT/ADV Thanksgiving

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: Tuesday, November 27th

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese 

Class theme/topics discussed: Thanksgiving

Goal of the class: To be able to talk about / listen to Thanksgiving Holiday. 

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm-up

I talk about my Thanksgiving holiday. This is going to be a game, two truths and a lie. I write three key words that are related to my Thanksgiving holiday on the whiteboard and talk a bit about each word. Then students ask one question each. After everyone asks one question, they guess what key word is a lie. 

Activity2 (45 min): Two Truths and A Lie

I give students a few minutes to think about their key words. Then, one student presents his/her Thanksgiving as I showed. Every student gets a chance to talk about theirs. 

Activity3 (5 min): Wrap-up

We choose who was the best liar and who was the most honest one. 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked really well. Students were really engaged into the game, paying attention to everyone very carefully. I tried to manage the time but it didn’t go well as I calculated. So not everyone had a chance to talk about. However, I believe it would have been better this way than dividing the class into two groups because students are very close each other and they wanted to know each one’s Thanksgiving story.  

How could this class be improved/ modified?As for time management, the class could be divided into two groups or warm-up could be shorter. 

DE S18 INT Adjectives, I spy with my little eye

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Ines Fister 

Day and Date: Wed, Jan 31, 2018

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): intermediate, German

 

Class theme/topics discussed: Adjectives

 

Goal of the class:

Adjectives students already know should be elicited and students should learn more adjectives.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

4.15 – 4.25 (10mins): walk to coop fountain together and talk about what they can see on the way.

 

4.25 – 4.55 (30mins): Game: German version of “I spy with my little eye” (Ich sehe was, was du nicht siehst). 1st round: color only; 2nd round: try to think of as many adjectives as you can and then give us only one; if we can’t guess it, give us another adjective…

 

4.55-5.15 (20mins): Team game: in pairs, think of a place on campus and think of adjectives to describe that place. The others guess.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet ressources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Small Whiteboard for writing down new words, surroundings outside of classroom

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It was fine and they liked it. I have troubles deciding when I need to be more strict about a plan – such as the rules in a game – and when it is better to let them do it their way in order to encourage talking.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

writing vocabulary cards throughout the lesson could be helpful

 

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

JP S18 ADV Hidden Sentence Game

Language Resident Name: Ayaka Matsuo

Day and Date: 2/20/2018

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Advanced Japanese

Class theme/topics discussed: Conversation Project / Hidden Sentence Game

Goal of the class: By the time this class ends, students will have decided what to do for their project.

How did you structure the class?

Activity1 (10 min): Warm – up

We talk about the weekend.

Activity2 (20 min): Brainstorming and Discussion   

We talk about conversation class projects. I ask some students to explain what it is to students who don’t know. Students come up with as many ideas as possible as brainstorming. Then, we discuss to make it one we will really work on.

Activity3 (25 min): Hidden Sentence Game

Students are divided into 2 groups. One student from each group comes to pick one “hidden” sentence. Then, I give a topic. The two students don’t show their sentence to the rest of the class and start to talk about the topic. They try to convey the conversation in which they can use the sentences. The other students guess what their “hidden” sentences are. They have to detect what the opponent player’s “hidden” sentence is. When they thing the sentence comes out, they shout “stop” and say the sentence. If it is correct, they gain 1 point. If it is incorrect, they lose 1 point.

Activity5 (5 min): Wrap-up

I introduce them the upcoming cultural activity.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Everything worked well. The game, which I tried for the first time, was really fun. I limited the time they could have conversation by 3 minutes and also made another rule that if they couldn’t use that sentence within 3 minutes they lost 1 point.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I would keep it as it is.

DE F17 INT Thanksgiving

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Ines Fister

 Day and Date: Monday, Nov 20, 2017

 Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German, intermediate, 3 students

 Class theme/topics discussed: Thanksgiving

 Goal of the class: Students learn basic vocabulary about Thanksgiving

 How did you structure the class?  

4.15-5.45 (30mins): Story telling – my funny Thanksgiving (story cubes from German LR closet). Each student gets 5 story cubes (= dice with various symbols) and has to tell a story about Thanksgiving which includes all the symbols they diced. The other students have to guess which part of the story came from the cubes. Students can ask for and look up vocabulary.

5.45-5.15 (30mins): collect all vocab on the board; students handcraft a vocabulary turkey – all the new words are written on feathers made from paper; they can color the feathers and the turkey (prepared by LR) as they want and stick all the feathers on the turkey – it’s a nice decoration for the classroom or the bulletin board.

 What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

whiteboard, story cubes; handcrafting materials (paper, scissors, colors, glue or tape)

 What worked well in this class? What did not work?

It worked very well, but we would have needed a little more time. They had troubles telling an exciting story that also has to do with thanksgiving; but as they are intermediate that is okay.

 How could this class be improved/ modified?

Add some basic vocab work before having them telling the story. Repeat all the vocab in the end. If you have enough time, each student could make their own turkey – for example assign them different themes like family, food and activities. The activity, including the additional proposals made, could be planned for two lessons.

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

DE S17 ADV Banking and Jobs

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

  

Day and Date: Thursday, April 06, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Advanced Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Jobs and banking

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn and employ vocabulary about jobs and banking and use the formal “Sie”.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

In this lesson, students were supposed to address each other formally, using “Sie” and their last names.

 

10-15 minutes: Conversation about recent and upcoming events on Campus. Casual conversation about summer plans.

 

10-15 minutes: Students collected several professions on the board and different clarifications were made.

 

10-15 minutes “Who am I” with jobs. Students assigned a job to another student without him/her knowing which it was. By using the right questions, students were able to find out their professions.

 

15 minutes: I showed a picture of a bank’s interiors to the students. We then collected vocabulary about banking on the board and talked about the differences regarding these things between the U.S. and Germany.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Whiteboard, bank picture

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Students were very interested about the differences and liked to learn new vocabulary.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Productive class! Keep it as it is.

 

Additional files also contain additional information sheets for a role play that we didn’t have time for anymore.

20170406_Bank_Vokabeln

20170406_Bilder_Bank

20170406_Info_Banken

20170406_Vokabeln_Berufe

ES S17 INT/ADV Common Expressions with Animals

Language Resident Name: Joaquin Garcia

Day and Date: 02/07/2017

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate/Advanced Class

Class theme/topics discussed: Animals, Spanish sayings

How did you structure the class?

Heads-up: upcoming cultural activities

Warm-up: All students standing up. I give a student a ball, within 15 seconds he/she has to think of an animal that starts with the letter “a”. Then he/she passes the ball to another student who must do likewise but with letter “b”. If a student fails has to sit down. We go through the alphabet until only one student is standing. You can go from “z” to “a” again if many students still remain playing. Also, it would be wise if you remove from the beginning those letters with only/none animals (e.g. “x”).

Activity 1: We brainstorm some useful vocabulary to describe animals and I write it down on the board. Then, each student writes the name of an animal on a piece of paper and I stick it on other student’s back. All students stand up and move around and with yes/no questions, they need to figure out which is the animal on their back.

Activity 2: Students are in pairs, I give them a list with Spanish sayings involving animals in one column, and the meaning on the other (although they are not in order). They need to match up the two columns by thinking on the meaning of the sayings. After, I give all the solution and we check how well they did.  If there is time left, you can put the students in pairs or little groups and they have to come up with a context where a saying is properly used, they even can act out the situation.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Handouts.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Very successful class. Students liked all the activities. Maybe it would have been better doing everything faster so we had time to act some of the sayings. Depending on the level of the students, this can work with an intermediate class although I would recommend to reduce the list of sayings in activity 2. For advance, this matches the difficulty level definitely.

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well. 

A Ser un lince 1 Ser astuto
B Ser un cerdo/marrano 2 Haber poca gente
C Ponerse como/ser una vaca 3 Tener poca memoria
D Llevarse el gato al agua 4 Afrontar un problema
E Meter/Esconder la cabeza como un avestruz 5 Sufrir las consecuencias de algo sin tener la culpa
F Ser un zorro 6 Ser un/a cobarde
G Matar dos pájaros de un tiro 7 Haber algo oculto o sospechoso
H Ser un burro 8 Salirse con la suya, vencer, triunfar
I Hacer el/ser un perro 9 Mismo problema pero con distinta forma
J Estar en la boca del lobo 10 Tener mucha memoria
K A caballo regalado, no le mires los dientes 11 Darse cuenta de un peligro y cambiar de actitud
L Tener la piel de gallina 12 Haber mucha abundancia
M Haber cuatro gatos 13 Estar loco
N Tener memoria de elefante 14 Comportarse sin modales
Ñ Tener un cerebro de mosquito 15 Estar en una zona peligrosa
O Ser un gusano 16 Ser muy listo
P Ser un/a gallina 17 Ser poco inteligente
Q El mismo perro con distinto collar 18 Ser el que manda, el jefe
R Estar como una cabra 19 Evitar/huir de los problemas
S Tener memoria de pez 20 Conseguir dos cosas a la vez
T Agarrar el toro por los cuernos 21 Ponerse/Estar muy gordo/a
U Aquí hay gato encerrado 22 Engañar a alguien en un negocio
V Atar perros con longanizas 23 Ser tonto
W Verle las orejas al lobo 24 No buscar defectos ni preguntar el precio de un regalo
X Cortar el bacalao 25 Ser un miserable
Y Dar gato por liebre 26 Padecer frío o emocionarse
Z Pagar el pato 27 Hacer el/Ser un vago

 

 

 

 

 

ES S17 INT Descriptions and hypothesis

Language Resident Name: Tamara Olivos

Day and Date: April 24, 2017

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Intermediate Spanish

Goal of the class:

To learn vocabulary through games

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1: Predicting the future: As context I talk about the ancient book I Ching and how people used it to learn more about the future. Each student has to ask a question about their future (simple things like Will I find a good job for example). Then, they consult this sacred book called the dictionary. Without looking, they open a random page and select 1 word. They must read the word and it’s description and try to decipher the message, how can this mysterious word relate to my question? They will do this with the help of the class. (for more detail instructions see the link below)

Activity 2: Descriptions: Using the set of cards in the link below, students must describe the pictures using some basic structures correctly like ser, estar, tener. This activity will definitely bring up a lot of new vocabulary.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Dictionary (not online), printed cards.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The first activity also worked great with my advanced class (actually even better because they could create more complex hypothesis)

 If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Bibilomancia: divertida manera de practicar las formas del futuro

descripcion_¡Describelo_A2_JB

DE S17 INT Zoo plan cooperation game

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 

Day and Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Zoo plan cooperation game.

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn or recap vocabulary (animals) and cooperate to solve a small riddle.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

5-10 minutes: Vocabulary quiz. The LR shows the students a power point with pictures of different animals in a quick sequence. The students write down the animals’ names if they know them. After the sequence the students compare; the student with the most correct vocabulary wins.

 

25 minutes: Zoo plan. The students receive a plan of a zoo with different enclosures and the respective animals living in it. They are handed out a plan and slips with the different animals on it and work together in groups. Following a few rules they have to come up with a new layout that regards all these and decide on new animals for the zoo, too.

 

20-25 minutes: Sentence starters. Students draw a slip of paper from a box. The slip contains a sentence starter. They have to complete the sentence and provide some more details (a few sentences) to reveal something about themselves. The other students are welcome to ask questions.

 

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

 

Pictures of different animals on the TV screen, Zoo plan layouts, animal paper slips, printed rules of the game, sentence starter paper slips.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

 

Students liked the initial vocabulary quiz and enjoyed the sometimes very simple compound words that are used in German as the animals’ names. The zoo-plan layout game worked quite well, students cooperated and talked much. The sentence starter game is a good way to have people reveal interesting things about themselves.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

 

Good class, would keep it as it is.

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20170201_Tierbilder

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DE S17 ADV Prisoners

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

 

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

 

Day and Date: Monday, January 23, 2017

 

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

 

Class theme/topics discussed:

 

Prisoners: collective decision making.

 

Goal of the class:

 

Students learn useful expressions to communicate their opinion on various topics. They discuss slightly ethical questions, defend their position and persuade others of theirs.

 

How did you structure the class?

 

60 minutes: Prisoners. Students are given a sheet with information regarding several prisoners. The information is about the crimes that those prisoners have committed as well as their personal traits. As it turns out, the local prison is so overcrowded that one of the prisoners has to be released on probation. The students first make up their own minds and then discuss with their partner. After that, the whole group discusses their respective decisions. They have to come to a unanimous decision which is why a certain degree of persuasion is needed. The LR provides additional vocabulary.

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Conversation class agreement. Sheet with the information about the prisoners. Sheet with useful phrases to express opinion, agreement and disagreement.

 

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

Students discussed very well which is why it seemed inappropriate to stop them mid-game.

 

How could this class be improved/ modified?

I’d keep it as it is.

 

20170123_Gefangenenspiel

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DE F16 INT The Fall of the Wall

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Martin Siebert

Day and Date: Monday, October 3, 2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): German Intermediate Conversation

Class theme/topics discussed: 

The “Tag der Deutschen Einheit”.

 Goal of the class:

Students gain basic historic knowledge about the fall of the wall. They develop skills to describe movie scenes.

How did you structure the class?

 20-25 minutes: Scattergories. Students are handed out a table with different categories. One of the students silently “counts” the alphabet, another student tells him to stop after a certain time. Now the students have to find words starting with that letter for each category. The first one to have a word in each category calls the others to stop. Everybody who has something in a category receives a point. If their word is only mentioned once, they receive three points. If a person is the only one to have a word in a category, he/she receives ten points.

35-40 minutes: Students are divided in two groups. One is facing the screen, the other isn’t. They partner up and watch a short video but without the sound (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tqEyhkyzr8 ). They describe what happens and what they can see. After half of the video they take turns. Afterwards, they try to make sense of what they’ve seen. Then they share their ideas with the class and discuss what happened in each scene. They then watch parts of the video again and try to figure out what the speaker and people in the video could have said. The information is then presented in class. Then all the students watch the video again, but with sound. They then discuss the things they understood and make sense of the video. The LR provides additional information and questions.

5 min: Short heads up for conversation class project.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.) 

Scattergories sheet, Short film, TV-screen, pictures GDR

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The students had some problems to come up with words for the scattergories warm-up game but still had fun. The students were very interested in the movie about the events that led to the fall of the wall. 

How could this class be improved/modified?

Maybe other categories for the scattergories game would have worked better.

RU F16 INT Treasure Hunt

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva

Day and Date: Monday, 12/05/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Intermediate

Class theme/topics discussed: Treasure hunt

Goal of the class: to make a fun class and check how they remember the vocabulary they’ve learnt this semester

How did you structure the class?

There’re 7 envelopes with different tasks that should be fulfilled at different places. We used Facebook chat to communicate and check the answers. I also gave them directions on where to find new envelopes after they complete the task. On completing the hunt everyone gets chocolate.

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Envelopes with tasks, candies

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went great! Students enjoyed it and it was a good method of remembering everything we studied in class. They all came back smiling and were happy to get out of the lounge for a while.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Next time I’ll do more complicated tasks because these were too easy for them. They finished early but it’s not bad because we had time to talk a little bit in Russian.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Questions for the treasure hunt:

  1. Выйти из гостиной. Повернуть налево. Повернуть налево. Спуститься на первый этаж. Найти конверт №2 рядом с арабской гостиной.
  2. Расположить буквы русского алфавита в правильном порядке.
  3. Перечислить все ингредиенты для приготовления блинов.
  4. Назвать хотя бы (at least) три способа сказать по-русски «мне все равно».
  5. Проспрягать глагол «заснуть»
  6. Как сказать по-русски bride, groom, to marry, to divorce, to be happily married?
  7. Какой праздник отмечают в России 13 января?
  1. Из русской гостиной возле арабской
  2. Из арабской гостиной на общую кухню (молоко, мука, яйца, сахар, соль, масло)
  3. Из общей кухни идем в общий холл
  4. Из общего холла в glass room (там на доске спрягаем глаголы)
  5. Из glass room идем к немецкой гостиной
  6. Из немецкой гостиной идем на улицу, на лавочку перед Олденборгом
  7. Возвращаемся в русскую гостиную

 

RU F16 INT Discussion on Varied Topics

Conversation Class Lesson Summary

Language Resident Name: Tatiana Ermolaeva 

Day and Date: Wednesday, 09/28/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class): Russian, Intermediate 

Class theme/topics discussed: Discussion on varied topics

Goal of the class: practicing speaking skills 

How did you structure the class?

  1. Warm up. Questions board game (Handout 1). A student rolls the die and moves the marker to the correct place. Then a student reads the question out loud and answers it. Student gives the die to the person sitting on the right. The person who gets the finish first wins.

15 minutes

  1. Discussion. Each student chooses a piece of paper with a topic on it (Handout 2). He/she has 3 minutes to prove to the other students the importance of this thing for mankind. The other students should bring counterarguments.

20 minutes

  1. 10 ways to say you don’t care in Russian (Handout 3). Read the article and discuss. Make you own sentence with the vocabulary from the article.

http://blogs.transparent.com/russian/10-ways-to-say-you-dont-care-in-russian/

20 minutes

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

Handouts

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

The class went well; students talked a lot. I had a student who didn’t want to participate and I had to make him talk.

How could this class be improved/ modified?

For the second task the students decided that they want to make others guess what they were talking about so it turned out to be even more fun!

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that).  Please attach any handouts as well.

Handout 1

Начало Что ты любишь делать в свободное время?

ààà

Сколько чашек кофе в день ты пьешь? Что ты любишь смотреть по телевизору?

|

\/

Как часто ты ходишь в кино?

|

\/

Сколько раз в неделю у тебя курс русского языка? Где ты завтракаешь? Куда ты ходишь гулять?

<-<-<-

Куда ты ходишь за покупками? Что ты делаешь по вечерам в пятницу?

->->->

Что ты ешь на ужин? Во сколько ты ложишься спать?

|

\/

Куда ты ездишь на праздники?

|

\/

Какая у тебя людимая еда? Где живет твой лучший друг? Куда ты ходишь в выходные?

<-<-<-

Какую одежду ты любишь носить? Как часто ты видишься с друзьями?

->->->

Во сколько ты встаешь в воскресенье утром? Сколько времени ты делаешь домашнюю работу?

|

\/

Конец Кем ты хочешь работать? Куда ты ходишь, чтобы отдохнуть? Какой твой любимый цвет?

<-<-<-

                                                                                             

Handout 2

цветы Нью-Йорк опера корабли
пластиковые ложки открытки на день рождения паспорт часы
Современное искусство детективные романы школы носки
бумага пекарня застежка на молнии колесо

 

Handout 3

10 Ways To Say You Don’t Care In Russian

Russian has many ways to say you don’t care about something. They range from neutral to decidedly low-register to downright vulgar.

Normally, we say “[adjective/noun in the dative case] + всё равно́” to mean “I don’t care.”

Мне всё равно, куда́ идти́.

Note that “всё равно” is followed by a subordinate clause. Literally, it means “It’s all the same (to someone).”

A more formal way of saying this is “[dative] + безразли́чно” — “makes no difference to someone.” Note that “безразлично” is used similarly to “всё равно” to introduce a subordinate clause. In addition, безразлично can refer to a noun (something you don’t care about), in which case it has to agree with that noun in gender and number.

Пото́м мы по-пре́жнему и́зредка ви́делись, она́ мне нра́вилась, и, как мне каза́лось, я то́же ей не был безразли́чен, хотя́ она́ не подава́ла ви́ду. 

  1. По бараба́ну

A colloquial way of saying you don’t care is [dative] + по бараба́ну. Бараба́н is a drum.

Нам тут всем по барабану, что в Москве́ о нас напи́шут. (All of us here couldn’t care less what they write about us in Moscow.) 

  1. Фиоле́тово

“Фиоле́товый” is the Russian word for the color purple. Its derivative adverb, фиоле́тово, is thought to refer to the purple color of the neutral litmus test.

― От того́, что бу́дет про меня́ говори́ть типи́чный москви́ч, мне абсолю́тно “фиоле́тово”.

  1. Паралле́льно

This is an adverb that, literally, means “parallel.” The idea is that if something is “parallel” to you, you don’t cross paths, so you have nothing to do with it.

Э́тому чува́ку вообще́ всё паралле́льно (This dude doesn’t care about anything).

  1. Плева́ть

This verb means “to spit.” To say you don’t care, you can say “мне плева́ть на + accusative noun.” This colloquial turn of phrase is a bit more established in the general language and appears in general dictionaries. You could also say “Плевать, что…” to introduce a subordinate clause.

Плевать на жену́, лишь бы де́ти бы́ли дово́льны! (Who cares about the wife as long as the kids are happy).

  1. до ла́мпочки

Лампа is the diminutive of ла́мпа (lamp) and usually means “light bulb.” [Noun/pronoun in dative] + до ла́мпочки is yet another synonym of “I don’t care.”

Я прошу́ их помо́чь мне, но им всё до ла́мпочки (I’m asking them to help me, but they don’t care about anything).

  1. до фе́ни

“До фе́ни” works the same way as “до ла́мпочки” in that it is followed by the person in the dative case. As most words on this list, this is a slang expression that should not be used in formal situations.

Ему́ все до фе́ни, лишь бы буты́лки сдать (He doesn’t care about anything other than returning bottles).

  1. до фонаря́

Фона́рь is a lantern or a street light. The etymology of this expression is disputed, but it is considered a variation of “мне до ла́мпочки.” Grammatically, it is followed by a noun/pronoun in the dative case, like many of its synonyms.

Пра́вда, тако́му челове́ку, как она́, все эти бана́льности до фонаря́ (Actually, a person like her doesn’t care about these trivial things).

  1. по́ фигу

Yet another synonym is по́ фигу + dative. You may also come across this slang word spelled по́фиг or по́фигу. Фи́га is the Russian for “fig (tree).” Фига is also the non-offensive gesture meaning “You’re not getting anything.”

― Мне то́же ра́ньше бы́ло стра́шно. А сейча́с ― по́ фигу. 

  1. чиха́ть

Чиха́ть is literally “to sneeze.” This word is followed by the person in the dative case + на + the thing they don’t care about in the accusative case.

Изве́стно ли вам, что есть лю́ди, кото́рые воспринима́ют шу́тки сли́шком серье́зно? ― […] Но мне чиха́ть на э́тих серье́зных, прости́те!

 

 

 

 

 

ES SP16 INT/ADV: Games

Language Resident Name:

Joaquin Garcia

Day and Date:

04/26/2016

Language and Level (intermediate or advanced class):

Advanced Class

Class theme/topics discussed:  

Games

How did you structure the class?

Activity 1 (): Heads-up. Reminding the upcoming events.

Activity 1 (15min): Scattergories: There are different fields: food, animals, clothes, professions, parts of the human body… I say one letter and the students have 1 to 1:30 minutes to think a word for each field that starts with that letter. Afterwards, we check the words and those we are repeated don’t give points. The student with more points at the end wins.

Activity 2 (15min): Connecting pairs. Students are put in pairs or groups. Then, each group receives a pair of words and they have to write as many connections as possible in one minute. Then, the groups switch the pair of objects. When all the groups have gone through all the words, we count how many connections have been found and the group with the highest number shares loudly their result. Pairs:

  • elephant, nail varnish
  • wedding, ant
  • snowflake, coin
  • religious fanatics, matchbox
  • number 25, criminal
  • a (named) singer and a ladybird
  • silkworm, axe
  • love, rubbish dump
  • pen, new-born baby
  • Garden of Eden, bar of soap

 

Activity 3 (15min): Combining elements into a story. In the same groups, students have to create a story which contains all the given items. Then we share the story loudly.

  • paper, afraid, foot, slow, seventy-five, quickly
  • lion, telephone, happily, green, dance, milk
  • the President, river, key, apple, smile, angrily, how are you?
  • actor, grandfather, eye, snake, move, go away, hard
  • electric, ski, oily, dramatically, Robin Hood, hippopotamus
  • squeeze, crocodile, explosion, vegetarian, pure, violin
  • shoot, ventriloquist, potato, guilty, slippery, anxious
  • jungle, telephone, bride, renew, microbe, religiously
  • egg-shaped, model, atmosphere, lawfully, caricature, congratulate
  • fossil, suburb, incoherent, whip, obstruction, polygamous

Activity 4 (15min): Odd man out. As in apples to apples, students but one must argue with of the words of the group does not belong in it. Then, the student who didn’t argue must choose their favorite.

  • apple, orange, mango, banana, grape, peach
  • India, China, France, Uganda, USA, New Guinea
  • finger, blood, heart, eye, muscle, tongue
  • sock, coat, dress, underpants, scarf, jeans,
  • Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks, Cinderella
  • tree, bush, flower, weed, plant, grass
  • trumpet, drums, violin, flute, harp, piano
  • river, waterfall, lake, sea, marsh, puddle
  • quiet, angry, graceful, shy, modest, quick
  • peace, joy, harmony, beauty, delicacy, grace
  • horse, cat, mouse, camel, lion, cow

 

What technology, media or props did you use? (internet resources, playmobiles, handouts, etc.)

None.

What worked well in this class? What did not work?

How could this class be improved/ modified?

Scattergories always works, they like it a lot. The rest of the games are good too, specially if you have very imaginative students.

If you have a more detailed lesson plan, please attach it below (OK to use target language for that). Please attach any handouts as well.

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