Class Type: Composition

Time: 50 Minutes

Topic: Adj, Adv, and Noun Clauses/ The Environment Cont.

Level: Low Intermediate

Intro/Activity 1 (15-20 minutes) GALLERY WALK

  • Place the 8 articles provided spread out around the walls of the classroom (they are labelled 1-8 for convenience). Next give each student a copy of the worksheet for the gallery walk labelled ‘Gallery Walk of Clauses’. Once everyone has a worksheet, depending on how many students are present in the class have them work either solo or in pairs. Once Ss are in their configuration (either solo or in pairs) explain to them that each person/pair is given a few minutes at each “station”(article on the wall) to figure out what kind of clauses are underlined in the article. Only one type of clause is underlined in each work. Either an adjective, adverb or noun clause. Students put the kind of clause they think is present in the article on their worksheet. After a few minutes, have Ss rotate to the next article in a clockwise (to the right) fashion. Repeat until all Ss have been to all the articles. MAKE SURE TO MODEL FOR STUDENTS BEFORE ACTIVITY STARTS Once Ss have completed their sheets, come back together as a class to quickly go over the answers and check if Ss have any questions/confusions.
  • Once Ss have completed their first worksheet, hand out the worksheet where Ss need to go around the room again and match the topics with the number on the article. MAKE SURE TO MODEL ACTIVITY, AS WELL AS GOING AROUND THE ROOM TO ENSURE UNDERSTANDING. Once Ss have finished or time is up, quickly go over the answers with the class before moving onto the next activity.
    • It took some coercing to get the students to stand up and moving around, but I am finding that this is pretty common with it being hot out and getting close to the end of the semester. I believe this went over well! It took a fair bit of repeating instructions to make sure that Ss understood what it was that I wanted them to do, but we got there in the end! After having the last few classes being about clauses, it has helped me learn not only how to teach these clauses, but how to tell the difference myself (I grew up in the English language, so learning the reasons as to how certain grammar points work has been a bit of a struggle). With the help of my sponsor teacher, we were able to keep the mood up during this activity and the rest of class.

Activity 2 (10 mins) ENVIRONMENT Q’s

  • Once the Ss have come back to their seats, split them into groups of ~3 and tell them to decide who is the leader of their group (Mama or Papa Bear). Once everyone is in their groups and has a designated leader, go through the questions on the ‘Environment Questions’ sheet with the class, writing the multiple choices on the board to help students understand the choices they are making. MAKE SURE TO READ Q’S SLOWLY AND REPEAT A FEW TIMES, AND REPEAT THE ANSWERS AS WELL. Once every group has placed their vote on an answer, THEN reveal the answer before moving onto the next question.
    • The students really enjoy this!! It is nice because it helps them use their critical thinking skills and perhaps prior knowledge from before they came to Canada to learn English. It also serves as a kind of “brain break” from focusing on the topic. I also really enjoyed putting this together, I hope to be able to use these types of “quizzes” often in future lessons I teach. However, due to time constraints, we were not able to complete all of the questions I had had prepared. That’s okay though, because I plan on using the questions I didn’t use for the next lesson.

Activity 3 (10-15 mins) BUILDING CLAUSES

  • Give each (or each pair of) Ss one of the eight sets of cue cards, and have them reassemble the sentence and decipher what kind of clause they were given. The cards only have the clause itself on them, not full sentences. MODEL/SHOW ON THE BOARD BEFORE LETTING THEM BEGIN. Once Ss are done creating their sentences, let them know if they got the TYPE of clause correct, and then help them move words around in the right order if necessary.
    • For this activity, while we only had 2 groups due to a smaller than anticipated class, I am glad I created so many sets or varying difficulty. I was afraid that the easy ones would be too easy, however the harder ones were a bit too difficult for most of the class. For that reason I am glad to have created a variety, so that the group that understood clauses really well had a challenge, while the group that needed a bit more help could be eased into the activity a bit more gently.

Exit Ticket/Homework CLAUSE EXAMPLES

  • Before Ss have class for the day, have them come together in groups with their neighbours to create 3 sentences, one for each type of clause they’ve been working on (either adj. Adv. or noun clauses). Once each group is finished, have them write their sentences on the board for class review and seeing if they really understand the use of clauses before releasing them for the day. If assigning for homework, have each Ss create one sentence for each type of clause (1 sentence w/ adv. clause, 1 sentence w/ noun clause and 1 sentence w/ adj. clause). These are due for the next lesson next week.
    • We did not have enough time in class to start the exit ticket as a a final activity, so it was assigned for homework to give to me the next time I teach their class.
    • Overall, I am definitely feel a lot more confident about my teaching ability with this class now that the Ss are more familiar with my presence and that we’ve built a bit of a rapport. Not going to lie, I am sad at the thought of my next lesson with them being my last. That being said I am excited for my final lesson and I hope that I can make it memorable, even if its just a little bit. C: