SUN OR MOON

 













Objective - To have students express their points of view on varied topics.
Age Level - Older teens, young adults, adults
Proficiency level - High intermediate and above
Mateirals -  A list with topics for students to discuss. (avoid themes that are too controversial or that may give room to prejudice). A picture of the sun and one of the moon, which will be placed on two opposite walls in the classroom.

• Ask students to stand up in the middle of the classroom. Tell them to take the side they want in relation to the topics you are going to present for discussion. Sun = I agree; Moon = I disagree. If anybody is neutral, they stay in the center and have a chance to say why they've taken that stand.
• Read one of your statements ("Investing in nuclear programs is a waste of money"; "Mankind should stop trying to reach faraway planets and use this money to improve the living conditions on Earth." "Many school subjects are useless and will not help students solve practical problems in their daily lives."; etc).
• Ask students to move to the side they want and give them a few minutes to exchange ideas with their peers, making a list of arguments to defend their point of view.
• Call the time. Each group shares their points of view. If anybody has stood in the center, invite the person to share his/her ideas with the group.

FLASHCARD DICTATION

Proficiency level - Beginners

Age level - Young learners

Objective - To practice saying and writing vocabulary items

Materials - Flashcards with pictures of the items you want to practice

1.  Distribute the flashcards among students. 
2. Exchange roles with them. Now you are the student!
3. As they take turns dictating the items they have, write the words on the bb, purposefully misspelling them. 
4. Ask them if you have done a good job. They will immediately point out the problems.
5. The student who dictated the word goes to the bb and writes the word correctly.
6. When everybody is done, students grade the teacher. Be prepared to get a very low grade (they love this part of the activity!!!).

NOTE: if there aren’t enough flashcards for all the students, ask the ones who don’t have a flashcard to correct the spelling. This way, everybody gets a chance to participate.

VARIATION: Divide the board into three or four parts and call students to take turns writing on the space provided to them the words dictated by their peers. Again, peer correction happens as a wrap-up.