Unusual Houses
Elementary level
Description
Materials
Main Aims
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To practice speaking through discussions in the context of unusual houses
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To provide gist reading practice using a text about unusual houses
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To provide detailed reading practice using a text about unusual houses
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To provide inference reading practice using a text about unusual houses
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To provide product writing practice of a paragraph in the context of dream houses
Subsidiary Aims
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To provide clarification and practice of house-related vocabulary
Procedure (71-93 minutes)
Speaking: The teacher asks the two first questions to the class, whether they live in a house or a flat and the number of bedrooms are there. Then, he directs the students' attention to the picture of a mountain house on the top right of the page, so that they can tell if the house in the picture looks like theirs or not. The teacher elicits the students' responses where they can find such houses.
Reading Instructions: Listen to and read the texts, then match them with pictures. The teacher asks the students to listen and read the five paragraphs about houses in order to match each one to the correct picture on the left. The teacher plays the audio once, and twice, if needed. T. asks the students to check their answers together in pairs ( pair check), then he gets them to answer collectively as a class. T. comments on any possible concerns the students may have about the houses. Answers: 1.D 2. A 3. E 4. B 5. C
B. Give one word from the bold words in the texts to each of the following definitions. The teacher asks the students to read the paragraphs carefully to match the words in bold with the proposed definitions. He shows them the answer of the first example, and may need to answer the second example too. He tells them to use online dictionaries to find out about the meaning of the words in bold, then match the words with the definitions. The teacher checks the answers, and drills the words, through repetition to ensure correct pronunciation. C. Write the adjectives that collocate with the following nouns. The teacher highlights the adjective+ noun collocations. He shows how they can be used to describe nouns in the context of house types and designs. He shows the answered example in the activity ( peaceful countryside), then he asks the students to complete them. He gives feedback to the students. He clarifies that an adjective can be used to describe more than a noun (e.g. large house, cozy house, old house).
3. Speaking Group Work: Discuss the following questions. (8: 10 minutes) In this stage, the students are required to work in groups. They are going to discuss their opinions and perceptions on the designs of houses, and their favourite designs. The teacher asks them to take notes before they start speaking. Then he monitors them to give help when necessary and assess their speaking ability. The teacher gives feedback over the speaking performance in terms of pronunciation of words, accuracy of language, expressions of opinions needed any other types of errors that may occur while the students are doing the activity. 4. Writing ( 25: 30 minutes) Write 100 words about your perfect home. Are you going to design it by yourself? Where do you want it to be? What style of building would you like? Give reasons and examples for your answers. In this activity, the students are going to practice paragraph writing in the context of dream homes, based on the text. They are going to imagine how it looks like, the number of rooms it includes, the style, and design etc. The students are given about 25 to 30 minutes. While writing, the teacher monitors the classroom and gives prompts and help when necessary.
This is a flexi-stage when the teacher may comment on some errors practiced after writing. Otherwise, the teacher may postpone the feedback till the coming classes in order to keep the students more involved and motivated. The teacher may give a preliminary feedback until he finalizes all the marking on the second day and the whole mistakes can be detected.
In this stage, the teacher asks the students to read again, then answer the questions that reading comprehension questions from 1 to 6. After the students finish, the teacher gives answer key so that the students can compare their answers. The teacher any concerns related to the questions.
