Superhero

Superhero by Anjali

1. Show them pictures of a few different superheroes and ask them to name them. Then ask them what they all have in common. None of my classes knew the word, so I then wrote it on the board.

2. Divide the class into 8 groups and tell them that you want them to create their own superhero. Then go over what you want them to say about their superhero: appearance, how they became a superhero, special powers (if you have time, you might want to teach specific ones that they wouldn't know like invisible, x-ray vision), weaknesses, worst enemy/battle. The best way that I have found to teach vocab (without actually bringing the object into class) is describing it in English then asking them "what is weakness" then somebody will normally say the word in Chinese, then you say yes and the rest of the class goes "ohhhhhhh." So, try to learn the chinese words for the vocab that you're teaching.

3. Share your own superhero. I told them a story about Mr. Bear, this ordinary bear who suddenly acquires superpowers after getting hit on the head by evil panda. Basically I told them a story (hitting all of the points that I want them to describe of their own hero—weaknesses, special powers, enemies) while showing some pictures. Once you finish the story, you may want to concept check and ask them what superbear's special powers are and what his weakness is. Or you can do what I did at conference, which was to have students come to the front and act it out while you tell the story. If your students have good listening skills, this might actually work out better.

4. Give each team something silly (toilet paper, etc.) and tell them that whatever they are given must be part of the superhero--either a weapon, the enemy or the superhero itself. Give them 5 minutes to prepare.

5. Listen to each group talk about their superhero and take notes on the board--particularly the name of the hero, special powers and weaknesses.

6. Tell the class that we want to find the best superhero of them all, so we’re going to have them fight. Pick two of the heroes and ask them who would win if the two of them were to fight. Make sure you have them explain why--what special powers does that superhero have that will enable it to beat the other one, etc. You may need to do a bit of prompting at the beginning to help them out. The winner of the battle fights against another, etc. until all have fought. The one remaining is the winner.