Kids like TV. Chinese kids LOVE TV. I started out the lesson by introducing vocab (different types of programs—talk show, sitcom, drama, game show (as well as host and contestant), soap opera, etc.) via a powerpoint (pictures of the different shows, not the words). I also explained each of them in case they were different from Chinese tv shows (for ex. sitcoms are normally 30 minutes long and are supposed to be funny, dramas are normally 1 hour long and are serious). Then I showed 5 short examples of different types of TV shows and had them guess what they were (I showed bits of a sitcom and a drama on my computer, then I did three others “live”). The three live ones were:
1. I asked the two tallest people in the class to come to the front and pretended that I was a host. I introduced the two guests to the audience (class) as Yao Ming and Shaquille O’Neal. I then told them this made up story that Yao Ming had gotten hit in the face and everyone thought it was Shaq. I asked each of them if this was true, etc. Then I asked the audience for their opinion. I let it go on for about five minutes then stopped and ask the class what kind of show it is.
2. I wrote “Price is Right” on the board and divided the class into four teams and explained the rules of the game. I took some oranges, a bottle of iced tea and a candle out of my bag (one at a time and wrote down on the board how much each team thought I paid, then wrote down the actual price that I paid). Then I asked them what kind of show it is. They loved this game by the way and I hammed it up by pretending to be a really cheesy game show lady (doing the “model walk” down the aisles with the showy hands). I also learned that I pay too much for oranges. Again, no more than five minutes.
3. I picked two students to come to the front (pick the most dramatic two who aren’t shy) and gave them this short dialogue that I had written (photocopy it so both have the same one). Then I told them to read it out loud in a very dramatic way. The first line was the kicker and literally had people falling out of their chairs with laughter (“But Lilly, don’t you love me anymore?”). I even interrupted the boy if he wasn’t being dramatic enough and demonstrated how I wanted him to do it (falling to my knees with clutched fists waving frantically in the air!). Ah, yes, the things I’ll do for a laugh.
I then split the class into groups and gave them the last ten minutes of class to come up with their own TV program (as if we’re turning on the TV and watching their program for five minutes). We watched their performances the following week. I liked this lesson because it gave them the opportunity to really use their creativity, since there was a lot of flexibility with what they could do (a variety of programs were used by my students-news show, cooking show, cartoon, sitcom, drama, soap opera, game show, talk show, etc.). As a result, it never got boring because each one was so different from the other. This is a fun lesson that’s a good change of pace if you’ve been doing a couple of heavier lessons and want to lighten things up a bit.
No comments:
Post a Comment