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Classroom Activity 4
Summer Vacation Comics
Level:
Upper Beginner/Lower Intermediate
Time required:
60–75 minutes
Goals:
To
become familiar with vocabulary related to vacation
locations, foods,
and activities; to practice expressing
wants by using “want to”
Materials:
chalk and chalkboard, or markers and whiteboard;
large pieces of paper for comic posters; colored
pencils or crayons
Background:
Summer is hot in most parts of the United States.
Schools close, and many people take family vacations.
Some travel, while others participate in leisure
activities in their hometowns.
During summer vacations, people might play sports,
sightsee, go on walks, or read books. They go on
picnics in parks or on beaches and eat summer
treats, including ice
cream and fresh fruit.
Preparation:
1.
Establish three stations for brainstorming vocabulary.
These can be
sections of a whiteboard or chalkboard,
or large pieces of paper posted around the classroom.
Label these stations 1, 2.
.2 Assign a
vacation vocabulary topic to each station:
Station 1 = vacation locations, Station 2 = vacation foods,
Station 3 = vacation activities.
3. To create comic grids for the second part of the activity,
use one large piece of paper for each group of 3–5
students. On each piece of paper, draw two perpendicular
lines to form four boxes, which students
will use to draw
their comics. (Alternatively, groups can make their own
grids by drawing lines on their paper during the lesson.)
Procedures:
1.
Write the word vacation on the board. Ask students if
they have ever been on a vacation or fun family trip.
Ask several students:
“Where did
you go on vacation?
What did you do on vacation?
What foods did you eat on vacation?”
Write students’ ideas on the board.
2.
Tell students they are going to plan their own
vacations,but first
they need to review and prepare
vocabulary to talk about vacations.
3. Divide the class into three groups by having students
count off from 1
to 3. Ask students to move to the
station matching their group number. Have groups
choose one person to write down the group’s ideas.
4. Tell the groups they will have two minutes for a timed
brainstorm; they
will write down as many words for their
topic—locations, foods, or activities—as possible.
Remind students that all ideas are acceptable
during
brainstorming.Recorders will write the group’s list on
their section of the board or on a large sheet of paper.
Start the brainstorm and circulate among the groups.
If groups have problems coming up with ideas, provide
prompts (“Do you eat hot food or cold food in
summer?”) or mime.
5.
When time is up, have groups rotate to the next
station. At the new
station, students review the first
group’s list, help each other with the meaning of
unknown items, and add their own ideas with another
timed brainstorm. Groups rotate once more to
brainstorm at the final stations.
6. After students return to their seats, the student who
brainstormed the
item in question can explain it using
words, gestures, or a drawing.
Display the three
vocabulary lists during the next part of the activity.
7. Tell students they will make a comic that explains
their vacation plans in pictures and in words. Provide
an example on the board: draw a comic
grid, then draw
three people in the upper left box. (Don’t worry! You don’t
have to be a wonderful artist. If you don’t want to draw,
ask
student volunteers to draw for you.)
Ask students,
“What are their
names?” Write a caption based on the
students’ response: “Hi. We are
Maria, Dimitri, and
Tareq.” Next, ask the class where they want to go on
vacation. Pick one response and draw something that
represents the
location in the upper right box; write a
caption under the picture:
“We
want to go to the beach for vacation.”
Complete the last two boxes, one
for vacation
foods and one for activities; make sure the captions
use
the “We want to ____________ (on vacation)”
structure. When the comic is
complete, ask the class to
come up with a title, such as “Our Vacation” or
“Summer Vacation.”
8.
Highlight the “want to” form by asking students if
they notice anything
that is the same in the last three
captions. Underline want to in each caption. If
necessary, ask concept-checking questions about the
meaning
of“want to.”Finally, elicit or supply the question
forms associated with the last three captions:
“Where do you want to go?
What foods do you want to eat?
What do you want to do?”
Write each question on the
board next to the
corresponding box.
9.
Divide the class into groups of 3–5 students.
Distribute comic grids (or large pieces of paper,
if groups will create their own grids) and colored
pencils or crayons.
If necessary, provide instructions on how to create
the grids.
10. Tell the class they will plan imaginary vacations:
students can go
anywhere they want, choose foods to
eat, and pick activities to enjoy. Using the vocabulary
lists created earlier in the activity, groups
should
discuss options and agree on a vacation plan.
Groups will
illustrate their plan using the comic grids
and make captions for each box, following the pattern
in the model comic. You can provide partial captions
to support less proficient students.
For example, the caption in the first box introducing the
group might read:
“Hi. We are ______________ (names).
” The other captions might be:
• “We want to go to _____________(place).”
• “We want to eat ________________(foods).”
• “We want to ________________(activities).”
11.
Have groups share their vacation plans. If your
classroom space allows, create stations around the
room and send two groups to each station. (If you
have limited space, have groups present to the
groups sitting
close to them.)
Each group will present its vacation comic to the other.
After both groups at each station have shared, one
group will remain at
the station while the other group
rotates to another station.
Continue
the rotation to give groups several chances
to present and listen; ask a
different person to speak
for the group each time.
Ask one or two groups with unique plans to present
their comic to the whole class.
