Hi
I’ve been a Shark Tank fan for quite a while and thought it might be interesting to use in class as the current chapter in the textbook we’re doing is on jobs.
There is also a dictogloss to do on Nike’s co-founder Phil Knight, and video on Youtube.
Edit: I updated this as I decided to create something on Bombas. After watching a recent episode I realised Bomba is Shark Tank’s most profitable company. Their story is very interesting: for every pair of socks sold they donate one pair to homeless people.
Here is the second part of my lessons based on WW2. I recently modified this lesson and made the Battle of Stalingrad into a Microsoft Word document, but I have kept the original older lesson in case you prefer it.
The question booklet is here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/wwii-lessons-1-5-appeasement-rationing-blitz-krieg-operation-barbarossa-updated-2024-12630382
Hi
Here is a very simple guide on New Zealand. There is some information on
Its origins
Nature
The Maori people
Lord of the Rings - Hobbiton
Haka + Hongi
Usually for this kind of lesson I create a question worksheet but as I teach this at the end of the year I haven’t done this yet. But, I will probably create a worksheet later.
The videos are embedded into the lesson.
Here are comprehension texts on
Charlotte Brown - a blind pole vaulter (there are two comprehension texts - one is a bit easier)
A basic guide to Braille
Biography of Laura Bridgman
Biography of Helen Keller
Each exercise has some questions. This can be used for native English speakers but has been primarily designed for English learners with a low B1 level in mind.
The texts have been taken from different websites, combined, merged, edited and rewritten in different parts.
Hi
I created this for a pretty low level class of young learners. It’s a biography of David Beckham. I recently improved it and added some French words but you could remove this part or change the words to your students’ L1.
The questions are purposely designed to be quite simple and the ‘extra’ part is for stronger students.
In textbook we use in school for my English learners the students are taught vocab such as someone, anyone, anything etc so I decided to use Billie Eilish’s song “Everything I wanted” as it uses these words. Then, as it is about dreams I have a comprehension text on dreams.
And I have added part of my grammar lesson on indefinite pronouns. This should be used with a textbook that includes this grammatical concept (to do exercises on it for example).
Here is a lesson based on food. This is taken from the New York Times; however, it's been heavily edited, with vocabulary exercises, lots of formatting due to the layout on their website, so it's actually been several hours of work.
I got the idea for this when I found some excerpts of the diary online which looked to be scanned from a class book, but I didn’t like the questions so I made my own.
I have started with a very simple background on what Yugoslavia was with questions, then excerpts from the book along with comprehension questions every so often to check understanding of the text and then a conclusion on her life with comprehension questions.
There are also some vocabulary activities to pre-teach difficult words, so if your students are native English speakers I guess you could simply edit and delete these sections.
Hi
This is an excellent and dark short story by Jonathan Crag: “Call me Nick” from 1968 and featured on Hitchcock presents.
Content
Call me Nick - I have edited this short story to remove some really difficult words and use some slightly easier synonyms
The Devil - an article on the Devil slightly adapted from a site online with images added showing the cloven hooves, trident and horns.
Workbook - difficult vocab is defined (e.g. gasp, chuckle, stare, sin etc) and there are comprehension exercises along with a few idioms with the word devil.
This has been used for a literature class with B2/B2+ students. I have divided the short story into two parts and between these parts students have an article about the Devil to read. This breaks it up nicely.
This could also easily be used in a literature class for native speakers. I think my students enjoyed it! It took two whole classes to read and finish the questions (55 minute classes in my school, so if your classes are shorter you might need 3 lessons).
Here is a collection of lessons on WW2. Please note, it’s been recently modified. I decided to scrap some of the Powerpoints so most of it is in the booklet. But I have kept the old powerpoints just in case you prefer them.
Lesson order:
1 Introduction to WW2 (Powerpoint)
2 Origins of WW2 (How Britain Hoped to Avoid War with Germany in the 1930s) (Word document)
3 Rationing (Powerpoint)
4 The Battle of Britain & The Blitz (Word document)
5 Operation Barbarossa (Word document)
I used to have the Hitler biography here at the start of WW2 but decided to put it at the end of WW1 after the Great Depression.
There is a separate booklet for questions.
My students are French and we have a special history class, so the question booklet has translations of advanced words.
This is a collection of lessons starting with a general lesson on animals unique to Australia, then moving on to kangaroos, koalas and the tasmanian devil. In the second workbook it is on spiders and snakes.
Adidas vs Puma
This is a lesson on the feud between the founders of Adidas and Puma - two brothers. I find that teenagers find this topic interesting as most kids nowadays wear Adidas, Puma and Nike.
Firstly, if time there is a dictogloss. On the first page of the dictogloss is a picture of the brothers to show the students and a map with Herzogenaurach.
During the dictogloss I get students to just write HZ as it’s much quicker!
Then is the text on the brothers’ feud and story, accompanied by comprehension questions.
This has taken several hours to create,merging, editing and rewriting material from multiple sources.
This is a video comprehension I created as the chapter in the textbook was on sports.
There are some general facts on sumo wrestlers (e.g. they cannot drive a car) then the video comprehension. Some words are translated but you could either define these words or translate into your students’ L1.
I run a blog so I created a blog version which is a bit different so I just kept it on the third page just in case.
I have created this workbook as a guide and background to Anne Frank’s diary.
It has been recently updated and I used a newer video comprehension.
I have also created a question booklet, which has vocabulary exercises and a good video comprehension, but I haven’t finished all of the questions for the diary. However, I have uploaded it because it has the video comprehension.
My plan is to finish it later but it’s literally hours of work so the question booklet stops at Saturday, 30 January 1943.
This is a collection of lessons from an idea to use an excellent speech by RM from BTS
An introduction to who BTS are (with information on their military service)
United Nations Guide
RM’s BTS Speech along with a transcript (the transcript was copied for answering the questions afterwards)
One Ok Rock - Stand out, fit in song - chosen because it’s linked to the topic that RM discusses
The last 2 pages has the questions which I would print separately so it’s easier to refer to the text to answer the questions.
For each link (e.g. Youtube) they are embedded into each image:
About the United Nations
António Guterres speaking in several languages
Love Myself promotional video
RM’s speech
One Ok Rock - Stand out, fit in
The face changing dancer
Hi
(Updated to reflect that Thunberg now has almost 15 million followers and I changed Prince Charles’ name to King Charles III)
I have made a biography of Greta Thunberg taken from different sources. It’s been edited and reworded, along with my own information added
It is designed primarly for non-native speakers but please don’t be put off it could be easily used for native speakers! You’ll just need to remove the vocab exercises. For this there are basically two versions (one is slightly easier).
To begin with there are sentences introducing the new vocabulary, then students need to match up the definition with the new words along with a translation in their L1, then you can start the dictogloss.
Then there is the comprehension that the dictogloss is based on along with comprehension questions. Finally there is a gap fill exercise from the “How Dare You?” speech (the video link is in the photo).
Lesson 5 Uluru
Lesson 6 Aborigines
Lesson 7 Australia Day (updated for 2023)
Lesson 8 Australia Cultural class
This is the second part of my Australia scheme of work, but naturally you could use any of these lessons separately.
There are two booklets. In the easier one there are two different exercises (just made a bit easier for weaker students).
I have added the video clips to a Youtube list but some can’t be added
The Uluru video on the PowerPoint is from the BBC and for some reason videos designed for children on Youtube cannot be saved to a playlist. But they are embedded in the PowerPoint lessons.
Regarding the biographies: Hugh Jackman, Margot Robbie and Chris Hemsworth I get the students to, in groups of 3 or 4 take the text and try to summarise it then they read in front of the students who take notes (a kind of dictogloss) to see what they understand. After all this then students can read the biographies together in class.
The biographies for Jackman, Robbie and Hemsworth have been taken from different sources edited, rewritten and like all my other lessons I’ve added pics and formatted it myself.
The Weeknd - Save your Tears (featuring Ariana Grande)
The Weeknd - Blinding Lights
With this activity it’s not just a simple gap fill. The intention is rather to get the students to focus on some of the grammar points that they’ve studied this school year (well at least my students have!)
I have attached the Youtube links in the Word document.
The first part is a gap fill then students need to analyse the text to find particular tenses or rhymes, then finally create their own verse of either song.
Of course you could modify any of the grammar based on what your students do or don’t know.
This is a set of lessons on Australia. I used to have the Commonwealth as the first lesson in my Australia scheme of work but have decided to not use it, so I’ll just add it as an extra.
Lesson 1 – Penal Colony
Lesson 2- The origins of Australia
Lesson 3 - Tourism in Australia. I made this on Prezi but have made a new PowerPoint that has replaced the Prezi.
Lesson 4 - Focus on Sydney (updated 11.2023)
Although I call them Lessons 1, 2, 3 and 4 they will take more than one lesson depending on how long a lesson lasts in your school. I made class tests for each lesson but deleted them just in case my students found them!
The workbook has a harder and easier version but the only difference is for the Sydney video as the video gap fill is a bit easier.
The videos are embedded in the lessons, but if they don’t work you could copy the link and go to the site manually.