English Club: #5
Topic: Everyday problems.
Ice breaker: (10 min) Telephone game. Have your group make a circle. Begin by whispering the a sentence to the person next to you. Tell him/her to whisper what he heard to the next person. Continue around the circle until it gets to the last person. Next have the first and last person share the sentence with the rest of the class.
· I want to drink some cold water after English club.· They went to the large park and walked around for one hour.
· She wants to go to America and work this summer.
· He is tired and needs to go to bed early tonight.
· I can’t wait for spring to come to Almaty.
Small groups: Divide into as many groups as there are facilitators.
1. (20 min) Vocabulary. Pass out the “everyday problems” sheet and give your students five minutes to fill in the missing words. Go through the answers with them and discuss by asking the question: “What should I/he/she/we/they do?”.
2. (15 min) Choosing sides. Read the first question and have the students stand in two lines facing each other, depending on their answer. Give each side an opportunity to state the reason why they chose their position. Introduce the words: accidentally and on purpose. Continue with the next question.
How often do you…
· drop your cell phone? (rarely/often) / · break things (rarely/ often)· spill your drink (never/sometimes) / · run out of money (sometimes/always)
· trip over things (occasionally/frequently) / · misplace your pen (never/occasionally)
· burn your food (never/sometimes) / · stain your clothes (never/rarely)
3. (15 min) Dialogue creation. Divide your group into pairs and ask each pair to take a face-down situation card. Give your class 5 minutes to prepare a dialogue for their situation. Ask them to include what happened and one possible solution in their dialogue. Give each pair a chance to share their dialogue with the rest of the class.
4. (10 min) Discussion. Talk about the following questions as a group:
· Which is more difficult for you: when the power is out or when the water is off? Explain.
· What was the most expensive thing you broke in your life?
· What do you do after you spill something? After your friend spills something?
· What is the most expensive thing you have misplaced in your life? Did you find it?
· Have you ever locked yourself out of your house or car? What did you do?
· Are you clumsy? Give examples.
· Why do we have problems/difficulties in our lives? Is it possible to live without any problems?
5. (10 min) Block story. Have a volunteer try to explain the entire story. After the first student is finished go through difficult verbs and phrases. Ask for a second volunteer to explain the story this time in the first person past tense ”I did…”. Finally, you share the story making sure to add enough connecting phrases to make it flow from box to box.
Large group: (10 min) Idioms. Go through the following idioms:
· I ran out of steam at the end of the last semester.
· I missed it by a mile!
· I am burned out after the busy week.
· She broke down last night.
Everyday problems
Vocabulary: Fill in the blank with the correct word.
Power was out / Out of order / Made a mess / Something is wrong withSpilled / Ruined / Water was off / Misplaced
Ripped / Ran out / Locked out / Missed
Tripped over / Burned / Left / Broke down
1. The elevator had an “Out of order” sign on the doors.
2. That child spilled his soup on the restaurant floor.
3. I was late this morning and I missed the bus to work.
4. My radio ran out of batteries after I forgot to turn it off last night.
5. I think something is wrong with my cell phone because I can’t turn it on.
6. My pants were ruined after I accidentally sat on wet paint.
7. Last night the power was out in our neighborhood from 10pm until 2am.
8. I am sad because I accidentally left my bag on the bus this morning.
9. My friend was locked out of his house last night because he forgot his keys.
10. My sons made a mess with their toys and need to clean up their room.
11. My neighbor’s car broke down last week and is now getting repaired.
12. Our hot water was off last summer because they were changing the pipes.
13. His sister tripped over a rock while running and cut her knee.
14. I misplaced my shoes and now I can’t find them.
15. I accidentally ripped a page out of the library book.
16. My mom burned the food so we went to a café to eat.
Everyday problems
Vocabulary: Fill in the blank with the correct word.
Power was out / Out of order / Made a mess / Something is wrong withSpilled / Ruined / Water was off / Misplaced
Ripped/tore / Ran out / Locked out / Missed
Tripped over / Burned / Left / Broke down
1. The elevator had an “______” sign on the doors.
2. That child ______ his soup on the restaurant floor.
3. I was late this morning and I ______ the bus to work.
4. My radio ______ of batteries after I forgot to turn it off last night.
5. I think ______ my cell phone because I can’t turn it on.
6. My pants were ______ after I accidentally sat on wet paint.
7. Last night the ______ in our neighborhood from 10pm until 2am.
8. I am sad because I accidentally ______ my bag on the bus this morning.
9. My friend was ______ of his house last night because he forgot his keys.
10. My sons ______ with their toys and need to clean up their room.
11. My neighbor’s car ______ last week and is now getting repaired.
12. Our hot ______ last summer because they were changing the pipes.
13. His sister ______ a rock while running and cut her knee.
14. I ______ my shoes and now I can’t find them.
15. I accidentally ______ a page out of the library book.
16. My mom ______ the food so we went to a café to eat.
A: mom or dad
B: child
Problem: spilled juice at breakfast / A: mom or dad
B: child
Problem: ruined white shirt
A: friend
B: friend
Problem: ran out of cell phone units / A: student
B: teacher
Problem: missed the bus and is late
A: customer
B: salesman
Problem: something is wrong with the computer / A: friend
B: friend
Problem: misplaced bag at the university
A: hungry person
B: chef (cook)
Problem: the food is burnt / A: mom or dad
B: child
Problem: tripped over their dog
A: friend
B: friend
Problem: lost keys and locked out of home / A: driver
B: policeman
Problem: car broke down in the street
A: friend
B: friend
Problem: ran out of money / A: homeowner
B: repairman
Problem: power is out