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A wonderful story, perhaps for Valentine's Day
Here's a wonderful story which I picked up via Google Reader from Viral Video Chart (well worth following for videos that can be used in class).
I'm not sure what I'd do with it in class, possibly use it as a starting point for a creative writing exercise, possibly for Valentine's Day. But it's too wonderful not to use it!
Any suggestions as to how it could be used?
Related posts: 
Things I take to class #3: Something I've never tried before Fun ad: what happened next? Writing Prompts: wonderful ideas [...]
Writing task: Letters to complete strangers
Here's another one which is "just an idea" for class, and which I found in an article on today's Guardian.
You might not want to do it as your learners' first experience of creative writing, but if they were to do it anonymously and each receive a letter from another member of the class, it would be at least both original and creative, two things we surely want in our classrooms.
Alternatively, you could have your learners post them on noticeboards and so on around the school. You never know, you might start something…!
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A social activity for Halloween
Here's one for Halloween. I'm not sure that there's actually the basis of a lesson there, but it's fun (and class should be fun, shouldn't it?).
If there's not class time to spend on such things, an Edmodo group for your class is a great place to share and comment on such things, even (especially?) when there's no formal "activity" that has to be completed, and it's simply a social activity (which learning is, or should be, anyway).
One of the many things I like about Edmodo is that learners start to post and share [...]
Fun video activity for Halloween
Here's one for you if you've got class on Monday, Halloween.
I love this activity as it's so simple, requires so little in the way of preparation, and (assuming you've picked a good clip for it) always generates lots of interaction between the learners.
The idea has been around a long time, since the days of VCRs (video, that is), when that was "new technology". All you have to do is pair your students and have one person in each pair sit with their backs to the screen, while their partner provides a running [...]
Fun Christmas writing lesson idea
Photo: Tom Walton
Here's one I got in the newsletter from very useful English Language Teaching Contacts Scheme (or ELTeCS), which has six regional e-mail newslists covering the world and carrying news but also useful links and ideas for lessons.
This particular Christmas lesson idea is on the wonderful TeachingEnglish.org.uk site, surely the best site for English teachers on the web.
Apart from the lesson and the "Christmas is cancelled" story by Nancy A. Cavanaugh that it is based on, your learners could also have a lot of fun writing [...]
Online debates on Debatewise
One that was suggested in the DevelopingTeachers.com Teaching Tips 156 newsletter…
This Friday (23rd) is Saint George's Day and DT have a debate on that on DebateWise, as well as lesson ideas for it. Debatewise might be fun for your learners to see how many people out in cyberspace they could pull into a debate… Your first classroom debate: what kind of subject is going to interest people?!
It could also work well if you were working with another school (or another class in your own school).
The same edition of Teaching Tips also has links for Earth Day (April [...]
How to exploit the Oscars in class
Lots of good ideas landed in my mail box this morning in the developingteachers.com Weekly Teaching Tip, on how to use the Oscars in class.
Among them, I enjoyed (and think my learners will enjoy) the stories about the Oscars in an article in the Independent.
Related posts: Happy 40th, Internet! October 10, World Mental Health Day Something else I didn't have to search for
Happy 40th, Internet!
This week's free Weekly Teaching Tip from Developing Teachers.com points out that the Internet is 40 this Thursday (29th).
It also mentions and quotes an article from the Telegraph that lists 50 things that are being killed by the Internet, which might make a topical discussion, Thursday. You might, before reading, get your learners to brainstorm their own list, and then compare…
The Guardian has its own take on the story and (sort of) explains why the Internet is not the Web.
The Weekly Teaching Tip is well worth subscribing to.
Related posts: A map of the internet
Halloween videos and lessons
Halloween lessons and lots more on TEFLClips.com
Among the YouTube videos and lessons on Jamie Keddie's award-winning teflclips.com blog you've got a Halloween Horror Story that's fun (and topical!).
If you prefer a more student-centred approach to listening, you could alternatively, and as a lead-in, get your learners to brain-storm the vocabulary they think will come up in a "Halloween Horror Story" and then listen and watch to see how many they got "right".
There are in fact two YouTube videos there. [...]
Valentine's Day lesson plan
Harry met Sally on the Internet…
Here's an idea for a creative, collaborative writing activity for Valentine's Day, which is coming up shortly, which uses a process writingapproach…
Whole class, discuss what good love stories have in common and what they boil down to, preferably a single sentence… The conclusion we reached in the group I first tried this with was that all love stories are variations on "Harry met Sally". Individually, have learners expand on that single sentence, not necessarily to finish the [...]
A Christmas lesson
Christmas…? You know what I think… (and see below!)
Here's my all-time favourite Christmas lesson*… I've used it with lots of classes, and it's always been fun, both with teenagers and adults.
Stages
Play word association in order to brainstorm Christmas vocabulary In pairs, find out if their partner believes in Father Christmas; and if not, find out exactly when they stopped believing Teacher reads out this letter from an 8-year-old, asking the New York Times editor whether or not Santa exists In pairs, write a reply to the letter, from [...]
VideoJug: a cool alternative to YouTube
Halloween? Kissing? Halo 3 Tips…? The "How to" video is on VideoJug
My colleague Carolyn Edwards has just told me about VideoJug.com. It's not quite YouTube but has stacks of "How to" videos on it.
As a lesson, you could probably get a lot of mileage out of asking your learners before watching "How to" go about a particular task; get them to make notes of the stages involved; then watch and, while watching, get them to tick in their notes which are mentioned [...]
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All posts by Tom Walton, teacher trainer at IH Barcelona
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April 22nd—June 2nd 2013
Barcelona, Sat.8th June 2013