LESSON PLAN: ‘Good, Better, Best’
*Recommending an alternative to unit 6 of the E’ class coursebook entitled ‘Good, Better, Best’ and is thematically related to Geography (cross-curricular link: items of Geography); it is used as a medium of practicing comparisons and contrasts about places and other geographical items.
Pre-speaking stage (10 min):
Step 1: Ls are asked to join a class discussion by comparing and contrasting the two biggest Greek cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, to activate their world schemata and attract their interest from the very beginning introducing the necessary linguistic input (vocabulary, grammar & pronunciation).
Step 2: During the lead-in discussion, Ls are asked to contribute their knowledge to fill in a chart with missing information on the BB about the two Greek cities raising their hands to answer the relevant questions posed by the teacher.
Step 3: Based on the information recorded in the chart, Ls compare and contrast the two cities on their own, guided by the teacher’s triggering questions.
While-speaking stage (20 min):
Step 4: The teacher sets the scene inviting Ls to imagine they are teenagers who want to study abroad, in a European city, but they face a dilemma and have to answer the following question: “London or Rome is the best city to live and study?”
Step 5: To reach a decision, Ls are divided into groups of 4. Each group is going to process the information provided about London and Rome in order to be able to decide/vote the best city to live and study.
Step 6: Each group is sub-divided into two pairs of Ls. In each pair, one learner plays the role of the candidate student who asks questions related to certain city features, similar to the ones discussed in the pre-speaking stage, and the other one plays the role of the British or the Italian friend respectively who provides the information needed by answering the relevant questions. To this end, the two Ls who play the role of the candidate university students are provided with a card with questions and the other two Ls who play the role of the foreigners are given cards with a chart including all the necessary information.
Step 7: Each pair of Ls acts out the dialogue in turn while at the same time the other pair takes notes filling the relevant chart column in order to collect information needed to compare and contrast the two cities.
Step 8: Then all 4 members of each group join a free discussion expressing themselves and their opinions about the best city to live and study and justify their answers using comparisons and contrasts to reach a decision about the best city to choose as a group.
Post–speaking Stage: (15 min)
Step 9: Ls from each group write a paragraph stating their final decision in written form and justify their choice by making comparisons and contrasts again.
Step 10: A representative of each group reports the paragraph back to the whole class and thus, each group’s ‘secret voting’ result is announced while at the same time the whole class is reaching a final decision about which one, London or Rome, is the best city to live and study.
Step 11: What follows is a self-assessment questionnaire in order to get the necessary feedback.
SELF-ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
Tick √ what’s true for you
| Now I can: | |
| compare and contrast two cities | |
| pay attention to language pronunciation | |
| ask questions to find out specific information | |
| take notes while listening to someone speaking | |
| act out a dialogue talking about cities | |
| take turns while acting out a dialogue | |
| participate in a free discussion | |
| write a paragraph to compare cities | |
| make a decision based on specific data | |
| express my opinion in the foreign language | |
| work well with my classmates | |
