In this activity, one student describe an image to her partner who has to try and draw the image by description alone. Because success depends on understanding and being understood, you'll see a real effort to communicate successfully.
Basic Info
| Time: | 15 mins |
|---|---|
| Level: | Junior high grade 2 |
| Works with: | There is/ There are + on, under, above, in, etc |
| Class size: | small to large |
You will need:
- scrap paper - A4 cut in half is good
Description
- Students make pairs. One student turns their desk to face the other. (One student should be facing the blackboard, the other should be facing the back of the classroom so they can't see the blackboard.)
- Hand out paper. One sheet to each student.
- ALT or HRT draws a picture on the board, one item at a time.
- The student facing the blackboard describes what is being drawn (see tips below), the student facing away draws it without looking.
- After drawing three or four items, students look and compare their drawing.
Tips
- Students describing what is being drawn will find it easier if they can follow a pattern. By drawing one item at a time, you help guide them through the description so they can state what is being drawn and it's position relative to something else.
- Write some words to help those describing. For example, the word for what you're drawing, and maybe even the positional word students need to use.
E.g. "above" can be difficult to remember and many student will say "on". Writing "above" to help them out after they have tried and realized they are missing a word, will benefit their learning. - And most important of all - demonstrate how to do this. Let the whole class watch while two (preferably, more confident) students go through the activity as you draw on the board. After each item is drawn, you may also want to practice by having the whole class describe what you just drew.
Comments
This activity works well in conjunction with the "How English Works" (a.k.a. 英語のしくみ) section in Sunshine 2 Program 6.