For example, if the topic is Charity, SS could design their own charity see below; if the topic is Football, SS could design their own football club, and so on.. The session follows a nu
Trang 1FREE PRACTICE Design Your Own
Method:
1 T or SS think up something to design, which could be linked to a topic For example, if the topic is Charity,
SS could design their own charity (see below); if the topic is Football, SS could design their own football club, and so on
2 The session follows a number of stages (see example below), with whole class feedback after each one While SS work and discuss, T monitors, checks, and corrects
3 Here is a suggestion for an activity with 5 stages:
i) BASIC INFORMATION: SS write basic information about whatever it is they are designing
ii) STARTING OUT: SS write a press release about their venture outlining the main points
iii) INITIAL SUCCESS: SS write a letter or email of thanks, praise, or support
iv) PROBLEM(S): SS write a newspaper article outlining problem(s) with their venture
v) RESOLUTION: SS write a statement to say how the problem(s) have or have not been
resolved – or will be resolved in the future Here is an example:
Topic: Charity
Task: Design a charity
i) BASIC INFORMATION: name, location, size, staff, aims, recipients, conditions for receiving, etc ii) STARTING OUT: SS write a press release describing their new charity, outlining their aims, and
appealing for donations and volunteers iii) INITIAL SUCCESS: SS write a letter or email from somebody who is thankful for their work iv) PROBLEM(S): SS write a newspaper article describing a scandal connected with the charity v) RESOLUTION: SS write a statement from the director of the charity, detailing what they
propose to do about the scandal, or how they have dealt with it
Tips:
• Note that at each stage SS should write a different kind of text You do not need to follow the text types listed above, but do require a variety of text types During the group feedback session, T should try to tie together the stages so that each text is part of the larger story
• SS write their texts as a group or pair, with one person writing and the others pitching ideas The person writing could change at each stage
• Each pair or group will write a different set of texts about the same venture It will be interesting to compare how each one develops during the group feedback stages Or, each group could design a
completely different thing
Trang 2• A suggestion: each text must be no more than 4 sentences long, to keep the activity moving along fairly quickly and to make it more manageable, although T could specify more or fewer sentences, depending on the time they have
• Indeed, this is a flexible activity The number of stages and the length of each one depends on how much time T wants to fill and how quickly SS complete each text – as well as how long T specifies the text to be
T needs to monitor the time closely so that SS get through the requisite number of stages A quick rule of thumb might be 10 minutes for each stage, including group feedback afterwards, which would make the above activity with 5 stages last for around 50 minutes
• Project work like this is a good way for SS to get to know one another better, and is therefore an ideal activity to do early on in a course