Quick Guide
- Keywords: English macro skills, spring, collaborative learning
- Learner English Level: Advanced
- Learner Maturity Level: High School/University
- Preparation Time: 5 minutes
- Activity Time: 90 minutes
- Materials: Tablet computer, illustration boards or large pieces of paper, drawing materials, regular-size whiteboard, and Worksheet A (Appendix A), rating sheet (Appendix B), garden blueprint (Appendix C), and special award ribbons (Appendix D).
Spring is a colorful season. Using it as a theme in teaching can scaffold learners’ acquisition of English macro skills: listening, reading, speaking, writing, and viewing. This activity will expose students to collaborative learning that will enhance their communication skills by creating an English garden, writing a script, and making a presentation. Through balanced tasks revolving around the spring season, this lesson can be meaningful among learners.
Preparation
Step 1: Prepare Worksheet A (Appendix A) and a Rating Sheet to be used by the students (Appendix B).
Step 2: Sketch an English garden blueprint on illustration boards or large pieces of paper (Appendix C).
Step 3: Make special awards ribbons (Appendix D).
Step 4: Create a voting poll with a QR code. Enter all group names for students to vote for winners of special awards.
Procedure
Step 1: Begin the warm-up by asking students their favorite season. Let some volunteers explain their answers.
Step 2: To introduce vocabulary for the lesson, divide the class into groups of four. Each group should have access to a whiteboard. Let students use their iPad devices to search online for common spring plants and flowers. They should take screenshots, write the names on the whiteboard, and practice saying the names.
Step 3: Ask each group to share their plants and flowers with the class.
Step 4: Introduce the day’s goal – “Today you will design a beautiful garden. Then, you will make a presentation about your garden.”
Step 5: Pass out the English garden blueprints and drawing materials. Ask students to brainstorm which plants and flowers they want to include in their garden. They can reference the plants and flower names written in Step 2. After they finish brainstorming, they can draw and color their English garden. Give students about 15 minutes for this.
Step 6: Give students Worksheet A and tell them that they will now prepare a presentation about their garden. For 10 minutes, have each group work together to write a script and plan which part each of them will say.
Step 7: Explain that students will rate each other’s speeches and go over the criteria on the Rating Sheet (Appendix B). Have students practice their presentations encouraging them to keep in mind voice modulation, facial expressions, and enthusiasm.
Step 8: Do the presentations, letting each group show and explain their English garden to the class. Ask the listeners to rate each group using the Rating Sheet. Take a video of each presentation.
Step 9: Show the QR code and let the students vote for one winner of the special awards using their iPad devices.
Step 10: Declare the winner for each category and award the prizes.
Step 11: If there is time, play the winning group’s video. Elicit students’ comments about the winner’s good points.
Conclusion
Integrating spring season in an English lesson can be helpful in developing students’ communication fluency. Likewise, students learn to evaluate group performances and outputs based on specific criteria. Since realistic and interrelated tasks are accomplished through teamwork, learning English can be a worthwhile experience among learners.
Appendices
The appendices are available below.
