Quick Guide
- Keywords: Learner autonomy, peer-review, describing objects, speculation
- Learner English level: Intermediate and above
- Learner maturity: Junior high school to university
- Preparation time: 30 minutes
- Activity time: Two 50-minute lessons (depending on class size)
- Materials: Instruction worksheets (Appendix A), teacher’s realia, a box, slips of paper denoting group numbers, peer-review sheets (Appendix B)
Teacher-focused activities can often be time and energy-consuming for teachers and may feel less satisfying for students, as they neglect language production in favor of passive learning. A remedy for this problem is to present students with activities that focus on collaboration and autonomous learning. This activity invites students to create and perform a group conversation that speculates about the significance of mystery realia.
Preparation
Step 1: Gather personal realia, such as travel souvenirs or childhood pictures.
Step 2: Prepare an instruction worksheet outlining criteria for a group conversation about a mystery object. It should set out what to include (e.g., describing the object, explaining its origin, etc.), tips for presenting, and an example script (see Appendix A).
Step 3: Prepare a peer-review sheet based on the criteria mentioned in Appendix A (e.g. clarity of voice and creativity) (see Appendix B).
Procedure
Step 1: Lay out the items of realia before the students and choose one object (e.g., a crystal, which is the object modelled in the example script provided in Appendix A).
Step 2: Model how to use adjectives and adverbs to describe the object (e.g., “it is sparkly”, “it shines marvellously”).
Step 3: Demonstrate how to speculate over the origin of the item by using speculative language and writing examples on the board (e.g., “Perhaps it [came from a pirate’s buried treasure…]”, “Maybe it’s [a rock that miraculously came to earth.]”).
Step 4: Reveal that the mysterious objects are the teacher’s property and that the students will discuss them.
Step 5: Write some example questions on the board (e.g., “Where is it from?”, “Why do I have it?”, etc.), and elicit suggestions about your example object (e.g., “It’s from [the gift shop at the museum]”, “It’s used for [meditation]”).”
Step 6: Organise the students into groups of four and explain that each group will perform a two-minute conversation about one of the other items you have brought in, speculating about its significance and origin.
Step 7: Distribute the instruction worksheets and tell the groups to practice reading the example conversation. Choose a group to model the example if appropriate.
Step 8: Allocate an object to each group and give the students time to prepare their conversations.
Step 9: After sufficient preparation, distribute the peer-review sheets (see Appendix B), and explain the evaluation criteria.
Step 10: Assign each group a number and draw numbers from a box to decide the order of the performances.
Step 11: Prompt the class to evaluate their peers using the review sheet as each performance concludes.
Step 12: Reveal the true backstory of each object, and answer any follow-up questions students might have.
Step 13: Set homework, requesting the students bring their own objects for the next class.
Step 14: Specify what kind of objects are appropriate (e.g., mementos, souvenirs, etc.).
Step 15: In the next class, instruct the students to exchange items.
Step 16: Repeat the relevant steps with the focus this time being on the students’ items.
Conclusion
This activity gives students a blank canvas to paint their imagination upon. Moreover, it motivates students to collaborate and share their ideas. The inclusion of the teacher’s and students’ personal realia also adds an extra layer of meaning to the lesson and brings the class closer together.
Appendices
The appendices are available below:
