Quick guide
- Key words:Group and pair work, vocabulary, adjectives, descriptions, numbers
- Learner English level:Intermediate and above
- Learner maturity: High school and above
- Preparation time:20 minutes
- Activity time:20-30 minutes for each activity
- Materials:A clothing adjectives worksheet, a collection of designer fashion photographs, paper or writing template
Introduction
By engaging students to express their own interpretations, this lesson plan emphasizes style and design when it comes to clothing descriptions. Being somewhat loosely inspired by the television game show The Price is Right, this lesson not only seeks to practice clothing descriptions, but also usage and reinforcement of adjective order. Furthermore, with the subject of fashion being of interest to young adults, the activity’s materials can contribute to discussion and enthusiasm within the classroom.
Preparation
Step 1:Based on the class level, prepare a clothing adjectives worksheet (Appendix A). Copy enough worksheets for each student.
Step 2:Select, prepare, and enlarge at least 10-12 different designer fashion photos. Fashion websites, such as <elle.com> and <gq.com>, have a good selection of photos from a variety of designers (Appendix B). Using large denominations, decide on or guesstimate how much the model’s outfit costs (pricing should be kept secret). It is also advisable not to reveal the fashion designer’s name until the conclusion of Activity 3.
Step 3:For each student prepare writing paper or writing template (Appendix C).
Procedure
Activity 1
Step 1:Begin the lesson by eliciting information about fashion from the class as a whole: Where do you like to go shopping? What are your favorite brands/designers? What is trendy/popular now? What styles do you like?
Step 2: Distribute the clothing adjectives handout (Appendix A) to each student.Explain adjective order and necessary vocabulary.
Step 3:Students answer questions about their clothing (Appendix A) or write a short description of their clothing.
Step 4:After completing the handout, students need to find three classmates that share a similar style, brand, material or clothing design. Encourage students to walk around the classroom to complete the task.
Activity 2
Step 1:On the blackboard, review numbers such as 100 (hundred), 1,000 (thousand), 10,000 (ten thousand), 100,000 (hundred thousand), and 1,000,000 (million). Depending on the level of your students, more time or an additional activity may be required when reviewing large denominations.
Step 2: Divide students into teams, preferably of 4 to 6 members. Have students determine the order of the players. Write a scoreboard on the blackboard. Distribute a writing template (Appendix C) to each student.
Step 3:Call the first players from each team to the front of the classroom. Select a runway fashion photo and show it to the players only (Appendix B). The players should memorize in detail the models clothing from the photo.
Step 4:Returning to their teams, players describe in detail the runway fashion. Team members record the fashion description on their writing template (Appendix C) and if necessary refer to their clothing adjective handout (Appendix A).
Step 5:Teams must decide and reveal aloud their estimated total price of the runway fashion. Write each team’s estimate on the blackboard and check pronunciation. The estimated price that is closest to the teacher’s wins the round.
Step 6:Repeat step 2 to 5 as often as desired.
Step 7:Post all of the fashion photos (Appendix B) in random order on the blackboard labeling them from A to ~. Using their writing template (Appendix C) students match their written descriptions with the correct runway photos.
Follow-up Activity
Generate a discussion about runway fashion by asking students about their impressions, which fashion they would wear or not wear, and what designers they prefer. Another alternative activity is to have students write a fashion review.
Conclusion
This is a great activity because it is particularly geared to young adults who have an expressive attitude towards fashion.By incorporating a variety of skills, this lesson plan gives students the opportunity to express and share their own interpretation of fashion.
Appendices
The appendices are available below.
