1oo Things that Make me Happy

This lesson plan has been moved over to my new site: 1oo Things That Make Me Happy

 

 

 

Six Memory-Inspired Picture Prompts for Past Tense Storytelling Practice

What does this picture remind you of?

I created this series of picture prompts to encourage students to reflect and tell stories about their pasts. I had my adult ESL students in mind when I made them, but I think they could be used in creative writing classes for native English speakers, as well.

Here are the prompts… Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of the page for ideas on how to use them in class:

Teaching Ideas:

• Choose one of the pictures to show to your students. Ask, “What do you see?” List any relevant vocabulary words on the board.
• Tell your students that you would like them to think about a past experience that the picture helps them remember. You might want to write an example from your own life to show students what you have in mind. For example, in the picture of the peppers at the farmer’s market, I might write:
  This picture reminds me of eating with my family on Saturday mornings when I was a child. My father used to eat these big green jalapeno peppers. I remember him often saying, “I’ll give a dollar to anyone who can eat one of these peppers.” I remember nibbling at the tip cautiously, but I don’t think I could ever bring myself to take a bite.
• I would recommend giving ESL students a few possible sentence starters to get them started. For example:
  – This reminds me of ______________.
  – This makes me think of the time when _____________________.
  – This picture doesn’t remind me of anything because _________________.
• Give students a specific amount of time to freewrite. (10 minutes is good.) Tell them that they shouldn’t stop even if they don’t have ideas. (If they don’t have ideas, they might write about why they have no memories about hot peppers, or about why they hate vegetables, about getting lost in a farmer’s market, or about other veggies they’ve tried.)
• This is a good journaling activity. You could use a different picture every day for a week. At the end of the week, you can ask each student to choose one entry that they liked the best. You can have them turn it into a story, edit it, and then share it with their classmates.

Comments? Ideas?

Do you have any other suggestions on how teachers could incorporate these prompts into their classes? I’d love to hear from you. Please leave your comments in the box at the bottom of the page.

Flowers on the Ground – a creative picture prompt with a storytelling worksheet

Hi everyone! Lately I’ve been experimenting with new ways to use picture prompts in class and turn them into longer, full-blown lesson plans. Along with the prompt above, I’ve created a worksheet which you can download, print, and hand out to your students. (If you happen to try it out, please let me know how it goes. That would help me figure out whether to make more like it in the future.)

This creative prompt can be used to practice both speaking and writing skills, and it gives students the chance to work both on a team and individually. Your class is going to use a simple picture to build vocabulary, brainstorm ideas, create a character and finally, write a full-blown story.

As usual, my focus is on teaching ESL, but I think that English (ELA) and Creative Writing teachers might be able to use this prompt, as well.

Lesson Plan Ideas:

1. Divide your class into small groups (3 0r 4 students per group works well).
2. Display the picture on the projector, and/or hand out copies of this worksheet:
   flowers on the ground worksheet
3. Discuss the task with the students. Explain that students need to brainstorm a list of possible reasons why the flowers ended up on the ground. I would recommend giving a couple of reasons of your own as examples (A girl got angry at her boyfriend and threw his gift on the floor. / A clumsy man accidentally dropped them as he was opening a door…)
4. Give groups time to come up with a list. While students are working, you can help students with difficult vocabulary and list new words on the board.
5. Ask groups to share back two of their favorite reasons with the rest of the class.
6. Ask students to choose one of the ideas on their lists and turn it into a story. This can be done independently if you want your students to practice writing, or as a team, if you’d like to put more emphasis on speaking and teamwork. Again, you can use the worksheet to give your students some guidelines. If you don’t have access to a printer, you can write the following questions on the board:
   a- Who dropped the flowers?
   b- What happened in his/her life before he dropped the flowers?
   c- How was he/she feeling?
   d- What caused the flowers to drop?
   e- What happened after? How did his/her feelings change?
7. Students share their work. I would recommend sharing in small groups if students wrote their stories independently, and sharing as a whole class if they wrote their stories in groups. It’s fun for students to see how many possible crazy stories came out of the same simple picture.

Comments

If you liked this activity, or if you have any questions about it, please take a moment to leave your comments in the box at the bottom of the page! I’m still new to blogging, so your feedback is super-helpful to me!

Thought Cloud Prompts for the ESL Classroom (and beyond)

What ‘s on That Guy’s Mind?

Thought clouds can be a great tool for introducing new topics, writing stories, and practicing grammar tenses in your ESL classes. They’re good for brainstorming, expanding vocabulary, and encouraging creativity. I’ve created a list of several strategies for putting them into action in your own classrooms. As an ESL teacher, my focus is on using them with English language learners, but teachers of other subjects (especially creative writing) may find some ideas here, as well.

Strategy #1: The Warm-up / Do-Now Prompt:

When I introduce a new topic, I find that pictures with thought clouds can be helpful in (a) brainstorming vocabulary and (b) giving students the opportunity to share their opinions and past experiences on the topic.

Try using this picture to warm up for a lesson on travel or public transportation.

If I were beginning a unit on travel or public transportation, for example, I might display the picture above, of a man standing alone in a bustling train station (I think it’s Grand Central Station in New York City). First I would ask the whole class, “What do you see in the picture?” I would list new, relevant vocabulary words on the board.

Next, I would give students a couple of minutes to write a sentence or two into the bubble. When they were finished, I would go around the room and ask students to share their ideas.

Finally, I would bring in some discussion questions related to both the picture and the lesson that we are about to begin. (I would probably have students discuss the questions in small groups, and then report back to the rest of the class.) For example, for this picture I might ask:

• Have you ever travelled alone? Tell us about your trip.
• Do you like traveling alone? Why or why not?
• Did you ever get lost while you were traveling?
• Do you usually feel overwhelmed when you go on vacation? Why or why not?
• Do you prefer to travel by train, plane,  bus or car? Why?

Of course, the questions would vary depending on the level on the class and the topic of the lesson.

Strategy #2: The Tense Practice Prompt

After teaching a new tense, you can put a new grammar structure into action by describing and analyzing photos. For example, to practice the present continuous, I might show students the curious vintage photo below, which was taken in a doll factory:

I might ask:

• What do you see in the photo?
• What is the man doing?
• What is he wearing?
• What is he thinking?
• What is he planning to do this evening?

I find that creative students tend to enjoy this type of activity. Less creative students, however, may look at you blankly, and say, “…uh…I don’t know…” In response to the questions about his plans for the future. That’s something that you may want to keep in mind when planning.

Strategy #3: The Storytelling Prompt

Some pictures tell a story. By asking a few good questions, you can help students use their imagination to flesh out that story and make it their own. Take a look at the prompt below:

This photo can be used to tell a story and practice mixed tenses. What happened before and after the accident?

This picture tells a simple story and can easily be used with lower-level ESL students. A young woman looks up at the camera, distraught, while an ice cream cone melts on the concrete near her feet. What exactly happened?

After my students fill in the thought bubbles on this photo, I ask the following three questions, which give students the opportunity to practice present, past, and future tenses:

1. What happened just before the photo was taken?
2. How does the woman feel in the picture? Describe what you see in detail.
3. What happened next?

My favorite approach is to write the first part of the story (Questions 1 and 2) as a whole class. After we’ve come up with a detailed story together, I either divide students into small groups, or have them work individually to write the end of the story. After they finish writing, everyone shares their endings.

Comments, Please!

Have you used thought cloud prompts in your classrooms? Would you like to see more of these in the future? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave your comments in the box below.

Sell It! – The Balloon Chair – A Creative Writing and Speaking Prompt

This post has moved to its new home on my new site. You can find it right here:

Sell It – The Balloon Chair