Presenting Communicative Activities (lesson example)

Posted on April 10, 2014 Updated on January 10, 2022

Presenting Communicative Activities

Activity: Describing the future

Lesson Planning  (Lesson objectives)

Students will be able to:

1. talk about the future using

Present continuous – for future events or situations

Future continuous – for ongoing actions in the future

Future perfect – for actions that will be completed by a certain time in the future

2. think about and discuss the future to be able to present a constructive vision (in a group) of the future.

3. presents their ideas to a class of students and answer questions on their presentation.

Lesson Planning (Sample Dialogue)

People will be using this spaceship to fly to the moon.

Everybody will have this in their house.

This robot will have sold a million by 2020.

Resources 

Pictures of the future drawn by children, whiteboard pens, worksheets, student book

LESSON

Stage 1: Questions to initially engage the students  

FUTURE

How will life be in 100 years?

What will scientists be able to do?

Stage 2: Pictures

Give each student (pairs) a copy of the children’s pictures. Tell the students that a group of young children was asked to draw pictures of how they imagine things will be in one hundred years and what scientists will be able to do. The students’ task is to work out what the child has tried to draw and what his/her reasoning might have been.

Questions on the white board

What have they tried to draw?

What was their thinking about the future?

Get class feedback and then give them the actual answers.

Stage 3: Drawing

Students are given a blank piece of paper and asked to sketch a vision of the future (like the children did in their pictures beforehand). The students mustn’t write or say anything about their picture.

 Stage 4: Drawing Reflection

Teacher takes everybody’s drawing and swaps them around so each student has a new picture to look at. Each student’s task is to work out what the other student has tried to draw and what his/her reasoning might have been. Again, they must answer the focus questions on the board.

Questions on the white board

What have they tried to draw?

What was their thinking about the future?

Stage 5: Giving Opinions

Once students have an idea (or timed) of what the other person was thinking about the future he/she must go to that person and explain in English what they thought he/she was thinking about the future. The other students must reply in English as to whether he/she was right or wrong. Once sat back down, a few students are asked about their classmate’s picture as feedback to the whole class.

 Stage 6: Grammar Focus (Describing the Future)

Students are guided to the student book (worksheets) to check understanding of future tenses. Examples are given on the board for further understanding. Students then complete the statements in the student book with the correct verb form. Checking for understanding is paramount.

Stage 7: Writing a Presentation

Students (or groups) are told to prepare a speech using future tenses already studied to explain their drawing further and try to convince the other students that it is a great idea. The teacher must go around the class helping students (groups) and correcting to make their presentation presentable. Students must talk for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Stage 8: Presentation

Each student (or group) must speak for two to three minutes in front of the class showing their picture. At the end, he/she/they must answer questions from the other students.

 Stage 9: Winner of Presentation

After every student (group) has finished a draw can be made for the idea that the students think is the best.