Creative ESL Lesson Plans for Describing People and Body Parts. Interactive Activities to Enhance Vocabulary and Student Engagement
Creative ESL Lesson Plans for Describing People and Body Parts
Creative ESL Lesson Plans for Describing People and Body Parts
As educators, we constantly strive to make learning both effective and enjoyable for our students. Engaging ESL students, in particular, can be a challenge due to language barriers and varying levels of proficiency. However, incorporating interactive and fun activities into our lesson plans can significantly enhance student participation and retention. In this blog post, we will explore a series of dynamic lesson plans designed to teach students about describing physical appearances, personality traits, and body parts. These lessons utilize games, hands-on activities, and group work to create an immersive learning environment that encourages students to actively use new vocabulary and concepts in context.
Let’s dive into these creative approaches that promise to make your ESL classroom lively and productive!
Lesson Plan 1: Describing Physical Appearances
Presentation
- Vocabulary:
- tall, short, fair, dark, long, shoulder length, skin, hair, young, old, teenager
Activity 1: Chinese Whispers
- Start with a fun game of Chinese Whispers using the new vocabulary.
- Form a circle and whisper a description (e.g., “He has long hair and dark skin”) to the first student.
- The description is passed around the circle until it reaches the last student, who says it out loud.
- Discuss how the description changed.
Activity 2: Copy into Books
- Students copy the vocabulary words and their translations (Thai and English) into their notebooks.
Practice: Q&A
- Use the following questions and answer structures to practice the vocabulary:
- Q: What does he/she look like?
- Q: Does she/he have long hair? A: He/she has _____ hair.
- Q: Is he/she old? A: He/she is _____.
- Q: Does she/he have dark skin? A: He/she has _____ skin.
Activity 3: Flashcards and Rock, Paper, Scissors
- Show flashcards of different people.
- Play Rock, Paper, Scissors with students.
- If the student wins, they choose another student for the teacher to play.
- If they lose, they answer a question about a character on the flashcard.
Activity 4: Group Descriptions
- Split students into groups and have them write descriptions of teachers in the school.
- Ajan Ying, Ajan Nipa, Teacher V, Teacher Sam, Director, Ajan Anuchit
- Groups present their descriptions to the class.
Activity 5: Drawing Descriptions
- Teacher describes a person and students draw what they think the person looks like.
Cooler: Pictionary
- Split the class into two teams.
- Describe a person and have the team members draw it while their teammates guess the person’s appearance.
Lesson Plan 2: Describing Traits of People (Lesson 1)
Warmer: Memory Game
- Use flashcards with traits:
- funny, serious, shy, confident, rude, vain, talkative, kind, evil, clever
Presentation: Examples
- Present sentences:
- Sally is good at mathematics. She is clever.
- Tommy is always telling jokes. He is funny.
- Jane shouts at her family. She is rude.
- David is scared to make friends. He is shy.
Practice: Q&A
- Two teams. Hands up if you know the answer.
- Listening exercise:
- Q: Tommy is vain —> Who is vain?
- Have students make suggestions for other personality traits.
Activity 1: Charades
- Act out traits and have students guess.
Activity 2: Pictionary
- Draw a picture representing a trait.
Lesson Plan 3: Describing Traits of People (Lesson 2)
Warmer: Board Slap
- Two teams. I point to a word, and they must put their hand up to tell me what the word is.
Presentation: New Flashcards
- Explain new vocabulary with flashcards.
- Practice saying sentences using new vocabulary.
Practice: Match the Action with the Personality Trait
- Match sentences with traits:
- Shouts at his mother (rude)
Q&A Practice
- Q: Why is _____ shy?
- A: Because he/she is scared to make friends.
- Q: Why is _____ evil?
- A: Because he/she kills the dog for fun.
Activity 1: Vocabulary Matching Game
- Close books and match personality traits with their explanations.
Activity 2: Sentence Reordering
- Close books and rewrite sentences in correct order.
Cooler: Charades with Flashcards
Lesson Plan 4: Kindy Class (Heads, Shoulders, Knees)
Warmer: Opening Song
- Start with the song “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” from YouTube.
Activity 1: Song Participation
- Get the class to copy the song.
Activity 2: Fingerprint Notebook
- Turn to page 21 of the Fingerprint 3 notebook and work through to page 22.
Activity 3: Drawing
- Draw a picture and include as many body parts as possible.
Activity 4: Naming Body Parts
- Ask students to name body parts.
- Play a simple memory game about body parts: Memory Game.
Activity 5: ESL Game
- Play an ESL vocabulary game twice as it gets more complex: Sea Battle Vocabulary Game.
Activity 6: Simon Says
- Play Simon Says (e.g., “Simon says touch your head,” “Simon says touch your ears”).
Extras: Body Parts Pirate Game
- If time permits, play the Body Parts Pirate Game: Pirate Board Game.
Creative ESL Lesson Plans for Describing People and Body Parts: Conclusion
Teaching ESL students requires a blend of creativity, patience, and innovative strategies. The lesson plans outlined above demonstrate how we can transform traditional vocabulary and grammar exercises into engaging and interactive experiences. By using games like Chinese Whispers, Pictionary, and Simon Says, alongside structured activities and group work, we cater to various learning styles and keep students motivated. These methods not only make learning fun but also help students internalize new vocabulary and concepts more effectively. As you implement these activities in your classroom, you’ll likely notice an increase in student confidence and language proficiency. Remember, the key to successful language acquisition is creating a supportive and stimulating environment where students feel encouraged to participate and practice their new skills. Happy teaching!
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