ICEBREAKER CURRICULUM INTER-ACTIVITIES FOR THE ADULT ESOL CLASSROOM The Florida State curriculum frameworks for the basic adult English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program is topical and spiral. There are six levels. Every level provides instruction within three strands: employability skills, life skills, and academic skills. The employability skills topics are: 1. obtain employment 2. maintain employment 3. career advancement 4. applied technology The life skills topics are: 1. interpersonal communication 2. telephone communication 3. health and nutrition 4. time and money 5. transportation and travel 6. safety and security 7. consumer education 8. government and community 9. environment and the world 10. family and parenting Competencies or benchmarks increase in difficulty and language sophistication throughout the six levels. It is recommended for schools to adopt a cyclical topical design: the whole ESOL program provides instruction on a different topic each week until all topics are covered. Only twelve of the above topics need to be scheduled: applied technology and telephone communication, as well as the academic skills, are to be taught in the context of the other topics. i These activities were designed to introduce the daily topic of the classroom session. The icebreaker activities are multi-level. The implementation is intended to be done during the first half an hour of the scheduled classroom sessions as students arrive to class. All activities are intended to be done in pairs or in small groups; therefore, the term INTER-ACTIVITIES. The type a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. k. l. m. n. o. p. q. r. s. t. u. of interactivities include: Bingo Classifying Crossword Puzzles Word Searches Matching Strips Role Play Scenarios Cloze Activities Games Writing Completing forms Problem solving Note taking Discussions Multiple choice True/False Searching Dictation Analyzing Sequencing Locating Information Reading ii SUGGESTIONS FOR USING AND EXPANDING THE INTER-ACTIVITIES Bingo Bingo can be played as a “class” activity or in a group of three to four students. The common form of playing bingo can also be used. Bingo # 1 2. Place the “word bank” words on the board. 3. Distribute blank bingo cards. (25 boxes) 4. Students place one word or “number and word” in each blank box. They should have 25 in total. 5. The teacher or a student is the caller. 6. The students circle “the box” when called. 7. Bingo is won when one row horizontally, vertically or diagonally is circled. (You can play three games) 2. In the first game, circle the word. 3. In the second game, put an “x” on the word. 4. In the third game, cross out the word. Bingo # 2 1. The “caller” dictates a question sentence and the student circles the box if the “answer” is on the bingo card. Bingo #3 Various “Bingo” themes can be used. 2. Write words, phrases or a sentence in each of 25 blank boxes. 3. Each student receives the same “bingo card”. 4. Students walk around the room asking other students if he/she has a “characteristic” that is a match. The “matching student” initials the box. 5. The student who has the most signatures is the winner. iii Classifying Students classify items within theme-based curriculum. Crossword Puzzles Students need to learn the meanings of the words before completing the crossword puzzle. Have students work in pairs or small groups to guess and write the words from each numbered definition or synonym. Word Searches Students need to learn the meanings of the words before finding the words in the puzzle. Have students work in pairs to find and circle the words in the word searches. Variations Variations or additional activities for crossword puzzles and word searches are using the words in a sentence or having the students in a group to create their own crossword puzzles or word searches and have the entire class play these games. Matching 1. Use 3”x5” index cards or laminated sentence strips. 2. Have the two columns of the matching lists copies in two different colors. 3. As students come in, they randomly pick one statement. 4. Students try to find their match among the other students. 5. They practice their sentences and can expand by continuing a dialogue. 6. They can role play their dialogues. iv Sequential Order 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Place sentences relating to a curriculum topic on sentence strips. Laminate the strips. Cut the sentences into separate words. Scramble the words. Students unscramble the words to form sentences. Students can copy the sentences in their notebooks. Role Playing Scenarios Students role-play a scenario or a conversation. They can improvise to expand the conversation. Additional Role Playing Students create a situation for each of the twelve topics. Example: 1. Using a transportation unit, a pair of students can prepare a short role play that takes place at one of the transportation sites (bus, airport, etc.) 2. The students present their role-play to the class and other students “guess” the transportation site. Cloze Activities Working in pairs, the students take turns “filling in the blanks.” v Games Hide and Seek 1. 2. 3. 4. This game can be a small group or entire class activity. A student hides an item in the classroom. He/she uses directional phrases such as “turn right”, “go straight”, etc. The rest of the class tries to find the item. Whoever finds it first hides another item. The search continues. Chain Stories 1. 2. 3. Place students in small groups or leave the entire class sitting in a circle. The teacher begins a story with a prompt. For example, “You won’t believe what happened to me yesterday when I…” Each student adds to the “story” until all members have spoken, and the last sentence of the story is completed. Charades 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. This game can be a paired activity, class activity or a whole small group. The teacher puts a word on an index card (3”x5” size). Each student selects a card. The student begins to “draw” the picture depicting the word on the card. This can be drawn on the board or on a sheet of paper if the activity is done in a small group. The other student (s) guess the word. Variation 1. Each student is given a shape. 2. The student starts with the “shape” and continues to draw an animal. 3. The other student (s) “guess” what animal is being drawn. vi Expanding Vocabulary For all curriculum themes, have the students “brainstorm” additional vocabulary. Have students use the “new vocabulary” in sentences. Completing Application Forms 1. The teacher can gather several different kinds of application forms. (Job applications, rental agreement, medical forms, etc.) 2. Working in pairs, the students complete the applications together. Topical Activities 1. Employment Find a job- employment section. Read job opportunity ads, and role-play applicants and interviewers. 2. Telephone Communication Read and discuss the best value plan for cellular phone use. 3. Time and Money Read and discuss business articles or ads about bank interest rates or other financial issues. 4. Transportation and Travel Bring in the Sunday travel section, and maps. Have students plan a vacation. 5. Safety and Security Read and discuss articles about what the US government is doing after 9/11. 6. Consumer Education Bring store advertisements. Role-play customers and salesclerks. Discuss coupons. Have students write scenarios vii 7. Government and Community Read and discuss articles related to local, state, national and international events. 8. Health and Nutrition Every Thursday, the Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel carry a food section. Students can plan healthy meals, read food labels; discuss reasons for looking at, for example, the sodium content in food. 9. Environment and the World Save articles about protecting our environment. Distribute the articles to a group of students to discuss together and present to the class. viii