Why a wall won't stop immigration - a discussion provoking video

To build or not to build the wall? This is the question!!!

For many people living in America it is a vital question since it would mean the end of their present life, social status, school, family bonds, job and many other things. No matter what we think, it would be a disaster for millions of people both outside and inside the country. I was writing my MA thesis about immigration policy in America and Ellis Island, in particular. Limitations are nothing new! There was an Exclusion Act for Chinese, there were Quota Acts for immigrants from Europe. People who live long enough to remember or know the US history would say that history likes to repeat itself.

Should we talk about it with students? I think we should, especially with those more advanced ones, as there are not so many social or current affair topics in the coursebooks. From time to time, I discuss with my advanced students current issues such as natural disasters that have just hit certain places in the world or Brexit, for example. Young people should have their opinion. I always try not to push them and stay objective, neither for nor against. So at the end they never know what my real opinion is. Let's not forget, however, that those are sensitive issues and we should be careful discussing them in the class. It all depends on the group - age, ethnicity, level of advancement etc.

Topic: immigration, social issues, borders

Time: 45 min

Age: 13+

Level: B1 and above

Activity aim:

• to discuss the reasons of immigration in general
• to discuss and list advantages and disadvatages of immigration
• to discuss the reasons of people emigrating to the USA
• to discuss  +/- of building the wall on the border with the USA
• to discuss the topic of bordes and their types

Film address: https://youtu.be/K_P9PR5ckFk

Stage one

Write down the word IMMIGRATION on the board. Ask your students why people emigrate in general and write it down. Maybe there are some immigrants in your group and they could also tell why their family had to emigrate. They usually give typical reasons: enconomy, religious persecution, famine, poverty, war, lack of employment etc. 5-10 minutes

Stage two

Divide your class into two groups. Group one has to write down as many advantages of immigration as possible. Group two has to list all the disadvantages of it. Give 5-6 min for that. Now class discussion - they have to convince each other giving their arguments. About 10 min

Stage three

Ask your students if they have heard about the idea of building the wall on the border USA-Mexico. If yes, ask them about their opinion.( 5min.) Now, tell them that they are going to watch a film giving reasons why it is not a good idea to build such a wall. They have to open their notebooks and list all the reasons they have heard in it. Play the film.

Stage four - pair work

Students work in pairs and compare the reasons they have just written down with their partner.
 (5 min)

Stage five 

Class discussion. Students tell all the reasons they have listed and they discuss with each other if they agree or disagree with it.(10 min)

As you can see, the students do all the job. I try not to interfere or comment. Sometimes, I only ask: Really? Do you really think so? Why? Why not? That's all.

Stage six - homework

• They can continue the started topic by looking for some info in the press or youtube about the advantages of building such a wall (thanks Gari)

• You can ask them to express their opinion in a form of a blog entry. They have to write max 100 words. 
• As a follow up activity they can watch at home an add created in response to what is happening in the USA. Borders! Another topic worth discussing. What kind of borders are there and why? Should we have borders around us at all? Can they be avoided?

Hope you will like it. Comment - share - enjoy:)

Image challenge - Explain your photo! - using photos that trigger emotions

Image challenge - week four

Explain your photo!

There are some photos that when we look at them, they remind us of a certain situation, some exciting or horrifying experience. Let's take World Trade Center attack, for example. No matter when it happened, you still have those pictures in mind. You know exactly what you were doing at this time and how you were feeling. If you happened to be at the scene, your feelings will probably be even more traumatic. It is the same with our students.

Most pictures that are included in our coursebooks although of great quality, big or small, aren't surprising or shocking. They are simply 'correct'. But that means that when looking at them there is not much happening in our students' brains. Just have a look at the typical photo of a family:

It's just an ordinary picture you can find in any coursebook. And what if there was presented a picture like that:

Can you see the difference? It has feelings. You can read it like a story. You want to comment it without being asked. And that is the power of this image. So next time you decide to use photos in the class remember they should be:

• surprising
• funny 
• shocking 
• complicated
• intriguing
• unusual 

In this way, we can expect certain reaction from our students, then new connections in their brains appear. Neuroscientists believe that this is how our brains function. Such photos simply boost our brain's work and thanks to that we remember information much longer. So why not to use this knowledge and apply in the classroom. But how?

Well, here is the next week of our IMAGE CHALLENGE and I would like to show you how it can be used in the class. To do it, I would like to present you a few websites which have plenty of unusual photos:

• www.explainthisimage.com. 
• www.boredpanda.com
• brightside.me

Of course, you must be selective as you may also find a lot of really inappropriate photos but I'm sure you can still find something useful for your students, too.


www.explainthisimage.com

Those are two examples of photos that I found on explainthisimage.com website. When you look at the first one you will automatically notice that all the girls are pregnant. Now, I'm sure the real brain storming activity can start. Are they really pregnant? Or mabye it's a kind of campaign? If yes, what it is about? And maybe this photo could be used in a discussion about teenage pregnancy, as it is a common problem in some countries. There are plenty of ideas coming to your head, am I right? And what about picture two? How could your students explain the photo? What has happened? Why?

www.boredpanda.com

I just love the website as there are not only great photos but also short articles about them, For example, once I've seen a selection of photos with the Empire State Building and some images displayed on it. I thought about a chapter about nature&environment and how much students dislike taking about penguins covered in oil or deforestation. That is why, I thought it would be a great activity for a change. I asked them where they thought the photos were taken and what was displayed on them and why? We had a class discussion and then I gave them some information that I had found out about the project:

From the article I learned that it was actually organized by the Discovery Channel under the name "Projecting change". It was supposed to be a touching tribute to 160 endangered animals projected on Empire State Building.

Endangered species aren’t always in the forefront of public debate. Then I asked my students:

Do you think such actions make sense? What other issues could be shown/projected in a similar way? Where could they be displayed in our country? etc.

Let's not forget that there are also a lot of such photos simply on facebook. Some time ago I noticed a photo as it was said 'posted by some desperate mum' asking people on facebook for help. In fact, as it was later explained the photo was taken after the earthquake in some hotel. Anyway, the effect was astonishing - 16,000 reactions and 456 comments. Just have a look and give it to your students to rack their brains. The best solution wins. Perfect for a mental warm up:) How would you open the cupboard without breaking the dishes?

The main message of the post is : BE CHOOSY WHEN SELECTING PHOTOS! Using right photos can be a mental warm up for your students - something their brains need.

Hope you liked it. Comment - share - enjoy!!!

EVAN - a stunning video with a powerful message

EVAN  - A HIDDEN MESSAGE THAT MOVES YOUR HEART

Over 7 mln people have watched it over the last 2 months. Most people have said that they were shocked or moved by the sursprising ending of the film. What is it about and how can we use it with our students?

The story

As the school year winds down, one student finds himself starting an unexpected relationship. He is completely bored so he starts scribbling sth on the desk in a library. Later, he notices that somebody writes back to him. He searches the faces of people passing him in the halls, hopeful he'll figure out who his lost connection is. And the whole time he's looking, he's missing some very important clues hidden right in front of his eyes. It looks like a love story at the beginning but it isn't. Now, if you haven't seen the video, stop reading now and watch it as you have to experience the same feeling as your students will. It can leave you speechless........

Now you know the ending. It was powerful, wasn't it? It had a message. And how did you feel? Didn't you want to watch it again to see how you could have missed so many facts? I did. So I watched it again and again and then I just had to play it to my students and discuss it with them. It's the problem that doesn't exist in such a scale in my country but that does not mean it should be avoided. Life is not a film and people - children! - do die every day. Our role as teachers is to make them aware and make them more sensitive to some issues.

So here is a lesson plan based on the film. Hope you will enjoy it.

Topic: relationship, gun permission, violence at school, campaigns and their messages, school love

Level: pre-intermediate +

Age: 13+

Activity aim:

• to make students aware of the "invisible" problems at school 
• class discussion about the right to carry gun +/-
• to revise vocabulary connected with social problems: bullying, cyberbullying, depression, acceptance at school, peer pressure and many others depending on the age and type of the class and students
• practice the language of speculation: What would you do if....?/Perhaps.../It may be....

Vocabulary to pre-teach: violate the law, bullying, social problems, gun permission, campaign, racism,  etc.

Time: 45-60 min

Film address: https://youtu.be/A8syQeFtBKc

Warm up - 5 min

Ask your students: Do you remember your first school love? How did you meet? Did the person know that you were in love or maybe you loved her/him secretly? Class discussion.

Tell them that they are going to watch a short story from one of American schools. Their task is to predict how the story is going to finish.


Stage one- 10 min

Play the film until 1 min 11 sec and then stop. Ask your students: What would you do? Would you try to find out who it was? How? Would you wait to the end of the summer holiday or try to figure it out in a different way? What way/s? Some students will say that they would break into a library or steal a key from a librarian or look for a different way of solving the problem. Class discussion. 

I don't want to spoil the ending so I still keep focusing on the main story. Most of them think that that's the message of the film - just another typical love story. 

Stage two - 2-3 min

Now, give them another set of questions connected with who it may be. Students work in pairs and discuss it. Useful language:  Perhaps it is.../I guess it's a .......because...../ It may be.....

Stage three - 15 min

Students watch the film to the end. Stop before the letters appear. Their reactions are different. They are stunned, surprised, they just can't believe it. Discuss their feelings and predictions. Ask your students: What was the message of the film?  Did they notice the boy with the gun earlier while watching the film? Could it have happened in their school? 

Tell them that it was a campaign. Now discuss what kind of campaign it might have been and then play the film to the end. Discuss if such campaigns are effective and make any sense or no. 

Stage four - 10 min

Class discussion. Divide your students into two groups: people for and against gun permission, (recommended with older students).

Give them 2-3 min to prepare arguments. Now the discussion starts. Observe the students and listen to them carefully. Write down any expressions that the students find difficult to use in their argumentation. List down the pros and cons and discuss with the whole class. 

Stage five - 10 min

Write on the board the words: SCHOOL PROBLEMS. Students write down any problems they face with at school: racial problems, peer pressure, drug abuse, gangs, bullying etc. Now, discuss with your students how these problems could be avoided.

If you have a really creative group you can ask them to make a short film with a different type of campaign referring to one of the problems discussed.

Hope you liked it. Share - comment - enjoy:)

Image challenge - How to teach IDIOMS using picture?

Image challenge - Week three

IDIOMS IN ACTION!!!

to kill two birds with one stone

I'm so happy that more and more teachers join our IMAGE CHALLENGE. I'm still wating for more feedback from you. How do YOU use images in the classroom? What are YOUR methods?

This week, I want to present you a great way to teach idioms. We all want our students to sound more English and be able to use colloquial language. However, most exercises in the coursebook connected with idioms are usually gap filling or matching type. Students need more visual aspect of it. 

Colorful language and powerful imagery make idioms a lot of fun for all ESL learners. So how to teach them in a more creative way? Well, here is what I do.

Show your artistic talent

Teaching idioms can be engaging only if it's enjoyable for your students. I ususally tell them that there is a competition for the best picture of an idiom. Students must humorously illustrate the literal meaning. It makes students laugh but also helps them to understand or guess what a phrase mean. It's usually done at home. 

Imagine that you have FCE or CAE students, for example. They are usually 16-19 years old and we hardly ever do arts and crafts with them. It's simply not this age. But I try to encourage them to use their imagination rather than artistic talent to present idioms. 

You won't believe it but it works very effectively. Some ideas are even shocking. It's always up to them which idiom out of, let's say 10 covered during one lesson, they are going to prepare. Sometimes, it happens that 3 people in the group draw the same one but in a very different way. Sometimes they are very similar. For example, the idiom on the top: to kill two birds with one stone will probably be presented in a very similar way. But what about, let's say, to take sth with a pinch of salt? Below there is the picture of one of my students. In this small pocket there was real salt! It's not only vision that is stimulated but other senses, as well.

to take sth with a pinch of salt

to foot the bill

to smell a rat

Mime it - show it!

Next, I collect their drawings and show them one by one to guess what idiom it is and what it means. It's a kind of revision at the same time. Later, they draw lots and have to present it to the rest of the group without using the sound. There is so much laughter each time we do it:))

Role plays with idioms in context

It’s important to not only teach the meaning of idioms, but to also teach how to use them correctly and effectively. Now students work in pairs and draw a picture with an idiom and they are given 5 minutes to create a short dialogue with the use of the idiom in context. It's important to remind them that idioms are informal and are often used in everyday conversations.

Hang up in the class and teach others!

Finally, after the lesson I put some of them on the board in the class and every time advanced groups have idioms, other groups learn as well, as they are extremely curious what it shows and what it means. IMAGES attract attention. Even some of my 10 year olds learned advanced idioms this way.

Websites?

What if you have not time at all and you want to find great photos of idioms? There are plenty of them in the Internet but I would like to recommend you a special one. There is one great website with unusual, original and outstanding photos. Just check yourself!!! Example below.

a storm in a tea cup

Website address:  https://www.behance.net/gallery/5719523/Idioms-in-pictures

And if you are bored with still images, you can use moving images and play a short film full of fantastic pictures and examples that your students will remember for sure. The example of vegetable idioms below:

Youtube : https://youtu.be/bsVhQm9g_fo

Finally, the website which lists all idioms on one website together with their meanings:

Website address: http://www.idiomconnection.com

I hope you enjoyed it and you will find it useful in your classroom. Comment - share - enjoy:)

"Sing" - a great talent show!

"Sing" -  a funny animal jukebox musical cartoon 

                               (The New York Times)

Need a bright idea to attract your lesson? Why not to choose a new cartoon, which  is taking the cinema by a storm and is becoming the kids favourite one? Do you love songs, music and great action? Then the story is for you and for sure for your students!

How well do you know your students? What are they good at? What are their strengths and weaknesses? Getting to know your students well strengthens the relationship and bonds between students and teachers. And it's all about relationship in our business, isn't it? If your students love lessons with you, they will come to the class more willingly. As Rita Pierson once said in her TED talk: "Children don't learn from the teachers they don't like". Why not to use this trailer and organize a talent show in your class or in your school? You may be really surprised what you will find out. I was many times. Even last month just before Christmas one of the very good students came to the class with a violin case. She has been attending my class for the past 4 years and we did talk about various things but she never mentioned that she was playing or she was even about to play any musical instrument. So after a while of "begging" she gave us a concert and we were completely amazed - just great!!

So let's come back to lesson plan built around a trailer of the comedy cartoon called SING, (honestly, I can't wait to see it).

Topic: hobbies, interests, passion, dreams, ambitions, talents
Level: pre-intermediate +
Age: 10+
Activity aim:

• to get to know each other better
• practice speaking and class discussion
• to revise hobbies vocabulary
• matching exercise
• guessing game
• finding out your students talents

Vocabulary to pre-teach: contest, take part in sth, flyers, competition, failures, obstacles, go through rough time,

Time: 45-60 min

Film address: https://youtu.be/YDQizlFzVdA (choose carefully as there are 3 versions of the trailer)

The plot: Set in a world mostly populated by only animals, a koala named Buster Moon works to keep his theater from closing down. To do that, Buster and his sheep friend Eddie hold a singing contest to raise money for it, and the entire town auditions for a part in the show. The leading fives are:

• a pig named Rosita 
• her German pig partner Bob 
• a little white arrogant mouse named Mike  
• a punk rock crested porcupine named Ash 
• a teenage elephant named Meena 
• a British gorilla named Johnny 

Link to pictures with the main characters: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3470600/mediaindex?ref_=tt_ov_mi_sm

Stage one - warm up

If you have a new group of students write 5 questions on the board or give them on slips of paper. Students work in pairs and ask each other.  Then they change the partner and ask at least 3 other students:

1. What are you good at? Is it a talent that you were born with or you learned it?
2. Do you have any other hobbies? How much time do you spend on it every day/week?
3. Can you play any musical intstrument? Would you like to? Which one? Why not?
4. Is there anything you would like to learn? Why?
5. What talent contests do you know? What contests are popular in your country? Would you like to take part in any? Why? Why not?

Stage two

Class discussion. The teacher can even write down the list of the things students are good at or like. It can turn out that some students have a common hobby, that one person can play the cello and can give a concert at Christmas or someone else can do something nobody else can and he can teach the rest of the group. Such activities facilitate the process of learning and encourage students to talk about the things they enjoy.

Stage three

Once you have listed the interests and hobbies of the students on the board you can ask them a few extra questions:

1. Is it difficult to do it?

2. Was it difficult to learn?

3. How much time do you devote to it a day/a week?

4. What about your friends? Do they share your interests or they don't?

5. What do you have to sacrifice to be good at it?

Stage four

Tell your students that they are going to watch a trailer of the film about a talent competition. What competitions are there in your country? In which of them would you like to take part in? Whole class discussion. Then show a few characters of the film. place them on the board and let your students guess who they are, what they do and what kind of talent they have. (the website with the photos of the characters above)

eg. I guess she is a typical housewife bringing up the kids. She can cook well.

eg. He may belong to some gang. He looks like a bully. What talent? Stealing? Fighting?

Stage five

Play a film. Students check their guesses and add any information they have learned from the film. Now they know that it is a singing competition so you can ask your students if any of them would like to take part in it. Why? Why not? Students can also make a bet who will win the contest. (to find out you have to go to the cinema:) Then you discuss what obstacles they have to face to get to the top and win.

Stage six

You can now watch two other versions of the trailer. Divide your students into two groups and ask them to find as many similarities and differenties between them as possible. 

Of course, you can use the trailer in many other ways. It's just a suggestion. The most important is not to forget to use films trailers as a lesson modification. It will be fun for you and your students. Just try:)

Like - Comment - Share

 

Image challenge - Class projects with mobile phones

Image Challenge - Week Two

Projects with mobile phones - inside and outside

Time to start the next week of our year challenge, which is 52 weeks - 52 ways !

Our challenge to use various ways of images in the classroom turned out to be a success. You agreed that it is a great idea and that is worth taking up. A few people asked me about WI-FI access. Well, I use it in 3 ways - sometimes students have their own internet, sometimes I use the one we have at school, but the most often I just share mine. In every mobile there is an option to use it as a router. Whenever I buy a new mobile I check two aspects: the amount of the Internet I get and the quality of pictures - both practical in the classroom.

Let me also point out that this project is only one aspect of teaching and it doesn't mean that I use mobiles on every lesson. The idea is to try out every week various way of using images with students and  make lessons more attractive as well as more more motivating. So let's get to work!

About projects

The projects that I'm going to present today are all connected with the use of mobile phones but they are a bit longer activities than the ones from the previous week. These are projects, which means they can last even the whole lesson.

Let's go out

It's winer time in most countries now but soon the spring will come and maybe you will have a chance to take your students out.  What to do then? This particular idea is taken from the book by Nicky Hockly and Gavin Dudeney  Going mobile - teaching with hand-held devices (highly recommended)

Find it! - photo treasure hunt

Divide your students into groups of 3 and give each of the group a sheet of paper with the task. Their task is to take a photo of these objects. Time - 5 minutes.

•  Something small and green

•  Something white in a shape of a rectangle

•  Something with three colours

•  Something  big and brown

Students go out and try to find the treasure – in this case it is a picture. Of course, the task can vary, depending on the size, level and age. Then students show the pictures of their treasures and we choose  the winner in each category. My school is situated next to the park so when it gets sunny and hot students ask about lessons outside and then we use this game to break the routine and kill boredom. 

And what game do you play?

Do you know the games your students play? No? High time to change it! Each of your students has at least one game in the mobile. I said at least because in my son's class, for example, an average 12 year old has 5-10 different ones. Imagine that you want to practice the language of instructions. You ask your students to choose the game they like and think how they could present the rules of the game in English. Then you write on the board the most essential expressions needed in the presentation and students one by one present the game together with the rules. Sounds like fun:) They can finally tell about sth they just adore doing! But what to do if you have a big group and it would take ages before everybody would say sth. Then you get them in pairs and they have to tell each other about the rules. As the final task they have to teach me - the teacher - how to play one of them. I tried and that was a disaster - I hate games:) I'm so slow - but at least I showed a human nature (the second nature) of a teacher - that you can't do something at times, either.

Agario - the game I was taught by my students:)

Holiday itinerary

Having a chapter about travelling? Well, the phone can come in handy. Just write three destinations on the board eg. LONDON - PARIS - BARCELONA. Then you ask your students which destination they would like to choose. They stand in the lines in front of the place of their destination. Next, you write on the board:

FLIGHT - ACCOMMODATION - -TRANSPORT - FOOD  - ENTERTAINMENT 

Tell your students that they are going on a city break (Friday - Sunday) to chosen destinations and their task is to plan everything in details. They have to choose an airline, a place of living, which mean of transport they are going to use in the city, where they are going to eat and finally what kind of entertainment they are going to choose. AIM? A version that is going to be the most attractive but the cheapest - wins. They learn practical things - we learn English to travel, don't we? I teach them which websites are interesting to use eg www.booking.com for accommodation. They really enjoyed it.


Cooking Time

All students love food lessons! They can be done in various of ways. We often order a pizza or have hamburger parties with younger students duing which they compose their own burgers. Sometimes we have roles plays in the restaurant, with a waiter, customers and laid tables. But the most common form is that students prepare food at home (starters, main courses and desserts, depending what they draw) and then they tell how they did it describing all stages of preparing the food: add, mix, bake etc, then tell about ingredients and then we finally eat:)))

What about a small modification? Your students can take the photos at home of all the cooking stages and then, before the other students try their dishes, they have to describe them in detail, showing photos. For sure, they will have to use cooking verbs and the names of all the ingredients and the IMAGES from their phones!

                                                

There is, there are

A fantastic idea to use with younger students. if you want to practice the grammar structure There is/there are you can ask your students to take a photo of their bedroom or their favourite room in the house. Then students get in pairs and work together describing what is in each of them. The biggest advantage??? Happy parents as the room was finally cleaned:) nobody wants to take a photo of a mess.

In those two weeks I wanted to show you that photos are not only images from the colourful magazines. But there is a wide range of ideas available within the reach for all of the teachers. Students' phones!!! I am more than happy that I had a chance to share my ideas with you but I would be overjoyed to read about your ideas. How do you use students' phones and images, in particular.

Comment - share - enjoy!!!

Next week  - new ideas:)

Image challenge - Mobiles in hands!!!

Image Challenge - Week One

You can read more about my challenge at the top of my blog. It's time to start the first week full of ideas connected with the use of image in the classroom.

Mobiles in hands!!!

"Put it away!", "Stop looking at it all the time!", "What are you doing there under the desk?", "I'll give it back to your mum!", "Have you been using it while writing your essay?, "Switch it off!"

It is like Middle Ages in the classroom!

Mobile phones in the class - a constant battle between students and teachers. But it doesn't have to be like that. I use my mobile phone regularly and so do my students. Even parents are informed about it and although a bit surprised at the beginning, they understand  that it's all about learning. 

Most of us don't associate students' mobile phones with pictures that can be used during the class. We either try to find them in the colourful magazines or print them out from the computer. How many times has it happened to you that you asked your students to bring the photos and half of the group just forgot about it? Why not not use your students' mobile phones instead! Have you ever wondered how many photos there are in their mobiles. I have. On avarage they have 100-300. Sursprised? What does it mean for us teachers? Simply a vast source of material ready to use in the classroom. How? Let me show you.

The course beginning

If you have a new group, instead of asking your students to introduce themselves, they can take out their mobile phones and introduce themselves through the pictures they have. Students get in pairs and show each other the photos of their children, pets, cars or a hobby. Neuroscientists believe that we learn the most when talk about our personal things and what can be more personal than the photos that you have taken yourself.

Holidays

It refers to holidays as the time of relax in summer but also holidays like Christmas etc. how many times you asked your students to write an essay about their last holiday or just asked them to tell something about the way they spent their Christmas or New Year's Eve. Sounds a bit boring, doesn't it? Well, with my students I do it differently. I ask them to get in pairs and show each other photos they have taken during this time, Students have to be "curious" and ask extra questions. they talk in turns enjoying uninterrupted conversation. Yes, I don't interfere at this stage, I don't correct and often use it as a kind of warm up. Sometimes, I don't even look at the photos myself (I could see too much:), but students do love it!

Character and appearance 

Each of your students has at least one photo of a person in his photo gallery. So how to use it when you have a chapter devoted to personality or appearance. You simply ask your students to take out a mobile phone and choose a person they want to describe. Then you ask them to think what they could say about this person's appearance as well as character. Some people can say that is very personal. Yes it is, but our students want to show off quite often, especially if they are teens. On the other hand, if they are adults they always have photos of their beloved children or grandchildren and they could talk about them non stop - that is a perfect source material for the lesson. Some sentences with Present Continuous can be used as well. 

Here is an example:

This is a picture of my son. He is twelve years old and is quite tall for his age. He has blue eyes and dark blond hair. Although he is very skinny he is fit. He practices ball room dancing 6 times a week. As a person he is very sociable, ourgoing and talkative. In this photo he is wearing a striped T-shirt and a green shorts. He likes casual clothes.....etc

Present Perfect

Ask your students to find in google images a picture of a person crying:

You can ask - What has happened that the girl is crying?

Answers: She has lost her mum or somebody has taken her favourite teddy bear.

You asked the - When did it happen?

Answers: Just a moment ago and then explantion of Present Perfect follow.

You can divide your class into groups and ask:

a) group one find a photo of sb crying

b) group two a photo of sb laughing

c) groups three a photo of sb being scared

 Each of them has to write at least 3 sentences about what has happened

Present Continuous

Ask your students to find an activity (people doing sth) in their photo gallery if they don't have, they can search in google images again. Examples:

People are playing tennis

A family is having a barbecue in the garden.

Then students stand up and tell each other what they have found out. Only positive sentences (singular and plural). I used this activitiy with my 10 year olds and there was a lot of fun and they also learned a lot of new words at the same time. In the following lessons it can be used to ask questions: What is he doing? What are they doing? etc

Past Simple and Past Continuous

Ask your students to find some pictures of people, objects or activities. Then students put their mobiles phones down on the desk and tell the stories like in story cubes. Their task is to use, of course, proper grammar and tenses.

Example:

So one day while I was going along the path I saw.......etc

As you can see, photos from the magazines have turned into images from your students' mobile phones. Practical, easy to apply and not involving a lot of preparation. Most of these activities are short and can be used as a warm up, filler or closer. It's also perfect for the beginning of a conversation. If you haven't used their phones before, just come to your next class and say:

"Please take out your mobile phones, please." Your students will shocked and surprised but for sure they will enjoy it. 

And you? How do you use the pictures from your students' mobile phones? What are your ideas? Just share with us as the challenge has just begun!