(Almost) Infinite ELT Ideas

House

Sandy Millin — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:54:53 +0000

After a string of tech-related prompts, it’s about time I gave you something offline!

Another one-word week:

house

That’s it.
What would you do with this word in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co

Sandy Millin — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:46:53 +0000

This week’s prompt was suggested by @theteacherjames. Thanks James!

The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Co. has a whole catalogue of superhero supplies available for purchase, in categories such as ‘Capes’, ‘Secret Identities’ and ‘Lairs’. The company has a real shop in New York. It has a great-looking catalogue, and all purchases support 826nyc: “a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their creative and expository writing skills”.

What would you do with this site in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Interactive migrations map

Sandy Millin — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 11:28:43 +0000

This fascinating migration map shows immigration and emigration statistics around the world, based on 2007 figures. It’s quite addictive!

What would you do with this map in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Holstee Manifesto

Sandy Millin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 11:57:44 +0000

The Holstee Manifesto was put together in summer 2009 by Mike, Fabian and Dave, the founders of fashion company Holstee, to embody what they wanted from life, and what they believed their designs should incorporate.

The original poster was also accompanied by this video:

There is already an excellent lesson plan at film-english, but I thought I might throw it out there and see what you guys can do with it too

What would you do with this manifesto in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Debatepedia

Sandy Millin — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:56:52 +0000

Debatepedia is an encyclopedia of debate topics covering everything you can possibly imagine. Here is a screenshot of the umbrella categories they divide the topics into:

The whole site was created by the International Debate Education Association (IDEA) to collect pro and con arguments for debated topics in one place, thereby making it easier to promote debate supported by evidence. It is built along the lines of Wikipedia, so it is constantly evolving. As far as possible, each pro/con argument is also backed up by evidence from other websites. For example, here is a link to the debate on teacher-student friendships on facebook.

What would you do with this website in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

‘Where we going to go’ by David Todd

Sandy Millin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:52:14 +0000

I discovered this song last week while I was looking for music related to climate change. I think it could promote a lot of discussion in class.

Here is a link with the lyrics to the song. I have also reproduced them at the bottom of the post.

What would you do with this song in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

WHERE WE GOING TO GO
music and words David Todd copyright D.E.Todd 2009

verse
They came in the night and they came in the day

They came until they took it all away

And all they left was a barren ground

Where no life can be found

They didn’t give a reason and they didn’t say why
Millions of trees had to die
In the name of progress is all they’d say

Step aside and get out of our way

chorus
What I want to know is where we gonna go

When the rain don’t make our garden grow

And the soil’s too dry for the seeds to sow

How long till we learn

You play with fire and be sure to burn

A one way ticket with no return

Cause where we gonna go

Well I don’t know

verse
They tell us technology is a wonderful thing
Not to mention the destruction it brings
One step forward and two steps back
Go from the light and into the black
They feed us with lies and treat us like fools
But don’t stop to realise its a game we all lose
On a road to self destruction with every step we take
Like a ship sinking fast and no escape

chorus
What I want to know is where we going to go
When the suns threat to all below
And our pollution stops our rivers flow
Its time you and me take responsibility
Its a fragile world in dire need
Cause where we gonna go
Well I don’t know

bridge
Spending money to find life on Mars

It doesn’t make any sense to me

Like trying to live at the bottom of the ocean

Some things are not meant to be.

chorus
What I want to know
Is where we going to go
When the ocean rise and the strong winds blow
And the temperature melts the ice and snow
Not time to wait
It wont be long and it will be too late
In this together and we are all at stake
Cause where we gonna go
Well I don’t know

Man on a roof

Sandy Millin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 22:14:34 +0000

This week’s prompt has kindly been provided by Janet Bianchini: a photo she took in Oxford.

What would you do with this picture in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

New Year

Sandy Millin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:34:23 +0000

Happy New Year everyone!

I hope you’ve had a restful Christmas and New Year.

It seems appropriate to start the year with a site about New Year and January traditions. Woodlands Junior School in Kent, UK have a wealth of information about British culture, traditions and history. It is aimed at primary school pupils in the UK, but can be easily adapted for the EFL classroom.

You can click on the screenshot above to go to the site and read the rest of the information.

What would you do with this information in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Christmas catch-up

Sandy Millin — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:46:39 +0000

Image by @sandymillin on eltpics

Like many, I am now on my Christmas break. That means I have lots of time to blog and catch up with what everyone else has been writing. Or not.

Whatever you’re doing this Christmas, I’m sending out my best wishes to you for now and the New Year. I hope you have a wonderful time with your nearest and dearest, whether or not you celebrate Christmas.

And if you do have a few minutes to spare, why not take a look at some of the old Infinite ELT Ideas posts, and see if you can offer up/use any sugeestions for them. Looking forward to seeing your ideas!

Sandy

BBC Close Up videos

Sandy Millin — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:51:37 +0000

The BBC have produced a series of short videos, each of less than 5 minutes, showcasing unsual aspects of cultures from around the world. They are called Close Up and are described like this:

This BBC News series focuses on aspects of life in countries and cities around the world. What may seem ordinary and familiar to the people who live there can be surprising to those who do not.

Some of the topics covered so far include:

What would you do with these videos in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context they are used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Did you know? Crash statistics in the UK

Sandy Millin — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 07:27:51 +0000

The above screenshot is taken from a series of slides showing very comprehensive crash statistics on UK roads over the period 1999-2010. Click on the image to be taken to the original set of statistics.

It is a set of quite sobering data, and one which I feel could promote a lot of discussions in your classes, if you feel the students are able to deal with what could potentially be quite a difficult topic.

The statistical nature of the information would make it particularly suitable for academic English/IELTS students, though of course it could be adapted for use with any students.

What would you do with these statistics in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context they are used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Plinky prompts

Sandy Millin — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 08:58:23 +0000

Who brings out the best in you?

If you had the attention of the entire world for two minutes, what would you say?

Name your favourite old movie.

Does silence make you feel uncomfortable?

All of these questions were taken from Plinky.com, a site which is linked to wordpress and is designed to give you inspiration for your blog. Whenever you post something on wordpress, three or four questions appear on the right-hand side of the screen to suggest what you could write about next, and (I believe) these are taken from Plinky too. You can read people’s answers to the questions by visiting the site.

Examples of WordPress prompts

What would you do with this website or these writing prompts in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context they are used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

The Beatles

Sandy Millin — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 09:44:15 +0000

Everybody has heard of The Beatles, and I’m sure many of us have used one of their songs in our classrooms at some point.

Image from Wikipedia

What would you do with this image or any Beatles song or story in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

A free newspaper

Sandy Millin — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 09:52:39 +0000

As far as I know, most countries in Europe now have free newspapers available. Outside Europe, I’m not really sure, but feel free to let us know.

The most popular one is the Metro in the UK and the Czech Republic:

Taken from: http://petrinafreemannewpaper.blogspot.com/

Here is a link to the UK website.

What would you do with one of these papers in your classroom, whether in English or not? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Paris

Sandy Millin — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 07:39:15 +0000

Just a word this week:

Paris

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Catch-up week

Sandy Millin — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 07:17:14 +0000

I’m in Paris for the TESOLfrance conference, so it’s a catch-up week this week. There are nearly thirty posts for you to choose from, including:

Wallace and Gromit and the Intellectual Property Office

Simply find a post that inspires you, then add a comment telling other teachers how you would use it in class. Then, when you are stuck for inspiration, come back to the site and use the tags to search for an area your students need practice in, use the idea, and let us know how it goes!
Looking forward to hearing more of your ideas!

Facebook page

Sandy Millin — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:11:43 +0000

Infinite ELT Ideas now has a facebook page. Click on the link to ‘like’ it. I will post links to new prompts there each Wednesday. Please tell your teaching friends and colleagues about it! Thank you

An Education wordcloud

Sandy Millin — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:28:24 +0000

I made this using Tagxedo for my class on Monday and thought other teachers might find it useful. I’ve included the list of words I put in too.

The words are:

education education education

at~school at~university at~college

teacher pupil student classmate headteacher principal professor tutor

take~an~exam pass~an~exam fail~an~exam

study learn know teach educate

graduate
degree

revise

schools~break~up

topic subject
course

seminar lecture tutorial

grant fee

mark grade

state~school
public~school
private~school
primary~school
secondary~school
nursery~school

term semester

teacher’s~pet

play~truant skive

assignment notes

do~homework

research

academic

work~out~the~answers

get~your~ideas~across

correct~the~answers

What would you do with this wordcloud in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. There are no wrong ideas!

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Tripline

Sandy Millin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:48:19 +0000

Tripline is a great website I found out about through Twitter. You can use it to create personalised maps showing individual locations or a longer journey, including adding photos and extra information about the places. It requires you to sign in, but it’s free and you can link it to your facebook account so you don’t have to remember extra passwords. You can also browse other people’s maps without logging in.

Here is a map I made showing all the places I visited on my year abroad in 2006 and 2007. I haven’t managed to add photos to it yet, as I haven’t had time, but one day I hope I will.

My Year Abroad Adventure (2006-2007) on Tripline

What would you do with this website in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context it is used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. There are no wrong ideas!

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.

Wallace and Gromit / Intellectual Property Office

Sandy Millin — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 06:28:20 +0000

The Intellectual Property Office are in charge of copyrights, patents and trademarks (among other things) issued and managed in the UK. Together with Aardman Animations, the creators of Wallace and Gromit, they put together an exhibition combining some of Wallace’s most entertaining inventions and information about what intellectual property is. It was fun and engaging, and best of all, I got some postcards to bring home. I saw it at the Life Science Centre in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK, and there will be more prompts from there in the future, so watch this space.

Front

BackMore fronts

Their backs

How would you use these postcards in your classroom? You can make any assumptions you like about the context they are used in. Post your ideas in the comments below. All ideas are welcome (there are no wrong answers!)

Click here to find out the idea behind this blog.