For the fans out there this brand new vol. 13 just has to be lesson of the week doesn’t it!
The the best thing is you have two ways to teach it.
The Super Easy Way – it just uses “I like …” plus the sports names.
e.g. I like swimming. I like sailing. etc.
Really easy so far, yeah?
(Ninja Tip: This can work great as a first lesson, but…. if you’re just starting out with Genki English – welcome aboard! – then this lesson is actually part way through the curriculum so I’d usually recommend starting with lesson one – The Disco Warm Up – first and you’ll work your way up to here during the year!)
Want to teach grammar the easy way?
Then … for those classes with a little Genki English experience, the really cool thing is, you can just flip one word – just one word – and you have the past tense.
No messing around with complicated explanations, you just flip the word “like” into “went” so you have.
I went swimming. I went sailing etc.
This is so easy for the kids to get and has to be the simplest way to introduce the past tense.
(Ninja Tip: For even better results, use a “thumbs up” gesture for “like” and thumbs point behind you over your shoulder for “went.”)
With the question “What did you do in the Summer?” I never actually pre-teach it. Just let them sing the song and they’ll get the “What did you do in the Summer?” pronunciation by the third verse and then you just check that they figured out the correct meaning at the end!
It works like a treat, is very impressive to parents and is great to lead into presentations, so do give it a try.
Check out the videos, lesson plan, games, handouts etc. here!
Be genki,
Richard
P. S. I also did this lesson (complete with the past tense version) in a kids’ exhibition lesson earlier on in the year. Would you like me to upload the video? Do let me know in the comments!
P.P.S. Lots more games, printables and ideas coming up over the next few weeks so do keep your eye on your inbox. And be sure to tell your colleagues about them too!
Earn More From Your Passion For Teaching English!
Yes, favorite lesson~
however, no pre teaching for song 2 doesn’t work for me.
I find it the other way round:
when it comes to the song it gets tricky:
the kids know and love song 1. If I only use speaking activities then to practice the past form, it works without problems right away,
BUT they cannot sing the song as they have practiced the first one too much.
So, when they got here after the homework of doing song 2 at home for a week, they still were singing a thing between “like” and “went”
They can sing “What did you do in the summer” as it is completely different from “What is your favorite sport”, but then the answer just changes “like” to “when” with the same me;lode and this is tricky,
ooo, very interesting! I’ll have to look into this more, maybe one downside of the homework programme if they learn one theme so well it’s difficult to switch!
Okay so this is not related to your post above (that’s a promising start!)
But for some reason I wasn’t able to put this comment in the comments section on your blog post about advertising – which is where it belongs!
But I had to share this somewhere:
the latest post on Seth Godin’s blog:
Marketing used to be what you say
Now, marketing is what you do. What you make. How you act. The choices you make when you are sure no one is looking.
🙂 Exactly what you were talking about!
Sorry about sicking it here- but had to share!
Dacha
No worries, Dacha! Seth Godin is the god of marketing, when people ask me which of his books to buy I just say “All of them!”
I think the situation Margit is describing may actually a good thing.
The kids have achieved “overlearning” with song 1. Once students reach this state they will probably never forget it, and they can recall it automatically. But then throwing in song 2, where they have to change a word and the meaning is obviously different will keep them on their toes and keep them thinking. The struggle is good for them.
＠Trevor~well, this is a great way to look at it.
Thanks!
Just did this lesson today and the kids loved it, I haven’t taught “what’s your favourite sport” before so I’m curious to see if the kids will change from “I went” to “I like” without any problems.
After teaching this lesson I was feeling like teaching “What will you do in the winter?”
I think GE needs a bit more of past tense but especially more of future tense.
Let’s get our students looking forward for the future 😉
@Richard,
now look at this!
Weren’T we talking about a “will”song a week ago?!