Revista simpozionului Eficienta si calitate in educatie 2018 Revista simpozionului | Page 27
Time: 5-10 minutes
Preparation: 3-5 flashcards showing different objects: pencil, book, vase,
telephone etc.
Procedure:
One or two students stand with their backs to the board; they are guessers. The
teacher writes on the board the name of a well-known object or shows a flashcard.
The rest of the class help the guessers to find out what the object is by suggesting
things they can/might/could do with it. They must be as creative as possible and
not reveal the answer by suggesting the obvious use. For example, if the object is
a pencil, they could say things like:
e.g. I could pick it up./I might throw it at someone./I might point at something
with it./I could scratch my head with it.
This activity is appropriate for intermediate students and above.
The teacher must ensure a relaxed atmosphere and stimulate the students to
come up with as many variants as possible. Some of the sentences are written on
the board and used as examples for the next stage of the lesson.
Stage 2: PRESENTATION
The teacher explains the examples on the board and offers a schematic
presentation of the theoretical aspects.
e.g. “You can write with a pen.”
Theoretical possibility: This is what a pen is used for.
e.g. “You may write with a pen.”
Factual possibility: It is possible that you are writing with a pen.
e.g. “You may/can scratch with it.” → 90% certain
e.g. “You might/could scratch with it.” → 40/50% certain etc.
Repetition drills may be very useful at this stage. The teacher gives the model
sentence containing a modal verb and the students repeat the sentence with the
correct intonation and stress. They represent a first step towards the familiarisation
of the students with the new structure. Two or three repetitions would be enough.
They may become boring if the activity is prolonged more than necessary.
Stage 3: PRACTICE
Procedure:
The practice stage must start with very simple exercises because they help the
students to gain confidence and become familiar with the new topic. The first
exercise should be done with the whole class and the other exercises, in pairs.
Then, lockstep check follows each activity (see worksheet).
Exercise 1
The students have a list of sentences on the worksheet. The teacher invites them
to read them together and decide what they express: certainty or possibility. They
will write them in two columns according to their meanings:
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