RECYCLING
HOMEWORK—a creative approach to homework in the foreign language class
How
about recycling students’ homework and create fun activities for your next
class? Here are some ideas you can use and adapt.
Board pool of words – 5 min.
·
Take the mispelled words from your students’ writing
homework and make flashcards with their correct spelling.
·
At the beginning of
the following class, put the flashcards on the board and ask students to clear
the board by saying sentences containing the words on the flashcards. Encourage
them to include more than one word in a sentence, if possible.
Write or wrong? 15-30 min.
·
Take sentences from your students’ writing homework
that have errors (spelling, grammar, word order, etc) and write them down exactly
as they appear in their homework.
·
Mix them up with correct sentences on a sheet of
paper.
·
Before you hand in their homework, devide the
class in two groups.
·
Each group will appoint a speaker.
·
Write one sentence at a time up on the board. Groups
take turns to decide if the sentence on the board is right or wrong.
·
The group delibarates for a short time and then
their speaker says RIGHT or WRONG.
·
If their choice is right, they get a point. If
they can correct the sentence, they get another point.
·
Once the game is over, break the mood with a
relaxing activity and hand in their homework. Give students two minutes to
revise their own work before turning it in for real.
Word order—15 min.
·
Take corrected complex sentences from your
students’ grammar or writing homework and make flashcards of the words used in
the sentences. Clip them together per sentences.
·
Have the class work in pairs putting together two
different sentences in the correct order. Allow 5 or 6 minutes for this.
·
Have pairs pair up with another pair (wow).
·
Pairs take turns showing their sentences for the
other two students to see if their sentences are correct.
·
Spot a couple of “interesting sentences” and
write them up on the board for discussion. (This will focus their attention back
on you.)
Tic Tac Toe – 25 min.
·
On the board, draw up the classic tic tac toe
grid and fill it in with targeted vocabulary you wish your students had used in
their writing homework. E.g.
|
Virtue
|
Claws
|
Courageous
|
|
Ficticious
|
Character
|
Armour
|
|
Fabulous
|
Peasants
|
Famed
|
·
Divide the class in two groups.
·
The game works just like the regular tic tac
toe, but in order to win a spot, they have to come up with a correct sentence
that includes the word written in the spot they want.