35 ways to introduce your lesson topic

[Т А Кузнецова]

35 ways to introduce your lesson topic

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Are you fed up with using the same old methods to introduce your lesson topic? Look no further! Here are some ways to kick off your lesson. How many have you tried?

Using an anecdote

Example topic: idioms

You know I play football, right? No? Well I love it. Anyway, I went into town to buy some new boots the other day. I’m in Sports Direct, and I see these Nike boots that I really like, they’re the new model. The assistant comes over and is like

“Can I help you?”

And I’m “yeah. Can you tell me how much these are?”

She says “They’re £500”

And I said “£500???? That’s an arm and a leg!”

Musical “Guess the topic

Example topic: family and relationships

Think of 3 or 4 songs which in some way reference the theme/topic of your lesson

Avril Lavigne – Skater Boi (“he was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious?”)

The Hollies – He ain’t heavy (he’s my brother)

Baz Luhman – Everybody’s free to wear sunscreen (“maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t…”)

Ozzy Ozbourne – Mama I’m coming home

Play students a relevant segment of the song (where something about the topic is referenced). Ask them to write notes on what they hear, compare notes, and guess the topic of the lesson.

 Family fortunes (my favourite)

Example topic: British customs and culture / stereotypes

Create a fake family fortunes style question:

“We asked 100 people from England, Scotland and Wales – which things make you a typical Brit?”

Board the following

1 ________________     2 ____________  3_____________  4____________ 5____________

Students work in groups to prepare answers. Make it a little game (they win points for each correct answer).

Five possible answers for the above: queuing, drinking tea, talking about the weather, eating fish and chips, having bad teeth.

Complete the sentence

Topic: Making apologies

Think of a relevant starter sentence and have students complete in their own words

“The most common time to say sorry is….”

Topic: 2^nd conditionals

If I looked as David Beckham I would….

Realia

Example topic: hobbies and interests

Bring in 5 items that represent your own hobbies, can students guess pastimes?

Mine – Bit of wool (knitting), keyboard (blogging), crossword, binoculars (birdwatching), rubber chicken (making jokes)

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