Go Animate Lesson

Intermediate to Advanced ELL

by Choi, YunDeok and Lindsay DeLand

Unit: Learning Idiomatic Expressions: Who’s the Best Storyteller?

Objectives:

• Students will learn frequently used idiomatic expressions by watching short animations.
• Students will learn the meaning and context of the idiomatic expressions through story-making activity.

Instructional Aids/Materials:

• Computers
• Sample animations (pre-made by the instructor)
• Target idiomatic expressions (see appendix)
• Small gifts (e.g., sweets) or a certificate award for the winning group.

Time:

• One 50-minute lesson

Lesson Outline:

1. Explain the objectives of the listening activity: learning frequently used idiomatic expressions by watching and making an animation.
2. Present one of the target idiomatic expressions first (i.e., “as cool as a cucumber,” or “the straw that broke the camel’s back”)
3. Ask the students to guess the usage of the expression (i.e., its meaning and in what context it can be used).
4. Choose first the animation "Cool as a Cucumber" or "The Straw that Breaks the Camel's Back" (below).
5. Click the play button.
6. After watching one animation, ask your students to make groups of three or four and discuss the usage of the expression.
7. Ask the students to share their impressions of the idiom as a whole class.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 with the second animation.
9. Tell your students that they are going to participate in a best story-telling competition.
10. Present the targeted expressions (i.e., the apple of my eye, horse around, in the bag, black and white, off the cuff, and to catch someone red-handed) with example sentences on the board or projection screen (see appendix).
11. Ask each group to select an expression.
12. Ask each group to make a story using the expression that they chose.
13. Each group should present and share their story with the other groups.
14. Ask the students to vote for the best story.
15. Give the Best Storytelling Award to the group that made the best story.