Inside Out Web Guides
Pre-intermediate
Unit 5
Timelines
http://www.nintendo.com/corp/history.jsp
On page 23 there is a short history of Nintendo, the Japanese entertainment company that make GameBoy. Here is a fuller version of the company history which could be turned into a jigsaw information gap activity.
Unit 6
Presents
http://www.agiftfinder.co.uk/
Unit 6 starts with a look at what people really want for their birthdays. Although this can be a fascinating topic it can also be very difficult to find anything non-commercial on the Internet. However, it is possible to use some sites – here is one idea.
Some people are really difficult to buy presents for, but help is at hand. On the board write up the following categories: People with no hobbies or interests; The person who has everything; A person you don’t really know. Ask your students to work in pairs or small groups and to decide what they might buy for a person in each of these categories – you might want them to think of people they know who fit into one of these categories (personalise the activity). Collate the ideas on the board and then ask them to go to the site and click on the ‘What if you’re really stuck?’ icon, look at the ideas and see if any are the same as the ones they suggested.
Shopping
http://www.theshoppingbags.com/talktous/quiz.cfm
http://www.coolquiz.com/life/miniquiz/index.asp?quiznum=33
The main focus in unit 6 is shopping. Why not get your students to try a shopping quiz? Afterwards you could even get them to design their own.
Here are two online quizzes. The first is reasonably easy in terms of vocabulary while the second might be quite difficult. Use either site as an opportunity to expand your students’ vocabulary as well as the basis for discussion. Start off by brainstorming different types of shoppers (e.g. bargain hunter, impulsive shopper etc.) and ask them to decide what type of shopper they are. Then tell them to try the quiz (they could do this in pairs with one student answering the questions first and then the second student afterwards – pairwork gives them the opportunity to discuss the questions and vocabulary).
Finally, discuss the results – do they agree?
Unit 7
‘Hand’ expressions
http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/quizzes/vm/m-body.html
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/Arm.html Page 40 takes a brief look at idioms and expressions which include the word hand. Here is an opportunity to extend your students’ knowledge and use of this type of language. The first of the two web pages has a short quiz connected to body parts. The task is quite simple – match the idiom with its meaning. The second begins by giving you lots of expressions and their meanings before practising many of the idioms in a gap-fill quiz. This page focuses on expressions with arm, hand (parts of the hand, e.g. thumb) and leg.
Unit 8
The Beatles
http://www.beatles.com/
http://udel.edu/~mm/beatles
A couple of sites devoted to The Beatles. Coursebooks often include sections on bands that are well-known only for it to turn out that the students actually don’t know much about the group, or singer, mentioned. Here is an opportunity for your students to find out more about The Beatles using one of the two official sites. You could create a Beatles corner in your classroom.
Money
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/6720/Money.html
Another activity designed to extend your students’ vocabulary – particularly their use of idioms and expressions. As there are a lot of idioms given on this page why not put your class into groups and organise a jigsaw activity. Choose the expressions that you feel will be of most use to your students (you could choose fifteen). Divide your class into five groups and give each group three of the idioms. Now tell the groups to look up their idioms and find out the meaning of each. Regroup the students (one from each of the original groups) and tell them to explain the idioms to each other. Next, get your students to try out the online quiz before getting them to write a quiz of their own to give to the other groups.
Money songs
http://makingbreadmagazine.com/Features/TOPTEN/TOPTEN.htm
A site which lists twenty ‘Money’ songs. How many of these do your students know? Can your students think of any more? Have they got any favourites?
http://lyrics.astraweb.com/
http://www.getlyrics.com/
Two sites that you can use to search for the lyrics (words) of a song. Choose one of the twenty money songs listed above and get your students to look at the words. Afterwards you might want to do an extended search on the Internet (use a search engine like www.yahoo.com or www.msn.co.uk) and try and find the official band sites – many of these give you the opportunity to listen to the songs online.
