Grade: Senior
Subject: Language

#3137. Talking about the past

Language, level: Senior
Posted Thu May 27 13:56:55 PDT 2004 by Mercedes Douglass (mercedessdouglass@yahoo.com).
Seminole Community College, Oviedo, Florida
Materials Required: internet, some photocopies
Activity Time: 3-4 days total
Concepts Taught: Timelines/simple past and present perfect


Date: 5/25/04 Grade: Intermediate

Teacher Name: Mercedes Douglass Subject: Speaking and grammar

Topic-
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Part one - Talking about the past


Content-
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Practice of the simple past vs. the present perfect
The present perfect continuous/progressive
Timelines


Goals: Aims/Outcomes-
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Objectives-
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1. Students will understand the concept of a timeline and how they
look.

2. Students will see and be familiar with a variety of timelines and
will have a basic understanding of how they are read.


Materials and Aids-
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1. Worksheet - print copy for all students from the following site:
John Anderson: VIP
http://esl.about.com/library/lessons/bl_pperfect.htm

2. Web sites with interesting timeline examples:
http://www.psigate.ac.uk/newsite/earth_timeline.html
http://www.britannia.com/history/timelines.html
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/timelinearchive.html


3. The following site offers a good explanation of how to create a
timeline and their cultural significance:
http://www.dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/timeline.html



Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-

1. Write the idiom keep track on the board and explain that it means to organize information or details in a way that makes them easier to remember or find.

2. Ask students:"how do we keep track of events in our personal lives or in the lives of our families?"
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: photo albums, scrapbooks, oral histories, calendars and planners, home videos, etc.

3. Discuss some of the problems that can arrise when keeping track of events with photo albums and oral histories, i.e., names and dates can be forgotten, older people often remember the details but not the order of events; parents sometimes forget which child is which, and which did what.

4. Ask students: what are some of the solutions to these problems?
POSSIBLE ANSWERS: Write names, dates, and details on the backs of pictures; keep a journal to help remember details, etc.


B. Development-

1.Give each student a copy of the "John Anderson: VIP" worksheet. Ask students to describe what they see, for example: a list of numbers; the numbers are in order and start with zero; the title is a person's name; information is listed next to each number.

2. Explain that they are looking at a particular type of graphic.

3. Ask if anyone has seen a similar type of graphic, and finally, if anyone knows what such graphics are called in English.

4. Write the word "timeline on the board." Discuss the connection between the words time and line and the physical representation of a timeline, and define the word timeline (from Merriam Webster):
Function: noun1 : a table listing important events for successive years within a particular historical period. 2 time•line 'tIm-"lIn/ : a schedule of events and procedures.

5. Print out or display some examples from the internet of various timelines. Spend a few minutes discussing the structure and some of the details.


6. Put the following expressions on the board:
When John was ____ (age) he _____ (action in simple past)
At the age of ____ he _____ (action in simple past)

6. Read the first two events of John's life as examples using the expressions above.


C. Practice-

1. Call on volunteers to read the remaining events.

2. Have students turn to the second page of the assignment. Determine whether the simple past and present perfect were used correctly in the statements in Exercise 1 and discuss why.


D. Independent Practice-

Homework: Exercise 2

Students will decide whether the questions must be asked in the simple past or the present perfect and then write the correct answer to the question.


G. Closure-

Correct Exercise 2 as a class the following day.




Date: 5/25/04 Grade: Intermediate

Teacher Name: Mercedes Douglass Subject: Speaking and grammar

Topic-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Part two - Talking about the past


Content-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Practice of the simple past vs. the present perfect
The present perfect continuous/progressive
Timelines


Objectives-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Students will understand the concept of a timeline and how they
look.

2. Students will see and be familiar with a variety of timelines and
will have a basic understanding of how they are read.

3. Students will practice the use of the simple past and the present perfect through analysis and creation of simple timelines.


Materials and Aids-
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A picture of some famous person with some details from that person's life on a timeline
Website: http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/
Copies of the assignment description for every student.


Procedures/Methods-
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A. Introduction-

1. Correct the previous night's homework (John Anderson: VIP, exercise 2).

2. Hold up picture of famous person. Ask who he/she is, and what he/she has done.
3. Draw a timeline on the board and fill in some of the details together. For example, Dr. Phil: (1) He started working with Oprah, then 2) he got his own show.

4. Tell students about the timeline creator on the Teachnology website. Share with them a timeline of the famous person with the class that was created on that site. Continue to discuss the celebrity's life by looking at the details on the timeline. Discuss when to use simple present and when to use present perfect.


B. Development-

1. Explain to students that they too will be making a similar timeline.

2. Give each student an assignment description, discuss the details of the project, and put the students randomly in pairs. They will prepare a timeline of their partner's life and will present it to the rest of the class. (Give them 3 days to a week to prepare, based on accessibility to computers).


C. Independent Practice-
Allow the pairs to spend the rest of the class period collecting information and dates for their timelines.

Assignment description Timeline

STEPS:
1. Interview your classmate to find out some interesting events in their lives
2. Consider some of the following questions:
- When was your classmate born?
- When did he or she come to the U.S.?
- Has he or she won any awards?
- Has he or she visited any odd or exciting places, or done anything unusual or noteworthy?
3. Write down the events.
- Remember to include dates, locations, and interesting details.
4. Visit the following website:
http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/
a. Choose a timeline format (horizontal or vertical)
b. Type the information you learned about your classmate onto the timeline.
c. Copy/paste your timeline onto a Word document and save it.
5. On your assigned day you will stand in front of the class and tell us about your classmate's life.
a. Do not just read the events (we can do that)
b. Mix use of the present perfect and simple past
c. Tell us some side notes or other details about your classmate that didn't fit into the timeline.
d. When you are done, the class will continue to discuss your classmate's timeline to practice the simple past and present perfect.