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Learning Idioms
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Activity Description
Students watch videos and take notes to learn idioms, practice the idioms in conversation and on an online discussion forum (optionally), and then create a "quiz" for their classmates OR select a new idiom from the video channel or other sites, create a presentation to teach the class the idiom(s) by creating a PowerPoint or Google Slideshow presentation, writing and performing a dialog, using Web sites to create digital films or comic strips based on dialogs, making an infographic, or making videos.
Preparation
- Make sure that the idiom Web Sites (links above) are not blocked at your school. Also check any other sites that you want to use from the list on the Example Document 1 (above).
- Download Example Document 1 - Prompt for an Idiom Project, and make any changes you need to for your level of students. Then print a copy for each student.
Teacher Tips
- The Web sites may contain some ads, but they should not be too distracting for students. Train your students how to recognize ads and avoid them on this or any other Web site.
- If you want to use different idiom videos from the channel, you can create your own playlist. This is how:
- When logged in to your Google (Gmail or Chrome) account, start with a video you want in the playlist.
- Under the video, select "Add to."
- Select Watch Later, Faves, or a playlist you've already created, or click Create new playlist. …
- Use the drop-down box to select your playlist's privacy setting. …
- Select Create.
- Here's how to share a playlist Tutorial
More Ways
- Students can be assigned to use the sites for self-study.
- You can create a list of the idioms and have students write definitions and their own original sentences using the idioms.
Program Areas
- ESL: English as a Second Language
Levels
- Intermediate Low
- Intermediate High
- Advanced
Lesson Plan
Introduce a few idioms and define what an idiom is (a word or group of words that have a connotative meaning different from their dictionary meanings). For example, you can tell students anecdotes such as the following:
Last weekend, I had planned on going hiking, but when I got up Saturday morning. It was “raining cats and dogs.” It was absolutely pouring. There was no way I would be able to go hiking after all. Then ask students what the idiom in context means. (Answer: It was raining heavily.)
Yesterday after work, I was so hungry. I drove to McDonald's and ate a Big Mac, a large order of fries, a shake, a Diet Coke, and an ice cream cone. I ate "like a pig." (Answer: I ate it all very hungrily and quickly.)
Tell students that idioms are all around us – in everyday conversations with fluent English speakers and in popular culture such as movies and music. By becoming familiar with some common idioms, they will gain both understandings of speech around them and will gain cultural comprehension that will allow them to participate in conversations. Tell students that they are going to learn idioms over the next (class periods/days/weeks) by watching videos and taking notes.
Demonstrate how students will watch the videos and take notes with the first section of the handout - Idiom Learning – Viewing Notes. Open the playlist and play one or two videos, pausing to allow students to take notes at the table.
You can do the video viewing and note-taking each class meeting as a whole class or assign it as homework.
After checking a set of idioms, have students practice using the idioms in conversation with the questions below each table on the handout. Students can also practice writing their answers and replying to classmates with an online discussion board. Review the idioms periodically with questions.
This Quizlet set can be used for review and practice.
You can also assign students to explore other idioms on the YouTube channel or use other websites and present an idiom to their classmates on a weekly or daily basis.
Sample Idiom a Day presentations.
Option 1: After all the idioms have been studied, practiced, and reviewed, assign groups to “quiz” their classmates on an idiom. Create a shared Google Slideshow and label slides with group numbers and names of students in that group (students could also make their own group Google or PowerPoint slides). Then one person in your group will open the link to the slideshow in chat. Assign each group one or more idioms that have been practiced. Tell students to talk with your team and then insert a picture, a sentence clue, a dialog, or something that is related to the idiom that will make your classmates have to recall from memory what the idiom is but that won’t be obvious.
After all groups have finished, have a designated group member present the group’s slide. The team to identify the idiom depicted first wins a point.
Option 2: Tell students that now that they know several idioms, they will teach their classmates an idiom. You may choose to have students work in pairs or small groups. Explain the assignment with a sample project you have created.
Step 1 - Write one of the following:
A. dialog between two people using at least one idiom and having a minimum of 8 lines
OR
B. A story of at least 5 sentences using at least one idiom
Step 2 - Create one of the following:
For the dialog - slides with your photo (or someone else’s) and another person’s and callouts for the lines of the dialog.
For the short story - slides with the sentences and images to illustrate them Demonstrate how to navigate the sites by projecting the sites from a computer. Let students browse for idioms that interest them and then take notes.
Sample Shared Class Google Slideshow with Idiom Presentations
Have students write their dialogs using (an) idiom(s) that you choose (if you choose to have them write dialogs) individually or in pairs. Collect the dialogs and provide feedback on comprehensibility, correct usage of the idiom(s), spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.
Have students use PowerPoint or Google Slides (clip art call out / speech and thought bubbles can be inserted) or video to create a product for the presentation of their dialogs to the class.
Students could also be given the option of creating infographics about idioms they learn, such as those on the site Oyster English using Canva, Piktochart, Visme, or other infographic maker sites.
Have students present their idiom projects to the class. Audience members can be assigned to take notes (you can provide a list of students' idioms) on the definitions of the idioms presented.
Later you can give students a short quiz on the idioms that were presented.
Students will be able to determine the meaning of figurative and connotative language and idiomatic expressions and make oral presentations using digitally-created visual aids.
Documents
- Idiom Project.pdf - Handout for a possible lesson using the Idiom project
- Idiom Learning - Viewing Notes.docx - Idiom Learning - Viewing Notes
Standards
- Reading Foundational Skills
- RF.2 - Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes). (Phonological Awareness)
- RF.3 - Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words. (Phonics and Word Recognition)
- RF.4 - Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension. (Fluency)
- Reading
- CCR Anchor 4 - Interpret words and phrases as they are used in a text, including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings, and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of the text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole.
- Writing
- CCR Anchor 3 - Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details and well-structured event sequences.
- CCR Anchor 4 - Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
- CCR Anchor 7 - Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
- Speaking and Listening
- CCR Anchor 1 - Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Integrate and evaluate information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Make strategic use of digital media and visual displays of data to express information and enhance understanding of presentations.
- CCR Anchor 6 - Adapt speech to a variety of contexts and communicative tasks, demonstrating command of formal English when indicated or appropriate.
- Language
- CCR Anchor 1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
- CCR Anchor 2 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
- CCR Anchor 3 - Apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully when reading or listening.
- CCR Anchor 5 - Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.