Renata Beduschi de Souza from Brazil teaches English to Primary and Secondary students within private schools. With years of experience in the classroom, Renata knows the importance of activities to help get students talking. In this activity Renata takes her students on a virtual tour within their classroom.
This ‘I went to the museum last weekend’ activity aims to promote a real speaking experience. By talking about last weekend (past tense) students will develop their speaking, reading, listening and writing abilities. For this activity you will need a computer and access to a virtual tour website such as the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The activity
First, contextualize the activity within the theme, selecting a theme from a unit you are working on in class. In this case, the theme is weekend activities and what the students did last weekend, introducing the verbs in the past for the first time. The unit’s suggestions for weekend activities were to “eat out”, “go to a museum”, “ride a bike”, “play” and others. The unit finished with a text about unusual museums around the world.
For this lesson, it is necessary to book a computer lab so that each student (or pair of students) can use a computer. Then, with pupils sitting in a circle, explore with the idea of a museum. Whether they know what to do in a museum, why they exist, the types of museums, etc. Other questions may arise, according to the need of the teacher or year in which the students are.
Ask students to go to the computers and explain to them that they will be visiting a museum in a faraway country, peaking. This makes them curious and realize they do not have to leave their house to visit famous places. Let the students explore the museum’s floors and galleries for a few minutes and play with the interactive sessions. In the meantime, walk around and ask them which room they are examining right now. After 10- 15 minutes, distribute a handout in which students need to take notes to follow up on further activities. For example, ask questions like what their favorite room was and where it was located. Students will need to write down locations in English, and express personal preferences and reasons for that choice. Ask students to write down the description of the room or session, working on colors, shapes and verbs. For example, “I can see many birds there”. Include other questions according to the topic explored, and ask students to write down any other information they consider relevant.
Back in your own classroom, follow up by asking the students to report what they saw and did in the museum. This demonstrates the need to know the verbs in the past in order to report something they have already done. With the activity completed you can finish the lesson by reading text from the unit, or support the activity that complementary materials.
The results
We have explored reading from the interactive signs and sessions and writing from the students notes. We have also explored listening comprehension and speaking from interactive sessions and teacher and student interactions. Students experience communicating using verbs in the past in a real world discussion, as well as showing an interest in the topic being discussed. Authentic reading and speaking situations make learning meaningful and enjoyable to both students and teachers.
Did you like Renata’s virtual tour activity? If you’re interested in more speaking activities for the classroom, why not read our Activity for learning English through food article.