I’ve always been fascinated by the way that story can foster community. And in that respect, no one has taught me more than Nick Bilbrough and the volunteers at the Hands Up Project. Note: The first part of this blog was originally sent out as a LessonStream Post on Wednesday 4th October, 2023. Palestine, 2012 …
Silent viewing is a standard way to use video in the classroom. The idea is simple: the teacher plays the video with the sound down and students have to guess what the characters are talking about, what they are saying, etc. However, as we will see in this post, there is an alternative approach that …
“If I’m going to be completely honest, I probably drink a bit too much. I don’t drink every day – not quite. And I hardly ever get drunk – I’m not a teenager, after all! But I generally exceed the healthy limit and it can affect my mood and my energy levels. I worry that I might …
In this post, I share some thoughts about Dogme ELT and teacher-led storytelling. Reconnecting with an old friend Recently, I have been reestablishing a relationship with an old friend. It’s a relationship that you may have been in yourself. I am talking about Dogme ELT. There was a time – not so long ago – when Dogme ELT …
The idea behind story dice is simple: students throw the dice and take inspiration from the icons to create a story. One of the great things about story dice is that they require minimal teacher input. But minimal input does not mean zero input. Without any instruction or guidance, the resulting stories can seem contrived …
Are you the sort of teacher who likes to tell stories in the classroom? This is the fascinating story of Alexander Overwijk – a mathematics teachers from Ottawa. For almost ten years, “Mr O” told his students that he was the world freehand circle drawing champion. But then, in 2007, things almost got out of …
Free for LessonStream members! Story and language are inseparable. And in language teaching, story is always there. It’s in the materials – images, adverts, art, short films, viral videos and more. It’s in the language that we teach. Most importantly, it’s in the people – it’s in your students and it’s in you, the teacher. The LessonStream Story Course is for all …
I tend to judge course books on the stories that they offer. But even when they contain good stories, the course book format doesn’t lend itself well to their telling. Mrs Taylor – a schoolteacher On the 24th October, 1901, a schoolteacher called Mrs Taylor got into a rowing boat with two companions. They left …
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