This week’s activity is an information gap designed for pairs.  The activity involves giving directions, asking for clarification, practicing vocabulary, and drawing.   Students will draw their “dream home” and then describe the image to a partner who can’t see the picture.  The partners must listen to the description and ask follow-up questions as they try to reproduce a drawing of the other person’s dream home.  This activity can be considered an information gap because the student describing the image has the information the other student needs to successfully complete the task.
  

Level

Lower intermediate and above; see the Variations section for ideas that are appropriate for beginners and above

Language focus

Speaking functions:  giving instructions, asking for clarification, describing a picture or scene
Vocabulary:  exterior parts of a house and the surrounding area, shapes, sizes, colors
Grammar:  imperative statements, clarification questions, prepositions of location, comparative adjectives (e.g., “No, the front door is bigger than the one in your picture.”)

Goals

During this activity, students will:

• Review and practice prepositions of location and vocabulary related to the exterior parts of a house and the surrounding outdoor areas as they describe a dream house to a partner
• Ask for clarification about instructions they receive from their partner

Materials

• Teacher:
• Whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper posted on the wall
• Markers or chalk

• Students:
• Pencils and erasers, markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• Blank paper 

Procedures

1. Draw a big rectangle on the board to represent a sheet of paper.  Then use your “paper” to draw an exterior view of your dream home while you do a think aloud for the class:
• Tell students this picture represents your dream home, the house you would live in if you could live anywhere and you could spend as much money as you wanted. 
• Your dream home can have as many features as you want.  As you draw, name parts of the house or elicit the vocabulary items from the students (example: “I want lots of sunlight in my dream house…[draw four big windows]…hmm, can anyone tell me the vocabulary word for these [point at the windows]?”)
• Consider adding some outside features to your house, such as a driveway, a swimming pool, a sun in the sky, or trees, bushes, and flowers.
• Don’t worry:  you don’t have to be an amazing artist!  A simple line drawing is fine.
2. Once your picture is done, elicit additional vocabulary items related to parts of a house and the outdoor areas near a house.  List these items on the board.
3. Tell students they are each going to draw their own dream home and then describe it to a partner who won’t be able to see the picture.
4. Depending on your students’ level, at this point, you may want to use your sample drawing to review language functions needed to complete the task, such as:
• Locations on a piece of paper:  in the top center of the paper, on the bottom left side, in the corner, in the middle
• Prepositions of location:  above, next to, to the left of
• Giving directions with imperatives:  Draw a square.  Add a triangle on top for the roof.
• Comparisons:  The front door needs to be smaller.     
• Asking for clarification: Is this the right size/shape?  Like this?
5. Tell students to draw their dream house on a blank sheet of paper.  If desired, depending on the amount of time you are allocating for the task, students can add color to their pictures.  Tell students that they can make their houses as simple or as fancy as they want, but they will need to be able to explain the house’s parts and where they are located to a partner.
6. Circulate as students draw.  Answer questions about any house-related vocabulary while students work, or encourage them to use dictionaries to look up any unknown terms.
7. Put students in pairs.  Tell them not to show their original pictures to their partners.  Have students sit so the describing student can shield his/her paper from the drawing student’s view.  Describing students should be able to see the drawing students’ work; describing students will provide clarifications and answer questions about the new drawing while their partner works.
8. Tell the drawing students to draw what their partners describe in pencil.  They may need to make corrections as they receive/ask for clarification from their partner, so they should have an eraser.  After the describing partner thinks the new picture is fairly close to the original, he or she can give the drawing student information about adding color to the picture, if desired.
9. Circulate as student pairs work together.  Remind students not to show each other their original pictures, if needed, and offer support as required.
10. After each pair finishes, they should switch roles with the drawing student now describing his/her picture to the partner.
11. Once both students have had a chance to draw, ask the pairs to compare the new drawings to the original pictures and describe the similarities and differences they see. 
12. To close the activity, you can conduct a whole-class debrief to review any challenging vocabulary or language function items.  Ask a few pairs to share and describe their drawings.

Variations

Procedure Variations
For a faster version of the activity that doesn’t focus on asking for/giving clarification, have students sit back-to-back as they describe and draw.  The pictures will likely have many more differences with this approach, which can make students laugh as they compare the results!  The lack of similarity can provide a rich opportunity to practice comparative adjectives as students evaluate and describe how the pictures differ.

Content Variations
These procedures used a “dream house” theme, but teachers can adapt the activity to use other themes that suit their language and content objectives.  Here are few ideas for how to vary the focus of a picture dictation information gap.  Students will draw, describe, discuss, and recreate:

Drawing Content	Language Focus	Notes
Combinations of basic shapes (a red triangle next to a black circle with two different- sized colored squares inside, etc.)	Vocabulary: shape, colors, sizes, location words; prepositions of location (above, next to, on top of, inside)	Great for beginner-level students!  As an extension activity, students can switch partners after drawing, taking their pictures with them; then students can point to items and orally quiz their new partners about the vocabulary items they see, or the new partners can write 3-4 “There is… /There are…” sentences describing the drawing.
An imaginary alien, robot, or monster	Vocabulary: body parts, colors, sizes, appearance adjectives; prepositions of location	Encourages students to use their imagination as they draw and practice vocabulary items; students can develop a description of the alien/monster/robot and the things it can do/likes to do as part of a speaking or writing extension activity
An ideal vacation scene	Describing a scene (people, places, buildings, scenery)	Students get to personalize their scene; they can explain why this would be their favorite vacation spot or plan what they would pack for a vacation to this location as part of a speaking or writing extension activity
Their favorite location in their hometown	Describing a scene (people, places, buildings, scenery)	Students talk about a place that is personally meaningful while giving instructions and providing clarification; students can explain why this place is important to them in a speaking or writing extension activity
An animal in its habitat	Describing a scene (animals, plants, places); science vocabulary	A fun review activity for a science/biology lesson; animals can be assigned by the teacher or chosen by students – students must recall specific content details they learned about their animal when drawing the scene and giving instructions to their partner.  Students can use their dictation drawing to illustrate a short report they write about their animal after the activity.

Information Gap Tip of the Week – Extension Activities 

You don’t want information gap activities to be isolated items stuck in your lessons, right?  How can you connect these activities to other parts of your lesson?  Be sure to consider the importance of good sequencing and flow when planning your lessons by linking information gaps to previously taught content.  Information gaps can be a fun and motivating way to recycle and review this material. 

Also, look for ways to create logical extension activities that relate to the information gap activities.  Extension activities allow students opportunities to reengage with the language and content from a slightly different angle, perhaps in a way that requires more advanced or complex skills.  These follow-on extension activities may involve other language skills or interaction patterns (individual, group, or whole-class work) and can be assigned for in-class completion or homework.  See the Content Variation chart above for a few suggestions on how you can extend drawing dictation information gap activities. 

This activity describes how to adapt the Activate: Games for Learning American English board game called “Which One Would the World be Better Without? Why?” to create opportunities to use common irregular comparative and superlative adjective forms:  good -> better -> best and bad -> worse -> worst.

Level

Upper intermediate

Language focus

• Grammar:  irregular comparative and superlative adjectives
• Speaking:  comparing, contrasting and ranking; explaining an opinion

Goals

During this game variation, students will:

• Use irregular comparative and superlative adjectives (good -> better -> best; bad -> worse -> worst) while comparing, evaluating, and ranking three items.
• Use creative thinking, imagination, and personal preferences to create original oral responses during game play.
• Have fun!

Materials

• Teacher:
• Whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper posted on the wall
• Markers or chalk
• Clock or other timing device
• Overhead or digital projector (optional)
• Students:
• “Which One Would the World be Better Without? Why?” board game (.pdf), enough to have one board game per group of 3-5 students.
• Die or die alternatives (e.g., a pencil with numbers 1-6 written on each side, which can be “rolled” like a die); enough to have one die per group of 3-5 students.  Note: die is the singular form of dice – a good language point to cover with students!
• Game pieces to represent each player’s position on the game board.  You can use coins, buttons, balls of colored paper or clay, colored paper clips, plastic figurines, or unique stones.

Preparation

• Print out and copy the “Which One Would the World be Better Without? Why?” board game. You’ll need enough copies to have one board game per group of 3-5 students. 
• If you’d prefer, you can have students create copies of the board game on sturdy paper or pieces of cardboard with your guidance.  For this option you will need to supply to board-making materials and markers or colored pencils.

Procedures

1. Tell students they are going to play a board game that asks them to analyze three items and to rank the items according to how they affect society in positive or negative ways. 
2. If desired, quickly review the irregular comparative and superlative adjective forms of “good” and “bad.”  Elicit the forms from students and ask a couple of volunteers to give example sentences using these forms. 
3. Put students into groups of 3-5.  Ask student volunteers to pass out the board games, dice, and game markers to each group.
4. Demonstrate the game play process: 
• Draw or project a copy of the board game on the whiteboard, chalkboard, or wall.
• Explain that the goal is to be the first player to move from the “Start” space to the “Finish” space.  Tell students they will do this by taking turns rolling a die, moving along the path, and responding to the prompts in the associated squares. 
• If needed, show students how to roll the die and move a game piece according the number shown on the die. Tell students each player only gets to roll the die one time per turn.  Explain what happens when someone lands on a penalty square, such as “Bad luck! Go back 5 spaces!”
• Explain that when students land on a prompt square, they must examine the three options and decide if they are going to give a “good for society” response or a “bad for society” response.  Students should announce their choice to the other players and then rank the items as bad, worse, and the worst for today’s society or good, better, and the best for today’s society. They should be ready to explain each ranking.  Use the examples below to demonstrate that most items in the prompts can be described in a positive or negative light with some creative thinking:
• Prompt
  zoos, video games, prisons
• Sample responses
  (bad, worse, and the worst) I think video games are bad for society because they keep kids from playing outside.  Zoos are worse than video games because zoo animals don’t have much space to move around.  I think prisons are the worst for society because they are expensive and don’t reduce crime.
  (good, better, and the best)  Prisons are good for society.  They punish criminals.  Zoos are better than prisons because zoos help us learn about endangered animals.  In this group of items, video games are the best for society because they teach us to solve problems and work together.
  
• Explain that there is not one “correct” answer for each prompt; instead, the goal is to practice using English and be creative. 
5. While students are playing, circulate around the room and answer any questions the groups have. 
6. When the round of play is over, students can form new groups and play again, or you can move on to a whole-class feedback session:
• Ask students to share some of the most interesting or creative responses they heard while playing.
• Answer any student questions about the language heard during the game.
• Ask all game winners to raise their hands or stand up and receive a round of applause.

This activity asks students to analyze pictures of people from other cultures in different settings.  Students will work in groups to answer questions about the picture and then complete a short writing task based on their observations. 

Level

Lower Intermediate and above.

Language focus

• Grammar:  comparative adjectives
• Speaking/Writing:  describing a scene; comparing and contrasting details

Goals

During this activity, students will:

• Analyze and discuss a picture of people from another culture (national, regional, etc.)
• Write a paragraph containing at least three comparative adjectives describing some of the differences they observe between the picture and their local environment/culture

Materials

• Teacher:
• Whiteboard, chalkboard, or large pieces of paper posted on the wall
• Markers or chalk
• Students:
• Pencils or pens
• Blank writing paper
• Photos of people who live in other places doing a variety of activities, enough so that each group of 3-4 students can have one photo. The two sample photos in this activity come from Celebrate! Holidays in the U.S.A.

Preparation

• Collect a set of pictures showing people from other cultures.  You can use pictures from magazines, the internet, or other sources.  Write a short caption under each photograph.  Try to include diverse activities and locations in your photo collection (people in the city/country, people playing games, people celebrating holidays, people doing things during different seasons, etc.)  Be sure to collect enough pictures so that each group of 3-4 students will have one.

Sample Picture 1

An American family enjoying Thanksgiving dinner. (Celebrate! Holidays in the U.S.A., p. 45)

Sample Picture 2

An American family on a summertime picnic. (Celebrate! Holidays in the U.S.A., p. 81)

Procedures

1. Show students 2-3 pictures from your collection.  Ask student volunteers to briefly describe what they see happening each picture.
2. Put students into groups of 3-4.  Tell groups that they are going to compare what they see in the picture to what life is like where they live.  Ask one student from each group to choose a picture from the collection for their group.
3. Ask groups to look carefully at their photo and to discuss the answers to the following questions, which should be written on the board.  Students should make notes during the discussion.  Be sure to model an example with the class before groups begin their discussions, and remind students to read the photo caption (short description) first when the discussion starts.
• Where does the scene in the photo take place?
• What time of year do you think it is in the photo?  What time of day is it?
• What is the weather like in the picture? (if outside)
• Describe the people in the picture. 
• What do they look like?  What are they wearing?
• What are they doing?   Why?
• Describe other things, shapes, or symbols you see in the picture.            
4. Next, ask groups to brainstorm as many differences as possible between what they the see in the picture and what they usually see or experience where they live. 
5. Tell groups they must write 3 sentences that use comparative adjectives to describe some of the differences they found.  Review how to use comparative adjectives to make this type of sentence by giving a few examples:



(Using Sample Picture 2)

Difference seen in the picture	Warm weather	Friendly dog	Food does not look good
Sentence with a comparative adjective	The weather in the picture looks warmer than weather where we live.	The dog with the family looks friendlier than dogs in our neighborhood.	The food in our country is more delicious than the picnic food in the picture.

6. Finally, ask groups to use their notes from their initial conversation about the picture and their comparison sentences to create a complete paragraph that describes their picture.  The paragraph should contain about 7 sentences and use the following structure.  Write this paragraph framework on the board, and then show students an example paragraph.

Paragraph Framework
Sentence 1:  describe the picture in general 
Sentences 2-3:  describe details in the picture (the people, the scene)
Sentence 4:  There are some differences between what we see in the photograph and life in our area. 
Sentences 5-7:  describe three differences (use the comparative adjective sentences)


Example paragraph:
Our picture shows an American family eating a picnic in the summer.  There are two parents, three children, and a dog at the picnic.  They are eating next to a big river and lots of mountains. There are some differences between what we see in the photograph and life in our area.  The weather in the picture looks warmer than weather where we live.  The dog with the family looks friendlier than dogs in our neighborhood.  Also, we think the food in our country is more delicious than the picnic food in the picture.


7. While groups work on their paragraphs, circulate around the room and answer any questions they have. 
8. When groups are finished, have them share their work in one of two ways:
• Assign each group a partner group.  Ask the groups to show each other their pictures and read their paragraphs to each other.  
• Ask groups to post their pictures and paragraphs around the room.  Give everyone 5-7 minutes to get up and review the other groups’ work.  When time is up, ask a few students to share which picture/paragraph packages they liked best and why.
9. Ask groups to turn in their paragraphs before the end of class.  Provide individualized written feedback to each group, and review any common errors with comparative adjective use you observed with the whole class during the next class meeting. 

While it is natural to incorporate pronunciation activities into oral skills classes, many opportunities exist in reading, writing and grammar courses to introduce and reinforce pronunciation concepts as well.  In this webinar, the presenter will introduce content-based pronunciation activities that could be used in a reading, writing or grammar course.  She will give ideas about how these activities could be integrated to help students develop more clear and accurate pronunciation.