Finding a job begins with submitting a resume to an employer. A resume is similar to a curriculum vitae (CV), but is typically shorter than a CV. A resume lists a person’s skills and experiences and is a required document when applying to jobs. In the United States, a resume is typically accompanied by a cover letter. A cover letter is a one-page letter to an employer that explains, in paragraph form, why a person is the best person for a job. In this week’s Teacher’s Corner, students will practice proofreading and editing a resume and cover letter before writing one of their own.

LEVEL

High-Intermediate to Advanced

LANGUAGE FOCUS

Reading, speaking (primary focus); writing (secondary focus)

GOALS

During this activity students will:

• practice editing in writing
• create a resume and cover letter
   

MATERIALS

• Teacher: whiteboard/chalkboard, markers or chalk, computer and printer

• Students: pencils or pens, notebooks, or writing paper

PREPARATION

1. Read through all the materials carefully.
2. Print out the Resume in Appendix 1. Make one copy of the Resume for each pair/small group.
3. Print out the Cover Letter in Appendix 2. Make one copy of the Cover Letter for each student.
    

ACTIVITY PART ONE: GROUP EDITING

This activity begins with a group editing activity. The idea in group editing is to have several students work together to correct errors in writing. By working together, students work more slowly, which allows them to find a few more errors. They can then discuss the errors with their partner or partners.

   1. Begin the class activity by writing the following sentences on the board:

          a.  Studying English is a big thing in my life.
          b.  I have a lot of sports that I like to play.
          c.  In my spare time, I like to make artwork.

   2. Have the students form pairs or small groups. In their pairs/small groups, have the students discuss the sentences on the board. Ask them to make corrections to the sentences so the sentences are stronger or clearer. Give the students 5-6 minutes to make the corrections.

   3. Once time for the activity has been completed, have the pairs/small groups share their corrections with the class. While the pairs/small groups may have varying answers, they all should in some way address the following issues:

This week’s Teacher’s Corner provides students with the opportunity to practice speaking and presentation skills through a tour guide activity.

Intermediate to Advanced

Reading, speaking (primary focus); listening (secondary focus).

During this activity students will:

• Practice reading, speaking, and listening skills through a fill-in-the-blank activity
• Develop presentation and speaking skills by conducting a tour

• Teacher: whiteboard/chalkboard, markers or chalk, a timing device, large sheets of paper (optional), computer and projector
• Students: pencils or pens, notebooks or writing paper, computer with Internet access for homework

1. Read through all the materials carefully.
2. Print out copies of the Empire State Building Reading A in Appendix 1 and the Empire State Building Reading B in Appendix 2.
   • Print enough copies of Appendix 1 for half the class and enough copies of Appendix 2 for the other half of the class.
3. Read the Empire State Building Reading Answer Key in Appendix 3.
4. This activity has a homework assignment and an in-class presentation. For more advanced classes, or if your classroom has computers with Internet, this activity could be completed during a single class period. Choose the approach that works best for your teaching and learning context.
5. An option for this activity is to have the students work locally, within your community. If possible, have the students pick historical locations or places of interest in your city or neighborhood. Then, when students conduct their tour, visit that location as a class.

1.     Begin the class by having the students form pairs.

2.     In each pair, give one student the Empire State Building Reading A and one student a copy of the Empire State Building Reading B.

3.     Instruct the students to read through the story on their own for 2-3 minutes.

4.     After the students have had a chance to read the story, have the pairs work together to fill in the blanks in the story.

• Student A can ask questions to Student B to fill in the blanks in their story. Student B can ask Student A questions to fill in the blanks in their story.

5.     After the pairs have filled in the blanks, review the answers as a class. Ask the students what they learned about the Empire State Building.

6.     Next, on the board draw the following table:

7.     Ask the students to read the story again, this time paying attention to the structure of the story. In this part of the activity, students will engage in active reading. In active reading, students work to understand the purpose of an article and how the story is structured.

• Instruct the students to underline the sentences in the story that discuss the Empire State Building’s history.
• Then, instruct the students to draw a square around the section of the story that describes what currently happens at the Empire State Building during the present day.
• Finally, have the students draw a circle around the part of the story that provides an interesting story about the Empire State Building.

8.     As a class, review the answers to the active reading activity by filling in the chart that you wrote on the board.

Optional Activity Extension:

If time permits, have the students read the Empire State Building reading out loud in pairs. Encourage them to practice reading rate (speed), stress, and intonation. These speaking skills are critical for a professional tour guide.

1. Begin this part of the activity by asking the students if they can think of other famous buildings like the Empire State Building. Have the students share their answers with the class.
2. Next, tell the students their homework assignment is to find a building, historical location, or famous place and create a tour of that place.
   For the assignment students should:
   1. • Find 2-3 pictures of the building, historical location, or famous place.
      • Provide a brief history of the site.
      • Describe the present day use of the site.
      • Research an interesting story of the site.
      • Finally, put all of the information and pictures together into a computer-based presentation. If a computer is not available in the classroom, have the students put everything together on a poster.
3. Have the students research their building, historical location, or famous place as a homework assignment. Depending on the students’ level and ability, allow them up to several days to do the research.

1. After students have conducted their research, have them share their presentations with the rest of the class. This section of the activity can be done several ways:
   • Have 4-5 students come to the front of the class, and have each student announce the location they researched. Then have the rest of the class form groups around the 4-5 presenters. Students should listen to the presentation on the location they find most interesting.
   • Each student can come to the front of the class, one at a time, and present on the information they learned.
   • Divide the class in half. Half of the students will present their information a while the second half of the class moves around the room to listen to their presentations. Then, students switch roles and do the activity again.
2. Remind and encourage students to make their presentations interesting. Have them do more than present: take the class on a tour of their location. Being a tour guide can be a great career, but being a good tour guide involves more than sharing information. Tour guides need to be engaging and speak clearly with stress and intonation!

Optional Activity Approach:

If computers are available in the classroom, students can use Internet-based map tools such as Google Maps, Bing Maps, or Open Street Maps to show their building, historical location, or famous place.

For more on New York City, check out the New York, New York and Exploring New York City lesson plan.

For more on using active reading in the classroom, check out the February 2017 Teacher’s Corner and Encouraging Critical Reading in the EFL Classroom.

Appendix 1: Empire State Building Reading A

picture1.png

The ____________________ is one of the symbols of New York. The name comes from the nickname of the State of New York. Until 1954, the Empire State Building was ____________________, and it is currently the third tallest in New York City. Strangely, it was built during the Great Depression when such a large project should have been unthinkable. After it opened in 1931, it sat mostly empty for years; some people jokingly called it the “_________________.” Now it houses numerous offices, shops, and restaurants and is one of the most visited sites in the city because of the stunning views from the observation deck on the ____________________ floor.

There is an interesting story in the race for the tallest building in the world. At the time the Empire State Building was being built, the Chrysler Building was under construction ten blocks away. The architects of the Chrysler Building had a secret, though. Hidden from view inside the building, they were constructing a spire to top the building. At the end of construction, the 125-foot spire was raised into place, taking the title of tallest building in the world from the Bank of Manhattan Building by just 60 feet. The honor wouldn’t last, though. The Empire State Building would open less than a year later, and it exceeded the Chrysler Building in height by more than 200 feet.

* Reading adapted from New York, New York by Thomas W. Santos

Appendix 2: Empire State Building Reading B

picture1.png

The Empire State Building is one of the symbols of New York. The name comes from the nickname of the State of New York. Until 1954, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world, and it is currently the third tallest in New York City. Strangely, it was built during the Great Depression when such a large project should have been unthinkable. After it opened in 1931, it sat mostly empty for years; some people jokingly called it the “Empty State Building.” Now it houses numerous offices, shops, and restaurants and is one of the most visited sites in the city because of the stunning views from the observation deck on the 102nd floor. There is an interesting story in the race for the tallest building in the world. At the time the Empire State Building was being built, the ____________________ was under construction ten blocks away. The architects of the Chrysler Building had a secret, though. Hidden from view inside the building, they were constructing a spire to top the building. At the end of construction, the ____________________ spire was raised into place, taking the title of tallest building in the world from the _____________________ Building by just 60 feet. The honor wouldn’t last, though. The Empire State Building would open less than a year later, and it exceeded the Chrysler Building in height by more than ___________________ feet.

* Reading adapted from New York, New York by Thomas W. Santos

Appendix 3: Empire State Building Answer Key

picture1.png

The Empire State Building is one of the symbols of New York. The name comes from the nickname of the State of New York. Until 1954, the Empire State Building was the tallest building in the world, and it is currently the third tallest in New York City. Strangely, it was built during the Great Depression when such a large project should have been unthinkable. After it opened in 1931, it sat mostly empty for years; some people jokingly called it the “Empty State Building.” Now it houses numerous offices, shops, and restaurants and is one of the most visited sites in the city because of the stunning views from the observation deck on the 102nd floor. There is an interesting story in the race for the tallest building in the world. At the time the Empire State Building was being built, the Chrysler Building was under construction ten blocks away. The architects of the Chrysler Building had a secret, though. Hidden from view inside the building, they were constructing a spire to top the building. At the end of construction, the 125-foot spire was raised into place, taking the title of tallest building in the world from the Bank of Manhattan Building by just 60 feet. The honor wouldn’t last, though. The Empire State Building would open less than a year later, and it exceeded the Chrysler Building in height by more than 200 feet.

* Reading adapted from New York, New York by Thomas W. Santos

Language Focus
Speaking, reading (primary focus); writing (secondary focus)

Goals
During this activity students will:

• study a grammar rule
• practice presentation skills
• experience teaching an English class

Materials

• Teacher: whiteboard/chalkboard, markers or chalk, a timing device, computer and printer, computer and projector (optional)
• Students: pencils or pens, notebooks or writing paper

Preparation

1. Read all of the materials carefully before starting the activity.
2. This activity can be used as a review assignment to practice grammar rules or forms previously studied. It can also be used to teach new grammar rules or forms. Decide which is best depending on the needs of your teaching and learning context.
3. If a computer and projector are available in the classroom, students can make a computer-based presentation to teach their grammar rule. If the classroom doesn’t have a computer and projector, students can present using a paper-based poster or the chalkboard.
4. Before the activity cut up a sheet of paper into strips. On each of these strips, or grammar cards, write a grammar rule or form. For more advanced classes, write two or more related grammar rules or forms, such as “simple past tense vs. past continuous,” on each strip. Make enough strips of paper so that each pair/small group of students can have one strip of paper.
5. For each pair/small group, print out enough copies of the Grammar Presentation Instructions in Appendix 1. The instructions do not list a time limit. Before giving students this assignment, decide how long each pair/small group will have to deliver their presentation.
6. This assignment requires students to research grammar. If computers and Internet are not available to students, be sure to use grammar that can be found in class textbooks or other resources in your teaching context.

Activity Part One: Homework assignment

This part of the activity is assigning pairs/small groups of students grammar that they will research for homework and later present to the class. Part One is short and can be completed within the last 10 minutes of a class.

1. Begin the activity by having students form pairs or small groups - around 2-3 students each.
2. Put the grammar cards in a box or small container and mix them up.
3. Walk around the room to each pair or small group and have a student reach into the container and select a grammar card.
4. Once all of the pairs/small groups have a grammar card, give them 2-3 minutes to see what grammar rules or forms the other teams received. During this time the pairs/small groups can try and trade their grammar cards with each other. This is a good chance for the students to have some additional speaking practice.
5. Once the time is up have the pairs/small groups return to their seats with their grammar cards.
6. Instruct the students that as homework they will need to study this grammar rule or form and create a presentation where they will teach the rule or form to the class. Give each pair/small group a copy of the presentation instructions in Appendix 1. 

Activity Part two: Grammar presentations

1. Before the presentation day, cut a sheet of paper into slips. On each slip write a number. There should be one slip of paper for each pair/small group of students. The pairs/small groups will draw numbers to decide in which order they will present.
   Note: The order of presentations could also be decided based on volunteering. Another option is to order the presentations based on the grammar topic. For example a team with the present continuous presents before a team with the past continuous.
2. Remind the pairs/small groups that this is their opportunity to teach. They should not just deliver the information, but check for understanding from the rest of class, ask questions to the class, and be engaging.
   Note: Don’t be surprised if the pairs/small groups use many of the same approaches as you do. Our students learn much about teaching by the way we teach them, and it can make these presentations fun to watch as a teacher!

Appendix 1: Grammar Presentation Instructions

It is your turn to be a teacher! In your groups, you need to teach one grammar topic that we’ve covered so far in our class. You will have to teach it to the whole class. You will get a grade for this project. 

Make a computer-based presentation or a paper-based poster presentation. Here is what to include in the presentation:

1. Explain the grammar rules or forms (affirmative sentences, negative sentences, yes/no and wh-questions, meaning and use).
   a. Give your own examples sentences.
   b. Give the most common mistakes students make using this grammar.
   c. Make a short practice exercise for everybody to review your grammar topic.
2. Every member of the group should be responsible for 1 part of the presentation. It means that EVERY GROUP MEMBER has to speak during the presentation.
3. You MUST NOT use any examples and charts from class textbooks. You can use them to help you get ready for the presentation, but you need to create (make) all examples and a practice exercise BY YOURSELF.
4. You will receive ONE grade per group. If some people work hard in the group, but others do not, the whole group will get a lower grade. So you have to make sure to help each other, and to prepare and practice together for this presentation.