I teach at an elementary school in Gwangju (3rd, 4th and 5th grade). My students are at an extraordinarily high level (80% go to hagwons 3 times a week or more), so the textbook is too low for them, and the school asked me to ratchet up the rigor in my lesson plans.
Last year during a club class I realized how much students love would you rather exercises because most of their day is spent memorizing/ regurgitation information as opposed to being creative. Whether you classroom is high-level or not, I have implemented an activity called would you want?, in which every week I present students with 5 slides asking them if they would want one of two items, both of which are relevant to or included in the weekly vocabulary. The students have 1 minute to think and discuss with a friend, then I ask for volunteers or call numbers to see who will answer the question (I usually choose three students a slide). I always make sure to write the sentence frame I would want ______ because _____. So that students called on will have something to rely on/ something with which to practice their reading skills, and the 1 minute talk time holds students accountable without stressing them out.
Long story short- this activity gets students talking! Try it out if you have time in your classroom today!
