I’m including this as a What to Do After A Vacation possibility because it is so simple to set up when everyone in the building (including us) is still groggy from vacation:
I ask the class what I they would do in a certain situation:
….it was 10:00 p.m. A woman was looking for you. Why? What did you do?…
I can think of one of those on the spot because it’s a formula:
- It was (ask them the time and refuse all answers until it is the time you want it to be).
- Some uncomfortable situation existed.
- Ask them why the situation existed.
- Ask them what they how they reacted.
I find this better than just asking the students what time it is at the beginning of class when it’s always the same time every day. And this is a great way to teach object pronouns. Actually for object pronouns it is the best way, because the shortness of the text allows their constant use, over and over. (Was the woman looking for you or me? Was she looking for her (point to a girl)? Was she looking for us? etc.)
Reaction scripts can easily provide your students with a week’s worth of input. You can write what you come up with them while you talk as the text is formed before their eyes on the screen, which is a great way to teach writing.
Then you can ask more questions and write the new details into the projected story. You can paste the story right into Textivate and get another day’s worth of class right there. You can ask for retells, which the kids are more successful with because the story is so short. You can always give a quiz at any time on it.
Lots of possibilities are there with reaction scripts.
