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Texas Adult Education Standards and Benchmarks
for ABE ASE and ESL Learners

esl LESSON PLANS

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Texas Adult Education Standards
Lesson Plan

Before you begin

Title: Secret Game

Setting: ESL

NRS Level(s):

Level 3: High Beginning
Level 4: Low Intermediate
Level 5: High Intermediate

Open entry/exit: Yes

Context: Academic

Standard(s): Listen Actively

Benchmark(s): 1.4, 2.4, 3.3, 4.4, 5.4, 2.5

Objective: To integrate listening, speaking, understanding, and communicating information that is conveyed.

Materials: Chalkboard and chalk

Estimated time needed to prepare for this lesson plan: 30 minutes

Estimated time needed to complete this lesson plan: 2 hours

The Lesson Plan

Introduce the lesson:
Review the topic of object pronouns/possessive pronouns. Introduce vocabulary words such as medicine, sickness, etc. Review vocabulary words and identify cognates. Vocabulary words should be reviewed orally as students use these words in sentences when called upon.

Teach the lesson:
Explain to students the necessity of communicating correctly certain information such as health related information. To demonstrate how information is easily mis-communicated, the class will play the Secret Game. Begin by asking the following questions:

• What is a secret?
• How do you whisper?
• Have you ever played the secret game?

Explain to the class that it is interesting how a secret will change a little each time it is repeated.

Practice the lesson:
For this activity, students will be seated in rows of 3. First the teacher whispers a secret to Student 1. (Secret is repeated as necessary. Show the written secret to the student if student doesn’t understand when whispered orally). Student 1 whispers the secret to Student 2. Student 2 whispers the secret to Student 3. Student 3 writes secret on the board.

Teacher writes original secret under Student 3’s written message. The class will evaluate miscommunication between students.

Replay the game using the following “secrets.” These “secrets” are related to previous grammar and vocabulary lessons (object pronouns, possessive pronouns and medical related terms):

• I gave the aspirin to her.
• My doctor wrote a prescription for me.
• The medicine is ours.
• I took her to the emergency room.
• Did he give you a flu shot?

As the game is replayed, students should change positions. Each student should have an opportunity to reveal the “secret.”

Assess the lesson:
Students become more proficient each time the game is played. As students become more acquainted, they learn to mentor each other as secrets are communicated. As students write the “secret” on the board, the entire class should work together to help develop a clear sentence.

Apply the lesson to the real world:
As students see the results of miscommunication, they should be able to associate the importance of speaking clearly and asking for clarification.

Submitted by: Marilyn Querejazu

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