Parallelism lesson plan

Teacher’s notes: You can project these, or photocopy them - depending on your learning context/number of students

I used this lesson with an A2 writing class – it’s aimed at introducing students to the concept of using and recognising parallel structures. It could also work as a more general lesson as the topics within are broad. Any of the topics could be extended and this lesson could lead to lots of vocabulary work, so it depends on your time frame, goals and students responses as to how much you’ll get out of this.

Say these sentences with a partner:

1. To being or not be, that is the question. 2. To be, or not to be, that is the question.

Who said this? (Hamlet in the Shakespeare play of the same name) Which one sounds better? Why? (Hopefully the students will say number 2 – elicit why,

without telling them which one is correct)

Play the sound clip so they can check: Youtube: To be or not to be – Kenneth Branagh: 0:20-0:31

Say these sentences with a partner

1. I am having a dream….that one day we are going to work together, pray together, be struggling together, going to jail together, and furthermore to stand up for freedom together.

2. I have a dream...that one day we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together…

Who said this? (Martin Luther King, in 1963, in his famous speech in which he called for an end to racism in the USA)

What is he talking about? (His dream for a more equal future for black and white people1

Which one sounds better? Why? (Hopefully the students realise that 2 sounds better. This time elicit from them the main verbs in the sentence. Students can underline them if they have photocopies or you can highlight them on the projector.

Play the clip from Youtube: Martin Luther King, Jr. I have a dream speech: From 3:05 to 3:13

- At this point, you can provide a few examples on the board of correct or incorrect parallel structures. Provide some examples that aren’t all about verbs – some simple sentences that students will understand.

- Eg: I like swimming, basketball and to play tennis. Correct or not? How can we change it?- My little sister is noisy, naughty and she doesn’t do any work. Correct or not? How can we

change it?

Tell students they are going to listen to a clip from a film. Warn them that it has a few rude words. My students are all over 18 and have heard far worse but if you teach children or especially sensitive people, you may have to skip this part. My class liked it though, and it was motivating for them to be able to understand a real film in English. Warn them that the speaking is quite fast and it’s also set in Scotland

Tell them that they are going to hear lots of sentences with CHOOSE + noun. They will listen twice and try to write down as many as they can hear.

Write Choose on the board.

Play the clip: Choose Life – Trainspotting (1-12) Movie Clip (1996) 0:00 – 1:30 (End it after “I chose something else”)

Here’s the full script (minus choose):

- Life- A job- A career- A family- A f**ing big television- Washing machines, cars, compact disc players, and electrical tin openers. - Good health, low cholesterol and dental insurance.- Fixed-interest mortgage repayments- A starter home- Your friends- Leisure wear and matching luggage- A three piece suite on hire purchase in a range of f***ing fabrics.- DIY and wondering who the f** you are on a Sunday morning. - Sitting on that couch watching mind-numbing spirit-crushing game shows, stuffing junk food into your mouth. - Rotting away at the end of it all, pishing your last in a miserable home, nothing more than an embarrassment

to the selfish, fucked-up brats you have spawned to replace yourself. - your future. - life . . . - But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life: I chose something else.

The first time you play it, only play the audio so they listen carefully. The second time, play the video (it gives them some clues and sets the context).

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Your students will probably only get a few of them, but that’s fine. Ask if the character chose life. What did he choose? (heroin/drugs).

There’s no need to go deeply into the topic of drugs as it’s really not the point of this lesson, but again, it depends on your students and you.

At this point, your students should have some ideas about parallel structures. Here’s some choices as to what to do next:

- Give them some exercises in which they correct parallel structures. If you’re using SAS 2 (ITU teachers), there’s a page of practice on page ….

- Homework/ in class task using smart phones – look for some famous or inspirational quotes – give them this as an example:

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Students use the internet to find some more that they like (they should involve parallel structures), but their task is to rewrite them with some mistakes. These might be parallel structure mistakes, spelling or simple grammar. Then they swap papers and correct the quotes. You can also ask students to create some posters of their own to decorate the class, with either famous quotes they like or (even better) ones they have rewritten themselves.

- Use this website to do some online practice – you can either project it or if you have a computer lab, get students to work through the examples on their own. (Some of these were a bit challenging for my A2 students, but each question has an explanation) – www.chompchomp.com/structure01/structure01.htm

Extended activity

Topic: Rules for lifeStage 1: Write some pieces of advice on the board:

- Go to bed early and wake up early

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- Don’t regret anything- Only do things you love

Do students agree or disagree with this advice?

Is there someone in your family who gives good advice?

Is there someone you know who gives bad advice?

Discuss.

Stage 2: Tell students they’re going to watch a video with lots of advice – listen, make notes and try to remember some of the advice.

Play the video (audio only)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

(It’s more than 5 minutes long). Students listen and make notes.

Get feedback, write on board any advice they heard.

To groups of 3 or 4, hand out slips with the advice from the clip on – you’ll have to print and cut these up in advance. I chose only some of the easier ones – with higher level classes you could use more.

(these are in order so make sure you mix them up!)

Wear sunscreen.

Don’t worry about the future.

Do one thing every day that scares you

Sing.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults.

Keep your old love letters.

Throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it.

Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

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Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.

Travel.

Respect your elders.

Students read the slips, discuss the advice - help them with any new vocabulary (floss, bank statement, siblings, knees)

Give them this part to complete as well:

“Maybe you’ll ______, maybe you _____, maybe you’ll ____ children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll _______ at 40, maybe you’ll ______ the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary”

Play the clip again – students put the advice in order.

Check the order and then at this point you can further discuss the advice if your Ss wish.

Each student decides what the most important piece of advice is for them. Provide these prompts for speaking:

I think this piece of advice is the most important because ___________

In my opinion, this piece of advice is better than this one because ____________

Final activity: Tell students that this song/speech was made in 1999. How many years ago? (16 years)

In their groups, they are going to produce an updated version for the class of 2016. Think about things that are important for young people today. Show a few pictures to prompt them – twitter, facebook, iphones, current fashion, terrorism, protests, Kardashians, (anything that is relevant to your learning context and students).

Give each group a model. Some sentences can be short but others should be long. A balance. It’s not a race to finish as quickly as possible.

Groups work together to create an updated version. Once they’re finished, join up with another group and practice saying it to each other.

You can give them a homework assignment to either:

- Create a poster version of their advice, with illustrations,

OR

- As a group, record their advice (they can use a smartphone or pc) and email it to the teacher before the next lesson.

Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2016, I would like to give you some advice.

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Enjoy….You’re not….Don’t worry about ….Do…Don’t…Remember..Keep..Go..Get…Maybe…Understand that…Even though…Listen…Finally,

(Add in any specific connectors you’ve been working on and want the students to use)

Full script:

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99, If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience… I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.

But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked… You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing every day that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind… the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life… the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

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Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary… whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can… don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance.

Even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen…

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