Explaining third conditional with creativity

[medithi]

Getting my ideal job depends on a twenty-minute demo class on the third conditional. They don´t want me to explain any grammar and I need creative ideas to present it.

Thanks in advance.

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by medithi

Getting my ideal job depends on a twenty-minute demo class on the third conditional. They don´t want me to explain any grammar and I need creative ideas to present it.

Thanks in advance.

Any structure that can be illustrated with real life is not that difficult to understand or explain, Medithi.

Here are some ways that you can practice this structure. Start out with simple actions: stand up, turn around, sit down, spin around, touch your nose, scratch your left ear, slap your right knee, etc. Make sure everyone understands the actions and gets a chance to practice them, even by themselves for a few minutes.

I slapped my left knee. I touched my right elbow. I stood up. I turned around. etc etc etc. The have one student do one action. The students, in pairs, one the questioner, one the respondent, do pair work [after the necessary teacher modelling]

A: If I had done that, what would I have done?

B: If you had done that, you would have sat down.

The a new student does anothewr action and this continues.

NEXT PART

Get a bunch of colored magnets or cut up some colored paper into small squares.

Each student and the teacher secretly takes one piece/one magnet and looks at it. It's best if you have a different color for each person,

Students ask each other AFTER appropriate modelling by the teacher,

If I had taken that one, [pointing to another person's closed hand] what color would I have taken?

Practice for fluency, then return the colors to a bag/box and do it again.

Change the action; have the students close their eyes and grab one colored item from the table. This time everyone else sees the color but you. This leads to,

If you had grabbed this one, [showing it to another person but not seeing it yourself] what color would you have taken?

Next: Students take one colored item and put it somewhere: under a desk; in a pencil case; inside a textbook/notebook; in their pocket; etc. All this is done secretly. This leads to,

If I had hidden your colored {____}, where would I have put it?

Think of new type of actions or change the material used; instead of magnets, use items from a pencil case, ie. eraser, ruler, pencil, stapler, etc.

Depending on the level of the students, you could even change to the passive by having one student give one item to each student and the teacher. The teacher should stay involved so that he/she can model.

If I had been given what you have, what would I have been given?

Of course, these could be mixed conditionals,

If I had been given what you have, what would I now have?

If you had grabbed this one, [showing it to another person but not seeing it yourself] what color would you now have?

But the best thing a teacher can do is keep it simple until they're sure that the students are comfortable with the structure before branching out to new material. If you do branch out and the students struggle, then just pull back to the easier stuff.

Good luck!!!

[medithi]

I think your idea is really good!!!! Thank you very much... I owe you.

[Casiopea]

I like it as well, riverkid. It'll be in my classrooms this year. Thanx

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by Casiopea

I like it as well, riverkid. It'll be in my classrooms this year. Thanx

Originally Posted by medithi

I think your idea is really good!!!! Thank you very much... I owe you.

Thank you both.

Remember that this isn't my idea, Medithi. It's what every parent does with their child/children. Contextually rich language doesn't require translations. Sure students forget; they can't obviously remember multiple new verbs, eg. spin around, slap my {___}, etc. but they can do what every child does; "Mom, how do you say this action again?"; "Dad, tell me how to say this"? [does action].

These are also invaluable to communication collocations.