Need Lesson Topic Advice

[summerthyme]

Hello all!

I am a brand new teacher at a middle school in the Chilgok, SK area.  My students are all a little low for their level, but not incompetent.  My coteachers all leave me to come up with and design every conversation lesson plan. 

I am starting second lessons next week.  This week I just did my basic introduction lesson.  Right now I am trying to plan, but I don't really know what to teach.  Does anyone have any advice for coming up with just an idea?  My coteachers want me to emphasize speaking abilities and do NOT want me teaching out of the book (effectively destroying my Advice lesson plan).

Any input from you veteran teachers would be greatly appreciated!

[sheedi]

Teach your advice lesson plan. Come up with different scenarios such as this is Billy. He is fat. What should he do and the kids will write and speak the answers out that's a conversation . Role play, choose any of these topics on the site. She probaly just doesn't want you to teach from the book. My teacher is the same so I teach whatever. Sometimes it goes with the book, sometimes it doesn't. Someone has a giving advice lesson on here. Just ask the kids what should he or she do and that way they are speaking and therefore conversating.

[krb974]

I would ask to see the textbook the students are using.  Find out what chapter they are on, and find a theme in that chapter to teach.  Example: the Weather, Celebrities, Traveling, etc...

Have loads of games focused on the theme and have a good time doing it.  I teach High School, and that's my method for coming up with lessons.

[summerthyme]

I would ask to see the textbook the students are using.  Find out what chapter they are on, and find a theme in that chapter to teach.  Example: the Weather, Celebrities, Traveling, etc...

That's along the line of what I've been trying to do.  However, the "themes" in this chapter are Advice and Magic. 

I've updated the Advice lesson I made to also focus on pronunciation and intonation, so hopefully that will appease her...

[duchessrachel]

I teach at a middle school in Anyang. I made this lesson in the spring and it worked great.

This lesson reviews how to give and ask for advice. Key phrases include:

You look upset. What's wrong?
What should I do?
Why don't you......
You should/shouldn't....
You'd better/better not.....

The phrases are introduced after the students watch a short Mr. Bean episode "Mr. Bean Wakes Up." My middle school students found this to be hilarious, but even us adults might get a mild chuckle out of Mr. Bean's antics. I asked my students before they watched "What is Mr. Bean's problem?" and "What advice could we give to Mr. Bean?"

You can add a game at the end to get them to speak more, since your co-teachers want that:
Divide the class into 4 teams, give each team a piece of paper to write down 5 problems. Each team takes it in turns to read out one problem to the class. The first student to raise their hand and give suitable advice correctly wins a point for their team. Then the next team reads out a problem and so on .