Freshman Oral English

Unit 1: Socializing on Campus

Class CEFR Level: A2-B1
Week 10, Lesson 1
Fall Semester 2015
Instructor: Sulamith M. Hfer

Home Sweet Home

Icebreaker: In My Home (10 min.)

Materials

Welcome students. Introduce the lessons topic and ILOs. Explain the icebreaker.
P. 53 Use the furniture vocabulary to check with your classmates. Who has any
of the furniture listed in his/her home? Try to find a different student for each
item listed.

Preparations
Before Class write on the board:

Option:
You might want to reduce the number of furniture your students should look for.
Either create a new list for your ppt (pick the ones most familiar), or have
students choose 10 from among all the choices.

ILOs

Homework

Goals

Lower Level Alternative

Lower level students pick a few of the easiest furniture (which they should
already know, e.g. table, desk, bed, picture, lamp, bath, bed, make a list on
your ppt).

Students will be able to use

comparisons and superlatives.

Intended Learning
Outcomes (ILOs)

Review & Check-Up (5 min.)

Homework: Traffic in your partners hometown

Idiom: Off the beaten track
Pronunciation: Word Stress in Multi-Syllabic Words
Functions/Grammar: Countable & Uncountable Nouns

TSWBAT

Assessment #1 (5 min.)

Students continue to present their self-introductions.

Pronunciation: Stress in Phrases (20 min.)

Review some of the basic rules of word stress covered in class last week.
Introduce the concept of Stress in Phrases.
Display the following sentences, read them and tell your students to listen to the
timing!.
1.
2.
3.

PPT

explain which words in a

phrase/sentence will be
stressed, which will be
unstressed.
apply the rules of Stress in
Phrases as they correctly
pronounce sentences.
use prepositions of place to
talk about home furnishing and
to describe rooms.

Joe likes jokes. (3 syllables, 3 stress points)!

KATHy ISn't HUNgry. (6 syllables, 3 stress points)!
aMANda DOEsn't like ELephants. (9 syllables, 3 stress points)

Explain that each of the previous sentences takes about the same time. That is
because the timing of phrases is determined by the number of stressed points, not
the number of syllables.
Tell students to practice these sentences with their partners and pay attention to

Home Sweet Home

the timing.
Demonstrate with two more examples:

The
The
The
The

Clap
Students
students
students
students
students

The
The
The
The

Clap
Police
police
police
police
police

Pronunciation

are
have been
have been

Clap
study
study
studying
studying
studying

are
have been
have been

Clap
direct
direct
directing
directing
directing

really

at

Clap
hard.
hard.
hard.
hard.
hard.

Stress in Phrases

Clap
traffic.
the traffic.
the traffic.
the traffic.!
the traffic light.

Ask your students to look at the sentences and see, if they can see a pattern that
would help them come up with a rule that explains which words are stressed in
phrases.

If a stressed word has more than

one syllable, only one syllable is
stressed.

The words that are stressed are

words that are important for the
meaning of the sentence
usually words such as nouns,
verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and
wh-words.

Structure (function) words such

as a, the, and, but, to, of, it, and
you are usually unstressed. They
sound quieter and quicker.

Stress in words does not usually

change. But sentence stress can
change with the speakers meaning.

Rule:
Stress falls on the stressed syllables in content words (nouns, adjectives, verbs).
Function words are usually unstressed.
Go over the following sentences to demonstrate the rule:
I live in a dorm.
This is my first apartment.
This weekend I will visit my family.
Practice 1:
Provide a number of sentences and have students work with their partner to
determine the stress in each of the sentences.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

How was your weekend?

!Im studying for an important exam.!
I really like to eat spicy food.!
How about we meet at the Castle at noon?
!What are your plans for the winter vacation?
!I like to watch NBA games on the Internet.
!What do you like to do in your free time?!
My favorite sport is ______________.!
Im a freshman and my major is _____________.

Practice 2: Stress It Right

P. 46
Have students work with a partner to work on the sentences on p. 46. You need to
point out that each sentence contains more than one content word. So, they
should determine the content words first, then practice the correct stress.
In the end, have some students read their sentences.
If time is left, have students work on the following announcements:
1. The university just announced a new policy that fireworks are no longer
allowed on campus.
2. Make sure to arrive fifteen minutes early to the exam and bring your pen and
student ID card.

Home Sweet Home

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Be careful not to lose your student ID card. It costs 50 RMB to replace a lost
or stolen card.
The Candlelight Ceremony will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in the basketball
stadium.
Next Mondays classes will be held on this Sunday and next Tuesdays
classes are cancelled.
Peoples Road will be closed to traffic from 8 a.m. to noon on Saturday,
December 26th.
Students interested in studying abroad are invited to a meeting Friday at 8
p.m. in room 305.
The weather will be cold and rainy this weekend. Be sure to dress warmly
and bring an umbrella.

Break

Function/Grammar

Grammar Mini Lesson: Prepositions (10 min.)

Preposition
in

at

on

by, next to,

beside
under
below
over

above
across
through

Usage
room, building, street, town,
country
book, paper etc.
car, taxi
picture, world
meaning next to, by an object
for table
for events
place where you are to do
something typical (watch a
film, study, work)
attached
for a place with a river
being on a surface
for a certain side (left, right)
for a floor in a house
for public transport
for television, radio
left or right of somebody or
something
on the ground, lower than
(or covered by) something
else
lower than something else
but above ground
covered by something else
meaning more than
getting to the other side (also
across)
overcoming an obstacle
higher than something else,
but not directly over it
getting to the other side (also
over)
getting to the other side
something with limits on top,

Example
in the book
in the kitchen, in London
in the car, in a taxi
in the picture, in the world
at the door, at the station
at the table
at a concert, at the party
at the movie theater, at school,
at work

Prepositions don't stand alone. They

work in groups of words that we call
prepositional phrases. A
prepositional phrase begins with a
preposition and ends in a noun. That
noun is called the object of the
preposition.

the picture on the wall

London lies on the Thames.
on the table
on the left
on the first floor
on the bus, on a plane
on TV, on the radio
Jane is standing by / next to /
beside the car.
the bag is under the table

Review

Word stress in phrases

Prepositions

the fish are below the surface

Preview

put a jacket over your shirt

over 16 years of age
walk over the bridge
climb over the wall

Last assessment of the semester.

Skit that will be prepared and
presented in class. Be familiar with
all functions since midterm.

a path above the lake

walk across the bridge
swim across the lake

drive through the tunnel

Home Sweet Home

Prepositions
a) There are approximately 80 to
100 prepositions in the English
language.
b) Prepositions are words that
introduce information to the
reader. This information can
include where something takes
place (such as 'at' the store),
when or why something takes
place (such as 'before' dinner), or
general descriptive information
(such as the girl 'with' the cool
tattoo).

Introduce the grammar point of prepositions and explain the concept (see
Function/Grammer on right).
The textbook focuses on a few prepositions of place, so work on those with
the students.
Provide a number of examples (you may choose a couple from the options
below, or use the examples from the textbook).

to

into
towards
onto
from

bottom and the sides

movement to person or
building
movement to a place or
country
for bed
enter a room / a building
movement in the direction of
something (but not directly
to it)
movement to the top of
something
in the sense of where from

Homework

go to the cinema
go to London / Ireland
go to bed

Interview your partner and find out

what his/her room at home looks
like. Use at least 4-5 different
prepositions. Write in complete
sentences.

go into the kitchen / the house

go 5 steps towards the house
jump onto the table
a flower from the garden

Partner Activity: Prepositions (10 min)

Practice 1:
Have students work with a partner to complete the sentences on top of p. 54.
Practice 2:
Have students work with their partners to complete the sentences at the bottom
of p. 54.
Practice 3:
If more time is left, provide a picture (handout or slide) and have students use
prepositions to describe the picture.

Group Activity: The Best Dorm Ever (25 min.)

Put the students into groups of 4-5.

Tell them to assign timekeeper, leader, writer, reporter.
In their groups, students should decide what their ideal dorm would look like.
They can draw a picture, similar to p. 57.
They should use at least 5 different prepositions.
Time: 8-10 min.
Reporters should use prepositions to describe their dorms.

Useful websites:
https://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/prepositions
http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-a-preposition-definition-uses-examples.html

Home Sweet Home