Captur Paddles - Discussion Activities

Find The Lie

Bill Pellowe — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 16:10:24 +0000

Each student should prepare two (2) true sentences about themselves, and one (1) false sentence about themselves. It's up to the other students to vote on which sentence was the false one.

I have a dog.

I can cook well.

I've been to Kyoto.

The other students can have a few minutes to ask the student some questions in an attempt to find out which of the three statements is false:

"What's your dog's name?"
"What's your favorite meal to cook?"
"When did you go to Kyoto?"

Then, everyone in the group uses their Captur paddles to say which statement is probably the one that's not true.

Make it four!

You could, of course, have students prepare four sentences instead of three. In my experience, with Japanese university students, three just seems to work better.

Not Too Obvious, Please!

The students at my university who are on the baseball team tend to wear their baseball jackets to class. Invariably, one of their sentences will be about baseball. I tell them that their sentences about baseball are too obiously true, since they are wearing their baseball jacket, and their teammates are also in the class.

Whole Class, or Small Groups?

The size of the groups are up to you. In larger classes, it's probably better to split the class up into smaller groups.

Type of Activity:

Surveys

Skills:

Discussion Activities

Materials:

Board Work Activities

Speculation: I think that's true about you

Bill Pellowe — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 16:06:12 +0000

On the board, have two options:

I think this is probably true about the teacher.

I think this is probably false about the teacher.

Prepare some sentences about yourself. Alternatively, you could tell short stories about yourself. Include some that are false.

My hobby is bungee jumping.

I play guitar.

I have a twin brother.

When I was a child, I was on a TV show on the Disney Channel.

Let Students Discuss Before Answering

Instead of having students answer immediately, you can give them a couple of minutes for discussion in English before you ask to see their answers. They can discuss in pairs or in small groups. This allows them some real communication in the target language. Also, the "pressure" of showing an answer at the end of the short discussion provides some real motivation.

Dicussion, with Questions

If you're giving students a few minutes to discuss your story before answering, why not allow each pair/group to ask you one question as well?

Answer, Discuss, Answer Again

Another technique that is useful here is sometimes called, "Answer, Discuss, Answer Again."

Students give their own answers immediatly.
Then, while holding their paddles, they move to sit with one or two students who gave a different answer.
These pairs or small groups discuss the reasons for their answers. How do they know? Can they convince the other students that their answer is correct? Students are more often more motivated to discuss or defend a position if they have already given an answer.
After a few minutes, ask for students to answer again.

Students Turn: How Well Do You Know Me?

This works just like "Students Speculate" above, except that the students are in small groups of about six. Students take turns being the center of their group's attention. Each student reads out a few sentences about themselves, and the others in the group respond with their Captur tools (A for true, B for false).

Type of Activity:

Surveys

Skills:

Discussion Activities

Listening

Materials:

Board Work Activities

Surveys: That's true about me.

Bill Pellowe — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:51:51 +0000

Use this when the textbook or workbook has a list of sentences that the students have worked on. If you do this before a class-wide speaking activity, it's a good warm-up to check their understanding of the items. If you do it afterwards, it's a good follow-up to review all of the items.

I like spicy food.
I have been to California.
I can ski well.

This can also be used early in the school year as an ice-breaker.

On the board, use the Captur Board Magnets or write A: and B: to display the options:

True (This is true about me.)

False (This is not true about me.)

As you read out each sentence, students will use their Captur paddles to show you their answers. If you want, you can write down the approximate vote ratio to share with the students later on.We've found that when students are giving an answer about themselves, they tend to pay attention to the meaning of what they're voting on.

If you are using sentences from your textbook, you can challenge their listening by mixing up the order of the book's sentences. Also, tell them that you are going to include some extra sentences just "for fun."

Ensure Truthful Answers

If you include some extra sentences that are either universally true or universally false, you will have a 50/50 chance of detecting random answers. For example, if you say, "I am human", you should see a sea of (True). If you say, "I like eating paper cups", the classroom should be filled with responses of (False).

Teacher: I like eating paper cups!

All students:

Alternative Board Text

You could put more natural replies on the board. For example,

Really? Me too!

Oh, not me.

These replies make it easier to follow up the teacher-fronted activity with pairwork. Put the students into pairs or small groups of three, and have them talk about themselves, their likes and dislikes. If your students seem to require more structure, you could ask them to choose sentences from a list that are true about themselves, and ask them to modify the ones that aren't. The two short, natural replies up on the board give the other student some support for their replies. When I do this, I usually let the students talk for a few minutes, and then I move them around so that everyone has a new partner.

Type of Activity:

Surveys

Skills:

Discussion Activities

Listening

Materials:

Adapting Textbooks