So they idea for this activity comes from two different EFL resource books; Cambridge Puzzle Time for Flyers and Elementary Grammar Games. Unfortunately I can't publish the activities here, but if you can't find them then email me! :)
Preparation
Copy both worksheets for each student, cut the “Planes and Trains” worksheet from Fun for Flyers up into 4 pieces; the plane picture, the train picture, the plane sentences and the train sentences.
Procedure
The general introduction to “going to” (presentation) can be done by simply telling learners that “I am going to open the window” or “I am going to sit down” and then completing the action. With deaf learners, this can be done by writing the sentences on the board and then completing them. After this try “You are going to…” and get the students to respond, then perhaps a “He is going to…” and get the students to respond. The structure should then be highlighted on the board, asking learners to provide the “I am”, “You are”, “He/She/It is” part of the structure.
!!Tip!! Use different colours for the subject pronouns and the verbs.
Now that we have looked at the positive structure, we should give the students some practice using a scaffolded activity. This was the activity which came from Elementary Grammar Games; called “What are they doing?”. The activity sheet has different pictures of different people who are about to or “going to” do a particular action, but have not yet completed it. The students should work in pairs to complete the sentence under each picture. E.g.
He is going to jump.
So the first sentence should be completed as an example for students, the second should be missing only the verb (He is going to ______ ) and so on until the learners must write the whole sentences themselves.
Time to move onto the question form. I don’t have any exciting suggestions at this point for presenting the interrogative form, I simply suggest trying to elicit it from the students and writing it on the board. Close attention should be drawn to the structure of the question form particularly the word order of “is he/are they/etc” and for each of the different persons (I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they). Students should then write questions for each of the pictures on the worksheet and check firstly with their partner and then as a class.
The second activity involves the Fun for Flyers activity sheet called “Planes and Trains”. I suggest copying the worksheet, then cutting them up into 4 pieces; the plane picture, the train picture, the plane sentences and the train sentences.
Introduce/ revise the vocabulary:
plane land airport
train arrive train station
The adjectives used in the activity may also need to be revised here too.
Then do an examples for both plane and train, both positive statements and questions.
e.g.
+ The blue plane is going to land at Pink airport.
? Where is the blue plane going to land?
+The purple train is going to arrive at Gumtree airport.
? Where is the purple train going to arrive?
Point out that the blue underlined parts are those which will change, but the red parts will remain the same.
Give half of the students the plane sentences and the other half the train sentences. Explain that they must write questions (pointing to the examples on the board) to ask for the information they need to complete the sentences. Allow students with the same sentences to work together. With weaker classes, it may be an idea to do the first one on each slip as an example.
When this is complete, pair students who have different sentence slips (i.e. different questions). Explain that you will give each of them a picture with the answer to their partners’ questions; they must understand the question, look and the picture to find the answer and then give their partner the answer (pointing to the positive statements on the board as example sentences). Students may use sign or speech to communicate the English questions and answers, whichever is most comfortable for them. Students should complete the sentences on their slips using the answers provided by their partners.
At the end of this activity students can either swap pictures and check their partner gave the correct answers, or they can check their answers with other students who had the same questions.
Feedback
I have used this lesson with several groups between 8 and 11 years old, it worked well and it was excellent to see so much English production in the classroom. Let me know if you use it, if it works or not and if you have any ideas for spicing it up or improving it.
