Speaking


 * Oral Activities **

> Diamonds: Earning money, Hearts: Love and relationships, Spades: An unforgettable memory, Clubs: Best teacher Each student in a group will choose a card. Then, each student will write 4-5 questions about that topic to ask the other people in the group. For example: If the topic "Diamonds: Earning Money" is selected, here are some possible questions: Is money important in your life? Why? What is the easiest way of earning money? What do you think about lottery? Etc.However, the teacher should state at the very beginning of the activity that students are not allowed to prepare yes-no questions, because by saying yes or no students get little practice in spoken language production. Rather, students ask open-ended questions to each other so that they reply in complete sentences.
 * Playing Cards: In this game, students should form groups of four. Each suit will represent a topic. For instance:
 * Picture Narrating - This activity is based on several sequential pictures. Students are asked to tell the story taking place in the sequential pictures by paying attention to the criteria provided by the teacher as a rubric. Rubrics can include the vocabulary or structures they need to use while narrating.
 * Picture Describing - Another way to make use of pictures in a speaking activity is to give students just one picture and having them describe what it is in the picture. For this activity students can form groups and each group is given a different picture. Students discuss the picture with their groups, then a spokesperson for each group describes the picture to the whole class. This activity fosters the creativity and imagination of the learners as well as their public speaking skills.
 * Find the Difference - For this activity students can work in pairs and each couple is given two different pictures, for example, picture of boys playing football and another picture of girls playing tennis. Students in pairs discuss the similarities and/or differences in the pictures.

**Thinking Widely**
Speaking and listening to a range of oral texts to introduce the idea of authorial purpose, language features and how these shape form.


 * Speeches - persuasive, entertaining, informative, impromptu
 * Shared Readings - from a range of texts
 * Class / group discussions
 * Dramatic presentations / Monologues
 * Moving visual texts
 * Music / songs
 * Debates - formal and Irish
 * Soapbox rants
 * Collective storytelling

**Thinking Deeply**
Analysing an oral text's authorial purpose, language features and form. Crafting an oral text that is suited to purpose using language features to shape form.

**Connecting**
Connecting understanding to assessment tasks. Connecting presented work to audience and purpose.