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| 3/15/2010 |  | |||||
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Roommates
This unit should take 1-2 hours, depending on time, interest, and extension activities. It is designed for intermediate students age 12 and above. Objectives Students will: Materials to Print Activities Activity I: Roommates (10 minutes) Ask students where they live, who they live with, and how long they have been living there. Ask them whether they know what a roommate is (or a flatmate in British English). Explain that usually you don't actually share a room, but rather an apartment or house. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having a roommate. (Some advantages: saving money, having company, sharing food, safety. Some disadvantages: not having time to yourself, waiting for the shower/bathroom, having your clothes borrowed, coming home to an unexpected party.) Have students share their personal stories. For further discussion, ask students for the translation of "roommate" into their native language. Does the word exist? Is there a cultural connection? Activity II: Vocabulary (15 minutes) Hand out copies of Printout I, a vocabulary list on relations between roommates. There are several phrasal verbs. Explain what a phrasal verb is and how it is formed. Have students use the verbs in sentences. I.e. "I got along with my sister when I lived with her." "Sara had to pick up after her roommate because she was so messy." "He hates doing the dishes, but doesn't mind taking out the trash." Activity III: Reading (25 minutes) Brainstorm with the class about things that can go wrong when getting a new roommate. Then distribute Printout II, and have the students read the four paragraphs of roommate "horror stories." Tell the students that 3 of the stories are true, and one is fabricated. Have them guess which one is made-up (the last one). Activity IV: How to Get Along with a Roommate (30 minutes) First, have students brainstorm about how to avoid possible problems with a roommate. Create a list of questions that students might ask when looking for a roommate; for example, "What is your biggest pet peeve? Do you smoke? Do you have pets? Do you listen to loud music? Do you wake up early? Do you like to stay up late?" Once you have written the list, distribute Printout III to the class. Have the class read the text and then ask the following comprehension questions. Who should you choose to live with? How can you find a roommate in a new city? What do you need to do before you move in with a roommate? What items should your contract include? How can you convince your potential roommate to sign a contract? What steps can you take to make sure you get along with your roommate? How long does a roommate relationship last? Vocabulary exercise: After reading the text in class, ask students to look for phrasal verbs that mean the following: 1) to have a good relationship with somebody (to get along with); 2) to stay awake (to stay up); 3) to spend the night (to stay over); 4) to finish, the lease (to be up); 5) to leave your old life behind and start a new phase (to move on) Activity V: Create an Ad (30 minutes) Ask students to write an advertisement looking for a roommate. Ask them to come up with a catchy headline and then to proceed with a detailed list of what they would be looking for in a roommate. Tell them to list their pet peeves, their likes/dislikes, their interests, and their expectations. Tell them to make their ads as humorous as possible. Then post the advertisements to the wall. If you have time, have each student choose an ad that they would select if they were looking for a roommate and explain why. Activity VI: Scavenger Hunt (20-40 minutes) Have students visit a website for choosing a roommate. You might try roommatefinders.com. Ask students to search for a roommate given the criteria that they were looking for in the previous activity. In turn, have every student explain why they chose the person that they did. |