Phobias
This unit can take from 1-4 hours, depending on the writing activity and student interest. This unit can be used with intermediate students ages 14 and up.

Objectives

Students will:

Materials

1. Rank Your Phobias
2. Vocabulary
3. Reading and questions
4. Grammar Exercise

Activity I: What are your phobias? (10 minutes)
Give students the activity "Rank Your Phobias." Go over the words. Have the students rank the items from 1-10, 1 being the scariest and 10 being the least scary. Make up a class rank. What's the scariest thing on the list for your class? The least scary?

Activity II: Vocabulary (20 minutes)
Give students the Vocabulary List. Ask them to make word groups of 3-4 related words. Have them name the groups. Do one together with the class. An example might be: shells, water, swim and sea. The name of this category might be "wet". Any category is OK as long as students can explain it. Put groups and categories on the board.

Activity III: Reading: What is a Phobia? (20 minutes)
Give students the reading passage with questions. Review.

Activity IV: Grammar: Parts of Speech (20 minutes)
Put this sentence on the board: He likes to dive deep into the water to search for beautiful shells. Have students identify the parts of speech of words that you call out. Ask: "What is 'dive'?" "What is 'to search'?" Give students the Parts of Speech worksheet. Have them identify the part of speech of the word indicated.

Activity V: Writing: Your Phobias (20 minutes - 2 days)
Have your students write about one of their phobias. Write on the board: "What is your phobia?" "How does this phobia make you feel?" "How often do you have a problem with your phobia?" "Can you remember a particular time when you had a problem with your phobia?" After students have had a chance to get all their ideas down, spend some time work-shopping with each one and honing the thoughts into a personal essay.