Contents
=>No material - introduction
=> “Love Stuff” - vocabulary and excercise
=> “Adjective Blank Stories” - an activity by Anna Glybina
=> “Valentine’s Day Facts” - dicatation
=> In the Next Issue

————————————————————–
No Material - Introduction
————————————————————–

Don’t you love when you don’t have to make copies or bring in any material at all to class?

Here are three Valentine-related activities that don’t require much from the teacher. They require your students to do work and have fun, and that’s what we want, isn’t it?

————————————————————–
“Love Stuff” - vocabulary and excercise
————————————————————–

Write the love expressions on the board. In groups, students should write
a definition–what they THINK the expressions mean. They can be as creative as they want. Remind them that even wrong answers are great (because even if they are wrong they are still producing English sentences!)

The Expressions:

1. Labor of love
2. Love Handles
3. Puppy Love
4. Love Triangle

After students have come up with their own definitions, compare them.

Then read the following real definitions out loud, and see if the students can match them to the expressions. (Remember to change the order when you read).

The Definitions…

1. It’s real work, but work with little or no pay. You do it because you love it. [Labor of Love]

2. The roll of fat on the side of a man’s stomach (often caused by drinking too much beer). During an embrace, a woman might hold onto this extra flesh… Thus, the name. [Love Handles]

3. Sweet innocent feelings of love from young people. [Puppy Love]

4. Jane loves Jack, but Jack loves Janet. Three people. A complex romance involving three people. [Love Triangle]

—————————————————————
“Adjective Blank Stories” - an activity by Anna Glybina
—————————————————————

Anna Glybina wrote to us with this nifty idea. Anna is a senior teacher at St. Petersburg State University, where she teaches mostly Business English.

Anna suggested the following procedure, based on a game she played as a child. Neither Anna or I have used it yet, but it’s something I would try
in a class. It’s one of those beautiful activities that requires no material.

Drop us a notes if you try this and gives us some tips.

Here’s the procedure:

1. Each person writes a mini-story using no adjectives BUT leaving spaces for them. This story need not be long–a few sentences will do. Why not try a love story, a Valentine story?

2. Other participants, taking turns, supply an adjective in the spaces. ANY adjective can be used, regardless of meaning. The adjective can be silly, in other words.

3. When all the blanks are filled in, the story is read out loud. The results should be very funny.

—————————————————————
3 VALETINE’S DAY FACT DICTATION
—————————————————————

Here are some facts. How do you use these in class? Dictation! What’s wrong with that?

If students complain that dictation is old fashioned, try a backwards dictation. Read the sentences backwards, from right to left…

1. In Japan, only girls give chocolates on Valentine’s Day. The guys receive them. What a great country!

2. In America, teachers get more valentines than anybody else. That’s because students exchange 650 million valentine cards with teachers and schoolmates every year.

3. Three percent of pet owners in America give their pets a Valentine–a card or something special to eat.

—————————————————————
In the Next Issue
—————————————————————

Techno-Tips For Teachers: Get Going with Google (a Russian-American
joint adventure)

————————————————————–
Copyright 2003 Kevin McCaughey & I.M. Poosheesty
————————————————————-