Presenting the present continuous (2nd ESO C)

As students have finished pathway 1 (unit 1), Eve has given them a self-assessment profile. It is well-detailed and students have answered it about their work in each section (reading, writing...) and their attitude in class. The teacher has explained point by point this self-assessment profile with a transparency, because it is the first this course (they used it last academic year).

Afterwards, we have started lesson 2 (pathway learning 2). Eve has presented the present continuous tense in a motivating and amusing way:

Students are sitting in groups of three, four or five, in this class. The activity has started with the instruction that each group had to have a pen on the table (nothing else on it). Eve has put a transparency about some members of a family doing different things. Students, in groups, have written in a piece of paper all activities they saw or they knew (vocabulary). After five minutes, Eve has asked all groups how many actions they have: two groups have found 9 actions (excellent!); one group, 7; one, 5, and the last one, 4 (not bad). They have started to say all actions they have: watching TV, dancing/cooking, running, sleeping/relaxing, etc. Some of the students, not many, have used the present continuous (very good!). They have participated actively and they have said different verbs, more that twelve! Eve and I have counted nine, but she has accepted all verbs students have thought about (all responses were good, even though they were not what we thought before doing the activity! This is a good methodology).

The next activity, very related to the previous one, has been a drawing of each group (in a transparency) about an action. Each group have decided who drew, but they have decided collectively the action. When they had all the pictures, a representative of each group presented their picture to the rest of the class, showing the drawing in the projector and saying the action represented. Nice pictures, and good vocabulary. Moreover, they have been attentive and motivated all the hour. They have learnt and they have spent a good time. A perfect activity!