TEXT MESSAGES: IDEAS FOR LESSON PLANS

If I say the word "sms" or "text message" you think...
Here some activities for our class:

• Ask in pairs to read some of the last text messages the students have received in the last 24 hours.

How is it written?
What characteristics can you spot?
Would you be able to translate it in English?

• Divide the class in groups and ask the groups to try to decipher this text. The text is offered by the British Council: https://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/article/texting. How many minutes will you need? :D You can fetch some help through this useful link: https://www.ego4u.com/en/chill-out/curiosities/sms-english

• Ask the students to translate in English some of the text messages that they have recently sent  or received to or from different people and in groups the other people have to: - correct mistakes - guess the mysterious addressee. 

• From this article an animated discussion could break up so we could use it in order to motivate our class or at the end of our lesson: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9432222/Texting-is-fostering-bad-grammar-and-spelling-researchers-claim.html. We could also divide our class in 2 groups and ask one group to disagree with the main message of the article and one group to agree. Debate. 

• Other readings: 

1. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-teens-texting-odd/third-of-u-s-teens-with-phones-text-100-times-a-day-idUSTRE63J4EX20100420
2. https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/honolulu-walking-texting/3976027.html

• Online interactive exercises: 

1. https://elt.oup.com/student/englishforlife/beg/a_games/e4l_game_14?cc=gb&selLanguage=en&mode=hub
2. https://www.quia.com/hm/837308.html

• Breaking news lesson plans: 

1. https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1403/140312-texting-while-walking.html
2. https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1011/101110-texting.htm

NEW MESSAGE 

Use of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAvy-vmv1U8
Here some activities that I have created based on this short film:

Show this picture. Ask the students to try to simulate a dialogue where a person invites the other one. What could they say in real life? Tell the students to try to use some functional expressions and revise together some expressions for inviting and for accepting invitations:

- How about + ing

- Would you like to...

- Care to...

- I was just wondering if...

- I'd love to!

- What a great idea!

- Sure. 

- That's very kind of you

Highlight the fact that the second sentence contains the expression "Look forward to + ing". Most of the times students tend to use to+inf instead of the ing form. 

Ask the students to guess the relationship that exists between the two characters. 

The girl does not know how to behave. Help her! 

Divide the class into girls and boys and ask each group to help the two characters and to write a "WikiHow" page on how to act on a date. Discussion on the differences between female and male behaviour. 

The girl is following the instructions provided by "WikiHow" step by step. Try to simulate the date (but this time not communicating via text messages) and try to base your dialogue on the same tips. What would you say? Remember that the steps are: 

- Be polite

- Always joke around 

Ask the students now to imagine what David could have written after their date. 

Ask them to use "smseese" if possible. 

Watch from minute 3.17 and check your ideas

How would you explain the end of the video? 

DOTTY

Now some ideas I have had for a lesson plan on this video: https://vimeo.com/128544536

1. Ask the students to watch the film until the minute 1:10 and to gather all their ideas about the main character:

2. Watch until minute 1:56. The old lady utters: "Please, could you help me?"

Why does she need help? 

3. Divide the class in groups and ask each group to help Dotty. 

How would they explain to an elderly person how to send a text message? 

Tell the students that they can use their mobile phone in order to provide a more satisfactory explanation. 

4. Ask the students now to complete the instructions and to guess the relationship between the two people: 

"Well, the first thing you need to do is ........ the phone.

Oh, that's right, of course. ........ it. 

........ the menu ....... then the star ........

Menu ...... That's right! It was the menu ........ first 

It is the big one, in the ..........

Should I .......... it? 

It is on the button left ...... .........

You have to press them one after the other. You have to do it even quicker.

I did it just how you have said

Why you ...... me ....... it. You can do the .......

No, it's important I do it

Why don't you put one .......... on the menu ........... and another ........... on the star ......... and then you will be ready.

Can I write my message now? 

Nearly. You just need to go to the menu button and ......... .......... and ........ messages and then press new message. 

5. Watch until minute 4.20. The old lady seems puzzled! Try to explain to her again the process and...be patient! Divide the class in pairs: one of the two people will have to play Dotty role and try to use functional language in order to show that she hasn't understood very well whereas the other person will have to use functional language in order to check for understanding. The students are asked before the activity to fill in the table with the correct expressions (work on register)

• Do you understand?
• Are you following me?
• Are you with me so far?
• Have you got it?
• Got it? 
• I don't understand it 
• What was that again?
• I don't follow you
• I beg your pardon?
• I am not sure I know what you mean 

6. Try now to explain in pairs to each other: 

- How to write the word "Hello" 

- How to delete one word

- How to send a text message to a specific person 

Base your answer on the video!

7. Watch now until minute 08:10: How could you reply if you were her daughter? What does the text message say? 

8. Discuss the end of the short film together. How did your class react? Did they expect this ending? 

9. Ask the class to complete this summary. They should try to fill in the gaps. The summary is taken from the website: https://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/short-films-in-focus-dotty

Dotty (Joyce Irving) sits in her (romo) with a woman who appears to be her (arivceger) (Alison Bruce). Dotty wants nothing more than to (nesd) a (ttex) message to her (audghetr). If this were an iPhone, perhaps it would be much easier, but this is a flip phone. The text messaging is not so (inutiveti). First, she must (ulckon) the phone. When she is told this, she immediately starts looking for a keyhole on the device. No, to unlock it, she must (ssepr) the menu (ttbuon), then the pound button in (stfa) succession. Then, simply go into the (mneu), (stcele) “text message” and begin to (tepy). Sounds easy, but the look on poor Dotty’s face is enough for the viewer to see that this nurse is in for a long day of explaining the nature of “predictive text” and how to type one letter when you really want another letter. Of course, Dotty thinks she is doing everything right and it’s the phone that has the problem.

Hope you enjoyed the activities :D