Introduction

The activity starts with a short introduction, where the teacher asks the students if they have a dream job and if they would like to tell the group about it. After the introduction, the students choose a card which is faced down. These cards contain different jobs. Once they know what the job means (they can ask if they are not sure), they are then asked to think of a single pose or movement that encapsulates what this job, in their opinion, is about. After about a minute of consideration, everyone who feels confident in their pose or movement is asked to act it out in front of their classmates. While they are acting it out, it is important for the other students to observe what their classmate is doing and they are only allowed to make a guess once the teacher asks them "What is he/she doing?" or "What job is he/she acting out?" The teacher could ask the students not to shout out what their classmate are doing. Instead, the instructor could ask them to wait until after their classmate has finished.

Depending on the time left, teachers could follow up this activity with another group activity, in which every group member is asked to act out the pose resembling the job they liked the most at the same time. This might help less outgoing students to also take part in a dramatic activity. 

Target group and Time

Target group: Grades 5 and 6; vocabulary and instructions can be adjusted according to the grade one is teaching.

Time: 3 minutes for the first introductory phase and then leave as much time as needed for the main activity. This is necessary in order to accommodate differing comfort levels of the students and/or groups.

Learning objectives

General: With this teaching activity, teachers aim at helping students understand what tasks different jobs, including their dream jobs, require, and how to describe these tasks. If they lack certain vocabulary, they also have the opportunity to learn the names of certain jobs in English and how to describe them. "Describing" here refers to two ways of depicting an activity: Using their bodies to express their thoughts and verbally expressing what a job entails.

Vocabulary: The cards help students learn about different jobs. Every student is supposed to learn the vocabulary for 5-10 job descriptions by looking at the cards and their fellow students performances. Furthermore, they learn verbs related to the actions, e.g. "cooking" or "performing".

Grammar: Most of the time, the students are required to use the progressive tense, though the tenses used may vary if necessary.

Instructions to set up the activity

Prepare cards with job terms; distribute them randomly. Prepare more cards than the number of students so you can have students exchange cards that they do not feel comfortable with or are unknown to them. Most students should still try the new word out instead of immediately asking for a new one if they are unsure what the job they have means.

Encourage students to try it out - by talking about their dream job and reaching them at a personal level. However, it is necessary to give the option of keeping their dream job to themselves.

Letting it run

Always encourage students to ask for vocabulary.

If students decide to ask questions, it is important to respect their decision and help them as much as possible even if they talk in their first language to you or their fellow students - this actually shows that they are interested and want to take part.

Do not interrupt the students even if they are rambling about different jobs in English – this is them showing interest in the topic. If students show a lot of enthusiasm and use it in a productive way, use that positive energy - don‘t cut off the activity.