1. Student ability: High Beginner - Advanced 2. Approximate length of lesson: 15+ 3. Number of students necessary: Any 4. Preferred age/maturity: HS, College, Adult 5. Type of lesson: Pair / Whole Class Activity
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Language Target: Working with slang nouns.
Setting Up: Pick a student and say somethinglike: “You’ve got a good noodle.” Ask whatthey think a “noodle” is. Help them with theanswer by offering hints: “It’s on yourshoulders,” “You think with it,” etc.
Pick another student and say: “You havesuch nice peepers.” Then ask the students whatthey think “peepers” means.
Offer hints: “They are above your neck,”“They’re brown,” etc. Model the grammarpattern: “Is your noggin your nose?” “Are yourpeepers your eyes?”
Demonstrate a few more slang wordsuntil students are familiar with the pattern.
Getting Started: Pair the students and handout one copy of the worksheet to each student.Go through the left list of standard words tomake sure everyone knows the meanings.
Then have the students try to match thestandard English words with their slangcounterparts. They write the letter of the bodypart from the left column onto the right, forexample, a ‘snout’ is a ‘nose,’ so next to theword ‘snout’ on the worksheet, students shouldwrite the letter “c.”
Of course, they won't know the rightanswers at first, just have them use theirimagination to thee best of their ability.
Give the pairs about fifteen minutes.Then, working with the class as a whole, startat the top of the right list and ask students fortheir answers.
Give one point to each pair of studentswho have the right answer written on theirpaper. The pair with the most points is thewinner.
Variation 1: Bring sticky labels to class.Before going through the list, pass out three orfour labels to each student.
Divide the class four groups. Read thefirst word from the body slang list and tell all ofthe members of Group 1 to write down theword, and to stick it on their own (or someoneelse’s) appropriate body part, i.e., where theythink the part is.
Variation 2: For advanced classes, don’t handout the worksheet at first. Instead, read the listout loud and have the students guess where thebody parts are.
Variation 3: If there are words which no onecan guess correctly, try a variation of thedictionary game. Take three students out of theroom. Identify for one of them what body partis referred to by one of the expressions.
When the students return to the room, thetwo students who don’t know the correctanswer try to convince the class that they do bybluffing, e.g., “A schnoz is an elbow becausewhen you hit your elbow, you scream‘Schnoz!’'"
