Getting to know the book
I remember years ago, in June, talking to a student about the grammar and vocabulary sections in the book….. when I realised that the student was not aware of the fact that his book had several sections after the last unit! Since then I always spend about 20 minutes at the very beginning of the year going through the book and other resources such as websites or links. This is what I do:
Before class
Go through the Student Book, Activity Book and any other resource the students will be using.
Come up with about 8 questions including grammar, vocabulary, topics in the books and extra sections.
In class
Show the students the book and ask them: What can you find in an English course book? Elicit as much as possible. What do / don’t you like about English course books?
Arrange the students in pairs and tell them you’re going to give them some questions about the book. Give them a time limit (8-10 minutes?).
When the students are ready, go through the answers and let them look in the book so that they become familiar with the material.
Example
Make sure you grade the questions depending on the level. The questions I give a B1 group of teenagers can be something like:
How many units are in the book?
Which unit is about dangerous sports?
Where can you find the grammar section?
What’s in the Exam Practice section?
Who´s the person in the photo on page 98?
Are there any listenings in the Activity Book?
If you want to revise vocabulary, what section can be useful?
Which unit do you think will be most interesting?
Does the book have a website?
What new things will you learn this year?
Extension
Once you’ve gone through the answers, get each pair of students to write one more question for the class to answer. They take turn to ask the class.
Tip
Students can get points for each correct answer.
