Information Gap Activities Handout

INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES
Types of Activities Giving Missing Directions Information pages 15-18 pages 19-25 Example 1 Up, Down, Complete the Left, Right Drawing Variations Use a larger or Use pictures of smaller grid vocabulary being learned Use pictures of Dont include objects being vocabulary learned Use words Use a more instead of complex picture pictures Have a 2nd set of pictures to reverse roles Use faces (ie Mr Potato Head) Example 2 Trace the Lost and Found Route Variations Students can Partners can invent their alternate roles own routes Can use a local Campsite map scenario Can use a map of a TL city Restaurant Scenario
ProblemSolving pages 4-8 Meet the Neighbours Ask questions in MT and answer in TL Use objects instead of people Use questions instead of statements Have some of the blanks already filled-in
Finding Differences pages 9-14 Find the differences Use a particular verb tense in asking questions Emphasize prepositions Use statements instead of questions Use menus with different prices and items Family Tree Haunted House Use different coloured sheets Different furniture in each house
Jigsaw pages 26-27 Jigsaw Reading
Questioning pages 28-33 Famous Artists Omit the provided dialogue Use culturally related artwork Use music or film
Solve a Problem
Line Dance Jigsaw Write a song Write a story Use music representative of TL culture
What did John do? Use easy verbs for beginners Cultural events added Use students class schedules 20 Questions
Example 3 Variations Simple questions for beginners Students circulate with unknown word on their backs Use verbs Example 4 Survey Variations Intermediate students may use info to write a story Teresa Bryanton, Jon Paul, Joanne Reschny

MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCES Auditory Kinaesthetic Music Visual / Spatial MathematicalLogical / Interpersonal Intrapersonal Linguistic LEVEL Intermediate
Meet the Neighbours Solve the Problem Find the Differences Haunted House Up, Down, Left, Right Trace the Route Complete the Drawing Lost and Found Jigsaw Reading Line Dance Jigsaw Famous Artists What did John do? 20 Questions Survey
COMPREHENSION AND PRODUCTIONS GOALS Reading Writing Listening Speaking Culture Beginner
Meet the Neighbours Solve the Problem Find the Differences Haunted House Up, Down, Left, Right Trace the Route Complete the Drawing Lost and Found Jigsaw Reading Line Dance Jigsaw Famous Artists What did John do? 20 Questions
Advanced

Survey
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES: OVERVIEW An Information Gap is a lack of information between two or more people. In Information Gap Activities, not everyone knows the same things and people dont always have the same information in front of them, therefore communication is needed to complete the task.
Students work in groups of two or more. Each student has some, but not all, of the information needed for the activity. As partners to each other to fill in the gaps of missing information, they acquire communication skills in a way that is authentic and meaningful (Basturkmen, 1994). The pair creates questions and /or statements and each individual responds in turn (Annenberg Media, 2005). Since each partner knows something that the other does not they must communicate in order to attain complete understanding. These questions which seek unknown answers are known as referential questions, which contrast with display questions, that is, those which seek obvious answers. For example, rather than asking Do you sleep every day?, you could ask When do you sleep? (Annenberg Media, 2005). Information gap activities: (Raptou, 2001) Are not scripted or rehearsed Involve spontaneous learning and dialogue Involve unique responses which require careful thinking and use of sentence structure to communicate answers Require more than regurgitated information Involve the combination of information to merge ideas Provide structure and guidelines for students to follow Results in a more comfortable environment because communication is one-on-one, rather than individual to class. Give students a chance to practice what theyve learned Create a need for comprehensible speech in order to accomplish the task Do not necessarily involve evaluation during the activity thus increasing motivation and participation without fear and pressure of marks Help increase confidence in the language thus resulting in a greater likelihood of speaking in the target language
Information gap activities are successful when: (Ur, 1996, taken from Raptou, 2001) The students talk a lot Participation is even Motivation is high Language is of an acceptable level
Problem - Solving Activity: Meet the Neighbours (Reschny, 2004) Materials: handout (see example) Goal: To improve reading, listening, and speaking skills in students. Students must read and understand their own statements. Likewise, they must listen to the statements of others and ask appropriate questions if necessary to complete their own understanding. The students also get practice in establishing cognitive patterns that make sense in the target language; in other words, they learn to think in their second language. Procedure: 1. Put the students into pairs. 2. Each student is given a handout which includes a chart and a series of statements which are an incomplete set of statements used to fill in their chart. (use pencil!) 3. Each student reads his or her own statements and fills in the applicable parts of their chart. 4. The students take turns reading their statements to each other and using each others information to fill in their charts. Variations: 1. Ask questions in MT and answer in the TL to decrease level of difficulty. 2. Use objects instead of people to make relevant to unit. 3. Ask questions instead of reading statements to increase level of difficulty. 4. Have some of the blanks already filled-in to decrease level of difficulty. Time:
Variation Worksheet for Meet the Neighbors (ESLgold.com, 2002)
As Information:
Persons Name From 1. Jill (female) 2. 3. Jared (male) 4. 5. Janet (female) Cincinnati Cleveland Dayton
Occupation doctor professor
Weekends
Movies romance
go fishing action
banker
play cards
Bs Information:
Persons Name From 1. Toledo
Occupation
Weekends relax at home
Movies
2. Jason (male) Columbus 3. 4. Jenny (female) 5. Sample Questions: lawyer read novels mechanic play baseball
horror
drama comedy
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES What is the first persons name? How do you spell it? Where is he/she from? What is his/her occupation What does he/she do on weekends? What kind of movies does he/she like? After completing the chart, discuss with your partner: Which person would you like as a friend? Why?
Problem Solving Activity: Solve a Problem (Reschny, 2004) Materials: handout (see example) Goal: To improve communication skills (including clear pronunciation) and increase ability to think in the target language. Procedure: 1. Put students into pairs (or they may work independently). 2. The students are given charts with certain logically exclusive possible facts about a set of characters, and an incomplete set of statements about those characters 3. The students must then communicate their statements with their partner to produce a complete set of statements, which allows them to solve the logic problem. Variations: Time:
10
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Finding Differences Activities: Finding the Differences (Reschny, 2004) Materials: handouts (see examples) Goal: To ask and answer questions, and give information using the present continuous; thus improving listening and speaking skills, while increasing understanding of the target language culture. Students must communicate with each other to understand the differences between the pictures, and understanding the pictures requires understanding of the culture that generated them. Procedure: 1. Put the students into pairs. 2. Copy the handouts according to the number of students in your class. (Half of the class will get Student A handout, the other half Student B) 3. Divide the class into pairs A and B. Give each student a copy of the appropriate handout. 4. They sit facing each other, making sure that their handout is hidden from their partner. 5. Explain what is to be done and allow time for preparation. Everyone then starts at the same time. 6. Set a definite time limit and stop the students at the end of it, whether they have finished or not. 7. They now compare their drawings to see if they have found all the differences. Variations: 1. Emphasize a particular verb tense in asking questions 2. Emphasize prepositions 3. Use statements instead of questions 4. Use menus with different prices and items (REEP, 2003) 5. Family Trees students use their own family trees to ask and answer questions. (REEP, 2003). Time:
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Finding Differences Activities: Haunted House (Boggles World, 2002a) Materials: handout: Haunted House pictures A and B (see example) Goal: to encourage unscripted communication between two students; to use location prepositions in a question and answer format. Procedure: 1. Put students in groups of two. 2. One student has Picture A while the other has Picture B. 3. Student A identifies the whereabouts of a ghost in Picture A and asks Student B if the ghost is in the same place in Picture B. a. e.g. Student A: In my picture, there is a ghost in front of the desk in the bedroom. Do you have the same? 4. Student B answers in a complete sentence, and then identifies a different ghost in Picture B asks Student A if the ghost is in the same place in Picture A. a. e.g. Student B: No, in my picture the ghost is behind the desk in the bedroom. Also, in the bathroom there is a ghost in the bathtub. Do you have the same? 5. Students converse back and forth until they have identified the whereabouts of all the ghosts in the two pictures. Variations: 1. If the objects on each of the two pictures were colored differently, the students dialogue could be more descriptive (emphasizes use of adjectives or color vocabulary). 2. If the rooms had different furniture, the students could also compare furniture and its locations. Time: 10 minutes
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INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Giving Directions Activity: Trace the Route (Reschny, 2004) Materials: handout (see example) Goal: To give directions (involving both speaking and listening) which will improve their understanding of directional words and the use of the imperative verb form.
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Procedure: 1. Put students into pairs. 2. Students are given a map, a starting point, and a destination. They must then describe a route that can be taken to get from the starting point to the destination. 3. The students must then describe their routes to others, and have them find the destination from the directions. Variations: 1. Students can invent their own routes 2. Can use a local map 3. Can use a map of a TL city Time:
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INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Giving Directions Activity: Up, Down, Left, Right (Reschny, 2004) Materials: handout (see example) Goal: To learn to give directions, practice numbers, and use prepositions.
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Procedure: 1. Put students into pairs. 2. Student A reads his statements to Student B. Student B follows these instructions and draws what his partner tells him to. 3. When all statements have been read on Student As sheet, Student B reads his instructions and Student A follows. 4. When Student B has read all his statements, the pair shows their completed chard and compares then with the answer on their partners chart. Variations 1. Use a larger or smaller grid (more or less squares). 2. Use pictures of objects being learned (current vocabulary). 3. Use words instead of pictures. Time
UP?
DOWN?
LEFT?
RIGHT??
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INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Missing Information Activity: Complete the Drawing (Reschny, 2004) Materials: handout (see example)
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Goal: To practice comprehensible communication, prepositions, adjectives and vocabulary. Procedure: 1. Put students into pairs. 2. Student A describes what is in his picture to student B, including where to draw it. Student B follows Student As instructions. 3. When finished, the pair compares pictures to check for accuracy. Variations: 1. Use pictures of vocabulary being learned (ie. Shapes, clothes, etc) 2. Dont include vocabulary 3. Use a more complex picture. 4. Have a second set of pictures to reverse roles. 5. Use faces (ie. Mr. Potato Head) Time:
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INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Missing Information Activity: Lost and Found On cherche un ohjet perdu (Harris & Roselman, year unknown)
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Materials: handouts: Preparation Sheet (12) 2 copies, Tourists sheet (A12), Officer sheet (B12) (see example) Goals: to encourage communication between students in a realistic activity. Procedure: 1. Put students into groups of two. 2. Both students get a copy of Sheet 12, but one student has Sheet A12 and one student has sheet B12. 3. The pair first goes over Sheet 12 in order to prepare for the main activity and to associate themselves with useful grammar, vocabulary and expressions. 4. For the main activity, one student is the tourist who has recently lost a personal item, and the other student is a police officer who runs the local Lost & Found. 5. The tourist tells the Officer what was lost and where it was lost, and then asks the officer if it has arrived. 6. The officer looks at the list on Sheet B12 which says what items have been found and where, and then answers the tourists question. 7. This process should be repeated until each item on the tourists list has been covered. Variations: 1. Students could alternate between tourist and officer after each question, thus getting to ask and answer questions. 2. Tourists arrive at a campsite and want to know whether they can stay according to site availability, cost per night, length of stay, size of tent or trailer; one student plays a tourist, the other the campsite manager. (see example) 3. Restaurant Scenario with incomplete menu. Time: 15-20 minutes
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INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Jigsaw Activity: Jigsaw Reading
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Overview of Jigsaw Activities: Students will work on separate parts all related to a similar task and will then come together with these separate parts and share information in order to learn together. This can be a great way to learn since the students are actually learning themselves as they teach each other. The information is more likely to be internalized this way. When students teach each other it demonstrates they get it. It is also a method of improving communication and social skills. Students are also more likely to complete the assignments with the pressure of being responsible for contributing their unique part which is essential to the whole groups understanding. Materials: depends on task students are to puzzle together. Goal: to decrease overall work by each student doing a smaller part and bringing this portion to the larger group to share while collectively learning and teaching one another. Information will be remembered longer term as it is taught to others Procedure 1. Put students into groups 2. Assign parts each student will be individually responsible for 3. State when students expected to come back to the larger group to teach and share their assigned portion 4. Students will work independently on task 5. Students will present their assigned information to the group as a whole (teacher may assign a special order to do so or leave it up to the group members to decide on their own) 6. Students will be expected to take notes and ask questions during each lesson taught by their peers 7. This information can then be summarized to the entire class if assigned tasks varied between groups Variations Time needed will depend on task length Example: Each student is assigned a section of the readings and will join in a small group to share and teach the information read and learned to all other group members. The whole reading will be understood completely but each being responsible for smaller portions rather than the work in its entirety.
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Jigsaw Activity: Line Dance Jigsaw (Janzen, 2005) Materials: music (personal choice)
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Goals: to encourage spontaneous communication between students; to create a dance routine by breaking it up into small chunks and then combining the chunks together. Procedure: 1. Select, as a larger group, a melody or song to play during the dance routine. 2. Identify its rhythm/beat to figure out the time count (for example, you may find that the music allows for actions done in fours). 3. Break up the classroom in 5-9 groups. 4. Each group is responsible for creating and arranging a series of dance moves; each individual must come up with at least one dance move. 5. When each member has figured out her/his move, s/he must teach that move to the entire group (this should be done verbally and with the actual dance moves; e.g. Clap your hands to the rhythm 4 times or Take 4 steps to the left). 6. The group must then decide how to arrange the moves into a sequence. 7. Each group performs its dance move sequence and teaches it to the other groups (again both verbally and physically). 8. The class then arranges the 5-9 sequences into a complete dance routine. 9. Turn up the stereo and have fun! Variations: 1. Write a song or story based on a particular theme. 2. For the song, one group writes the chorus, another group writes the 1st verse, another the 2nd verse, and so on. 3. For the story, provide the first and last sentences to the class and have each student write a sentence in an arranged order. 4. Use music representative of the languages culture. Time: Dance Jigsaw = 20-30 min; Song: 30 min; Story = 20-30 min.
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Questioning Activity: Famous Artists (Boggle's World, 2002b)
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Overview of Questioning Activities: Gives students a chance to think critically and communicate responses to each other. This method creates dialogue which improves social skills in the target language. This technique will increases motivation and participation since all students are directly involved in the activity process and completion. Some guidance may be necessary but room for spontaneous dialogue as questions and answers vary. Confidence in the language will improve as students engage in this question- answer type model. Materials: handouts: Famous Artists Sheets A and B (see example) Goals: to encourage communication between two students; to highlight famous artists and their work. Uses the past tense, active and passive voice. Procedure: 1. Put students in groups of two. 2. One student has Sheet A while the other has Sheet B. (each worksheet has a dialogue to guide the students along in their conversation). 3. Both students have all the titles of the works of art, but are missing information about certain pieces. Student A has whatever information that Student B is missing, and vice versa. 4. Student A asks a question to Student B in order to gain information that Sheet A is missing. e.g. Student A: Who sculpted The Thinker? 5. Student B answers in a complete sentence and then asks Student A for information that Sheet B is missing. e.g. Student B: Rodin sculpted The Thinker. What was David sculpted from? 6. Students converse back and forth until their sheets are filled in. Variations: 1. Handout Sheets A and B without the dialogue guide provided at the top so that the students must create their own sentences. 2. Use artwork that is created by artists from a particular culture e.g. Spain / Lat. America Dal, Picasso, Rivera, Kahlo 3. Use a music or film theme instead of a painting/sculpture theme. Time: 10 minutes
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Famous Artists Use this dialogue to talk about famous works of art: Who painted/sculpted _____? When was it painted/sculpted ____? What was it painted with/sculpted from? Let me get this straight: It was painted/sculpted by ____ in ______with/from _________. It was painted/sculpted by _____? It was painted sculpted in ______? It was painted with/sculpted from ________? Thats right/correct. B Sheet
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Name: Sunflowers Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: The Thinker Artist: Rodin Date: 1882 Materials: Bronze
Name: The Ox Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: The Scream Artist: Munch Date: 1893 Materials: Oil Paints
Name: David Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: Mona Lisa Artist: Da Vinci Date: 1503-1506 Materials: Oil
Name: Guernica Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: Mobius Strip Artist: Escher Date: 1963 Materials: Woodcut
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Famous Artists A Sheet Use this dialogue to talk about famous works of art: Who painted/sculpted _____? It was painted/sculpted by _____? When was it painted/sculpted ____? It was painted sculpted in ______? What was it painted with/sculpted from? It was painted with/sculpted ________? Let me get this straight: It was painted by Thats right/correct. ________ in _________ with/from _________.
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from
Name: Sunflowers Artist: Van Gogh Date: 1889 Materials: Oil Paints
Name: The Thinker Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: The Ox Artist: Joong-sup Lee Date: In the 1950s Materials: Oil paints
Name: The Scream Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: David Artist: Michelangelo Date: 1501-1504 Materials: Marble
Name: Mona Lisa Artist: Date: Materials:
Name: Guernica Artist: Picasso Date: 1937 Materials: Oil Paints
Name: Mobius Strip Artist: Date: Materials:
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Questioning Activity: What did John Do?? (Mohamed, year unknown) Materials: List of activities John did and on which days (daily schedule) Goal: to get students asking and answering questions in target language Procedure 1. Pair off students 2. Give one student Johns daily schedule for Mon, Wed, Fri 3. Give other student Johns schedule for Tues, Thurs, Sat, Sun 4. Get students to ask each other questions about Johns activities (What did John do at 10am?) 5. Students will engage in this question answer exchange until time is up Variations 1. Use students class schedules. 2. Use cultural events. 3. Use easy verbs for beginners. Time: depends on time available, may do as long as desired
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MONDAY 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00 Wake up Breakfast Go to school English Class Lunch Math Class Break / Spare Science Class Go home Eat dinner Read a book Do homework Tai Chi Class Go for a walk Meditating Go to bed
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY Wake up Breakfast Go to school Social Studies Class Lunch Break / Spare Phys Ed Class Science Class Visit Grandma Eat dinner at Grandma's Go home Do homework Tai Chi Class Go for tea Meditating Go to bed
THURSDAY
FRIDAY Wake up Breakfast Go to school English Class Lunch Math Class Break / Spare Social Studies Class Basketball Game Goes for victory dinner with team Friday Night Bowling Club
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
Goes to a friend's for a sleepover Go to bed
MONDAY 8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00 17:00 18:00 19:00 20:00 21:00 22:00 23:00
TUESDAY Wake up Eat breakfast Go to School Art Class Lunch Home Economics Class Break / Spare French Class Basketball Practice Go home Eat dinner Do homework Go swimming Read a book Meditate Go to bed
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY Wake up Eat breakfast Go to School Phys Ed Class Lunch Btreak / Spare French Class English Class Basketball Practice Go home Eat dinner Do homework Yoga Class Read a book Meditate Go to bed
FRIDAY
SATURDAY Sleeping Sleeping Wakes up Eats breakfast
SUNDAY Sleeping Sleeping Sleeping Wakes up Eats brunch
Goes to the farmers' market
Plays guitar Bakes a pie for grandma Takes pie to grandma's house Eats dinner at Grandma's Goes home
Hangs out with friends
Eat dinner Read a book Has a nap Yoga practice
Do homework
Goes dancing with friends
Read a book Meditate
Goes to bed
Goes to bed
INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES Questioning Activity: 20 questions Materials: Pictures or names of person, place or thing on cue cards Goal: to get students thinking critically and interacting in the target language
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Procedure 1. Pair off students 2. Give students cue cards with pictures or words of people, places or things. 3. Tell students what categories the pictures are from (as a clue). 4. One student asks and the other answers until the correct answer is given and then they switch roles Variations 1. Use yes/no questions only 2. Kinaesthetic: students circulate with unknown words on their backs and ask each other questions. 3. Use verbs. Time: depends on time available
Questioning Activity: Survey (Bilash, 2006) Materials: list of questions prepared by teacher or students Goal: to get students speaking and thinking in target language Procedure 1. Give students prepared questionnaire or get students to prepare their own 2. Students will walk around the room and ask one another their questions 3. Students may then be asked to present people interviewed to entire class or smaller group Variations 1. Intermediate students may use info to write a story Time
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REFERENCES Annenberg Media. (2005). Teaching Foreign Languages K-12. Taken from http://www.learner.org/channel/libraries/tfl/key_terms.html January 10, 2006. Basturkmen, H. (1994). Using Learners Writing for Oral Information-Gap Activities. Taken from http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol32//no1/p50.htm January 10, 2006. Bilash, O. (2006). In class discussion, January 10, 2006. Boggles World. (2002a). ESL information gap exercises: Haunted house information gap. Retrieved January 10, 2005 from http://bogglesworld.com/information_gap.htm. Boggles World. (2002b). ESL information gap exercises: Famous artists. Retrieved January 10, 2005 from http://bogglesworld.com/information_gap.htm. ESLgold.com. (2002). Information Gap. Retrieved January 10, 2006 from www.eslgold.com/site.jsp?resource=pag_tea_speaking_lesson_info_gap. Harris V., & Roselman L. (year unknown). Tu parles: Communicative activities in French. Waterloo: The Resource Centre. Janzen, C. (2005). Correspondent at Queen Elizabeth High School (Edmonton, AB) during IPT experience. Mohamed, J. (year unknown). Jeff Mohameds TEFL Classroom Clinic: General Methodology & Terminology; Information Gaps In English Teaching. Retrieved January 10, 2006 from www.geocities/bayinnaung/progexinfogap.html. Raptou, V. (2001). Using Information Gap Activities in the Second Langauge Classroom. Retrienved January 10, 2006 from www.caslt.org/Print/gapp.htm REEP. (2003). Information Gap. Retrieved January 10, 2006 from www.arlington.k12.va.us/instruct/ctae/adult_ed/REEP/reepcurriculum/informationgap.ht ml. Reschny, J. (2004). Repertoire of Second Language Monitor Program experience at Polyvalente de Black Lake, Thetford Mines, QC.

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INFORMATION GAP ACTIVITIES

Jigsaw pages 26-27 Jigsaw Reading