Lessons that involve designing a new invention or product have cropped up at 5 of the 6 summer schools I’ve worked at. I came across this video the other day that gives me a new lead-in to the topic…
After 44 seconds the video starts to reveal a series of interesting inventions to help with routine/household tasks. The inventions include a plate smashing machine, an automatic thumbs up/down hand, and a bed separator!
First, let the students watch the video and make quick notes on each invention (there are 11 in total).
Get students to decide what they might call each product.
Then get the students to rank the products in order of how useful they are. This can be organised at a pyramid discussion (first alone, then in pairs, then groups) to generate more discussion.
Tags: EFL • efl summer school • ELT • INventions • lesson ideas • videos in class