Hey,
How are you doing? Here in Folkestone, southern England, we are enjoying really warm weather this September which has made me dream of sensory holidays. I guess it must be because I didn't have a proper holiday this summer. Still, I've made sure my days are infused with lots of mindful pockets of relaxation, such as:
-reading a book on the beach;
-mindful walks in the local woods;
-sunbathing in my favourite park
How about you? How has your summer been?
Today I would like to share with you a lesson that I created for my B1 students, which is sensual, poetic and mindful. Here're the Teacher's notes:
My Dream Seaside Holiday
Step 1
Ask your students to think of their last seaside holiday and brainstorm what vacation sensations they experienced. Then put them into small groups/pairs to share their thoughts.
Step 2
Explain they are going to hear a poem by Josie Whitehead. Ask your students to listen and write down what sensations she mentions, that is what you can see, hear, smell, touch, and taste.
Here's a link to the poem. At this stage, please, play Josie's recording from her website.
Step 3
After you check the students' answers, ask them to read it and discuss any new vocabulary. If you want, you could print out the text from Josie's website.
Step 4
Ask the students to think of their dream seaside holiday and what sensations they want to experience. Encourage them to engage all the five senses while jotting down their ideas. You may want to play some sea sounds while they are writing, such as these.
Step 5
Once the students finish, invite them to visualise their dream holiday. Ask them to close their eyes and take a few deep mindful breaths. Encourage them to see themselves there and imagine experiencing the same sensations they’ve just written down. Please, continue playing the sea sounds if possible.
Step 6
Finally, ask them to write a poem about their dream seaside holiday using the ideas from the previous exercise. If the students want to challenge themselves, they may want to write a poem which consists of five verses, dedicating each verse to one of the five senses- hearing, sight, smell, touch, and taste.
Optional: If you are running out of time, you may assign the last task for homework.
Looking for more summer-infused lesson plans? Check out my sensory bundle "Sights and Sounds of Suumer".
"Sights and Sounds of Summer" includes three lesson plans:
1. The little butterfly 2.The prettiest pebble 3. Summer memories
Each lesson plan is based around a poem. I've created comprehension activities as well as a powerful visualisation which will wake up your students' senses. The lessons are a gentle mix of positive psychology and modern teaching.
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And before I say tata, here's one of my students' poems which I particularly love.
by Sissy Ma, 14, Shanghai
Be blessed,
Marusya Price
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