Time clauses are a surefire way for your adult ESL students to lengthen their sentences while enhancing the meaning. Is your students’ writing is full of short, choppy sentences? Introduce time clauses as a sentence writing hack.
Time Clauses AKA Adverb Clauses of Time
Time clauses are just one of several types of adverb clauses. Why are they important? Time clauses give a sentence more depth and meaning than a simple adverb. Sure, you could say, “I moved to a new apartment yesterday.” Or you could say, “I moved to a new apartment after the army of cockroaches invaded the building.” Yesterday puts the action squarely in the past, but it is an easy word to use that doesn’t require creativity. When students have to come up with what happened before the move, they have a greater opportunity to go into detail, which will also lengthen their sentences and reduce choppiness. Now, how do we make this fun?
How to Create a Fun Activity to Practice Using Time Clauses
I’m going to share an activity that can be done orally or in writing, with student pairs or small groups. The preparation is minimal–you’ve probably already done a lot of it without realizing it. Just check all the funny pictures you’ve saved on your phone!
Step #1 The Gathering
You will need some funny, amazing, or simply unbelievable photos, preferably WITHOUT text. The more photos you have, the more time your students will need for this activity. However, it’s not like you have to plan to use them all. Having some extras in reserve if a photo turns out to be a dud when it comes to inspiring students would help ensure a high level of engagement.
Step #2 The Elimination Round
Now that you’ve got a bunch of photos chosen for your time clauses activity and you’re all excited to see what your students will come up with, take another look at each image. Try to look at the photos through your students’ eyes so you can avoid using one that could be offensive.
Suppose you have a very diverse group and are not familiar with the culture of all your students. In that case, you might want to show the photos to a colleague who has more cultural knowledge, your former students, or even higher-level students who are not in your class. Get their feedback and see which photos are best weeded out.
Step #3 The Spa Treatment
Decide if you will print the photos or display them digitally. If you plan to print but don’t have access to or can’t afford to use color ink, make sure the images don’t lose too much quality when printed in grayscale. Going digital? Make sure that each photo’s resolution is adequate for showing the picture. Does it get too blurry when you enlarge it? Grab one of those reserve photos instead.
Crop the photos to focus students’ attention on the main details of the picture that you think will help them create sentences with time clauses. Tweak the colors if necessary. Consider adding a color background, especially if the photo will be relatively small, to decrease the brightness of the white screen. Make them as large as possible without losing the photo’s quality. If you are going to print them, consider laminating them (after numbering them). Then you’ll be able to re-use the images with another class. If you don’t print them one per page, cut them out. You need enough photo sets to have one set per pair or small group of students.
Number the photos. Make the numbers visible whether they are directly on the photos or above/below them.
Step #4 The Final Preparations
Create an example sentence for one to three of the photos. Match one of these sentence models to your students’ ability but also give an example infused with creativity to inspire them with their sentences.
Cut out strips of paper. Let’s say you have ten photos you want to use and ten students. You’ll need a minimum of 100 strips of paper. (It’s best to have extras because if you don’t, someone will need more.)
Step #5 The Time Clause Photo Captioning Contest
Displaying Digitally:
- Show students the photos for which you have created example sentences (with time clauses) and share those sentences.
- Tell students they are to write one caption per photo and include the photo’s number with their sentence. Only one caption per strip of paper is permitted.
- Show each picture, one by one, allowing time for students to think of and write a sentence.
- When all the photos have been shown, collect the strips of paper in a bag or a box, mix them, and hand out some to each student. Don’t worry about every student having an equal number. You can ask those who have more to share with someone who didn’t get as many.
- Show the photos again and ask for volunteers (or randomly choose students) to read a caption for the image. You can have just a few share or ask that all captions for each photo be read aloud. You can also ask for a quick show of hands to vote for the funniest.
Printed Photos:
- Show students the photos for which you have created example sentences (with time clauses) and share those sentences.
- Tell students they are to write one caption per photo and include the photo’s number with their sentence. Only one caption per strip of paper is permitted.
- Pass out the photos. If you have enough for one per student, yay! If not, have them work in pairs or small groups so they can share the photos. Allow time for students to think of and write a sentence. Then call out “TIME” and have them pass their photo to another student/group and write a sentence for the following image. Continue until everyone has had a chance to write a sentence for each or until everyone has had a chance to write a few sentences (depending on the time you have available for this activity).
- Get a few students to help you and tape the photos around the classroom on the walls and/or boards.
- Collect the strips of paper in a bag or a box, mix them, and hand out some to each student. Don’t worry about every student having an equal number. You can ask those who have more to share with someone who didn’t get as many. Tell students to tape each strip next to its photo (using the numbers to match them).
- Have students walk around the room, reading the sentences, and writing down their favorite for each.
- Pair up students or put them in small groups to discuss with each other what their favorite sentences were.
Assessing time clauses when answers are anonymous
How can you know if they understand how to use time clauses when the answers are anonymous, like in this activity? And why would you want them to be anonymous? I have always preferred this when creativity is one of the goals and answers will be shared with the class. Not being able to come up with an imaginative answer can be crippling and destroy any fun. This way, students are not singled out or put on the spot.
Yes, but what about recognizing handwriting, you might ask. You’d be surprised at how some strips of paper will magically disappear if someone fears being judged. Students who are unwilling to share their sentences will recognize and use any opportunity to bow out. Circulating the room will help you notice these students, and you can take notes on who might need a little extra help and address that privately at a later time. You can also choose to give prompts and hints while circulating.
Time clause practice doesn’t have to be a worksheet.
I’ve seen grammar classes that are 100% lecture and workbook-oriented. Yes, students learn this way. Lectures and exercises in workbooks (or on worksheets) all have value, but day in and day out? Who wants that? With the photo caption contest, students will have to think of sentences on their own rather than just filling in blanks (which, again, has its place because drilling and repetition works). They also talk to their classmates and probably smile and laugh as well. A change in routine stimulates brains and energizes the classroom atmosphere. It’s easy to get caught up in the fast pace required in Intensive English Programs, and activities help us slow it down for a bit and savor the language learning process.
If you love freebies…
Before I point you to a ready-to-print resource, I want to share a free sample with you.
Subscribe to my newsletter and grab your copy. This is just what you want if you loved the idea of the activity I described above but don’t have the time to create something yourself.
Pre-Made Resources for Time Clauses
Looking for something a little more traditional? How about a printable grammar guide & worksheets?
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