I am (I'm) wearing a ________.

Write its name on the board or transparency. Draw a simple (!) picture.

Quickly distribute the Student Study Guide for this lesson. (If you don't do it quickly, the students will be scrambling to find something to write on!) Ask the students to write the name of the clothing in #A under "vocabulary." (If you are teaching low novice students, disregard color and fabric type and design for now. Keep a narrow focus on articles of clothing.) After all clothing articles have been introduced, reinforce these new words by randomly pointing to your clothing, to pictures on the board, and to students' clothing and ask:

!!!More Advanced!!!

1 Distribute Handout #1. Have students label each clothing item, using a word from the list at the top of the page. Call attention to plural forms (numbers 2, 7, 9 and 10) and the plural rules:

a. Normally, a final -s is added to indicate more than one.
b. Some words, like jeans, are always plural.
c. If a word ends in an /s/ or /z/ sound, the plural marker is -es and will add a syllable (as in dresses and blouses).
d. If the singular ends in -e (as in blouse), only an -s is added.

Shirt, shirts
Jeans, jeans

2 Ask students to work with a partner, using Handout #1 (basic clothing) to ask and answer questions about clothing. Demonstrate (with a teaching aide) what you want the students to do. Ask two students also to demonstrate what you are asking the class to do, i.e., one be the teacher and one be the student (with all twelve pictures); then switch roles to give practice going both ways.(Novice students may answer yes/no.) 3 Use Handout #2 and the articles of clothing that you brought to class to introduce the students to the basic colors. Pieces of colored construction paper would be helpful as well-as would a set of small flashcards (colored construction paper with the color name on the back). Pairs of students can practice in the "teacher/student" mode-one holding up a color, the other naming the color. With a low novice group, the vocabulary for fabric and design can be placed in their "passive" vocabulary-for purposes of recognition and understanding but not for production. These students may answer as native speakers often do-with incomplete sentences.

!!!More Advanced!!!

The more advanced learners can use Handout #2 more extensively to talk about fabric type and pattern, as well as special features and clothing misfits.

!!!More Advanced!!!

1 In small groups ask students to describe the clothing that each group member is wearing. Whereas novices will use basic colors and the names of articles of clothing in their description, more advanced learners can add information about fabric type and design-and in complete sentences! (A fringe benefit is that novices will learn by listening to the responses of the more advanced!)

!!!More Advanced!!!

If your students are more advanced, you may also talk about "fit" (too big/small/tight/loose). You can have a lot of fun bringing clothing pieces that are obviously too big or too small -and asking for volunteers to model this clothing. Let the class decide what the problem is.

2 In small groups tell about the use of color in clothing in your country. For example, in the U.S., wedding dresses are usually white, and black is the color for mourning.

3 Play taped music and ask students in two concentric circles to walk around in opposite directions, e.g., the inner circle may walk to the left and the outer circle walk to the right. When the music stops, they are to position themselves back to back with the person standing opposite and describe the clothing that this person is wearing. (No fair peeking!)

Demonstrate what you want the students to do. The "describer" says: "You are wearing __________." Then the person whose clothing is being described will say: "Yes, that's right," or "No, that's not right!"

Begin the music again and continue in this way until each person has "partnered" with each person in the opposite circle.