Revisting the Smell of “Penguin & Camel Poo” on Blog’s 9th Birthday!

So adorable but smelly…
Photo by Iddo Epstein

Actually, it’s not just smelling penguin poo and camel poo, you have to touch hot sand and cold snow, see footsteps and maybe even feel seasick…

I was doing the “Smelling Your Way to the Second Conditional” exercise with a student the other day, chuckling at his amazement when I told him that those adorable penguins are pretty smelly when you get up close, when it dawned on me – this is the perfect post to revisit on my blog’s birthday!

My blog turns 9 on Dec 8, 2019!

The exercise I created in April 2011, designed to help my Deaf and hard of hearing students grasp the hypothetical aspect of the second conditional, shows how my access to creative and inspiring ideas “EXPLODED” once I began blogging.

Sailing away!
Photo by Gil Epshtein

The inspiration came from  Ceri Jones’ post about using the senses to relate to a picture , and the format from  Jason Renshaw’s Valentines Day lesson , which I was already using.

I would never have had the opportunity to know that such posts (and countless others!) existed, written by creative teachers around the globe, some of whom now are part of my P.L.N (Personal Learning Network), without my blog.

So what has changed since 2011?

I now use this exercise mainly for reading comprehension, less as a “grammar exercise”.  The modal “would” is extremely common in texts and many students have trouble internalizing the hypothetical aspects of its use.  I find it works well with several levels.

In addition, I blog dramatically less than I used to and am seriously behind with my book posts. Yes, I am still reading a lot , but can’t keep up with posting about the books. Perhaps that has to do with the influence of another creative teacher, James Taylor, aka The Teacher James, who advocated the “Just Say Yes” attitude! I find I’ve got my finger into too many pies and don’t know what to do first…

Feeling the hot sand…
Photo by Gil Epshtein

Anyway, in honor of my blog’s birthday, here’s a downloadable link to the original “Smelling Your Way to the Second Conditional” lesson. This lesson is in full color so I don’t print it, we use it on a computer.

Smelling+your+way+to+the+second+conditional

Here’s to using your senses and having the good sense to blog!

2 thoughts on “Revisting the Smell of “Penguin & Camel Poo” on Blog’s 9th Birthday!”

    1. Thanks for the good wishes, Sandy! Sadly, I’m not blogging so much and am behind on my book post. Vacations are coming – that should help!
      Naomi

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *