Ask your class what they’d like to read about next lesson, and they’re highly unlikely to mention content from their coursebook. Yesterday’s catastrophe, today’s celebrity gossip or tomorrow’s technology stand a far better chance of appearing on the classroom wish list.
Thankfully, if you have a connection to the internet and Microsoft Word or Open Office Writer (available for free from www.openoffice.org), then you can create exciting classroom materials based on any topical issue of your choice in a matter of minutes.
The Teacher’s Pet is a toolbar for your word processor created to eradicate coursebook fatigue by providing teachers with easy-to-use tools which can transform texts into stimulating activities. It can be downloaded for free from Teacher´s Pet.
Thankfully, if you have a connection to the internet and Microsoft Word or Open Office Writer (available for free from www.openoffice.org), then you can create exciting classroom materials based on any topical issue of your choice in a matter of minutes.
The Teacher’s Pet is a toolbar for your word processor created to eradicate coursebook fatigue by providing teachers with easy-to-use tools which can transform texts into stimulating activities. It can be downloaded for free from Teacher´s Pet.
For those who are not familiar with the toolbar, I’d like to show you briefly how quick and easy it is.
Once you’ve downloaded the toolbar and found a text, the next step is to copy and paste it into a new document. To ensure that unwanted formatting from the website, such as tables or links, is not included, you can paste by clicking Edit > Paste special > Unformatted text.
Once you’ve downloaded the toolbar and found a text, the next step is to copy and paste it into a new document. To ensure that unwanted formatting from the website, such as tables or links, is not included, you can paste by clicking Edit > Paste special > Unformatted text.
Now the fun begins!
There are twenty-four macros to play with, many of which perform simple changes to the text, such as removing letters, spaces or punctuation and jumbling letters or words. Others can create more complex content, such as pair-matching exercises, crosswords, word search puzzles, bingo cards and flashcards. They are all free except the last four, which can each be used three times on a trial basis.
The best way to learn about each macro is to dive in and give it a go. If you are unsure about how to use a macro, just click on it and you will either be asked to confirm whether the text is formatted properly or given a pop-up message explaining what you need to do. For instance, you may be prompted to make minor changes, such as adding plus signs (+) to mark important locations in the text.
To illustrate just how simple it is, the following crossword was created using the Teacher’s Pet with vocabulary from this article in under five minutes.
The best way to learn about each macro is to dive in and give it a go. If you are unsure about how to use a macro, just click on it and you will either be asked to confirm whether the text is formatted properly or given a pop-up message explaining what you need to do. For instance, you may be prompted to make minor changes, such as adding plus signs (+) to mark important locations in the text.
To illustrate just how simple it is, the following crossword was created using the Teacher’s Pet with vocabulary from this article in under five minutes.
How much do you remember?
Follow this link to complete the crossword with words from this article.
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