Tag Archives: AI

Guided Opinion Writing: From Individual Ideas to Collaborative Essays

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Let’s be honest for a second. Writing. That skill we know our students desperately need… and the one that somehow never quite fits into a lesson. Sound familiar? You look at the clock, look at the syllabus, and think: “I should do some writing today…” And then—boom! Time’s gone.

And when we do try to squeeze writing into class, it feels… weird. Students are working individually, heads down, writing quietly. Necessary? Absolutely. But also a bit lonely. A bit silent. And if you’re anything like me, there’s that feeling that you’re “not really teaching” because you’re not actively doing something every second. Asking them to write at home? Yeah… no. We all know how that story ends.

So here’s the challenge: how do we give them real writing practice, keep it guided, make it engaging, and still protect the process? Tricky? Yes. Impossible? Not at all. I’ve used the small whiteboards on my classroom walls (but big sheets of paper do the job too) and the results were much better than I expected. Let me show you how it works.

Step 1: Setting the model (with a little help from AI)

First things first. I used AI to help me build the presentation that introduces the writing task. Nothing fancy, no complex prompt engineering. I literally typed: “How to write an opinion essay with examples.” That’s it.

What matters here is the transparency of the process. I want students to see that AI can act as a support tool, not a shortcut. From one simple prompt, the tool generated a clear structure, key language, and examples that we could then analyse, discuss, and question together. Below, you’ll see exactly what that prompt produced.

Should you need this same presentation with AI voiceover, click here.

Note: Click on the three dots to view the presentation full screen.

Teaching how to write a strong introduction

Before students can write anything, they need something to react to. A topic. A bit of controversy. Something that makes them think, “Hmm… do I agree with that?” So we start with a clear statement and, just as important, the freedom to choose a side,

STARS AND FOOTBALLERS ARE PAID TOO MUCH MONEY

When writing an opinion essay, you can completely agree, completely disagree, partially agree or partially disagree. The important thing is that your position is clearly stated and that the points you make in the topic sentences of the main part fully support the position you have taken.

Once they have decided whether they agree or disagree, we zoom in on one specific skill: the introduction. Not a full essay. Not paragraphs and paragraphs. Just the opening. To make it manageable, I introduce the  3-Sentence Formula. Simple, structured, and very student-friendly.

A good introduction only needs three things:

  1. The Hook – a short question or a striking fact (big numbers work wonders here).
  2. The Connection – a sentence that shows this is something people talk about.
  3. The Opinion – a clear statement of what you think.

To practise this, students don’t write from scratch straight away. Instead, they build an introduction by choosing one option from each column: a hook, a connection, and an opinion

At this stage, the goal isn’t originality—it’s control of structure. Once they understand how a solid introduction is built, we can slowly remove the scaffolding and let them write with more freedom.

Brainstorming 3 ideas that support their position

Now that they’ve clearly decided their position, it’s time to brainstorm ideas. I give them one simple task: write three ideas that support your opinion about the statement. These ideas will later become the body paragraphs. We won’t necessarily use all three, but thinking of an extra one gives them options and makes them feel more secure.

  • Idea 1 (footballers earn more than essential workers/they generate huge income and entertainment)
  • Idea 2 ____
  • Idea 3____

Grouping students

By now, students have written their own individual introductions. That step matters—everyone has a clear opinion. Now I put them into pairs or groups of three, but not randomly. I group them by opinion: agree with agree, disagree with disagree. Otherwise, it doesn’t work. Once grouped, they move to the whiteboards, and we’re ready to build the body paragraphs.

The body of the essay

And again, we go step by step. No full essay at once. No panic.

I remind them of one key rule: One main idea per paragraph. You explain it, you add an example, and you move on. New idea? New paragraph.

To keep things guided, I don’t show everything at once. I first present the structure of the first body paragraph. Students choose the connectors they want to use, discuss which one fits best, and complete the paragraph on their whiteboard. Only when that first paragraph is finished do I reveal the second box with the next idea.

Body Paragraph 1: The Main Argument

Goal: Introduce the first reason why you hold your opinion and provide a specific example.

Body Paragraph 2: Adding Detail

Goal: Provide a second reason and look at the “human” side of the issue (the effort or the impact on society).

Time for the conclusion: closing the essay properly

Now it’s time to wrap things up—the conclusion. Before they write, I quickly remind them what a good conclusion does. No new ideas here.

A strong conclusion is simple and clear:

  • Restate your opinion using different words

  • Briefly summarise your main ideas

  • End with a final thought that sounds confident

Then I display the last box. By this point, they already know the routine, so they get straight to work.

The Conclusion: The Final Word

Goal: Summarize the main points and leave the reader with a final thought.

Final step: revising, polishing, and thinking again

Before I step in, students re-read what they’ve written. This is their moment to spot mistakes, improve wording, and polish ideas. Only after this do I give teacher feedback.

The last part is one of my favourites. Students are assigned an essay that defends the opposite opinion to their own. Agree reads disagree. Disagree reads agree. The goal isn’t to correct—it’s to understand. To see how the same topic can be argued differently. And yes… sometimes someone changes their mind.

If you’d like to try this sequence yourself, you can download the PDF with all the steps and adapt it to your classroom.

Hope it is helpful! Let me know in the comments below!

The Sneaky Grammar of “Recommend” and some Exercises

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Ohhh yes… that sentence. That sentence.
The teacher recommended me to study more.
Hands up if your inner grammar siren starts screaming!  Yep. Same here!

Here’s the thing: “recommend” does NOT work like the verbs “tell” or “ask.”
So… “recommend + person + to + verb” = nope.

This little verb is a classic troublemaker for learners, especially because it looks friendly but hides some sneaky grammar rules underneath. And you know that correcting it once, twice, or even ten times doesn’t always do the trick, right? So the question is: how do we fix it so it sticks?

In this post, we’re going to try to fix this common mistake using traditional, tried-and-true methods combined with a tad of AI-powered magic.

Lead-in: The “Expert” Warm-up and Inferring Grammar

Write the verb ‘recommend’ on the board. Tell the class you have a problem and need their advice. Explain that you will listen to their recommendations ( using the verb “recommend”, of course!) ; however, unless the sentence is grammatically correct, you will remain silent or say ‘not quite right.’ you will respond with ‘Thank you very much’ ,only when the verb is used properly.

On the board, write only the sentences with the correct grammar and then, let students infer the grammar.

Some problems you might have

  • I feel completely overwhelmed with my workload this week.
  • I have a very important job interview tomorrow, but I am extremely nervous.
  • I need to book a holiday for my family, but we are on a very tight budget
  • I keep forgetting where I put my car keys every morning.

The Grammar: Display or photocopy the infographic

Apart from being beautiful, this infographic is simple and helps students see the grammar more clearly. Ask students to write or give their own examples using the different structures.

 

Controlled Practice: Digital Sorter (AI Generated)

Display this interactive activity and have the students tell you whether the sentences are correct or incorrect. This is a good opportunity to reinforce grammar.

Individual work: Students at their own pace.

The traditional photocopy. Just because we have AI now doesn’t mean you have get rid of things that work. And doing exercises to reflect and consolidate the grammar works; so here it is. Created with AI? Yes! Why not!

Download the PDF here

Flying Solo: Let’s move

Cards PDF

Oh yes!!! After so much sitting, students are begging me to give them an activity where they move and mingle with other students. So, let’s wrap up this lesson with a nice inetractive activity.

Divide the class into two groups:

  • Recommendation Seekers (students with a problem or dilemma)
  • Recommendation Givers  ( students who offer recommendations)

The Recommendation Seekers receive: A card with a problem or dilemma
(They can also invent their own — creativity welcome!) and a small piece of paper with the words “THANK YOU” written on it (This will be used later!)

Arrange the classroom so both groups sit facing each other in two lines and using a speed chatting format:

  • Each pair talks for 2 minutes
  • The Recommendation Giver must offer a recommendation  using the verb recommend and paying close attention to correct grammar.
  • When the bell rings, Recommendation Givers move one seat to the right

Students repeat the process until each Recommendation Seeker has spoken to 5 different people.

After all conversations, each Recommendation Seeker chooses the best recommendation they received and give their “THANK YOU” card to that student. The student with more Thank You cards is named “The Recommendation Guru” and receives a big round of applause.

Now, students change roles.

Grammar: Used to, Get used to, Be Used To. Mixing Tradition and the Power of AI

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It seems like a bold move to declare I am addicted to AI. However, after three decades of making slides and resources by hand, and with the little time I have to try to juggle  family, friends, classes and workshops, I have to say that I foresee that in the near future I’ll have  Wi-Fi antennas instead of ears! So with that said, allow me to introduce an activity where, as always in my lessons, there is a mix of tech (AI, naturally) and traditional teaching. And for this lesson? Ohhh yes… I dusted off a legend: Reward. Do you remember that gem? The photocopiable activities?

What I am most happy with in this activity? The incredible visuals I have created to explain and activate this point of grammar ( see the gif below)

  • Aim: to teach and activate the grammar of Used to, Be used to, Get used to.
  • Level B2
  • Materials provided:
  • grammar presentation with videoclips
  • interactive quiz to test the grammar
  • writing activity: PDF to photocopy the activity
  • a presentation ( to model the writing activity)

Let’s get started!

  1. Teacher + AI Help: Stunning Visuals to Explain the Grammar

I am sure you will all agree with me that there is nothing like a teacher who knows their stuff to give the best grammar explanation but in case you need some visuals, here are some great ones. I JUST LOVE THEM!!!! Have a look!

  • Grammar explanation + Exercise with short animated videos
  • Sound on and click to hear the characters using the grammar

Click on the arrows to enlarge

+

Used to, Be Used to, Get Used to de cristina.cabal

  1. Hybrid (Teacher+Students+AI) Quiz created with AI with the teacher explaining correct and incorrect guesses.

This interactive quiz was created using the free version of Claude. There are twenty questions. I started by doing the first 5 sentences with the whole class contributig  and then, asking individual students to provide the answers.

Prompt: Create an interactive quiz focusing on the grammar of used to, would (to indicate past) , get used to and be used to. Make 20 sentences. Give 4 optional answers only one of them correct. Add emojis to make the quiz more beautiful.

Link to quiz

Traditional: Activating the grammar: Guessing a new Situation: Writing+Speaking

OK, vale… now we’re getting to the fun part! We already nailed the grammar, so it’s time to put it to work in an activity that always gets my students laughing, thinking, and stretching their English muscles. And the goal? Guessing a brand-new situation using clues built with our three magic structures.

This is my own version of the Reward activity I talked about at the beginning. These are the instructions (straightaway from this excellent resource book)

PROCEDURE
1 Divide the class into Group A and Group B and ask the students to work in pairs with a student from the same group.
2 Tell the students that you are going to give them a list of situations where there have been recent changes in people’s lives. They are going to imagine that they are those people and write sentences about some of the things which they used to do but don’t do now, and also what they are having to get used to.
3 Give one copy of Situations A to each pair of students in Group A and one copy of Situations B to each pair of students in Group B. Tell the students not to show their list to a student from a different group.
4 Ask the students to complete the sentences in any way which is appropriate to the situations.
5 When they have done that, ask each pair of students from Group A to work with a pair of students from Group B.
6 Ask them to take it in turns to read out their sentences, without mentioning the situation, so that their partners can guess what has happened.

PDF here

Writing and Speaking: Used to, Get used to, Be used to de cristina.cabal

AI: Creating a presentation to model the activity

Now, you might want to model the activity first. No worries! I have you covered. This presentation was created with Gemini activating Canva (I have used Shin Chan style to make it more colourful)

Link to the presentation 

And that’s all, folks!!! I have really enjoyed experimenting with AI but know that, AI without the teacher , is nothing.

Tic Tac Toe Writing Challenge, Cristina’s Style

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This project is a perfect example of what I love most: blending the latest AI tools with good old-fashioned participation and creativity. It’s simple, it’s fun, and it gives every student a voice.

In class, we rarely have enough time for long writing tasks. Between listening activities, speaking practice, and vocabulary reviews, written expression often gets pushed to “maybe next week.” But what if we could sneak writing practice into something short, fun, and completely engaging? That’s exactly what we did this week!

I am currently working on personality adjectives, so I decided to create a Tic-Tac-Toe game using the Canvas option in Gemini.

Canvas option in Gemini?  Yes, this is an option where you create an app using natural language — no programming degree required! I simply typed something like, “Make a tic-tac-toe game I can edit,” and voilà! In seconds, we had our very own interactive Tic-Tac-Toe app, ready to play and personalize. I have made it editable, so you can easily adapt it to your own classes.( Aside note: I give webinars teaching all about it 😆 )

In my case, each square on the grid contained an adjective like embarrassed, confident….. If these words mean nothing to you, click on the Edit button,change the words and click on Save.

 

Tic-Tac-Toe Writing Challenge – Classroom Instructions
  1. Divide the class into two teams: Noughts (O) and Crosses (X). Within each team, students work in pairs, since they’ll be writing together.
  2. The Noughts team starts. They, as a team, choose one square on the tic-tac-toe board.

3. All pairs (from both the Noughts and Crosses teams) must write one sentence using the word in that square.

    • The sentence must be at least 12 words long.
    • Give them about 1–1.5 minutes to write

4.Divide the classroom board (whiteboard) into two halves: O and X.

5. When time’s up, choose one student from each team at random to come to the board and write their sentence on their side of the board. Remember, though they might be Os or Xs, they have been writing their sentence in pairs.

6. Next, ask the rest of each team to read their sentence on the board carefully and look for errors.

    • If someone finds a mistake on their team’s  sentence, they stand up, underline it on the board, and wait for the teacher’s confirmation.
    • Once confirmed, he/she corrects the error.

7. The teacher checks both sentences, gives final corrections if needed, and decides which one is better.

    • The “winner” can be the most accurate, complex, or creative sentence.
    • The winning team claims that square on the Tic-Tac-Toe board

8. Then, it’s the Crosses’ turn to choose a square and repeat the process.

9. Continue until one team wins the tic-tac-toe game or the board is full.

My tip: If you’re looking for a way to turn writing into an active, competitive, and collaborative task, this game is a gem. It keeps every student involved and sneaks in grammar, vocabulary, and peer correction all at once.

When Your Students Make YOU the Star of Their Halloween Story… with a Little Help from AI!

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Just imagine that you give your students a spooky Halloween writing task and you -their teacher – are the main star.  Have a look!

This is AI. Free and simple.  This little video is easy to make; Find a photo of yourself, choose a template , upload your photo and click Send. It only requires about 2 minutes, and the result is stunning. Just what we need to engage our students and make them think we are just geniuses at generating videos.

First, I will show you how to create the video clip and then, I will share how to use it in my class and with my students.

  1. Find a good photo of yourself to upload.
  2. The tool is PixVerse. It is Freemium and it gives 60 credits daily. With 60 credits, you can create two or maybe three video clips daily.
  3. Watch the video below to see how easy it is to create a video clip.Play around with other templates, it is a lot of fun.

 

Now, the writing task.

Activity: What Happens Next?

This is a traditional narrative writing activity where a short, dramatic video serves as the story’s “inciting incident.” Students will watch the clip and then write the rest of the story, focusing on plot development, descriptive language, and a clear resolution.

Learning Objective. Students will practice using past tenses (Past Simple, Past Continuous), sequence connectors, and descriptive vocabulary related to action and suspense.

Lesson Procedure

Step 1: Introduction & The Prompt (5 mins)

  • Tell your students: “We are going to watch the beginning of a Halloween horror story. As you’ll see, the main character is me, your teacher. Your mission is to write the rest of the story: what happens immediately after the clip ends, and how it all concludes.”
  • Play the video for the class. Play it a second time so they can absorb the details of the scene.

Step 2: Guided Brainstorming (10 mins)

  • Before students begin writing, project or write the following prompt questions on the board. Give them a few minutes to think and jot down some ideas. This will help structure their stories.

Guiding Questions:

    1. The Immediate Action: What happens in the five seconds after the video ends? Does she fight back? Does she scream for help? Is she dragged into the dark room?
    2. The Attacker: Who is under the Ghostface mask? Is it a student playing a prank, or is it someone truly dangerous? What is their motive?
    3. The Rising Action: How does she try to escape? Does she find a weapon (a book, a heavy pen)? Does someone else enter the scene (another teacher, the school janitor)?
    4. The Resolution: How does the story end? Does she get away and call the police? Does she manage to unmask the attacker, revealing a huge surprise? Or is it a tragic ending?

Step 3: Individual Writing Task (20-25 mins)

  • Instruct students to write a short story (around 200-250 words) that continues directly from where the video clip ends.
  • Remind them to use their brainstorming ideas to build a complete narrative with a beginning (the video), a middle (their rising action), and a clear end (their resolution).

Step 4: The Horror Gallery Walk & Peer Voting

Time Allotment: 15 minutes

Once they have finished, post their stories on the classroom walls to create a “Horror Gallery.” Students will stand up and move around the room to read the different creative endings their classmates have imagined. After reading them, they will vote for the story they liked the best.

Yes, don’t ask, we will need to collect their stories and give them feedback of their mistakes.