Informal Emails: Collaborative Writing with Personality Adjectives and Advice Structures

General
As teachers, we’re always looking for ways to make writing more engaging, especially at B2 level where students are ready to go beyond textbook exercises. One of my favourite activities combines informal email writing, personality adjectives, and advice-giving structures—all wrapped up in a collaborative gallery walk.
Before we start with the writing part you know, as  well as I do that if we want our students to actually use new vocabulary, we’ve got to help them revise it first! So, for this activity, I’ve created something super fun: an interactive, editable roulette! Yes!!! You heard that right!!! I made it myself! Wow! Even after using AI for almost three years, my mind still can’t wrap around how much we can create without writing a single line of code.
REVISING VOCABULARY: warming-up
This time, ask for volunteers—no teams, no competition, just brave students ready to test themselves and have a bit of fun along the way! One student at a time sits facing away from the board where the roulette is displayed, while the rest of the class gives clues to help them guess the personality adjective. After five adjectives, it’s time for a new volunteer to take the hot seat.
IMPORTANT: Sometimes, and for no reason, the Remove button won’t work.  Just clic the Spin button again and paste a smile. Sorry about this!
THE WRITING ACTIVITY

Objective:

Students will write an informal email in groups of 3, giving advice about the person’s personality and whether the situation is a good idea, using
  • Personality adjectives
  • Advice structures: I think you should… / If I were you… / Why don’t you.. / What/How about…?

and following the structure for informal emails below

Preparation

Before the activity, I prepare:
  • A set of six situation cards (you can print them or display them digitally).
  • Large sheets of paper or whiteboards for each group.

The Situation Cards

Each group receives one of the following scenarios:
  1. Flatmate – A friend is looking for someone to live with.
  2. New Boss – A friend will work with your current boss.
  3. Travel Companion – A friend wants to travel with someone you know.
  4. Study Group – A classmate wants to form a study group.
  5. Romantic Date – A friend is dating someone you know.
  6. Team Project – A friend will collaborate on a project.

EMAIL PERSONALITY de cristina.cabal

Procedure:

Phase 1: Writing in groups

  1. Divide students into groups of 3.
  2. Each group receives a situation card.
  3. They collaboratively write an informal email followint the layout of an informal email on a whiteboard or large sheet of paper posted on the walls of the classroom

Phase 2: Peer Review

  1. Assign each group to review another group’s email (ensure they are not reviewing their own work).
  2. The groups’ task is to critically read the assigned text and identify potential errors (grammar, vocabulary, or spelling).
  3. Instruct students to undeline any errors they spot directly on the poster

Phase 3: Consolidation and Teacher’s Feedback

  • While students do an activity in their textbooks, correct the mistakes in their emails.(perhaps using a different colored marker), thereby validating or correcting the peer-underlined feedback.

Phase 4: Final review and gallery walk

  •  Instruct the original groups to return to their own email poster.
  • Have them review the peer-feedback (underlined) and the definitive corrections you provided.
  • Ask students to  circulate around the classroom reading all the emails posted on the walls

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.

Speaking and Writing: Let’s Get these Personality Adjectives Moving

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Gallery walks must be one of my favourite dynamics. If we add speaking and writing, we have the whole package.

This activity takes something as simple as learning personality adjectives and turns it into an engaging speaking and writing task. The goal is for my students not just to memorize words like arrogant, generous, or shy—but to use them to express opinions and challenge ideas.

So in a nutshell, these are the steps to follow.

Materials: Posters (use mine if you wish), Functional language, Blue-tack or cello-tape, Optional post-it notes

  • REVISING: We start by revising personality adjectives. It’s the vocabulary we’re working on, so students already have a clear focus.

  • POSTERS. Posters with controversial statements, all using personality adjectives, are up on the walls. These are the ones I have used for this activity. You are welcome to use them.

  • Round 1. Gallery Walking. Students walk around the room in pairs or threes, reading the controversial statements and discussing whether they agree or disagree with each statement. You might want to write on the board some functional language to express opinion.(link to photocopy above)

  • Round 2: Write it down. Back at their seats, each student, individually, chooses one statement they agree or disagree with and writes about 70–90 words explaining why they agree or disagree — encourage them to use personality adjectives in their writing. They then stick it next to the poster.

  • First side note: ask them to use their best handwriting. You know what I am talking about, don’t you? Sometimes reading students’ handwriting is like trying to decode ancient hieroglyphics!
  • Second side note: yes, after this first round, you should walk around reading what they have written   and correcting mistakes. I am afraid this is our job, too.

  • Round 3: Writing. React and respond. Students go around again, this time reading their classmates’ post-its. Then, they add a response—agreeing or disagreeing with their peer’s opinion, explaining why. Note: a couple of sentences would be enough this time.

Note: For Round 3, I give my students post-it notes in different colours. It never hurts to add a bit of colour to life.

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.

 

No Screens, Just Smiles: Icebreaking with “If I Were…” with a Little Twist

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I’ve honestly lost count of how many Septembers this little blog has come back to life after the long, deserved 🙂  summer rest. But here we are again—new school year, and yes… another bunch of students I get to welcome into my classroom!

This time, though, there’s a twist. After years and years of teaching C1 students, I’m stepping into B2 territory. And let me tell you, it feels both exciting and a little bit like moving into a new neighborhood. Same language, different rhythm!

The first days are always a bit awkward, right? Everyone is nervous. Students don’t know me yet, I don’t know them, and there’s that extra pressure of speaking English and hoping people understand. And of course, on my side, there’s the little voice saying: “I really want them to like my classes.” I am sure you have all been there.

This year I’ve prepared a nice little activity to break the ice. You know me—I’m always the “techy” one, the teacher who loves mixing AI, gadgets, and good old tradition. But this time? Surprise! No technology at all. Just the students and me. A real, human moment. Honestly, it feels like a nice break after so much AI talk everywhere. Here we go.

Title: The Definition of Me

This activity invites students to think in a creative way about who they are. It makes them play with language, stretch their vocabulary, and build longer, more complex sentences to share a bit about themselves—just the kind of challenge a B2 learner needs.

Step 1: Warm up with the second conditional.

Before we jump into the activity, let’s do a quick review of the second conditional “If I were…, I would…”. So, I write on the board

If I were a country, I would be… 

  1. Spain
  2. Great Britain
  3. Norway

and ask them to guess which one is true for me. Once they’ve made their guesses, I tell them the real answer—and then, I explain why my choice is Spain. I share a few personal reasons and show them how to build a longer answer with the second conditional: they see the structure in action, but also get a little glimpse of me as a person, which is the point.

“If I were a country, I’d be Spain because….”

Do a second example, if necessary

If I were a kind of shoes, I would be…

  1. Boots
  2. High-heeled shoes
  3. Flip-flops

Can you guess which one is true for me?

Step 2.Their turn.

On the board write or display a few starters and ask students to choose two (see below). They will have to complete their sentences using the second conditional and giving three options; only one of them is  true for them. Allow them some time to write their sentences and think about how to explain their choices.

“Pedro , spot on. If I were a kind a shoes, I’d be flipflops because I value comfort above everything else, especially in the summer. I hate anything that makes me feel restricted or overheated, so I prefer something light, simple, and easy to wear.

Step 3: Sharing and having fun

Now comes the best part—they share their sentences in groups of 4.  Each student reads their sentence, and the others try to guess which option is the “true” one. Then the student explains their choice, using the second conditional to give reasons and add detail. Each student does two rounds, covering both of their sentences.

These are some examples of sentence starters

  • If I were a superhero, I would be…
  • If I were a dessert, I would be…
  • If I were a song, I would be…
  • If I were an animal, I would be…
  • If I were a movie character, I would be…
  • If I were a colour, I would be…
  • If I were a weather type, I would be…
  • If I were a piece of furniture, I would be…
  • If I were a type of shoes, I would be…
  • If I were a social media app, I would be….
  • If I were a vegetable, I would be…
  • If I were a cartoon character, I would be…
  • If I were a holiday, I would be…
  • If I were a school subject, I would be….
  • If I were a type of weather, I would be…
  • If I were a city, I would be…
  • If I were a book, I would be…
  • If I were a language, I would be…
  • If I were a season, I would be…
  • If I were a sport, I would be…
  • If I were a type of music, I would be…
  • If I were a time of day, I would be…
Follow-up: The Little Twist Game

Once the groups have finished, I like to add a little twist to bring the whole class together. Here’s how it works: each group writes the letters A, B, and C on three separate pieces of paper.

Now, one brave volunteer from a group stands up, reads their sentence, and gives the three options. The other groups listen carefully debate a little, and when I say the magic word… everyone has to raise their card—A, B, or C—to show their guess.

If a group guesses correctly, they score a point. Then, the volunteer reveals the answer and explains their choice (which always leads to some fun and unexpected stories!). We keep going round by round so every group has a turn, and then I usually throw in a second round.

I hope you have enjoyed this icebreaker! It is simple and  it is fun.  It is nice to be blogging again!