Red Pen Retirement: Students Self-Assessing their Writing

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I love a red pen ( I use pencil, but you know what I mean)  as much as the next teacher. But last week I left mine in the drawer.

Why? Just ask yourselves. How many times have you spent a whole evening marking a pile of essays from your students, handed them back, and watched students look at the mark, nod, and stuff the paper into a bag? Yeah. Me too.

So this time I wanted them to do the spotting.

The task: Guided Writing.

My B2 group got this as homework:

Write an email responding to an online ad for a room in a shared apartment. You must introduce yourself, explain why you are a great fit using two positive personality traits, and confess one negative trait.

To soften the negative adjective,

1. Use language of tendency instead of the verb to be.Target Structures: I tend to be…, I have a tendency to…, I can occasionally come across as…

2. Use modifiers (e.g., slightly indecisive, a bit stubborn, somewhat forgetful).

Write 100-120 words

Why I didn’t want to correct it

If I only circle grammar and vocabulary, students decide that’s all writing is. But at B2 there’s so much more going on. Does the email actually answer the ad? Is the tone right for someone you’ve never met? Did they hit the word count? Did they really use the target structures? Do the sentences connect, or is it a list of separate ideas?

I wanted them to find that out on their own.

The rubric (and a confession)

On the day they handed in the task, they scored their own email with a rubric. In Spanish, on purpose. I want zero doubt about what “cohesion” or “task achievement” means, so the descriptors are in the language they think in.

And I didn’t write it. Gemini did, in about five minutes. This is what I did:

  1. Told Gemini the level, the task, the target structures and the word count.
  2. Asked for a self-assessment rubric in Spanish that students can use on their own work.
  3. Asked for a PDF ready to download.
  4. Read it properly and asked for tweaks where the criteria weren’t quite what I wanted.

How I used it in Class

I printed the rubric, one copy per student. Then we went through it together, out loud, item by item, so everybody understood what each descriptor meant before they touched their own writing.

After that, it was their turn:

  1. Read your email again with the rubric in front of you.
  2. Look at the first two columns only: “Needs work” and “Achieved”.
  3. For each item, put a cross (or circle the square) in the column that best describes your email.
  4. Leave the last column empty. That one is mine! I told them it’s for the teacher to decide, so they could be honest without worrying about “the final verdict”.

Why only two columns? Because deciding “is this good enough yet?” is a much easier question than “how good is it exactly?”. It kept the task simple, and it meant they could focus on spotting what was missing rather than giving themselves a mark.

What happened

Surprised. That’s the word. Most of them had never been handed a rubric and told “you mark it”. You could see the wait, what? on their faces.

And a bit overwhelmed, too. There were a lot of boxes to tick, and many of them were things nobody had ever asked them to look at: tone, organisation, whether they’d actually used the structures. I think they hadn’t realised how much goes into a good email besides getting the grammar right.

But that was exactly the point. They went away with a much bigger picture of what “B2 writing” means, and I didn’t have to say a word.

Personality Adjectives at B2: From Word Cloud to Bingo (with a Little Help from AI)

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Has this ever happened to you? You’re chatting with your B2 students about personality, and someone proudly announces, “I’m very sensible!” Wait, do they mean sensitive? Or do they really mean they’re a model of good judgement? Chaos!

Personality adjectives look so easy on paper. They already know loads of them, right? And then the false friends sneak in and everything gets messy. That’s exactly why I love this topic. You can talk about yourself, have a laugh, get to know your classmates, and hunt down those sneaky mistakes all in one go.

Here’s how I do it, step by step. Let’s get into it!

Step 0: The coursebook

I start the way most of us do. We open the book, look at the adjectives in the unit, say them out loud, and chat about what they mean. Nothing fancy. Think of it as the warm-up before the real fun

Step 1: Build a word cloud

Now, they close their books and  I want all the adjectives they can remember from the book.  You’ve got two options here:

  • The classic way: students shout out words and you write them on the board in a cloud shape. Old school, but it works every time.
  • The lazy-teacher way (that’s me, I’m a bit lazy when it comes to writing on the board!): I use Wooclap, which has a free version. I  create the activity in Wooclap, show the QR code, students send their adjectives from their phones, and the cloud builds itself on screen. The more times a word is sent, the bigger it gets.

Two minutes later and the board (or the screen) is full of vocabulary

Step 2: Spotting the false friends

With the cloud in front of us, it’s time to zoom in on the adjectives that love to trip us up. My usual suspects:

  • sensitive vs. sensible
  • considerate vs. thoughtful

How do I explain them without spending my whole evening making slides? I let AI do the heavy lifting:

  1. I open Gemini and ask it to explain the difference between these four adjectives.
  2. Once I’m happy with the explanation, I ask it to build an HTML presentation with multiple-choice questions and gap-fill exercises.
  3. Done! A ready-to-project presentation with theory and practice included.

And because the words come from the cloud they created, it all feels much closer to them.

Step 3: Personality bingo

Time to play! Each student draws a 6-square bingo grid and fills it with adjectives from the cloud that describe them:

  • 4/5 positive ones
  • 1/2 negative ones

Yes, negative too. Honesty hour has officially begun! 😄

I have a bag ready with all the adjectives written on little papers. I pull them out one by one and, instead of just saying the word, I define it or give the opposite . Students have to work out which adjective I mean, and if it’s in their grid, they cross it off.

 The first student to complete the cross off all the adjectives in their grid,calls “Bingo!” The teacher verifies the card before awarding a prize ( a sweet?)

Step 4: Let’s talk!

Now we reach the speaking part, which is where everything clicks. Every student has chosen six adjectives to describe themselves, so they have to tell their classmates why:

  • Why did you choose “easy-going”?
  • Can you give me an example of a time you were stubborn?

To help them sound richer, I hand out an infographic with adjective modifiers: fairly, quite, rather, pretty, extremely… Because saying I’m shy isn’t the same as saying I’m fairly shy or I’m rather shy, is it? Suddenly they sound way more natural.

Little secret: I make this infographic with ChatGPT. For now it’s the best one for the job because it doesn’t hallucinate typographically.

Step 5: Writing. Homework

This is what they”ll have to do this weekend.  Keep posted if you want to know how I am planning to correct it!

Write an email responding to an online ad for a room in a shared apartment. You must introduce yourself, explain why you are a great fit using two positive personality traits, and confess one negative trait.

To soften the negative adjective,

1. Use language of tendency instead of the verb to be.Target Structures: I tend to be…, I have a tendency to…, I can occasionally come across as…

2. Use modifiers (e.g., slightly indecisive, a bit stubborn, somewhat forgetful).

Write 100-120 words

Wrapping up

In just one session, your students have reviewed vocabulary, cleared up false friends, played a game, spoken, and added nuance like proper B2 learners.

So next time personality adjectives come up in your syllabus, give this a go.

Fun Retrieval with The race letter and a Gallery Walk

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Right, personality adjectives are still on the menu, but stick with me here — this activity ‘ The Race LETTER is way more flexible than that. Fancy doing it with  some other topic-specific vocab for an exam class? Works just as well.

PART 1: The Race Letter

Picture this: your students are lined up in the aisle (or better yet, out in the corridor if you’ve got the space), each holding a blank piece of paper. You call out a letter – any letter – and they’ve got  20 seconds to  think of a personality adjective starting with that letter and scribble it down.

  • Get it right? Take a step forward.
  • Blank or wrong? Stay right where you are.

Decide how many steps ( in my case, 5 steps) they need to take before reaching the goal and That’s it! . That’s the whole game!.

How to Run It (Step-by-Step)
  • Set the scene. Line students up along the aisle between desks, or – if you’ve got the luxury of space – take them out to the corridor. This works brilliantly as an “outside the classroom” activity, and trust me, that change of scenery alone gets them buzzing.
  • Hand out paper. One blank sheet each. No prep, no printing needed.
  • Call out a letter. Start easy – think A, S, C – letters with loads of adjective options.
  • Give them 20 seconds. Enough time to think, not enough time to overthink.
  • Check answers. Walk down the line (or have them hold papers up) and check who’s got a valid personality adjective.
  • Move the winners forward. Correct answer = one step forward. Wrong or blank = stay put.
  • Repeat with a new letter each round.
  • First to reach the end wins.
A Few Tips From Trial and Error
  • Set the ground rules up front: does “kind” count for K, or are you asking for something a bit more B2-level, like knowledgeable? Decide your difficulty level before you start, and be consistent.
  • Keep a mental list of adjectives per letter.

Part Two: Turning the Adjectives Into a Gallery Walk

This is a teacher-guided activity. Allow about 5 minutes per station and tell students when to move to the next. At each station, students will have to do different things.

HOW TO DO IT

Take some of the most useful adjectives that came up and stick them up around the walls of your classroom, spaced out so students naturally move from one to the next. Then send your students off on a gallery walk:every time they move to a new spot, they’ll find two or three adjectives waiting for them, and a little task to go with each stop.

Here are some ideas to fill those stations with. At each station, I would ask them to do a different speaking tasks with the adjectives.

  1. Station 1. Speaking: Can you think of someone who fits one of these adjectives? Students talk in groups
  2. Station 2.Opposite hunt. Ask students to guess the opposite of each adjective.Speaking: Do you identify with any of these adjectives?
  3. Station 3. Rate yourself. A quick 1–5 scale for each adjective: how much does this adjective describe you?
  4. Station 4.Sentence starters. Ask students to complete the following sentence using one of the adjectives on the wall. “The most ______ person I know is…”

You can use my presentatio or say/write the questions on the board

Confession Time: I’m Useless With Names (So I Invented a Game That Reviews Vocab and Grammar Too)

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Okay, I’ll confess: we’re in the first days of the new course and I, the teacher, cannot for the life of me remember half my students’ names. Does this happen to you too? That moment when you point at someone and go “hey… you, yes, you, the one in the blue hoodie” because the name has completely vanished from your brain. A classic September moment. Well, and in my case, February moment, too.

So I started turning it over in my head (because yes, I have that habit of mine of turning any everyday problem into a classroom activity, it’s a blessing and a curse in equal measure) and I came up with something that kills two birds with one stone: we learn names AND we review grammar and vocabulary. Yay! Because why settle for one thing when you can have both, right?

And guess how I’m going to run it? Exactly how I like it: mixing tech and old-school tradition. Not fully digital, not fully analogue, a bit of both. But hey!!! You don’t like tech. It can all be done in the traditional way.

VOCABULARY ACROSTIC DUEL

Objective: learning students’ names and revising grammar and vocabulary.

Setting it up

  • A WordCloud. Split the class into two teams and create two word clouds, one per team, with the names of their members. You can do this by hand on the board or you can bring in the tech like I do (because for this bit, I admit I’m a little lazy) and use Wooclap to generate the cloud on the spot. Well, two clouds, one per team,
  • A buzzer. Some noise? Yes! Each team needs a buzzer within reach. A real buzzer, one of those that goes “ding!” and gives the whole thing that game-show feel that hooks everyone instantly.
How to play

(click on the image)

  1. Pick a student’s name at random from either word cloud (it doesn’t matter which team they’re on).
  2. Assign a challenge or if you use my wheel above, spin the wheel: for example, each letter has to be a past tense verb, or a descriptive adjective. You’ve got total freedom here to adapt it to whatever grammar point you’re working on.

An example with the name LUCAS and past tense verbs

  • L – Learned
  • U – Understood
  • C – Called
  • A – Asked
  • S – Saw

3.  Within each team, students can work solo, in pairs, or in groups of three, whatever       they prefer.

4. As soon as someone finishes the acrostic, they hit the buzzer.Let’s say it is a student from Team A.  If it’s correct, their team wins the round and  crosses out a name from Team B’s  cloud,  and picks the next name plus the next grammar or lexical category.

NOTE: If the student from Team A makes a mistake, then the other team wins (Team B) wins and crosses out a name from Team A’s cloud

And so, round after round, and without even realizing it, they’re repeating names over and over while working on structure and vocabulary. By the end of the class, I promise even I’ll have picked up a few more names.

Two No-Prep Icebreakers: Personal Stars and Funny Cartoons

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I still had sand between my toes and here I am, already planning the first day of class. How did that happen SO fast? One minute you’re lying on the beach not thinking about anything, and the next, bam! September is staring you.

But let’s look on the bright side: starting means new faces, renewed energy, and that special “fresh start” buzz I love so much.

So today I thought I’d share my plan for day one:

  1. MY PERSONAL STAR: a no-prep icebreaker to get everyone talking
  2. CARTOONS: followed by some cartoons I love using to squeeze out even more conversation once the ice is broken.

Sound good? Let’s get into it!

Icebreaker 1: Personal Star

This one takes no prep, and students always love a bit of gossip about their new teacher!

Here’s how it works: draw a star on the board and write six pieces of information about yourself inside it. Mine looks like this: black, London, December 9th, Homer, English, meat.

Tell your students the star is full of clues about you, and their job is to guess what’s behind each word by asking questions. If they’re a bit lost, give them an example: “My favourite colour is black. What question do you need to ask to find that out?” Let them work it out — “What’s your favourite colour?” — and cross the word off the star. Keep going until the whole star is solved.

Their Turn Now

Put students in pairs and get them to draw their own personal star with six pieces of information about themselves inside. They take turns asking each other questions to uncover what’s hiding in their partner’s star.

When everyone’s done, bring the group back together and have each student introduce their partner, sharing what they found out. Instant mingling, instant speaking practice, and everyone leaves knowing a little more about the person sitting next to them.

Icebreaker 2: Conversations around some of my favourite back-to-school cartoons.

Once the ice is well and truly broken, I like to move on to something a bit more visual and that’s where these back-to-school cartoons come in — they’re perfect for warming up vocabulary and getting students talking a bit more, without it feeling like “work.”

Here are six cartoons with some questions each, mixing some better suited for adults and others that’ll hook teenagers more. Grab whichever fits your group best!

CARTOON 1:We don’t all follow you on Instagram, Kayla

Questions for adults:

  1. What’s funny about this cartoon?
  2. Do you think social media has changed the way young people communicate?
  3. What are the pros and cons of kids using social media?
  4. Do you follow any of younger relatives on social media?
  5. How is “sharing your summer” different today compared to when you were a kid?

Questions for teenagers:

  1. What does the little girl expect the teacher to already know?
  2. Do you post about your summer on social media? Which apps do you use?
  3. Have you ever assumed someone already knew something because you posted it online?
  4. What’s one thing you did this summer that you’d want to tell the class about?
  5. Do you think it’s weird when teachers follow students on social media? Why or why not?
CARTOON 2: He teaches second grade

Questions for adults:

  1. Why do you think a 27-year-old teacher would feel the same way as a little kid on the first day?
  2. What usually causes that back-to-school dread for teachers — is it the students, the workload, or something else?
  3. What’s your own trick for getting motivated when you really don’t feel like going to work?

Questions for teenagers:

  1. Have you ever refused to go to school? What happened?
  2. Do you think teachers get nervous on the first day too, just like students?
  3. What year do you think would be hardest to teach, and why?
CARTOON 3: Everything but homework cutbacks

Questions for adults:

  1. Do you think schools in your area have enough resources? Why or why not?
  2. If you could cut one thing from your child’s school day, what would it be — and why?
  3. What’s something schools spend money on that you think is unnecessary?
  4. How has education changed since you were a student?

Questions for teenagers:

  1. Do you ever feel like you get too much homework? Give an example.
  2. If your school had less money, what would you miss the most — sports, clubs, or something else?
  3. What’s the worst homework you’ve ever had to do?
  4. Would you rather have more homework or a longer school day? Why?

Have a nice back-to-school day!!!