STEP-BY-STEP PROJECTS TEACHER’S NOTES
UNITS 7&8 Keep a diary
This project links to Unit 7 (Timelines) & Unit 8 (On the move).
Overview
In this project, students work in groups to design a diary.
Each diary includes information about (a) dates,
(b) some tasks to complete, and (c) some space in
which to record the events of the day. Each student then
exchanges diaries with a student from another group and
tries keeping the new diary, completing the tasks in the
diary, and writing about their own experiences.
Note: For this project, you will need the following
equipment/materials:
(1) plenty of sheets of plain paper for students to
make their diaries
(2) each group will need its own set of markers,
colored pencils, or crayons
In all the Go Beyond projects, students should try to
complete the tasks in English. Encourage them to speak
in English whenever possible during the preparation
steps. Point out the sample phrases for the different
tasks. They can replace the words in italics with their
own ideas.
This project should be spread over several classes to
allow enough preparation time for the different steps and
for completing the diary.
Note: Remind students to be positive about
everyone’s ideas when they work together in groups.
Introduction
■ Write the names Anne Frank and Zlata Filipovic on
the board. Ask Do you recognize the names? What do
the names have in common? (Answer: Both people
kept diaries when they were about thirteen years old.
Anne Frank wrote about the time she spent hiding in
Amsterdam in 1942, while Zlata’s Diary recorded a
teenager’s life in Sarajevo starting in 1991.)
■ Give students copies of the project pages. Have
students work in pairs to answer the questions at the
top of the first page and then invite them to share
some of their answers. Write a selection of answers
on the board. Students then read the Introduction
to check or find the answers. Help with any
comprehension problems by making sure students
understand the words in bold.
Explain that students are going to work in groups to
create their own diaries. Then they’re going to keep a
diary. Divide the class into groups.
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillangobeyond.com
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015. This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
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Step 1 Make your diary
■ Explain that each group is going to create its own
diary and that each student in the group is going to
make and design a version of the diary. The first thing
they have to do is decide how long the diary should
be. All the diaries in the class should be for the same
length of time, such as one or two weeks. If you are
doing this project close to a school vacation, then you
could ask students to make a vacation diary for the
period they’re away from school.
■ Next, students have to make their diaries. They can
either use ready-made notebooks for this or create
their own notebooks. There are various ways to make
homemade notebooks. The students can investigate
and choose their own method by searching online.
Alternatively, they can fold several sheets of plain
paper in half and put the pages together to make
a notebook as in the illustration. The main thing to
remember is that the diary pages need to be large
enough for students to add information and write
their diary entries.
When they have completed this part of the project,
each student in the group should have a notebook
with the same number of pages. Then they write the
date and day of the week at the top of each page or
space. All the diaries in the class should start (and
end) on the same day.
Step 2 Make a list of special days and tasks
to do
■ Explain that the diaries need to include information
about any events or special days. They also need
to include tasks for the person keeping the diary to
complete. Read through the instructions together and
check that students understand what they need to
do. At this stage they only need to make notes; they
don’t need to write in their diaries yet. It might help
to brainstorm ideas for possible tasks and write them
on the board. Point out that for this part of the project
they should try to speak in English. Read through the
sample phrases to help get them started.
Step 3 Design the pages
■ Once the groups have compiled their lists, each
student in the group transfers the information to the
diary that they prepared in Step 1. Stress that each
page also needs enough space for someone to write
a diary entry. Look at the illustrations together to
see samples of what’s required, including the cover
design with the diary title.
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STEP-BY-STEP PROJECTS TEACHER’S NOTES
UNITS 7&8 Keep a diary
Step 4 Exchange your diary
■ In this part of the project, each student exchanges
diaries with a student from another group. This will
allow students to complete tasks created by another
group and to work with a diary that’s been designed
and made by another student.
As soon as each student has a new diary, students
should write the name of the person who made the
diary on the back. This will avoid confusion when
each student eventually returns the completed diary
to the person who made it.
■ The students then have to keep their diaries for the
whole time period. Each day they should read the
information and attempt to complete the task if there
is one. At the end of the day they should write about
their experiences, thoughts, feelings, and opinions.
Note: You may wish to remind students not to write
anything very private or sensitive in their diaries (as
the diary will be read by another student at the end
of the project). Alternatively, if you prefer, skip the
step in which each student returns their diary to the
student who originally made it.
This page has been downloaded from www.macmillangobeyond.com
© Macmillan Publishers Limited 2015. This sheet may be photocopied and used within the class.
1
In order to make sure that students get into the
routine of keeping their diaries, ask them to bring
their diaries to each class and check that they’re
writing their diary entries. You can invite some
students to read their entries or their task for the day
to the class. Alternatively, use class time for students
to write their diary entry for the previous day.
Step 5 Share your diary
■ Once the diaries have been completed, students
return them to the students who originally made
them. Each student checks that the tasks have been
completed and reads the diary entries. If you prefer,
you can skip this step so that students keep the
diaries that they have written, promoting the idea that
personal diaries aren’t written for other people to
read.
■ The students then discuss the experience of keeping
a diary. Encourage them to ask and answer questions
using the sample phrases to help them.
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