Padlet is a great free tool for encouraging students to work collaboratively in class and the map function is perfect for making writing tasks more visual and relevant to them.
Getting Started
Here is a short video explaining how to create and share a padlet with students:
Activities
Best and Worst (A2-B1)
Students pin the best and worst bar/restaurant/supermarket/clothes store/park, etc. in their town.
Students discuss one of the facilities above in small groups/breakout rooms with questions like these:
What's your favourite place to eat in town? What do you like about it?
- what food does it have? -What do you like to order? - what does it look like?
What's the worst place you've eaten in town? What was so bad about it?
-what does it look like? - describe what you ate.
Then share the map padlet (see video above) and get everyone to put a pin in their best and worst restaurants explaining why they chose it.
At this stage it's really important to set clear expectations of the language you require: minimum 30 words? use because/although/ a specific phrase?
When students have written their pins, you're ready to discuss the next topic in groups before returning to padlet to add 2 more posts. Repeat the process for as many things as you wish to cover.
Here are some possible questions to give you an idea, but you'll probably want to tweak them depending on the age/level/interests oof your students. Best and Worst Padlet Map Questions.docx
Follow up
When students have covered the map with their thoughts and opinions, it's important to celebrate and share them in order to make the task meaningful. I always try to set a task to review each other's posts. For example, go through the posts and find something you have in common or disagree about for each of your classmates.
Superlative tour (A2-B1)
Split the class into teams and give each group a copy of a padlet map with blank pins in the locations where you can find (for example):
The highest mountain/waterfall
The tallest trees/building
The biggest city
The longest river/manmade structure
The oldest cave paintings
The hottest/coldest desert.
The teams have to race to find out what is special about each location and write a sentence using a different superlative in each one. You may well find that students come up with some completely different sentences to the ones that you had intended, but that really doesn't matter!
Alternative Tweak 1
Give the teams different maps to complete. Mix the groups after the first activity and get students to explain each other's maps and set a quiz for their classmates.
Alternative Tweak 2
Each group makes a template map, placing pins in significant locations. Then switch and complete the other team's.
Biography (A2-C1)
This is one of my favourite low-prep activities. Students research a famous person they like, then create a visual biography of their life, marking their important milestones on the map.
Three things are key to the success of this activity
Give students an example which they can follow.
Be specific about what language you expect: different tenses? minimum length? (I often give linking words which have to be included such as despite, although , however, etc.)
If possible, steer students towards celebrities from the English speaking world or towards specific websites for research, as this will help to ensure the reading is done in the target language.
Reviews (B2-C2)
Although it lends itself well to short post-it style notes, there is no reason not to use padlet with longer texts. FCE and CAE students have to practice writing a range of different reviews and pinning them to a padlet map is a great way to make it more personal.
Next time students have to write a review of a shop, restaurant or place - get them to pin it onto a padlet map.
Later you can get them to read each others' reviews and assign stars to the review based on the writiers opinion. This means more exposure to target phrases, reading comprehension and a celebration of classmates work.
Travel Agents
This classic activity works really nicely with padlet maps. Each group chooses a country/continent and prepares a holiday tour to sell to their peers.
As always, the success or failure of this activity hinges on the detail:
How many posts must each group include? - 2 per student?
How many words/sentences in each post? - 40 word minimum?
Which key words/phrases should they employ?
I found the following starting sentences helpful with my B2 group:
Looking for Adventure? Treat Yourself! Feeling Cultural?
Let Your Hair Down! Grab a bite to eat! Try Something new!
Time for a Break. Prepare to be amazed!
Once groups have prepared their tour, mix the groups and have each student sell their trip to classmates. At the end of the activity, bring the class together and everyone votes for their favourite.
Follow up
Students imagine that they are on the trip they voted for and write home explaining what they have been doing. Because they will have access to the padlet, they can always refer back to their classmates work as they do it. Has it been the trip of their dreams or a nightmare experience?
You could get them to post their letter to the countries airport, as if they were sending it at the end of their trip.
Final thoughts
Ok, I'll stop there as 5 is a nice round number, but I think you'll agree that there's a lot of scope for experimentation.
The platform is novel but the activities are not. In fact, it is their simplicity which makes them effective. The fundamental principles are exactly the same as when students put pen to paper in their notebooks, so:
Be specific about the kind of language you expect and minimise the potential for counterproductive shortcuts (I teach teenagers!)
Feedback is essential. Highlight, underline and comment on students work so that they can edit, improve and learn.
Remember padlet is a nice addition, not the cornerstone of your activity. If students have any technical issues, they can just submit their text in a different format for you to add or work with another student.
If you've read this far, you've invested too much time to turn back now. Why not give one of the activities a go this week?