LESSON ON DESIGNING A SQUIRREL-PROOF BIRD-FEEDER     

TASK: To design and present to a potential manufacturer your design for a squirrel-proof bird-feeder.
LEVEL: B1+
LANGUAGE NEEDED: Passive: The roof is made of.....
First Conditional: If the squirrel jumps onto the roof, it will slip...
materials such as glass, plastic, steel, wood, grease, water, string
STEP 1
Show the students a video clip from Youtube about bird-feeders. For example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1mL-arVoH0Q

STEP 2
Ask the students if they think they could design a squirrel-proof bird-feeder Tell them that a company is holding a competition and that the winner will be able to patent their design and make a lot of money as the company will manufacture their invention.
STEP 3
Ask the students what sort of language they think they will need to describe their invention. Give examples such as: Our bird-feeder is made of....... If the squirrel jumps/climbs..., it will fall/slip/get wet....
STEP 4
In pairs or groups the students design their bird-feeder. Make sure they have access to dictionaries and tell them they can ask you for help. Stress that they must not hurt the squirrels in any way. Go round monitoring what they are doing and encourage them to speak English. Give them a time limit to ensure that they finish together.
STEP 5
Before they start, explain that the winner will be chosen on the basis of their design and their presentation.
Each pair or group in turn presents their bird-feeder. They can use the board to draw their design. The rest of the class can raise objections and it is in their interest to do so as they want to prove that theirs is better and the others are no good. They can say things such as: "But if the squirrel jumps onto the roof, it can easily get the food. Metal will get hot in the sun...." etc 
You may film or record them at this point, which can be useful for focusing on mistakes later.
It will be good if you can persuade another member of staff to be the director of the manufacturing company and to decide on the winner.
WRITTEN FOLLOW-UP
You can tell the students to write a letter to a manufacturing company suggesting that the company might like to manufacture their squirrel-proof bird-feeder. This could be done in another class with the focus on writing a formal letter.