Objectives:  Students will be able to address, send, retrieve and read email.  Students will get to know their classmates better.

Material:  Computers connected to the Internet (preferably one per student) loaded with Web browsing software, Instructor and Student forms, and Reading and Sending Email handout.

Time: The first day about an hour.  The second day about an hour and a half.

Level:  Low intermediate adult English students and above.

Day One

• Walk students through the Hotmail registration process.  I encourage students to work with the classmate they are sitting next to in the lab.
• When students get to the Congratulations screen, have them fill out the two forms.  The first form is given to the instructor.  It lists the student’s name, login name and email address.  The second form is for their own reference. It lists the student’s name, login name, email address and password.  This will help students remember this information and give the teacher a record of it.
• After students complete the registration process, have them log out of Hotmail by clicking log out.
• Handout the Reading and Sending Email sheet (Download a Word document-it's a big file).  Aid students with logging on to Hotmail.
• Walk students through addressing, writing and sending an email to you.  Students should feel free to write whatever they want to you but they must include their email address in the email.  Also you may want to tell them that you will not be able to answer any questions (suggestions are always welcome) because you have to answer 28 or so emails.  Examples

After Class

• Respond to all the emails.  In your response pose a simple question. The last time I did this activity it was a Thursday.  I  asked them to tell me about their weekend plans.  In your reply, explain to them how they can reply to you.  Something like this:  "To write me back, all you have to do is click on the blue reply link on the top left of your screen.  Wait a minute until you get a new screen and just begin typing.  Click send when you are ready to send me your email."  Example

 Day Two

• Students reply to your email. Examples
• Explain to students that they are going to be writing emails to their classmates.  Brainstorm a list of good questions that they can ask their classmates to find out about their lives.
• Students write their names and email addresses on small slips of paper.  The slips are randomly distributed. 
• Students write to the address they have received.  They introduce themselves and pose four of the brainstormed questions.  I usually give them a time limit of about 30 minutes. Example
• If time, students reply to the emails they have received and pose 4 questions back. Examples

Back to Getting Started Using Email Page