The fake “stuff” I’m referring to in the headline includes newspaper articles, sports “trading cards,” iPhone conversations, Facebook pages etc. These can be used for conversation practice, to create reports on historical figures (or on natural disasters or on just about anything) and for numerous other learning activities.
http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2011/01/30/the-best-tools-for-creating-fake-stuff-for-learning/