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A story for the card

1. Divide the class into groups of 8, sitting so they can see and hear one another.
2. Give each group one pack of cards and ask a group member to shuffle and deal them.
3. The separate groups of 8 students are to work separately and simultaneously. Student A in a given group lays down one of his/her cards. If the card is a Spade, then A must tell the group about something sad that has happened to him/her. If the Card that A lays down is a club, then A tells a lucky experience; if the card is a Heart, then A tells a romantic experience, while a Diamond will evoke a story involving money. When player A has told his/her story, player B puts down a card and tells an appropriate personal experience, etc.

Picture


1. Give a picture with a thing, an animal, etc. to a pupil.
2. The pupil goes to the blackboard writes down a word that corresponds to his or her picture.
3. Then he or she shows the picture and pronounces it.

Positive features auction

1. Tell the students that they have $10 to buy some positive features, like: honest, intelligent, humorous, healthy, beautiful, stubborn, curious, fair, cheerful, gentle, optimistic, polite, hospital, helpful, thoughtful, wise, just, friendly, generous.
2. You can start with $1 for each adjective.
3. When the auction is over, student adopt their quality, saying: I am honest and helpful

Typical questions

1. Give them these typical questions, a four-year-old child may ask, e.g. ‘Mummy, does the moon go for a wee-wee?’ ‘Where did I come from?’ 2. Ask each student to write half a dozen questions (or answers) such a person might ask (and an adult answer).

At the time of the photo

1. Ask the students to bring in a photo of themselves and bring one yourself. 2. Show your own photo and say: What you are doing at the photo, What you have just done before it was taken, What you will do immediately after. 3. Ask the students to write the 3 sentences in the same way about their photos. 4. Then students tell the sentences to their neighbors. 5. The neighbors tell their partners’ sentences in reported speech: John said that he was fishing at the photo.

Sentence ladder

1. The teacher writes on the blackboard 6 words from the active vocabulary students have recently learnt.
2. The task of the class is to use all these words in the same order in one long sentence.

Different roles

1. Write the following questions on the board: Who/what does/did your best friend want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your father want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your girlfriend/boyfriend want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your mother want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your brother/sister want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your teacher want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your subordinate want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your boss want you to be/do? Who/what does/did your conscience want you to be/do?
2. Tell the students to answer the questions in writing - give them the patterns: X wants / doesn't want / didn't want / wanted me to…

Finishing conditional sentences

1. Give students only the if clause of a conditional sentence: If I go away on holiday this year ... and invite them to compose their own endings: If I had a million dollars, I would buy… If you asked me out for a meal, I would order ... If I could live anywhere I wanted, I would live ... If I had 20 children, I would be… If I had a museum, I would collect... If you loved me ... If I went to live in another country ... If we were all geniuses ... If you came to visit me…
2. Give the 'result' half of the conditional sentence as a cue: I would be rather disappointed if ... and do the same: I would stand on my head if ... We would all be very ill if ... Our teacher would be delighted if ... Would you be well prepared if...? My friend would give me a kiss if ...

Mad discussion

1. Divide the students into teams. One student from each team comes forward.
2. They have 3 minutes to argue about which is more important for mankind, e.g. detective novels or pizzas.
3. A jury decides who has put the best arguments and awards points for each team.

Last year's feelings

1. Ask the students to write down one thing that happened to them last year in each of the following months: January, April, July, October.
2. Put this verb list on the board: avoided; postponed; resisted; enjoyed; loathed; denied; finished
3. Ask the students to try and remember things they avoided doing last year and things they postponed doing last year, etc... Tell them to write one sentence for each verb, like this: In July I ... ed ... +ing...

New words

1. Ask each student to prepare one new word that is the most interesting for him for each lesson. At the lesson students write these words on the board and into their exercise-books.
2. Then try to use this set of vocabulary at the lessons to imprint the material on the memory.

What she’ll do if...

1. Pair the students. Ask the pairs to work simultaneously and think up 5 actions A might mime doing to B and 5 actions B could mime doing to A. To get the students thinking, give some examples: A pats B's hand / B stares at A / A ignores B / B kisses A, etc.
2. Go round supplying vocabulary the students will need.
3. Get a volunteer pair out in front of the class. Ask A to start miming one of the actions but to freeze the action halfway through. At this point invite comments from the class about B's likely reaction, using this pattern: If A slaps B's face, B'll... Let B tell the group what s/he'll do if A finishes his/her action!

Three of a kind

1. Ask each student to write down the titles of three books that have affected them. Alternatively, they could choose three public figures, three towns, three languages, etc.
2. Ask them to find and write down five adjectives to describe each.
3. When they have done this, they should explain their choice of books etc.

Je ne regrette rien

1. Put the following list on the board: Your school. Your job or occupation. Your friends. Your habits, e.g. smoking, exercise, eating, etc. Your hobbies, e.g. playing the piano, stamp collecting, etc. Your skills, e.g. languages, carpentry, etc.
2. Ask the students to take it in turns to tell the others in the group what they would change if they had their life again.

Was my teacher like that?

1. Prepare a set of statements about yourself at the age of 8-10. Here are four about Mario: I used to read a lot. I'd often feel angry with my father. We went to the cinema from time to time. I used to have loads of friends. The first three statements are true, the last one is false. In preparing 12-14 statements about yourself at the age of ten mix true and false ones.
2. Tell the class you are going to dictate some statements about yourself when you were young. Some of the statements will be true, some false. They are to write the ones they reckon are true in one color and the false ones in the other. Give the dictation.
3. Ask the students to compare colors. They should try and justify their choices. Finally tell them which were true and which false.

Definite position

1. Ask students to write as many words where a letter is in the third position as they know.
2. Then ask students to write words where a letter is in the second position, last position, etc.