Sunday, July 31, 2011

Activity 33- Mime the Picture





                                          picture credits: getasecondlife.net
Here is a simple but interesting activity to practice fluency in the classroom! The best thing : students will definitely have fun!

Level: advanced
Skill: speaking
Material needed: pictures of people in different poses.

Instructions:
Ask students to pair up with a classmate and decide who is A and who is B. Student B should turn around or close eyes. Show student A a picture of someone in a specific pose. Tell student A that the objective of the activity is to make student B do the same pose as the one in the picture, however student A cannot touch student B or do any body language so as to help him or her; the only thing student A can do is give directions and explain what student B should do with the body to look exactly the same as the person in the picture! After 2 minutes , student B freezes and teacher compares the picture with the poses. Students can vote for the most similar pose. Then, students switch roles and do the activity again with a different picture.

Source: unknown

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Activity 32- If you objects could talk, what would they say to you?

                                                       picture credits: money.cnn.com


This works beautifully with older teens and adults and can be used as a starter to break the ice.

Level: low intermediate or upper
Skills: Writing, speaking and listening
Material needed: none

Instructions:
Ask students to open their notebooks and grab a pencil. Ask students to imagine what their personal objects would say to them if they could talk. Provide them with some examples (shoes : "please, wash me more often" "I wish you would go out with me more often" "Can`t you see I`m old fashioned nowadays?") and tell them they are free to choose the grammar structure they are going to use to write their sentences.

Some suggestions for this activity:
PAIR OF SHOES
CELLPHONE
CREDIT CARD
PILLOW
CAR
MIRROR
BACKPACK
WALLET
BIKE
VIDEO GAME
NOTEBOOK
REFRIGERATOR

After the students have written their sentences, ask them to pair up or sit in small groups and ask them to read their sentences and take advantage of this situation to explain and discuss a little bit why their objects would say such a thing. To wrap up the activity, have some volunteers share some of their sentences and explanations with the whole group.

Source: Unknown

Monday, July 11, 2011

Activity 31- Bad Cold Dictation

                                          picture credits: babble.com

Level: any
Skills: listening and writing
Material needed: a short passage/paragraph/text to be dictated

Instructions:

Choose an interesting passage for dictation.Explain the students that you have a bad cold today (cough or sneeze!) and that if they can’t hear a word when you sneeze or cough, they should write any word that fits the space. Read the text again sneezing or coughing in the same places. Ask students to pair up and read their passages. Volunteers read their texts to the whole class.

Source: onestopenglish.com

Monday, July 4, 2011

Activity 30- Colored Balloons

                                          picture credits: mypandapaws.com

This is a very simple yet fun activity to practice colors with very young learners who are learning their first words in English.

Level: Basic
Material needed: balloons of different colors.

Instructions:
Blow up balloons of different colors (about 5) and remind students that the balloons cannot touch the ground.Students say/shout the colors of balloon every time they hit one. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos