Activity 79- 3 Differences and 3 Similarities

Here is a simple idea for an engaging and meaningful ice-breaker 

Level: any
Skill: speaking and writing
Material needed: none

Instructions:

Pair up students and tell them to have a conversation and ask each other questions so as to identify 3 ways in which they are different and 3 ways in which they are different (tastes, likes, dislikes, habits, routine, experiences, etc). While they are talking, they should take notes. Later, students should report their findings to the whole class. 

Tip: Tell students that in this activity they should not talk about differences or similarities regarding physical appearance, otherwise they might end up not talking to each other and just listing down obvious traits.

Source: Vinicius Lemos
Picture Credits: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luanacreativa/236039273/

Activity 78- Reverse Charade

                 

I learned about this game by attending a workmate's workshop. It gives a little twist to a commonly used activity in the classroom: miming secret words.

Level:Any

Skill: Speaking

Material needed: set of slips with words to be guessed

Instructions: 

Explain that this game is like any other traditional miming game and that the objective is to have the word in the slip guessed correctly. Divide class into 2 or more groups. Set a time limit of one minute and tell the students that, differently from the traditional miming game, the whole team should work together to mime the word to a single person (that is the twist added to it!). If the word is guessed correctly, then the group gets a point. 

Here are some suggestions of words to be used in the game:

drive thru

Oprah Winfrey

funeral

wedding

water park

library

Spiderman

Christmas

airport

vacation

Grease

fashion show

train

zoo

sunset

internet

Source: Davi Rosa (Casa Thomas Jefferson, Brasilia, Brazil), with adaptations
picture credits : http://www.flickr.com/photos/svimes/3225119224/ (Creative Commons)