By Juliana Moriones
TOTAL ENGLISH SITE
Have students sit in a circle around a table, on the table put an empty bowl and around of it a deck of cards (not the whole deck) facing down. Hand out every student a piece of paper and have them write down a secret wh-question (yes/no) depending on difficulty level and your expectations, make sure students use the subject “you” when making the questions, then fold them up, collect and put them in the bowl. Every card from the deck must have a specific instruction, for example:
Ace-Read the question to the person on your left but laughting
King-Read the question to the person on your right but crying
Queen-Read the question to the person in front of you but angry
Jack-Read the question to anyone but begging
10-Everybody switch places (all students, the last one takes his own question and answer it)
5-Bunny ears (all students make bunny ears, the last one takes his own question and answer it)
Once you have explained what the purpose of each card is, a student goes and takes one of the cards facing down and follows the instructions. The activity continues until all cards and questions are done.
ACTIVITY DESIGNED FOR ANY LEVEL AND ANY TOPIC
INVOLVES SPEAKING, WRITING AND LISTENING.
MATERIALS NEEDED: PAPER, A BOWL, A DECK OF CARDS
ACTIVITY DESIGNED FOR ANY LEVEL. IT CAN BE ADAPTED TO PRACTICE DIFFERENT TOPICS
MATERIALS NEEDED: TWO DECKS OF CARDS, PAPER, ENVELOPES
The teacher previously prepares the categories that wants the students to practice for example: Grammar, vocabulary, social language, general culture, pronunciation, or any other one depending on your students' needs. In the grammar category, you can make questions like; "What are the different ways to talk about the future?". Vocabulary: "Name natural disasters". Pronunciation: "Same endings", etc.
Once you have listed the categories and organized the activities, write each question or activity on a piece of paper (you need more than 5 each, that number varies according to the number of students) and put them in different envelopes on a table, then assign the categories a special suit and rank from a deck for example, " Jack of diamonds" for the grammar questions, "Queen of spades" for pronunciation. The numbers in general (from 6 to 10) are only assigned for vocabulary. Then extend all the cards, that you have assigned, on the table and if you have 10 students, divide the class in two groups. Each group by turns, takes a card from the table and according to the suit and rank, gets a question from the corresponding envelope. If the question is from any category different from vocabulary, the other group decides who answers the question and 3 minutes are given to prepare the answer. (This way every student is involved and prepared), if the answer is correct, the group gets a point. If the answer is incorrect, the other group has the opportunity to answer. When the category is vocabulary, the group using the same number of the card, has to give the same number of words, one by one without repeating. During the answer time, students are not allowed to help each other.
ACTIVITY DESIGNED FOR BASIC AND BEGINNER LEVELS TO PRACTICE THE SIMPLE PAST TENSE AND "ED" SOUNDS
MATERIALS NEEDED: A VIDEO
This activity is designed to introduce the simple past tense, regular and irregular verbs, and "ed" sounds. The presentation is organized first, by the introduction of the verb in base form and then, the way that verb is changed into the past and used in a sentence. Through this presentation the students will have the opportunity to infer the use of the verbs in past, as well to practice it while they have fun in a very communicative way.
ACTIVITY DESIGNED FOR BASIC LEVELS TO PRACTICE "THERE IS AND THERE ARE" DIALOGUES AND VOCABULARY FOR FOOD.
MATERIALS NEEDED: FOOD ITEMS
Have students bring different food items (two or three per student depending on the size of your group), First, introduce the vocabulary and practice it. Second, model the activity; pass the food items to the person on your right using the sentences "in my kitchen there is, there are". You can also include the use of the article and the quantifiers. Every student must repeat the activity.
