A Fistful of Fillers. Loads of Games!

A few weeks back I was asked to do a training session at the academy for which I work. When it comes to training sessions and meeting my opinion has long been one of practical over theoretical. I truly beleive that as teachers we tend to prefer the talks we leave with a whole bunch of ideas and or materials which make our classroom and class planning a wee bit easier.
It was for that very reason that I put together this session of low prep, no technology games so they could be used whenever, whereever one chooses to use them.

Here's the handout. There is a little powerpoint that I tend to throw up in class so students know which game is which and what they have to look forward to if and when they complete the main tasks of the class. It also gives them the option of which "English Learning Activities" they get to play.

A terrible two minute transition? An awkward eight minutes remaining at the end of your planned materials?  This is a simple session to help you fill those gaps with something fun and rewarding. Activities you probably know and you may have seen in the past but completely forgot. Harry’s here to remind you and hopefully add a few to your teaching repertoire.

POWEPOINT

 Why is there a Monkey in your bag?

I tend to ask one of the stronger students this question. They are then forced to come up with an answer. In turn I get each of the students to ask a question about said monkey. You can then get the students to develop the idea and ask each other why they have various other bizarre objects in their bag. It’s great for question formation and imagination.  Works with all levels from about K2.

2.       Line of Excuses

A great cooler. As students are preparing to leave they have to give reasons as to why they should leave first to get their way to the front of the line. The teacher decides who has the best excuse and that person gets to leave first.

3.       City Race

Elicit a city from your students. Write them vertically down the board two or three times. Students must then take turns (in their teams) to come up to the board and write the longest word they can which starts with each letter. For higher levels you can make the parameters more difficult. Eg. Adjectives or Words related to a specific lexical set.

4.       Consequences/Secret Story

Students write a line each for a story and then fold the page. After 8 rounds the pages are unraveled and stories read. This game is great for working on narrative tenses and the art of surprise. The 8 topics I use are: 1: His name 2: Her name 3: Where they met 4: When they met 5: What he said 6: What she said 7: What happened next 8: Why did that happen.

5.       Pig, Dog, Cat, Duck

This is a pronunciation activity to work on weak forms. You can use any single syllable words from a lexical set. After Christmas perhaps you’d use. Toy, Ball, Doll, Car. Set a beat of about 112bpm. Then chant the words. Show them how the stress remains on the words even when other words are added. Stage 2. A pig, a dog, a cat, a duck. Stage 3. A pig and a dog and a cat and a duck. Stage 4. A pig and then a dog and then a cat and then a duck.

6.       Rapid Spidergram

This is as easy as it sounds. Write a word on the board about the topic you’re studying or about to study and get students to come to the board and write ANY word they can thing of related to that topic. I usually do this before and after a unit to show how much they’ve improved.

7.       Scattagories

I’m sure you often use this. It’s nothing like the board game of the same name. Although that is also super fun.  It’s similar to rapid spidergrams but it’s done in a notebook. I often ask other categories as opposed to just lexical sets.  Eg. Adverbs that don’t end LY. Or words containing the ə sound.

8.    Stop the Bus

This absolute classic has been a staple in my classroom since day one. 4/5 categories 1 letter.  Students have to complete each category using the letter chosen. When each category is complete they shout stop the bus and the game is over. You can make students write two or three in each column if they’re getting through the answers too quickly.

9.       Shark Bait

It’s hangman, it just looks different.

 Sound Match.

Start students with a word, the next student has to think of a word that starts with the same sound as the previous word ended with. Eg. Watch -  Chunder,

1   Lexical Phone Numbers

Write 0-9 on the board. Above each number write a word. Students then have to come up with a very short story including all the words that appear in their phone number. It’s a great way to recycle new vocab from the previous class.

1   Spoken Word Snake

Just like sound match except you just use the final letter from the word before.

1   Would you rather

A funny way to drill. You can make the questions as serious or silly as you like. The only important thing is students answer and then give their reasons. Eg. Would you rather have glitter ball eyes or a glow in the dark tongue? I’d obviously prefer to have a glow in the dark tongue because then I could read at night without having to run up huge electricity bills. After you’ve played a few times students will be able to come up with some real crackers.

1   Higher Lower

This is one of my favourites as you can use it to drill any kind of number and you can personalize it to you students. I usually start with something like Mount Everest and get students to guess its height. For time I get them to guess when I set my alarm or I ask them what time they had dinner. It’s great for numbers and comparative structures. You can use students’ height, shoe size, age of their grandparents. You can also get them to just think of a number between 1 and 10,000.

1   Word Sneak

This is a great way to recycle vocabulary. I often do it at the end of class to review new vocab. I give the students 5 words each and they have to seamlessly sneak them into a conversation. I normally give them a starting topic and see where the conversation goes. It’s also good to use at the start of a class to recycle vocab from the previous lesson, especially after the weekend.

1   Cheddar Gorge

A very simple game here, whereby your students create a story by using just one word each. You can make it a sentence each if you so desire.

1   Memory Shopping

It’s just a memory game you can use whatever lexical set you like. Start with, I went to the shop and I bought a banana. You then add an item to what you bought/need to buy and keep going around the room. I obviously did this one with Christmas presents. This year Santa brought me a beard comb…..

1   Alphabet Story Race

I get my students to think of a word for each letter of the alphabet and then sit with a partner and include each one in a quick story or a dialogue. Remember to encourage them to use each part of speech and not just nouns. Otherwise you’ll just get a boring list.

1   Where in the world am I?/20 Questions

Students chose a place on the map. The others have to guess where they are, more or less. This requires a small degree of geographical knowledge but it’s great for prepositions. If you’ve got a few maps then it also helps as you’re less geographically gifted lot can also figure it out. The obvious alternative to this is just 20 questions.

2   Odd one out/Throw it out

An old favourite with a recently discovered twist, thanks to a delightful lady named Gema. Give students 4 similar options they then have to discuss which one is the odd one out and why. The twisted version has you assigning each student a word and them fighting to their lives to remain as one of the three. I make out they’re all in a boat and the odd one out has to leave. Obviously this sends all the wrong messages about accepting differences in people but hey, you’re a banana get in the water.

2   Tenuous Link

Students are given 2 words they have to find a way of linking them in the most tenuous way possible. This is far better with higher levels as it gets more amusing and challenging. Eg. Table to Motor Torpedo boat. A table has legs, you can walk with legs, Birds have legs with which they walk they also have wings, wings are what make them fly, wings are also a prime component of a plane, some planes were built to drop bombs, others were built to land on the water, a motor torpedo boat goes both on the water and uses its own type of bomb.

2   Alphabet Challenge

Set a topic and students have to go through the alphabet in order naming one of each letter. Capital cities, food, Names etc.

2   Hot Seat

Utter classic. This can be played a few different ways, either with 5 words on the board that the other students have to describe or with a bunch of questions written on the board that the one in the chair has to answer.

2   Which one was yours?

Great for drilling. I get my students to write an item on a card. Perhaps a present they got or an innocuous item from their room. The cards/pieces of scrap paper are then mixed up and redistributed. Students then have to guess who the owner of their card is. I had my pet students saying. I can’t be sure but I reckon the beard comb belongs to Harry because he’s the only one in here with a beard like a majestic lion. (ok perhaps the reason wasn’t quite that elaborate)

2   Just a minute

Great for anything above PET. You give students a topic or a part one question. They then have to speak about it for a minute. Other students have to listen out for hesitation and repetition. I make this vaguely more interesting by giving each student an animal name and they have to interrupt but using said animals sound. The students speaking at the end of the minute gets the point. I often use this in a =’s and X’s kinda style.

2   Platanos Vs Bananas

This little game is a great way to get students up and moving. I use it for all levels. I put two opposing words/views on either side of the room. Students have to run to whichever they prefer. They then have to question each other as to why they chose the side they did. Eg. Cats vs Dogs. If Pablo choses dogs then you (or his cat loving, more awesome classmate) asks Why did you chose dogs, don’t you think they look far worse in selfies than cats?

2   Things You Should Never Say

This is a lovely funny filler I use with higher levels. I start with the easy ones like, things you should never say in an airport. “I’ve got a bomb.” I try and get them to think of situations. One student once said things you should never say in an elevator. “I’m just going to leave this smell for you guys.” was his divine answer.

2   Catagory Catch

I used to only use this with my kids but have started using it with higher levels as well to mix things up a bit. I simply grab a ball and throw it at to a student and shout a topic/category. Students have to both catch the ball and respond instantly without repeating what’s already been said. If they drop it they lose a life. I tend to give 2 or 3 lives. Eg.

Pepe, Animals: “Dog.” Good,

Carmen, Clothing: “A shirt.” Good.

Joaquin 15^th Century Renaissance Artist “Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simon, also known simply as Michel Angelo” Nice.  And so on.

2   Instant Role Play

Simply give your students a new identity a situation and tell them to have a conversation. If you want to give prompts and language by all means do. That does require more prep and thus makes it a bit less fillery. I usually do this as a last 3 minute thing and try re using the new vocab on the board as some kind of stimulus.

3   Word Association

Just give the students a word and they have to say the first word that comes into their head. The following student does the same. It’s a great little game to play whilst you’re doing some kinda of paper filling in, like a homework list or something.

3   5 words story

A simple and effective way to kill 5 minutes. Get students to use the theme of the day to write some kind of story. I did horror stories recently after teaching about fear. The example I gave them was one stolen from the internet. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Monday. One, particularly strange students came up with this classic: I cooked your dead cat. So be aware of who is in your class.

3   You scratch my back

This is a delightful way to get students out of their chairs and more comfortable with each other. I’ve used it to drill difficult spelling and just for fun. Students are put in a line the student at the front is the writer and the others are the information road. The student closest to the teacher is given a word. They then have to send it forward to their writer, without speaking. The method they have to use is simply drawing the word letter by letter on the back of the student in front of them with just their finger. They will then in turn do it to the person in front until they reach the writer who writes the final word on the board, letter by letter.

3   Ad something

A simple sentence transformed into a beautiful one. In this game I write a boring sentence on the board and get the students to AD something. After eliciting that adjectives and adverbs are the key to descriptive writing I set them off in pairs or threes to create the most descriptive sentence EVER. This on one I got from my CAE class a couple of weeks back. From: The Teacher Ate a Sandwich. To: The morbidly obese teacher greedily ate a disgustingly greasy BLT sandwich, without the L, the T or the sandwich.

Potatoes and Their True Potential

I've got root vegetables on the mind. Root vegetables? What are you on about Harry?!

I recently sparked a great deal of interest in one of my classes by walking simply placing a potato on my desk as the class walked in.

"Teacher, A potato?" questioned a rather befuddled Alfredo.

"Yes, Alfredo, it's a potato. Very good but what else could it be?" I asked the teenager usually nattering away in Spanish as he walks in.

He stopped in his tracks and respond it could be a Spanish omelette if we just added a few eggs and some onions.

After getting a few of the more obvious answers I got students to sit down in groups and try and write 10 unique uses of a potato.  We got a few good ones. A door stop. a pencil holder, a paper weight and one particularly strange students felt it would work well as an instrument of death as you could destroy the evidence in a delicious fashion. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Or run to my car.

It's a great way to upgrade lower level students' language. I had my kids 4 (10 year old) saying things like:

"Well, it's a potato but it could be used as a toy."

For my B1 adults I created a quick conversation template that I put up on the board to get them to use language slightly above their level.

A: "Well, It's obviously a potato, but it could be used as a............ or even a........... not to mention a............."

B: "I see you're point. They're all great ideas. However, I'm pretty sure it would be best used as a............ . What do you reckon?"

My favourite idea from this class came from a lady in her early fifties who suggested the best use of a potato would be as a fake breast.

I've also found with my higher level students, teens in particular, it's a great way to get them using their mobile phones in class. Words like doorstop and bookend don't tend to pop up in everyday language, so after they've described what it could be used as:

"It could be used as the thing that keeps doors open."

I get them to take out their phones and ask Google exactly what it is. They type in, "What's the name of the thing that is used to keep doors open, in English."

As a warmer I found this really worked and got the students thinking straight away. I went on to try it with other vegetables and then on to other household items. By the end of the month students were disappointed if they walked in and there wasn't a foreign object sitting on my desk waiting to be analyzed.

Another fantastic item is the eternally useful paper clip. Which can be used as practical things such as opening your iPhone or other more surreal ideas like the zip on a zipline for small beasties. I was particularly fond of that idea.

Yesterday I ended the activity by telling my students that potatoes could be anything, which meant they were potatoes. I then went rouind and each students stated loud and proud. I AM A POTATO.

Give it a try. Get your students thinking outside the box as soon as they walk into the room. It'll go down as a class that lives long in the memory. That's for sure.

Til next time

Shoehorn ˈʃuːhɔːn

This is an activity I use with students of all ages and a wide range of abilities.
I saw it on Jimmy Fallon and thought it would be a marvelous idea for the ESL classroom.
Shoehorn is a game whereby you have to make words you have in your hand somehow fit into the conversation you are having. Each time you use one you get rid of it. when you're done with your cards you win.
As the levels advance the difficulty of the vocabulary increases. Each word does also have to fit the patterne of the conversation. I had one student who got would just say "and then I saw a........"


I tend to use vocabulary that cropped up in previous classes to see if they have retained the new vocab and also to recycle it. I have also been using words from the three readings I have recently posted.

You can use any words. I like to make a nice big mix.

For example partner A might have their six words to the tune of:

Elephant  /'elɪfənt/
Breeze   /'bri:z/
Reputation /ˌrepjʊ'teɪʃən/
Umbrella /ʌm'brelə/
Slow-dance /'sləʊ'dɑ:ns/
Reserved /rɪ'zɜ:vd/

While B would have the words below printed and individually cut:

Operation
Desktop
Unreliable
Dilly-dally
Employable
Back-stabber

I give each student their cards face down. I then get another student to elect what the topic of the conversation is. Then the students go at it for a minute or until their cards have run out.
I also put another student in with the pairs to ensure there is no improper use of the words and to settle any disputes. Then the winning student takes on the judge with a new set of words. The topic of conversation changes and we continue. The students level dictates to me as to whether I should use phonemes instead of words. In all but one of my classes classic script wins out.

If you don't want to prepare, cut, think about and laminate your words then just get your students to write down six words at the end of the class. Then use this activity as a warmer. I've found my students have become much more spontanious and they now really look forward to playing this game.

Memes and Procrastination Poo Pages

Trying to spark an interest in reading can sometimes be somewhat difficult when it comes to language learners. What I've started to do with my teenagers is get them to read little by little. With things like Memes. They may only be 10 or 15 words but each one tends to lead to even more reading.  It really isn't a great deal but it builds up.

I've recently introduced some of my classes to what I call procrastination or poo pages. Those black holes you sometimes get stuck in when all you really want to do is be productive. You know the type of pages you read while you're sitting on the toilet. Perhaps not the image you want. It is however a great way of getting your students to use English when they aren't even thinking about it.
I've showed my classes pages like:
themetapicture.com/
lamebook.com/
bored.com/
passiveaggressivenotes.com/
uhpinions.com/
textsfromlastnight.com/
buzzfeed.com

Bear in mind some of these have fairly choice language so choose carefully as to which ones you want to show your students.

Added to that I get students to find funny memes and as much with as much word play in them as possible to bring to class and present themselves. I've added a bunch of these to a powerpoint. I've notieced a huge interest in this and students try and outdo each other by bringing more and more complex jokes to class. Or simply something really cute. they are always in English. which can only be a good thing.
Just here:
Materials- look for memes

Right then, that's it for today. I do hope this brings a smile and sparks that interest in reading. Even if it is only 50 words a day.

'til the next time.

H

Movies and Emoticons. What more could a teenager ask for?

Whilst trawling the endless breadths and depths of this here internet for something a little more exciting in class, I came across this little gem.
As we all know teenagers, well everyone really, are utterly obsessed with the wonders of mobile technology. I like to harness this excitement rather than crush it at first sight like many educators nowadays.
Before I had happened upon the soon to be revealed super wonder site. I was sitting in my office trying to make emoticon clues to various riddles and such. I then hit upon the idea of doing moive titles. At that very moment. It dawned on me. "someone will have done this... for sure." Within about four strokes of the keyboard I found myself immerced in a glorious array of crypitic movie titles. I printed them out and shoved them in front of my class of 32, 15 year old boys. I paird them up and told them to figure them out in English. the quickest one to get 30 correct could then take out their phone and start creating some titles for themselves.
Just have a look here. a huge thanks goes out to Memolition.com for this one. It has been an absolute life saver and the students just can't get enough of it.

 Next stop book titles. Or is that a little bit too optimistic.

Here's the link
50 film titles

What's that sound, A step further.

good morrow one and all,
I've been talking a lot recently about the importance of pronunciation in class. I mentiod a few posts back about using the phonemic chart in the classroom as a useful tool but by no means as the be all and end all of how to help`pron.  I've been teaching my students, bit by bit, what each sound looks and sounds like. I mentioned my game What's that Sound a wee while ago. Not only does it help pron but it also throws up a whole bunch of new vocab the students would never have come across without a wee push. Well, it's been a few weeks since then and I have a whole bunch more sides that I've used in class. They have been added to the materials link just over there   --------------->                                                                                  Have fun with phonemes and don't thrust them upon your students or you'll just get a bunch of scared looking faces staring up at the utter guff you've projected in front of them.

I always follow the sounds, especially the minimal pairs, with a game or an activity in the next class to rehash them to the students. Minimal Phone numbers is always a favourite. I'll repost that blog next time so as to give you all a quick reminder and as a way of seeing some updated material.

'til next time

Get Toned

After my last post I felt like I was hit by some kind of mega evil throat infectiony train that whacked me on my back for a couple of days. thankfully that's done and dusted and I can stop acting like a typical man and acting as if the world uis about to end because my throat was a bit fatter than usual.

So last week I talked a bit about tone and how it can be adapted to convey some very different meanings. This post is going along very similar line but with a slightly different twist. It'll keep your students focussed on the importance of tone but not bore them with repartition. Yet again, it's a quicky. A wee five minute filler just to keep pronunciation at least at the back of your students minds.

Again it uses the premise of using the same sentence (last week it was a word) and presenting it to a partner in a different tone of voice.

Before setting the students off I tell them the three tones they are going to use.

Happy and Excited
Sad and upset
Nervous and worried.

i then tell them to think about different situations when they have felt those range of mixed emotions and quickly tell their partner about them.

Then I give students the sentence. "I've got something to tell you." Next I set the Ss to task with telling their partner the sentence for one of their previous situations. They then have to guess which one it was and switch. The winners are obviously the team who gets the most situattions correct. A always giving students a good model is absolutely vital.

For the powerpoint with all of these pronunciation ideas and a handout to go with it please take a look across at the more materials link. It's all there and free for anyone to do with as they please.

that's all for now peeps.

Game of Tones

Good afternoon all,

In further adventures from the land of STRIP I bring you. "You Had Me at Hello" This is a wonderfully quick activity which helps students understand the difference tone makes. With a great number of languages tone is absolutely vital so this concept is usually be very easily transmitted.

I start by asking the Ss what difference tone can make. I then arm them with two words. Hello and Really.  I  make sure they are aware the power these two words can weild and then I let them unleash that power on their partners.

For the first half of the activity I ask students to use one of the situatuions on the powerpoint (paper, boards) and speak to their partner in the tone of voice one would imagine a person in that situation would use. Their partner then has to guess which one they are trying to convey. If they get it wrong and feel their partner has misunderstoon the phrase then they can show them how it should be done.

It always helps to model the first two or three situations just to get students up to speed with the task. Especially those who aren't as quick as your star students.

When the students get to the Really section, I get them to translate or simply share with the class what each phrase means. Then they get 5 minutes to practice with a partner and finally they are called upon at random to do the same action as before, however, this time to the whole class. He, (or she) who guesses correctly get's to choose who speaks next.

The funnier you make the situations the more fun the students will have doing mock, over the top tones of voice.

As always you can find the slide for this within the STRIP presentation just there ------>STRIP materials
in  even more materials.

I hope your students enjoy this task as much as mine.

hasta la proxima.

H

The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. Johnny Cash's Version

Now, I know I'm a very lucky man. I am, obviously, accutely aware of that fact. Some mornings, though, I wake up next to my wife, look into her eyes and realise just how lucky I am. Today was one of those days. For that very reason I decided to make a gap fill activity weith some follow up questions to a song that will always be synonymous with our love.
It's great because it can really lead to a lot of debate about love at first sight. I also like to encourage my students to go out and listen to the covers. Next class we are going to discuss the difference in the different versions and which is the best.
 
I've added the andout to the materials site on the right.

I hope you enjoy it.