Cardboard Box Houses

 

I love using Arts and Crafts, in my teaching!

Using arts And Crafts, can be an great way to facilitate language learning with young learners.

For mixed age and level classes arts and crafts activities can supplement a course book which isn’t always appropriate for all students.

 Cardboard Box Houses 

My most favourite craft, is making  cardboard dollhouses, which is a great way to recycle old boxes and create a new toy, which we can use later, in class!

Dollhouses provide hours of fun and can be configured in any number of ways. I find that, using cardboard is a fun way to construct a place to use in class in order to teach and practice ie colours, rooms, furniture, prepositions, adjectives and so much more…

Are our students  even remotely interested in all the above ? Not really!They want to play with the item ie box, turning out to learn, so many new things!

When  in Primary school, my daughter, Alexiana, created her own recycled doll house out of recycled items from around our home. Large cardboard box for the house, cereal boxes as dividers for the rooms, lids, wrapping paper for wallpaper, bows, glitter glue and paint, plastic applesauce containers for a table, medicine box for a bed and cotton balls for pillows and many other cool ideas.

That doll house, has been used in my lessons, all these years! When I showed it to my 3rd graders, for the first time,they wanted to make one ,too!

Inspiration, is contagious!

Children are visually inclined people. They love things that they can see and touch. This is why we have to use educational materials that they can see and touch with their own hands.

To teach or revise vocabulary, here are questions you can ask the children.

1. Where do you sleep?

2. Where do you take a bath?

3. Where do you eat?

4. What room will you use when you want to sleep?

5. What room will you use when you have guests?

6. Do you have a play room at home?

7. Where do you play with your brothers and sisters?

Then you can ask questions about the different colours they see.

Time to teach the main parts of the house.

1. Post

2. Wall

3. Stairs

4. Ceiling

5. Floor

6. Door

7. Window

Furniture and numbers

1)armchair
2)bed
3)bedsidetable
4)bookcase
5)chair
6)clock
7)coffeetable
8)cooker
9)curtain
10) cushion
11) desk
12) dishwasher
13) fireplace
14) fridge
15) lamp
16) microwave
17) picture
18) rug
19) shower
20) sofa
21) telephone
22) television
23) toilet
24) wardrobe
25) washing machine

Students are asked to describe what they see

ie There are four chairs in the yellow kitchen

Time to work on  prepositions of place, some more. To do so, you could try the following activity.

Upside down home

After describing what they see in the dolls house ,you can divide the class into two teams. One team leaves the room. During their absence, the other team moves five different objects/pieces of furniture around. For example, they may place a cushion on the floor, remove a remote control, change something on a team member, or overturn something. When the other team returns, they must find the five differences and talk about which item is where.

Here are two links to help you make them -or have your students make their own dolls house…

https://www.redtedart.com/how-to-make-a-cardboard-dolls-house/

https://inhabitat.com/inhabitots/20-diy-dollhouses-that-are-eco-friendly-affordable-and-super-easy-for-any-p

arent-to-make/

 

Conclusion
As I hope I have demonstrated in this post, arts and craft, definitely have a place in the language classroom and can be used in many different ways. They are a great resource for discussions as well as practising a variety of language. Activities incorporating art /craft are motivating for students, provide an often welcome change of pace and can stimulate and develop creative and critical thinking skills.

Whether these activities work for you or not, just the fun of making crafts together will improve the tone of your classroom, and the engagement of your students. Guaranteed!

Enjoy!

ABC with bottle caps games and a… Beanstalk !

Have your little ones just mastered the alphabet? Then it is time for a revision! And what could be a better way to revise than by playing a game? After searching online, I found this incredible idea: The ABC Beanstalk on this amazing blog! I tried it and it really worked! Why don’t you give it a try, too?

https://rockinteachermaterials.wordpress.com

I found this idea a great one,  since it can also be used as an in-class project which can later decorate the wall of your classroom! Let’s take it step by step.

Firstly, make sure that your students are familiar with the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Prepare the beanstalk and bring it to the class, but make sure that you haven’t glued the leaves. Give the leaves to your students and ask them to put them in alphabetical order. Then, you can glue the leaves all together.

Now that the beanstalk is ready, it’s time for a board game! Give each student a game piece and ask them to place them at the bottom of the beanstalk. Explain that they have to roll the dice and move forward the number they roll. Once they land on a leaf, they have to say/spell a word starting with that letter.  If not, then they have to move one leaf back. The students who reaches the cloud first is the winner. Make sure you reward the winners! You can give him or her a big sticker. I often play this game in teams and not in pairs, using a big beanstalk poster on the wall. In this case, I award them one point, if they get the word right and a second point , if they manage to spell it right, too.

This is a fun and engaging way to revise the alphabet that your students will certainly love!

Bottle caps games

a)HOW TO PLAY the “Bottle Caps ALPHABET” memory GAME

(1) Make sure that all the caps are messed up so that they aren’t in order.

(2)  Turn all of the caps over so you cannot see the letters anymore.

(3) Place them in neat rows.

(4) A player turns over 2 caps.

….. If there is a match, they put those caps in their own pile and then gets to take another turn.

….. If there is NOT a match, the player then turns the caps back over ( in the same spot that they found them) .   The next player then gets to take a turn.

(5) The game is over when all of the matches are found. The player with the most caps wins the game.

b) The “Bottle caps ALPHABET” word game

(1) Make sure that all the caps are messed up so that they aren’t in order, on the floor.

(2) Divide the class in two teams

(3) Invite two students, representing the two teams,to come where the caps are

(4) Give them one word and ask them to try and write using the bottle caps, as fast as possible!

(5) The fastest student, wins a point for his/her team

(6) The game is over when all of the students have had their turn. The team with the most points, wins the game.

Let’s have a ball, with a ball!

I love trying  activities, which I find online or hear about in Seminars and Conventions, in my classes, to see how they work! These amazing ball games ,which I read about here, few months ago, really worked !! So, I had to share!

By the way, busyteacher.org, is by far, my most  favourite site!

 With a database of 17,246 free printable worksheets and lesson plans for teaching English. BusyTeacher will save you hours in preparation time.

Highly recommended to all!

Sometimes, low tech is better! Even the most financially lacking classrooms or schools can provide fun, creative activities for their students!

So, here are some great activities for our English class that will only require a ball

Spelling Ball –This game is as simple as ABC. Have your students stand in a big circle. Say a word and toss the ball to one of your students. Student says the first letter of the word and tosses the ball to a classmate, who has to say the second letter, and then tosses the ball to another. Students who make a mistake must sit down and play starts again with the teacher. The last student standing is the winner!

Shoot for Points-Set up a trash can, bin, or any container that will serve as your “basket”. Students line up. Choose a topic or grammar point, for example Past Simple. Ask each student a question: Where did you go last weekend? If student uses the verb in simple past correctly, they may shoot for points: 10 points if they score; 5 if they miss, but answered the question correctly.

Choose Your Victim-This is a great way to make a Q &A session more “active”. Students stand in a circle. Give them a grammar point to practice through questions, for example, tell them to ask questions with “ever” so they practice Present Perfect. First student asks a question with “ever” (Have you ever been to London?) and tosses the ball to a classmate who must answer correctly to stay in the game and earn the right to ask a question. Those who make a mistake must leave the circle. 

Freeze!-This game is ideal for little ones! Practice vocabulary with flashcards. First, teach students the meaning of “Freeze!” as stop. Students sit in a wide circle with a set of flashcards in the center. Students pass the ball around the circle. Tell them they can’t hold the ball for more than a second. Cover your eyes while they do this and say, “Freeze!” The student who has the ball must stop and take a flashcard from the pile. Depending on your students’ ages and level, ask them to either say the word or use it in a sentence.

It’s a bomb!-This is a great way for students to introduce themselves and learn their classmates’ names in a first lesson. Also a fun way to practice or review possessive pronouns! Have students sit in a circle. Give one of them the ball, and say, “It’s a bomb! The timer is ticking (use an egg timer!)” Tell them they have to say their name, pass the ball, and say their classmate’s name: My name is Juan. Your name is Maria. The student who has the “bomb” when the timer goes off, leaves the circle. Have students re-arrange themselves in the circle so they’re sitting next to different students, and start again.* I have also used this game to revise vocabulary! It works great with spelling tasks.

Description Dodgeball-Use a very light, soft ball for this game, as students will be trying to hit each other! Have students line up on one side of the classroom (if you can play this in the schoolyard, better!) One student stands in the front next to you holding the ball. Describe one of the students in your class: This student is the tallest in the class. The student you are describing has to run to avoid being hit by the student with the ball. If the student is hit, he/she becomes the next thrower. You may also have students wear tags with names of cities, animals, or places for you to describe.I have used the same game to revise parts of the body. The teacher or a student, describes one of the students standing in the circle and the student with the ball, tosses it to the student with that characteristic. He must then spell /translate/define etc a word to stay in the game. eg ” He has blue eyes-She is has long brown hair…”

Basketball Dare-Practice giving commands. Set up a “basket” far enough away for it to be a challenge, but not impossible for students to score. Students line up and shoot for the basket. If students score, they get to give you a command you must follow: “Walk like a monkey”, “Say something in Chinese”, “Stand on one foot for 30 seconds”, etc… Make sure you establish some ground rules, for example, students can’t give you commands that involve shouting, leaving the classroom, etc…

Mini Golf spelling game

The only equipment players need are a putter and a golf ball, which are supplied at the course.

There are two teams.

Players use their putters to hit the golf ball from the tee area and straight into the hole. The objective is to make it into each hole in as few strokes as possible. Every stroke taken counts as a point, although I limit players to a maximum of five strokes per round . The player with the fewest strokes at the end of the round wins those points for his team IF he manages to spell a word he/she is given by the opposing team or the teacher, correctly.

 

Enjoy! I am sure your students will just love them!

EASTER Hopscotch

I can assure you that,   students remember and correctly spell about the same number of EASTER  words after learning with HOPSCOTCH, as they do after a teacher-centered lesson.

Importantly however, they enjoy playing this  game very much and they report better attitudes towards studying English after learning vocabulary with HOPSCOTCH and games in general, compared to traditional teaching.

All that is required for this fun game is a few Easter sight words  and sidewalk chalk or masking tape.

On rainy days, consider using masking tape on a floor and write each Easter word on a piece of tape or index card – just make sure kids do not slip on the index card while playing the game.

You can also use the “portable” Hopscotch, like the one in the photo below…You can carry it with you to a different classroom each time, in case you don’t have your own classroom!

 

1. You can play with Easter pictures to help aid recognition or practice new words.

2. Add numbers to aid in number recognition and  practice plurals. eg ” Seven eggs”
3. Add colors to help with color recognition, too.” Seven red eggs”
4. Play with spelling words.  Have child read word, then look away and practice orally spelling the word.

5. With older students, play with vocabulary words –child tells you definition of word they land on.

6. Play with English words and mother tongue .For example, write an Easter word like “Church” and child has to tell me word in mother tongue..

7. Spell hopscotch:Give each student an Easter word to spell as she jumps through the boxes. If she spells the word wrong, she must repeat that word on her next turn. The first person to get through the entire board wins a point for her team.

      8.Word hopscotch:Method: – Draw a simple hopscotch outline on the floor with chalk , use tape or use the “Portable” version of it.

– Children take turns to hop (walk or jump) from square to square – On each square they say an Easter word that they know. These may be words in general, or words    associated with a particular Easter topic or theme, eg Spring, Food, Traditions etc. – When they run out of words they must ‘give up’ .

Variation: – Teacher puts pictures /flashcards of familiar Easter objects on each square -Children must name the objects as they hop onto the square…… More difficult:  -Children must say something about the object in the picture.

Vocabulary Hopscotch

Today, I would like  to refer  to  the potential of HOPSCOTCH to engage students, as well as to facilitate the acquisition of factual knowledge (English vocabulary) and to improve the attitudes of students towards learning English as a second language. I can assure you that,   students remember and correctly spell about the same number of new vocabulary words after learning with HOPSCOTCH as they do after a teacher-centered lesson. Importantly however, they enjoy playing this  game very much and they report better attitudes towards studying English after learning vocabulary with HOPSCOTCH and games in general, compared to traditional teaching.

All that is required for this fun game is a few sight words -or anything else that we teach eg numbers- and sidewalk chalk or masking tape.

On rainy days, consider using masking tape on a floor and write each sight word on a piece of tape or index card – just make sure kids do not slip on the index card while playing the game.

Hopscotch activities I have found online and some of my own invention

INSTRUCTIONS:

What You Need:

chalk (multiple colors work best) for outdoor play

or use colored tape & bring the fun indoors

rock or bean bag

What To Do:

1. Using chalk make a hopscotch board.

2. In each square write target sight words, spelling words, letters, etc…

3. Child should throw rock or other item eg a bean bag,onto hopscotch board.

Whichever word the rock/bean bag lands in, is the word to be read.

4. Repeat until all words have been read/used, at least once.

Different Ways to Play:

We play this a few different ways aside from the basic way listed above.

 Some rounds we read every word we hop on or

use the word in a sentence (this is especially useful for homophones)

Other times, we try to spell the target word after reading it.

Sometimes, we sing-spell the word she lands on to the tune of B-I-N-G-O.

Variations:

1. You can play with letters to help aid recognition

or practice letter sounds .

2. Use numbers to aid in number recognition.

3. Use colors to help with color recognition.

4. Play with spelling words.  Have child read word,

then look away and practice orally spelling the word.

5. Play with vocabulary words –

child tells you definition of word they land on.

6. Play with English words and mother tongue

For example, write color words like red

and child has to tell me word in mother tongue..

7. Spell hopscotch:Give each student a word to spell as she jumps through the boxes. If she spells the word wrong, she must repeat that word on her next turn. The first person to get through the entire board wins a point for her team.

8. Word hopscotch:Method: ƒ Draw a simple hopscotch outline on the floor with chalk or use tape. ƒ Children take turns to hop (walk or jump) from square to square ƒ On each square they say a word that they know. These may be words in general, or words associated with a particular topic or theme, counting etc. ƒ When they run out of words they must ‘give up’ Variation: ƒ Teacher puts pictures /flashcards of familiar objects on each square ƒ Children must name the objects as they hop onto the square More difficult: ƒ Children must say something about the object in the picture

9.I sometimes use the class vocabulary dice,too.

Do you want to read more about how to play hopscotch? Here is goes…

One player goes first and begins by tossing his marker, e.g., a pebble or beanbag, into the first square. The marker must land in the square without touching the lines. If the marker does not land in the first square, his turn is over. If the marker lands in the first squares, he must hop over the first square and then continue hoping through the hopscotch pattern saying each sight word as he lands on that square. When he gets to the last square, he must turn around and hop back saying each sight word again. He must pick up his marker without touching the first square and then complete the course by hopping on it. If he successfully completed the course, he would proceed to the next square by tossing his stone to the second square and continue hopping as stated above. He must do this for each square.

A player must hop on one foot on the single squares and straddle the double squares. If a player does not hop with the proper foot, hops on the lines or looses balance while picking up her marker, her turn is over. She would begin her next turn on that square. The first player to complete the course wins the game. For younger players, consider adding a neutral square, e.g., home and allow players to rest at the end of the course. While resting they can recite the alphabet.

– See more at: http://www.sightwordsgame.com/sightwordgames/hopscotch/#sthash.kZ8ypggS.dpuf

Playing with a dice…..

 

Our huge class dice, on the teacher’s desk!

Some time ago, I read a post on Olha Madylus’ amazing blog www.olhamadylusblog.com about how to use a dice in the class, which I found very inspiring! I decided to give it a try, at once! I made  my class huge dice and used all the activities below -suggested by Olha in her post- along with some activities of my own….!

I have to admit, it was huge success!! My students loved the dice games and asked for it, every single day! I am grateful to Olha, once more for all her support and inspiration ! She has been my mentor and she knows it !

I am sharing Olha’s notes first and I am also adding a few of my own tips! They really worked in my class! Hope, they will work in your class, too!

As Olha says “Sometimes we don’t need or don’t have access to much in the way of sophisticated aids, materials, back-up in our classrooms. But what we do have is the most sophisticated tool ever created – the imagination to help us!”

 First things first….

Equip students either with dice or get them to make spinners (you can also make dice) and away we go…

 

Board games

 

Can be student-made and that’s all the better as students will get involved in making and shaping their own materials and get to practice even more language.

 

Below is a board game I made to practice sports and free time activities vocabulary. Children throw their dice in turns and when they land on a picture, they have to say what it is. It can be used for more complex language, too, e.g. when a child lands on a sport picture she can say ‘I like / I don’t like tennis ’, practicing the use of grammar  ; ‘My most favourite sport is tennis’, practicing descriptions etc.

 

Children can create their own board games by drawing pictures of vocabulary items they have learnt in English and challenging each other. If you laminate the board games and keep them in a box, they are great for fast finishers or as a filler in lessons.

 

Older students can create board games with questions in spaces to be answered when landed on e.g. What’s your greatest ambition? What sport would you like to be able to play but can’t?

My variation: I use this game mainly to teach vocabulary . First, my kids are  asked to make  their own board games working in teams to practice specific vocabulary related to ie- Christmas, Easter, the environment, geography etc -according to  the unit we were working on, each time.

Secret Questions

 

If producing a board game seems too fiddly or time-consuming, students can work in pairs (or individually) and write 6 questions (based on a previously taught unit in the course book e.g. if they are practicing the vocabulary of jobs a question could be – What do you call a person who takes care of our teeth? / dentist). They mingle around the class and when they meet another pair/student, they have to roll or spin and get asked the question which they have landed on.

My variation: I use the same procedure in the beginning of the school year, as an ice-breaker….My students are asked to write personal questions they would like to ask their classmates ie- ” Which  is your favourite cartoon character and why?” , “If you were an animal, what would you be and why?” or other type of  questions about ie- their summer holiday memories .

Phonology

 

A fun game which revises lots of vocabulary and is great for older children and adults is practicing how many syllables words have. In groups one student at a time rolls the dice or spins the spinner. When it lands on a number that student has to say a word which has that number of syllables in it e.g. 4 = photographer. If they are correct they win a point. At the end of the game, points are counted up and a winner declared. This game is great for recalling vocabulary and hearing it inside our head.

My variation: Instead of words, my students are asked to say a sentence which has that number of words in it

eg 6= My favourite toy is my bike.

 

Mini-sketches

 

Students work in pairs and take it in turns to throw the dice / spin the spinner and have to produce an utterance with as many words as they have thrown. They have to conduct a whole conversation! You can assign topics beforehand. If you can record them it’s fun or have pairs doing their dialogues in front of the rest of the class, if they feel comfortable. This is great fun and encourages students to be very creative and meaningful, while producing often very short utterances.

My variation: I did that activity both in English and in Greek a few months ago -during our “Teachers4Europe” project. Teams had to use the dice and  creative writing  techniques, to produce their own short plays about the myth of Europe.Instead of conducting a conversation  , they had to  produce their own script, for the school sketch.

Whose turn is it?

 

Choosing who gets to answer questions or dealing with lots of hands up in the air can lead to accusations of unfairness. I group students in the class so that there are five or eleven groups, each group assigned a number. (I get a number, too) With the bigger class I use 2 dice or spinners. When it’s time for someone to answer a question I roll the dice / spin the spinner(s) and that group – or I – answer the question. Trust me – it’s fun and students never complain if they have to answer more or fewer questions than others as it’s just the luck of the draw.

My variation: I also use this game to decide about which team comes to the board first or next, in order to present their project to the rest of the class! I also use it to decide about who my helpers for certain tasks will  be. Or even to deal with seat arrangement !! Cool!

He is acting a word out…

Points lottery

 

Normally whenever we play a game with students they win a point for a correct answer, but let’s bring an element of chance. For example they could be playing Hangman. Before they guess a letter they roll the dice or spin the spinner, whatever number they land on will be the amount of points they get if they are right. This adds that element of chance and daftness to the game. It is also great practice to add up points at the end together in English.

My variation:I haven’t  actually changed anything ,here! I use this lottery activity, a lot when we play  games in teams. Kids get so excited about throwing the dice to find out the amount of points their team gets !

I also use it with my 3rd graders when I teach them the numbers 1-6 . They have to throw the dice and say or write the number they have landed on. Later, when they know more numbers , I might ask them to throw the dice twice and write the number they get making basic  mathematical calculations .

Grammar Game

 

Another great game for teens / adults. Bring in an interesting picture with a lot happening in it or show a video clip from a film with lots of action but with the sound turned down. Assign each number a tense e.g. 1=simple present, 2=present continuous, 3=simple past etc. As students take turns rolling the dice they have to create a sentence about what they are seeing in that particular tense. Again students can work alone or in pairs. It’s challenging and yet very meaningful as the rest of the class must accept or reject the offerings.

My variation: I have created  a similar  activity   to revise  vocabulary ! Students, work in teams.I give individual students a word .

I assign each number a task  with the given word .

e.g. 1=Spell it, 2=write it down ,3=use it in a sentence, 4=draw it, 5=act it out, 6=translate it .

They get a point for their team , each time they succeed.

Making questions

 

Allocate each number to a question word – 1=who, 2=why, 3=where, 4=when, 5=what, 6=how. Decide on a topic – this is usually one studied recently. Students work in pairs or small groups. One at a time students roll or spin and as they land they have to make a question for their partner(s) on that topic using that question word. For example if they land on 4 and they topic is sport a question could be – When do you usually watch sport on TV? Making questions in English is tricky and it’s great to practice as well as to review language from earlier lessons.

My variation: It’s fun when I combine this activity with the “Bananas” wh- questions game! One student comes to the board , rolls the dice and has to answer  all his  classmates’ questions- which should start with the question word he has landed on-  without smiling or laughing!! If they smile, they are out and the person who has made them smile, takes their place ! For example if they land on 5, their classmates have to ask them  questions starting with “What” ie-What does your nose look like?, What’s your brother’s  name etc .Hilarious!!

Creative ways of revising vocabulary

 

4th graders project: the weather foracast for tomorrow on our class….TV! We used a huge frame ,made from a card box, as a TV ! They had to use a map of Greece and report about the weather conditions in different parts of the country….it was lots of fun!

Some old-time-classic  vocabulary games, I love.

They say that, to stimulate long-term memory ideally, words would be reviewed 5-10 minutes after class, 24 hours later, one week later, one month later, and finally six months later.

Unless these new language items are noticed and understood on multiple occasions, they will likely fade from memory and be forgotten.

Over the past decade, I’ve put together a variety of sure-fire and engaging vocabulary recycling activities drawn from a number of sources: resource books, teachers, trainers, and some of which are of my own invention. You could also give them a try….

Taboo-hot seat

Divide the class into teams A and B. One member from each team plays at a time. The teacher scribbles a word on the board and gives the team one minute to get their teammate to say the item. If the hot-seated player manages to say the word, the teacher quickly writes another item on the board and so on until the minute is up. The team scores a point for every item they manage to say within one minute.

Taboo!

Memory challenge

Put the students into pairs or small groups. Give them a time limit (e.g. 3 minutes) and ask them to write down as many words, phrases, and/or expressions as they can from the last lesson on topic X. The pair or group that can remember the most items wins.

Variation a: To add a spelling accuracy component, teams can also earn an extra point for each correctly spelt item.

Variation b: I love it when I use music to help them brainstorm vocabulary in this game! An example is when we  revise the Season’s vocabulary and I eg have them listen to Vivaldi ” Four Seasons” while writing….

 

Brainstorming!…

 

Pictionary

Divide the class into Teams A and B. Team A sits in a group on one side of the classroom, Team B sits on the other side. One member from each team goes to the board. The teacher flashes them a word, phrase, or expression written on a piece of paper. The students have one minute to get their respective team to say the item only by drawing pictorial clues on the board. Written words, verbal clues, or gestures are forbidden. The first team to say the word scores a point.

Variation: With younger students, I draw the word in three steps: First, I draw 2-3 lines. If they get the word right, they get 3 points for their team. secondly, I draw half of the word pictorial clues. If they now get it right, they get 2 points . Finally, I draw all the pictorial clues and in case they manage to get the word right, I award them 1 point or no points at all, if they aren’t able to figure it out!

Pictionary

Bingo

I love playing Bingo revision games with kids! There are many variations..this one, is one of my favourite ones.

The teacher writes up 20 words, phrases and/or expressions on the board. Each student chooses any 9 of the items from the board and writes them down. The teacher then selects one of the items at random (bits of paper from a hat, for example) and offers a brief definition or synonym of the item but does not say the word itself. If a student thinks they have the word the teacher described, they tick it. When a student ticks all of their words, they shout BINGO!! The first student to shout BINGO wins the round. Additional rounds can be played with different sets of words.

Playing Bingo with lists of words!

Scrabbled letters

Write up eight words with their letters shuffled (e.g. eicscen for science) on the board. When the teacher says ‘go’, the students, individually or in pairs, endeavor to untangle the words as quickly as they can. The first student or pair, to do so wins. The teacher can then quickly run through each of the scrambled letter groups on the board, eliciting information about each word or concept. Tip: Don’t make them too difficult.

Categories ( Aka The alphabet game)

Divide the class into 3 or 4 teams and assign a secretary for each group. On one side of the board, write down six categories related to the current topic or syllabus of your course (e.g. countries, sports, jobs, movies, furniture, verbs, things that are round). To start the game, the teacher randomly selects a letter of the alphabet and scribbles it onto the board. Each team must then work together to quickly find a word for each of the six categories that starts with the chosen letter. The first team to complete all six categories shouts “stop!” The class then stops writing, and a member of the team goes to the board to fill in the categories. The teacher then checks each word with the class and also elicits what other teams had for each category. If the quickest team has filled in each category correctly, they earn one point for their team. The teacher then chooses a different letter and another round is played. The first team to score X number of points wins.

The Alphabet game.Working in teams.

Vocabulary fun activities 

The Dolls’ House.

To help them revise the house rooms and furniture as well as the prepositions of place, I have them decide how to decorate a dolls’ house . They are asked to place the pieces of furniture anywhere in the house they wish, and tell the class about each change they make to the previous furniture arrangements. eg ” The sofa is in the kitchen now, next to the fridge”

This is a handmade dolls’ house, that I made with my daughter at home , some years ago reusing some old supermarket boxes…

Feelings

Instead of asking them to write a boring dictation on  the adjectives that describe feelings, I ask them to find photos that show different feelings and moods and bring them to class.They  use them to play several guessing games with their classmates, in teams!

 

Seasons poetry

When I want them to revise all the Seasons Vocabulary, I have them write their own poems using it, and recite them  in class where we hold a poetry competition and finally vote for our favourite poems! I often have them work in pairs: one of them is the poet while the other one is the artist who reads the poetry and creates his/her work of art, being inspired by it! The artist, has to talk to the class about his picture, using as much of the target vocabulary as possible.

My special talents

When I want them to revise the sports and free time activities, instead of giving them a test, I have them stand up and show the class what they are good at, or what their special talent is. They are free to even teach the class about their special abilities . Such a good activity to enhance self-esteem , too!

I am good at tae-kwon-do!

 

 

Practicing both vocabulary and CAN/CAN’T for ability.

The Apple tree

This is basically a scoring game, and can be used in various different ways.I mainly play it to test new words and  spelling !

1. Put the kids in groups (6 is usually good as there are usually 6 rows of desks), but keep them seated at their desks.

2. Draw pictures of trees on the board, one tree for each group. Each tree has 9 “rungs” (add more or less depending on the amount of time you wish to play), and some apples  at the top. (see the picture above) This takes about 1 minute if you’re quick!

4. During the game you play some music (something fast and dancey). When the music plays the kids pass a ball around (no throwing!!).

5. You stop the music.

6. You then ask the person holding the ball a question (“What’s this? How are you? What’s your name? etc.) My variation is spelling new words!

7. If the student gets it right then their team’s animal climbs one rung up the tree!

8. Repeat from step 4 until one team reaches the top – and the apples!

This is good for a review session, or even for practicing new vocab. 9 rungs lasts about 20 minutes. After the first few tries I then ask questions that are worth 2 “rungs”, or even ask the kids if they want an easy question for 1 point or a tricky one for 2 points!!

 

The apple tree board game-revising nationalities

The weather forecast

Instead of asking the kids to write boring weather reports, I ask them to predict about next week’s weather and report to the class on….our class TV! They talk about their predictions using their  weather map and we can  even adjust the…volume holding imaginary remote controls !It’s loads of fun!

My favourite sports board game

To revise the sports vocabulary, I usually have them play a vocabulary board game, in pairs! They have to say the name of the sport in the picture they land on , to be able to move on to the next level. I ask older students to use the sport word in a sentence instead.

This is the book page with the new words.

Dancers and poets

When I want my students to revise new words, especially adjectives, I usually ask them to work in pairs. One of them is the poet, the other one is the dancer. The poet, writes a poem using as much  of the target vocabulary as possible. The dancer is dancing while the poet is reciting his poem …according to the verse content, trying to express his/her feelings listening to it!It can become, hilarious! Students, love both to watch and participate in  these …performances in which, improvisation rules !!

 

My friend is….

I love working with adjectives! To revise them, one of the things I do is to ask my students to write their names on a sheet of paper, then put all  those sheets  up on the classroom walls and finally ask the students to  walk around the classroom and write adjectives next to each name which they think characterize their friends! I always ask them to focus on the positive characteristics of their classmates! It’s a nice way to boost self-esteem too….We later, collect the sheets of paper and comment on them. Fun!

 

School objects hidden

Instead of giving my 3rd graders boring dictation on school objects, I prefer playing fun vocabulary games with them. One old-time-classic game  is the following : I hide different school objects under a piece of cloth and have them touch the object without looking to guess what they are ! They work in teams and for each correct guess they make , they get one point for their team!

 

 

Look, taste, smell….

To practice grammar, I also play games..

One example is the way I ask them to practice and revise the Sense Verbs . I ask a student to…take off his/her shoe and ask another student to….. smell it and tell us how it…smells! ! It’s hilarious…! Then I ask a student to keep  his/her mouth wide open and ask the student sitting next to him/her to say how it looks!! I might also ask them to smell his/her breath and comment on it!! Sounds disgusting , ha? But, the children love it! I might also ask a male student to kiss a girl’s hand a tell us the taste or smell of it…! Touch her hair and produce sentences like: ” It feels soft”!The list of the fun things I ask them to do is endless! They just don’t want us to stop! The more I ask them to do, the more they practice using the Sense Verbs !

 

Learning grammar, the fun way!

 

Another example is, the activity we do to practice the  Order of Adjectives ,when the students become …models !!

They take turns and walk like fashion models on the catwalk!

The other students use opinion, colour, material etc adjectives, to describe what the model is wearing and make comments on his/her clothes!

Example: She’s wearing a cute, pink, woolen sweater! It suits her!

He is wearing  smart, dark blue,denim jeans! They match his t-shirt!

A top model, in our English class!

The cute Monsters Posters

To have my students practice the words that describe  People and Physical Characteristics I ask them to use them to describe an imaginary creature on a poster!

They have to think about the following before they create their monster:

• What colour is he?
• What colour arms and legs does he have?
• What does he look like? (Tell us about his eyes, his ears and his mouth.)
• What can he do?

Then, they write up a profile for their monster including his/her appearance, personality, traits, skills/powers, monster friends, enemies, hobbies and where it lives – or if they are a bad guy monster you can replace the hobbies bit with ‘Strategy’ and put ‘Weakness’ at the bottom and write down what their weaknesses are.

Finally, I ask them to draw their monster!

The only limit is their imagination….

 

Drama activities to have them speak 

I rarely have my students read the text or dialogues from our book aloud…I prefer to have them act the story out in groups- from a very early age.

Sketses promote active learning, enriching and reinforcing their more traditional school experiences. In addition most children are excited by the prospect of performing in front of others as a chance to be the center of attention.  So, when it comes to teaching English as a second language, no matter the age of the student, drama and children are a winning combination.

Children love being part of something.  Preparing an ESL skit together is a bonding experience for the group.  All children are involved, from the shyest to the most outspoken and all contribute to the final outcome. Children want to belong and being part of a play allows that to happen.

You don’t have time NOT to use ESL plays.  Drama is not an addition to my 26 units, but a method of teaching them more effectively.  It does not matter if you can’t act – the children will be doing the acting and they are the experts!

The conversational use of language in an ESL play script promotes fluency. While learning a play, children listen to and repeat their lines over a period of time. By repeating the words and phrases they become familiar with them and are able to say them with increasing fluency.

The mime itself can act as a catalyst to generate and elicit language before, during and after the activity.

The teacher’s own enthusiasm also goes a long way towards motivating a child. Anyone who has taught a classroom of children knows how quickly they pick up and reflect your moods. If you think your English lesson is boring, so will they!

The plays DO GET THEM TO SPEAK. And this is a very rewarding experience for us, teachers, to hear them SPEAK, not just use the target vocabulary.

 

Teaching and revising vocabulary has become easier for me  through all these fun activities ,as for the children every single new word they are learning is now more meaningful as it is connected with their real life experiences in class .

Let’s play with new words- a simple board game idea

This is an amazing idea I borrowed from Olha Madylus’ blog  http://www.olhamadylusblog.com/ a few days ago, when I had to revise the sports vocabulary with my 4th graders! I was looking for something different since I prefer playing fun games with  vocabulary! I hate boring dictation and vocabulary tests!

I have used board games a lot in my classes all these years!

I truly believe that board games can be a useful and ready asset for the ESL classroom. Most require no preparation, and with a little patience, our english learners add a new resource to their language studies. On top of that, board games are a fun way to learn new vocabulary and make a change from the normal routine!

Below is the  board game I made to practise sports  vocabulary. Children throw their dice in turn and when they land on a picture, they have to say what it is.I used it   for more complex language, too, e.g. when a child lands on a sport picture, she can say ‘I like / I don’t like cycling’,or  ‘I usually go cycling with my brother , at the park ’, practising adverbs of frequency  etc.

This is the coursebook lesson I had to work on

Olha suggests that “Children can create their own board games by drawing pictures of vocabulary items they have learnt in English and challenging each other. If you laminate the board games and keep them in a box, they are great for fast finishers or as a filler in lessons.

Our mini board game!

Older students can create board games with questions in spaces to be answered when landed on e.g. What’s your greatest ambition? What sport would you like to be able to play but can’t?”

Thank you Olha, once more!! You have been my source of inspiration for so many years!