Nadine’s warm-up: Story Cubes
Our warm up activity consists of a bunch of dice with pictures or words on them inspired by Rory’s Story Cubes. We will separate the class into groups of 3 and the groups will choose one leader who will roll the dice and be the scribe. Once the groups have chosen their “leaders” they will roll the dice and use the images or words on the dice to create a short story.
Everyone will have 2 minutes to roll the dice and to write their story. We will then share our stories with the class.
The teacher should model one story before everyone begins.
Quick Reflection:
*Are all the words inclusive?
-Snowmen?
-Doorbell?
Can we find more?
*If we don’t know a word re-roll the dice and copy it on a piece of paper and we’ll look it up together after!
*Having a written model on the board for visual learners would be good.
Warm-Up- Scattegories
Saba & Neil
Step 1: Listen to the instructions.
Instructions:
With a partner, find an original word for each category that starts with the chosen letter. You cannot repeat a word in two categories. For example: Color: Orange, Fruit: Orange. In order to get the point, no other group can have the same answer that you have for that category. You will have ____ minutes for each round.
Step 2: Find a partner
Step 3: Get a dictionary.
Step 4: Play game.
Step 5: Share answers.
Step 6: Tally points.
Step 7: Play another round with a different letter.
Warm-Up Activity: “The Lie Game” By: Neil and Saba
*This activity can be used as an icebreaker, or as a simple writing activity.
- First, I would display the below sheet (on the second page of this write-up) on the smart board, or I would write the 5 sentences about me on the white board.
- Next, I would talk about what a “lie” is, and even have students translate the word into their language and get them to share an obvious example of a lie with the class. I would also provide a few obvious lies to ensure that they get the concept of a lie.
- Next, I get students to read each of my sentences aloud, all the while ensuring that they comprehend the meaning of the information provided.
- Then, I have them write their guesses about which question is a lie about me. We would then go around the class and ask each student what they guessed. In a larger class, you could have them do all of this in groups – with each group choosing a spokesperson to share their guess with the class.
- Next, I would have all students write 5 sentences about themselves (4 true and 1 is a lie). I have found it to be very helpful to provide a few sentence starters such as: “I like . . .”; “My favorite . . .”; “I have . . .” etc.
- Finally, in a smaller class of around 4-9 students, each student would share their sentences with the class on the smart board/whiteboard and/or just reading aloud, and everyone would try to guess the lie individually. Or, in a larger class, I would do it in groups of 3-5 students, and then have each group share one of the tougher lies with the rest of the class trying to guess which sentence is the lie.
The “Lie” Game
Name: ____________________ Date:___________________
You are to write 5 sentences about you. Four (4) of the sentences are true, and one is false (not true). The rest of the group must guess which sentence is false.
Example about me (Mr. Brewer):
I lived in Korea for almost 3 years.
I have one younger sister.
My favorite sport is baseball.
My son Nate is 4 years old.
I like doing yoga.
*Which sentence about me is a lie? # ________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
______________________________________________
Sergine Gauvin- Something about Me - Warm-Up Activity
Choose an object, photo, any visual, etc. that represents something about you at this time in your life.
Something that represents who you are, what you like to do as a hobby, what your future dream/goal that you are working on to accomplish, etc.
Once you have pick your item(s) that represents you, write on the cards a little “blurb” about what this item represents about you.
It can be a few words, a sentence or two, or a little paragraph.
Depending on the level of the learner, it can be writing just a couple words and adding a drawing about what it represent, up to writing a whole page about the person’s goal, dream, something about themselves like a hobby, a trip you wish to do, etc.
Richie MacFarlane- Hot Seat
I find this a fun and versatile game that works well with all ages. Basically, students are grouped and one member of each group sits with their back to the whiteboard. After the teacher writes something on the board behind them, like ‘bus’, each group explains the word(s) to their friend in the hot seat to guess. The first group to guess correctly gets a point, most points win. I like the game because it practices speaking fluency and also can focus on a wide range of specific language areas, like vocab or grammar. It works best with small classes and in groups of 2-4 students. It works well as a warm-up and review, and requires no planning or resources so it also works well when something goes wrong with a lesson and you don’t know what else to do.
Instructions
Model the game by having one student sit in a chair with their back to the board. Write an easy vocabulary word, like ‘apple’, on the board and explain it in full sentences until the student guesses it.
Explain the rules: use full sentences, no body language, no spelling or rhyming, no repeating words or parts of words until the person in the ‘hot seat’ has said them first.
Model the language required.
For example, if you are doing vocabulary, students should know the category (foods, transportation, things around the house, jobs), and examples of how to describe it may be required on the whiteboard (It is a …, It is…, They are …, It looks like …, It is used by …, it smells like…, etc.) depending on the level of the students.
If you like, you can have students frame their explanations to target a particular language point, like the passive tense (it is used by, it is used for, It is eaten in, it is read by, etc), by modelling the sentence structure on the whiteboard.
Answers can also be whole sentences targeting tenses and verb forms by modelling the structure on the whiteboards and using the same sentence framework for all the answers. Past tense example: “Yesterday, I (went to the mall; ate a lemon; played hockey, swam in the ocean, etc).” Future perfect tense: “By the time I am 80, I (will have been to Rome, will have had grandchildren, will have retired, etc).”
The game can be used in a lot of different ways as long as students know what they are doing and the language they need to do it.
Do a few more examples with other students in the ‘hot seat’ and the class giving explanations, using more difficult examples each time.
Count students off into 2-4 groups, and play!
Weston and Ruth Hiscock - Spell it with your body warmup
This warmup is a great way to get the wiggles out, or provide a brain break between lessons, or review from yesterday’s lesson. You need a list of vocabulary words with an equal number of letters in each word. These words can focus on a certain theme or can all be examples of a certain rule, or demonstrate different spelling for the same sound (due, new… rain, tail.. tossed, hugged…) Divide students into groups of the same number as the number of letters in the words. Have music playing and students mingling, when the music stops call out a word. The students must find their group members and spell the word using their bodies. Remember to have the word written for them in case they don’t hear and provide a sentence using the word for context. Alternatively, students can start already grouped and not do the mingling step. It could be done more as a race to see which team can get the word spelled correctly first. This is a great activity that encourages risk taking in a safe environment and creates classroom cohesion built on shared experiences.
Have you ever . . . ? Warm-up by Matt Levan and Kitty Elton
(Present Perfect Verb Tense)
Example sentence stem: visit a museum
Example question: Have you ever visited a museum?
Example answer: Yes, I have visited a museum.
(No, I have not/never visited a museum.)
Example report: Matt has visited a museum.
(Matt has not/never visited a museum.)
Have you ever: Yes No
| paddle a canoe | ||
| eat moose meat | ||
| see the northern lights | ||
| take an art class | ||
| play hockey | ||
| swim in the Bay of Fundy | ||
| drive a _________ | ||
| write a poem | ||
| travel to _________ | ||
| win a prize | ||
| play tennis | ||
| ride a horse | ||
Have you ever . . .?
Notes to Teachers
The primary goals with this activity are:
- to get students interacting with each other and moving around the room,
- to encourage students to get to know each other,
- to put students at ease,
- to allow students to practice forming questions using subject-verb inversion,
- to allow students to practice forming the present perfect tense,
- to allow students to practice using regular and irregular verbs,
- AND, to have fun!
Before the activity
- Model the activity for the students.
- Explain the subject-verb inversion used to ask questions in English.
(You might also include information about the way questions may be formed through voice tone.)
- Identify the target verb forms, and write them on the board, e.g. ridden, eaten, seen, taken, etc.
- Ask the class to suggest verbs and activities to fill in the blanks left on the sheet.
- Model questions and answers in both positive and negative forms. Try to elicit this from the students, if you can. Write examples on the board.
Example:
Have you ever paddled a canoe?
Yes, I have paddled a canoe.
No, I have never paddled a canoe.
- To ensure that students are able to interact with as many others as possible, instruct them to initially ask each person just one question and then move on to someone else.
During the activity
- Circulate among the students while they are doing this activity, observing whether they are using the language correctly. If you notice mistakes, don’t interrupt unless there is a major problem. If someone is having difficulties, it may help to refer them to the information on the board.
- Because this is an ice breaker rather than an accuracy activity, you may simply record mistakes you hear and address them at the end of the activity. If one student has problems, it is likely others will, as well.
- Try not to interrupt unless there is a big issue. Be gentle and pleasant about corrections; this is meant to be fun.
- If everyone seems to be having real difficulties, sit them down and go through it again, perhaps varying the examples. Then resume the activity with fun and enthusiasm uppermost.
- If some individuals are finished with their list before the rest, you might suggest that they ask for more information from those for whom they have answers. For example: What kind of prize did you win?
After the activity
- At the end, ask students to share some of the answers they received from their classmates. It is helpful to put the language on the board for them first to demonstrate what you are asking them to do.
Example: Monique has paddled a canoe. / Monique has never paddled a canoe.
- You might go down through the list of questions, asking different students to respond.
- Or, you might ask the class as a whole: Has anyone paddled a canoe? You could ask for a show of hands. If there is time, you can explore the answers with them. When did you paddle a canoe? Where? Do you like paddling canoes? Etc.
This exercise adapts well to various levels of competency. For example, you can easily adapt it to present tense or simple past tense, or it can be adapted to more complex verb patterns, such as the progressive tenses. Make it more relevant by including vocabulary targeted to students’ interests or other class work.
Expansion ideas for this exercise:
Survey Exercise
The class survey exercise has a variety of uses within the classroom. It can be used as a get to know you activity on the first day of class. It can be used as a way of getting your students up and moving on a slow day. It can be used to get students talking to people in the classroom that they usually don’t interact with due to seating arrangements.
Variations for different levels: This activity can be adapted to use any questions that require a yes or no answer:
Do you...? Are you/Is she.....? Did you....? Have you?
For lower-level classrooms the simple question: Do you like...? could be used with simple vocabulary groupings such as fruits and vegetables. The present perfect tense (have you...?) seen in this activity would be used for intermediate classrooms. At this level, a basic grasp of vocabulary is assumed, meaning that you do not necessarily need a theme for the questions.
Vary the level of freedom within the activity.
There are a variety of ways to make this activity either more controlled or freer. If the class is in the initial phase of learning this structure, then it might be better to give them the complete question with no expectation that the student modifies the verb to the past participle (Have you ever eaten moose meat?).
To make it a freer exercise you can leave off the object for each of the verbs: Have you ever eat....?. Or, you could simply give them the stem and ask them to fill in their own verb and object: Have you ever....? In a more controlled format, the class would together come up with the questions. In a freer format each individual comes up with their own question.
Different formats or ideas for this activity and grammar structure
As seen in our activity this can be done as an ice breaker where the students circulate around the class getting to know each other. It can also be done in partners. The students interview their partner and have to give a report back to the class afterwards.
You could do an activity where the students get the question stem (Have you....?) and a stack of verb flashcards. The students pick up the flashcard and have to make a question with the stem and the chosen verb.
Connecting the structure to real world situations allows students to understand the reason for using the verb tense. With this in mind, the questions could be grouped into a theme. This particular grammar structure lends itself well to employment interviews (Have you ever worked in retail before? Have you ever operated this machine before?). Students could role play mock interviews, using questions of their own creation or from the teacher.
Warm Up Summary- Patrick Sharkey
Category Hangman
My first game, “Hangman Category” is a nice game for beginner students. There are four words and a category word; I slowly reveal letters from some of the words. If a student can solve all the words and the topic word he/she can raise their hand. The words are all related to the topic word.
Family Feud
My second game was, “Family Feud” and its played just like the show. I ask a question and the students will write their five best answers. Each answer is coupled with points and at the end of each round students add their score.
What’s the difference?
This is my most popular game because all levels love this game. It creates a fun environment where students aren’t afraid to make grammar mistakes. I show the students five objects and let them decide which object is different.
Warm up Activity- Ben O’Toole and Maggie Anderson
DRAW WHAT YOU HEAR
This project is intended to focus on students’ listening abilities by giving step-by-step instructions that will up as a drawing of a bug. The activity will help teach directions (left, right, center, etc.), colors, and shapes, and will indicate to teachers how well students are progressing specifically with their English listening skills.
Draw this bug using your listening skills:
The bug is round.
The bug has eight legs, grouped in pairs, with four legs on the left and four legs on the right. In the pairs, one leg is longer than the other.
The bug has two blue eyes on top of the body.
The bug has two pink squiggly antennas.
The bug has two pea-pod shaped wings.
The bug has an orange spot next to each wing.
The bug has a triangular stinger on the bottom of its body.
The bug has two feelers on each foot – one longer than the other, both coming from the same side of the leg.
The bug has a round mouth, placed between the two eyes.
The bug laid five square eggs to the left of the stinger.
The Alphabet Game
Ali Rossiter
Drew Noiles
Going from one side of the room to the other, students will go through the alphabet from A-Z saying a word based on the chosen theme.
For example, if the theme is Food the first student can say “Apple”, the next student “Banana”, next “Cantaloupe” all the way to “Zucchini”.
The reason we chose this game is because of the ability to scaffold it in different ways, making it easier or harder depending on the level of the learners. It’s also great because you don’t need any materials. With a few limitations, the game can go from being relatively simple to quite difficult.
Easier themes can be Nouns, Food, Animals, and Geography.
Harder themes can include Adjectives or Adverbs.
You can even do story time with the alphabet game. For example, “Anne Bought Cars Downtown, Even For Glen.” When the sentence is done, you can take it and dissect it with the class, because there’s a chance it won’t make any sense.
Sometimes coming up with an answer might be difficult for a student, especially when coming to letters near the end of the alphabet (Q, U, V, W, X, Y, Z). Encourage students to try for an answer, but if they can’t come up with one they can pass and it will go to the next person.
Warm-Up Activity- Erin Gaboury and Sydney Comeau- HEADBANDS
Sydney and I did our warm-up activity based off of the game “Headbands”. We designed headbands out of string and cue cards. For the front of the cards we printed off pictures of items, objects and people one would see around a school because “school” became our theme for this warm-up. We also included the written word under the picture to provide another way for an ESL learner to understand what the image was representing. We explained to the class the objectives of the game, how it could be scaffolded and created harder for different levels of learners. For the class we decided to only let the students ask yes and no questions based upon their English comprehension levels. We then provided them with a hint - that it is helpful to first ask:
Am I a person? Am I a place? Am I a thing? We allotted roughly 7 minutes for the activity. After we debriefed and asked for feedback. All-in-all I believe the activity went very well.
Daniela and Brad’s Warm up activity – “Empire”
Our warm up activity was a game which focuses on speaking (asking questions). Each student gets a small sheet of paper and has to write down one thing they really like, such as their favorite food, hobby, animal, sport, color etc. Then the teacher collects all sheets and writes the words on the blackboard. The aim of the game is to guess who of the students wrote which word. The teacher starts by asking one student a question, such as “Jennifer, is your favorite sport skiing?” If it really was Jennifer who wrote down skiing on her sheet, then she has to go to the teacher and join his/her empire and the teacher can continue asking other people questions. The person can ask questions until they make a wrong guess. Then the person who was asked last can ask questions. If a person who already has an empire has to go to another group, the person has to take their whole empire with them. The winner of the game is the person with the empire that consists of all the other students.