Tag: fun activities

Posted in Games

Last Day of Term: Top 5 Quiz

Posted on by Tim Warre

Image credit: www.drupal.org

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

The last day of term is fast approaching so I’ve made a fun quiz to keep students entertained. I recommend bringing sweets as a prize for the winning team. Credit to my friend Dan for the inspiration and some of the questions. Download the questions and instructions below:

top-5-quiz2

Instructions

Spilt the class into groups of 2 or 3, give each group a piece of paper and encourage them to come up with an interesting team name. Explain that you are going to give the teams a category and they have 3 minutes to come up with the top 5 items in that category. For example: the top 5 largest countries in the world by area. Students are awarded 1 point for every answer that they guess that appears in the top 5, and an additional bonus ½ point for every answer that is in the correct place in the list, meaning that there is a total of 7.5 points on offer for each round. The different categories are listed below:

(Note: this was designed with Spanish students in Barcelona in mind so some categories may not be suitable for all groups)

Largest countries in the world by area

1.       Russia

2.       Canada

3.       China

4.       USA

5.       Brazil

 Most popular pets in the USA

1.       Cat

2.       Dog

3.       Fish

4.       Small mammal (hamster, gerbil, rabbit etc.)

5.       Bird
Most viewed artists on youtube.com

1.       Justin Beiber

2.       Rihanna

3.       Taylor Swift

4.       Katy Perry

5.       Eminem

 Highest grossing films of all time

1.       Avatar

2.       Titanic

3.       Star Wars: The Force Awakens

4.       Jurassic World

5.       The Avengers
Best-selling books of all time

1.       The Lord of the Rings

2.       The Hobbit

3.       The Little Prince

4.       Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone

5.       And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

 Largest oceans in the world

1.       Pacific

2.       Atlantic

3.       Indian

4.       Southern

5.       Arctic
Richest people in the world

1.       Bill Gates

2.       Amancio Ortega

3.       Warren Buffett

4.       Carlos Slim

5.       Jeff Bezos

 First 5 Pixar films in the order they were released

1.       Toy Story

2.       A Bug’s Life

3.       Toy Story 2

4.       Monsters’ Inc

5.       Finding Nemo
Largest cities in Europe (inc Russia)

1.       Istanbul

2.       Moscow

3.       London

4.       St. Petersburg

5.       Berlin

 Countries in Europe by population

1.       Russia

2.       Germany

3.       Turkey

4.       France

5.       UK

 
Male tennis players with most grand slams

1.       Roger Federer

2.       Pete Sampras

3.       Rafa Nadal

4.       Novak Djokovic

5.       Bjorn Borg

 Female tennis players with most grand slams

1.       Steffi Graf

2.       Serena Williams

3.       Chris Evert

4.       Martina Navaratilova

5.       Margaret Court
Most popular ice-cream flavours in the world

1.       Vanilla

2.       Chocolate

3.       Cookies and cream

4.       Strawberry

5.       Mint choc-chip

 Best-paid football (soccer) players (2016)

1.       Cristiano Ronaldo

2.       Lionel Messi

3.       Wayne Rooney

4.       Zlatan Ibrahimovic

5.       Yaya Toure
Most popular football clubs in the world

1.       Man Utd

2.       Real Madrid

3.       Barcelona

4.       Chelsea

5.       Arsenal

 Autonomous regions in Spain by area.

1.       Castile-Leon

2.       Andalusia

3.       Castile-La Mancha

4.       Aragon

5.       Extremadura
Barcelona FC’s most expensive signings

1.       Neymar Jr.

2.       Luis Suarez

3.       Zlatan Ibrahimovic

4.       David Villa

5.       Marc Overmars

 5 elements in the periodic table from which the letters in the symbol do not appear in the name of the element in Spanish or in English. (award 1 point for name of element and ½ for correct symbol:

1.       K – Potassium

2.       Na – Sodium

3.       Hg – Mercury

4.       Au – Gold

5.       W – Tungsten
Most popular boys names in UK

1.       Muhammed

2.       Oliver

3.       Jack

4.       Noah

5.       Jacob

 Most popular girls names in UK

1.       Sophia

2.       Emily

3.       Lily

4.       Olivia

5.       Amelia
Most popular boys names in Spain

1.       Alejandro

2.       Daniel

3.       David

4.       Pablo

5.       Adrián

 Most popular girls names in Spain

1.       Maria

2.       Lucia

3.       Paula

4.       Laura

5.       Andrea
Posted in Games, Writing Classes

Circle Stories

Posted on by Tim Warre

Image credit: www.thekettle.ca

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

This is a lesson plan designed for lower-level (A2-B1) teenagers. It is designed to help students write short stories using different narrative tenses, sequences and discourse markers.

Preparation

All you need is plenty of paper and a pen for each student.

Procedure

Sit students in a circle and give them each a pen and piece of paper. Tell them that they are going to write stories together; if you have 8 student, at the end of the class they will have written 8 stories.

Write on the board:

Once, there was a man/woman called ……. who….

Tell students to copy the sentence onto their piece of paper, decide if the character is a man or a woman and give them a name.

Students then pass the piece of paper to the left; they must then complete the first sentence, for example:

Once, there was a man called Jimmy who lived under a bridge.

Students then pass the paper again, and copy down and complete the following:

One day ….. was …..ing….

For example:

One day Jimmy was walking down the street

Students pass again and complete the following:

when…+ past simple

One day Jimmy was walking down the street when he saw a police car driving towards him.

Continue the process but now start to introduce different words to begin the sentences, the whole writing process will look like this:

 

  1. Once there was a man/woman called …who…
  2. Complete sentence 1.
  3. One day …. was….ing
  4. Complete sentence 3: when…..
  5. Suddenly….
  6. Fortunately….
  7. Unfortunately….
  8. And in the end….
  9. And the moral of the story is….

While students are writing try to monitor and help them with vocab and narrative tenses. When they have all finished have them read out their stories one by one and then vote on their favourite one.

Follow up

Students write another story using the same basic structure for homework.

Posted in Games

Game: Alphabet Quiz

Posted on by Tim Warre

Image credit: www.20minutos.es

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

This is a trivia game designed for teenage pre-intermediate (B1) students that could also be used with adults. I have also created a slightly easier set of questions for kids,and a harder version for adults. Credit to my colleague Peter Rassa for the idea. The game is similar to the gameshow “Pasaparabla” on Spanish television. You will need the lesson plan with the question sheet:

Alphabet Quiz

Alphabet Quiz Kids version

Az quiz hard version

Procedure

Write the alphabet on the board, if you’re feeling really creative you can do it in a circle as shown in the picture above. Quickly recap the letters that often cause your students problems. It varies from place to place but in Spain they struggle with J, G, E, I, Q, W, and Y.

Quickly recap the letters that often cause your students problems. It varies from place to place but in Spain they struggle with J, G, E, I, Q, W, and Y.

Write all your students’ names on the board in a list.

Choose a player to go first, explain to them that you are going to ask them a question, the answer to the question begins with the letter A. They have two options: they can attempt to answer the question or they can say “pass”. If they choose to answer and they get it right, they get 1 point but if they get it wrong they lose 1 point. If they choose to pass, then it is the next student’s turn but the next student is asked the “B” question. You continue like this through the list of questions, every time a question is answered correctly you cross that letter out from the list on the board. When you reach the end of the list (the “Z” question) you then return to the top of the list and work your way through any questions which were not answered the first time around.

NOTE: It is important that students don’t shout out the answers to the questions if it’s not their turn as that question could be revisited later.

The winner is the student with the most points when all the questions have been answered or at the end of a set time limit.

Credit to: http://www.sporcle.com/user/QuizzleMyShizzle/games for most of the quiz questions.

Questions:

  1. What’s the largest reptile in North America? Alligator
  2. What’s the biggest animal in the world? Blue Whale
  3. What’s the capital of Venezuela? Caracas
  4. What’s the name of the headmaster of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books? Dumbledore
  5. North, South, _______, West, what’s missing? East
  6. Who was the lead singer of the band Queen? Freddie Mercury
  7. What metal does the symbol Au represent on the periodic table? Gold
  8. Which characters in Greek mythology did 12 impossible tasks? Hercules
  9. Tony Stark is the alta-ego of which superhero? Ironman
  10. Which Italian football club based in Turin wears black and white stripes? Juventus
  11. What’s the tallest mountain in Africa? Kilimanjaro
  12. Which singer’s real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta? Lady Gaga
  13. Oktober fest is a beer festival which happens in which European city? Munich
  14. Which tennis player won 9 French open titles between 2005 and 2014? Rafa Nadal
  15. What sea creature with 8 legs is eaten in parts of Spain and Portugal? Octopus
  16. Who is the president of Russia? Vladimir Putin
  17. What is the capital of Ecuador? Quito
  18. Which famous singer from the Caribbean has the surname Fenty? Rihanna
  19. Which actress plays Bella Swan in the Twilight series? Kristen Stewart
  20. What historical region of Romania is considered the home of Dracula? Transylvania
  21. 1930, what country hosted and won the first football world cup? Uruguay
  22. What’s the smallest country in the world? Vatican city
  23. What is the name of the cowboy in the Toy Story films? Woody
  24. Cyclops, Iceman and Wolverine are member of which superhero group? X-men
  25. What’s the name of New Yorks most famous baseball team? Yankees
  26. What is the name of the scientific study of animals? Zoology

 

Kids’ Version

  1. What’s the largest reptile in North America? Alligator
  2. What’s the biggest animal in the world? Blue Whale
  3. What’s the biggest country in North America? Canada
  4. What’s the name of the headmaster of Hogwarts in the Harry Potter books? Dumbledore
  5. North, South, _______, West, what’s missing? East
  6. Which famous pink bird lives in Africa and South America? Flamingo
  7. What type of medal does the winner get at the Olympic games? Gold
  8. What’s the name of the famous Greek hero from the Disney film? Hercules
  9. Tony Stark is the alta-ego of which superhero? Ironman
  10. Which Italian football club based in Turin wears black and white stripes? Juventus
  11. What’s the tallest mountain in Africa? Kilimanjaro
  12. Which singer’s real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta? Lady Gaga
  13. Alex the lion, Marty the zebra and Melman the giraffe are characters in which film? Madagascar.
  14. Which tennis player won 9 French open titles between 2005 and 2014? Rafa Nadal
  15. What sea creature with 8 legs is eaten in parts of Spain and Portugal? Octopus
  16. What is Spiderman’s real name? Peter Parker
  17. Who lives in Buckingham Palace? Queen Elizabeth the 2nd
  18. Which famous singer from the Caribbean has the surname Fenty? Rihanna
  19. Who sang the songs “I Kissed a Girl” and “Roar”? Katy Perry
  20. What historical region of Romania is considered the home of Dracula? Transylvania
  21. 1930, what country hosted and won the first football world cup? Uruguay
  22. What’s the smallest country in the world? Vatican city
  23. What is the name of the cowboy in the Toy Story films? Woody
  24. Cyclops, Iceman and Wolverine are member of which superhero group? X-men
  25. What’s the name of New Yorks most famous baseball team? Yankees
  26. Which princess does Link rescue in the Nintendo computer games? Zelda
Posted in Games

Game: Call My Bluff

Posted on by Tim Warre

Image credit: http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

This is a version of the classic definitions game “Call My Bluff”. Download the handout below:

Call My Bluff

Introduction:

Start by demonstrating the game by copying/projecting the examples from the handout onto the board. Thanks to busyteacher for the examples:

http://busyteacher.org/20650-call-my-bluff-esl-adaptation-5-steps.html

This is an opportunity for students to use language of deduction:

It could/might/may be….

It can’t be ….. because …..

It must be ….. because …..

I’m torn between …. and ….

I’m going to have a stab in the dark and say ….

By a process of elimination I’d say it’s ….

There’s no way it’s …. because …

… is too obvious.

I’m going to plump for (choose) …

 

Put students in pairs or threes and have them discuss the three examples and give their answers. Award points for correct answers.

Students create false definitions:

Now give each pair one of the game cards. The cards contain a rare English word and the correct definition. Students must invent two false definitions for the word and write them down. Set a time limit of 3-4 minutes for this part. Groups then read out their words and the three definitions, encourage them to be expressive and inventive in their definitions and their presentations in order to better convince their opponents. Award points for groups who guess the correct definition and points for the groups who successfully convince opponents into choosing their invented definitions.

Posted in Games

Game: Consequences

Posted on by Tim Warre

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

Image credit: www.considerthis.net

The old childhood classic retooled for the ESL classroom. All you need is pens and paper.

It’s the last week of term and I need a fun activity to finish on so I’m going for consequences. You can find the instructions in the link below. You will also find a link to lists of personality adjectives which you’ll also need for the game. Have fun!

http://www.wikihow.com/Play-Consequences

https://www.englishclub.com/vocabulary/adjectives-personality.htm

Posted in Conversation Classes, Games

Game: Articulate

Posted on by Tim Warre

Follow me on twitter @RobbioDobbio

Image credit: www.drumondpark.com

This is a great end of year game to play with all ages and levels. It’s based around the popular board game “Articulate” which is a staple in my household at Christmas.

You will need a die and the handouts listed below printed and cut up.

articulate objects

articulate nature

articulate places

articulate famous ppl

For action cards you need to print out the MES flashcards below and write the verb next to the picture:

Click to access can_cards.pdf

Click to access verbs2_cards.pdf

Click to access verbs1_cards.pdf

The Game

Split your class into groups of 3. Have each group come up with a team name and write them on the board. Decide which team goes first. The first player comes to the front of the class and rolls the dice; the numbers correspond to the different categories:

  1. Objects
  2. Nature
  3. People
  4. Places
  5. Actions
  6. You choose

If students roll a 6 they can choose whichever category they like. The player than has 1 minute to describe as many of the words on the cards to their team-mates  as they can. Teams score 1 point for each word correctly guessed. If the describer doesn’t know the word or their team are struggling to identify it, they can pass but they can only pass 3 times. Play then passes to the next team. Play at least 3 rounds so that each member of each team has a go at describing.

The rules to describing are:

  1. You can only pass 3 times.
  2. No miming.
  3. Strictly English only.
  4. No spelling words out.
  5. Silence from other teams while one team is playing.

The game is a perfect opportunity to practice different structures such as relative clauses, adjective order and many more. Below are photos of the prompts I put on the board for my pre-intermediate teenagers class:

Make sure you drill the frames with the students beforehand and do a few yourself to demonstrate. I always carry the (rather battered) card packs in my folder in case I’m ever stuck for an activity for the last 10 minutes of class. Alternatively, play it as an end of term treat and bring sweets for the winning team. Let me know how it goes.

 

Posted in Conversation Classes, Games, Young Learners

Christmas Trivia Quiz

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is a fun Christmas trivia quiz for the last day of term. Bring prizes for the winning team.

Split the class into small groups and get them to come up with a festive team name. There are two rounds, the first is the picture round. Show the pictures in the picture round handout, students have to name the items they see.

The second round is the trivia round. Read out the questions below one at a time, students write their answers on a piece of paper. You can download the list of questions here. Christmas Trivia Quiz

Trivia Round

  1. What are the names of these dates? 24th + 25th, 31st of December, 1st of January. Christmas eve, Christmas day, New Year’s eve, New year’s day.
  2. What do people traditionally do under the mistletoe plant? Kiss
  3. Where do children hang their stockings on Christmas Eve? Next to the fireplace.
  4. Which English author wrote the book ‘A Christmas Carol’? Charles Dickens
  5. In Charles Dickens’ novel A Christmas Carol, how many ghosts visited Ebeneezer Scrooge? Extra points for their names. 4 Jacob Marley, Ghosts of Xmas past, present and yet to come.
  6. Name 2 of Father Christmas’ reindeer apart from Rudolph. Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Donner, Blitzen, Alternative question: Which of these names is NOT one of Father Christmas’ Reindeer? Comet, Cupid, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Chaser, Vixen, Donner, Blitzen
  7. The character Jack Skellington appears in which 1993 Tim Burton film? The Nightmare before Christmas
  8. What are the names of the three wise men said to have brought gifts to the baby Jesus? Balthasar, Melchior, Caspar (or Gaspar – Interestingly the Bible does not states state their names, nor even the number of wise men: “…there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem… and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh…” from Matthew 2:1 and 2:11. Thanks A Russell.)
  9. What is New Year’s Eve called in Scotland? Christenmouse, Hogmanay, pigmany
  10. In which modern country is St Nicholas’s birthplace and hometown? Turkey (St Nicholas, bishop ‘Nikolaos of Myra’, 270-343AD, was born a Greek, i.e., of Greek parents in Patara, Lycia. He lived in and was bishop of Myra, Lycia. Patara and nearby Myra, in Lycia, or fully Lycia et Pamphylia, were then technically provincial territory of the Roman Empire with no specific country name. Patara became ruins centuries ago. Where the ancient town of Myra stood, now stands the Turkish town/district of Demre, Antalya Province, Turkey)
  11. From which country does the poinsettia plant originate? Mexico
  12. How many points does a snowflake have? Six
  13. What is the name of the cake traditionally eaten in Italy at Christmas? Panettone
  14. Which country does the tradition of Christmas trees come from? Germany
  15. What do people in England do at 3pm on Christmas day? Listen to the Queen’s speech.
  16. Name 3/5 traditional English Xmas dinner ingredients. Turkey, potatoes, carrots, brussels sprouts, sweet potato, parsnip, broccoli, cauliflower, sausages with bacon.
  17. What 3 things do children leave next to the chimney for Father Christmas on Christmas Eve? A drink, some food, carrots for the reindeer.

Thanks to Business Balls for some of the questions.

Posted in Games, Warmers

Warmer: Cannibals and Missionaries

Posted on by Tim Warre

This is a warmer to get students focused and working together. Use the game “Cannibals and Missionaries”.

Explain the rules to the students:

There are 3 cannibals and 3 missionaries who want to cross a river. There is a small boat which can carry 2 people, 1 person must remain in the boat to row it across the river. If the number of cannibals on any side is greater than the number of missionaries, the cannibals will eat the missionaries. Students need to find a solution to the problem.

Language:

We should/ought to…

If we leave the cannibals here, they’ll eat the missionary.

Great idea!

Hold on a minute!

What if we…..?

How about +ing…

Have students work as a class to solve the puzzle.

Solution:

http://www.novelgames.com/en/gametips/missionaries-solution/