THE BOOT IS ON THE OTHER FOOT ;)

         Things are changing now :) This time the students need to choose the incorrect answers.

-This activity works well for intermediate to advanced level students.

- Prepare a kind of "quiz show" questions: as well as general knowledge you can ask commonsense - trick questions to allow calculated answers.

-All they must do is to choose the incorrect answer.

-It's really enjoyable and I can make sure that you'll have great fun :)

OSS! MASTER!

        We're looking for the WORD MASTER :) It's an enjoyable way to test vocabulary knowledge. I've been working on vocabulary for a very long time and been fed up with classical vocab testing ways. I was in search of new methods and this activity suddenly sprang to my mind last week and I tried it.
    
         How to do:

• The pupils are gonna work as individuals. According to their levels, you can demand them mother tongue meanings of the words (do it if you have to pls), visualize them (for objects, action verbs... etc.) or to use the words in a sentence with the right meaning, usage and form.
• Each student has many pieces of paper to draw or write the meanings and sentences.
• The instructor is the referee and writes each student's name on one side of  board.
• The other side of the board is used to write the words to be guessed during the game.
• The pupils have got three "Plead the 5th" rights. They get  (+) for the right answers,  (-) for the wrong ones and  (0) for "Plead the 5th"s.
• When the instructor writes the word on the board. they've got fifteen seconds to write or draw. (The instructor should determine beforehand if the students are going to write meanings, draw or use the word in a sentence.)
• When the time's up, the pupils put their papers up at the same time. According to their guesses they get (+)s, (-)s or (0)s.  The one getting the most (+)s becomes the WORD MASTER of the week and is announced on the class corner till the next one is chosen.

        It worked in my class. I wonder your results and comments. too. :) Take it easy and have it your way...    Mcd :)

GONNA BEAT YOU :)

   
       It's a different type of "rock,paper,scissors" game. Instead of using their hands, pupils are expected to use their whole body in this activity.

• The instructor should determine a body position for rock, paper and scissors shapes.
• The pupils are divided into groups of three.
• They are informed by the teacher about the positions.
• Each group stands in line and when the instructor gives the start, they shape their body as a rock, a paper or scissors.
• The rock beats scissors, the scissors beat paper and the paper beats rock.
• At each turn, the losers are eliminated one by one and the winner keeps until s/he loses.
• At the end, the group which has the most members wins the game.

       This could be a great energizing warm up idea. I hope you're gonna enjoy it, too.

       Take it easy. See you soon...  McD

COME TO MY VOICE MATE!!!

      Looking for multifunctionality? Here is the perfect fit ;) From team building or icebreaker to warm up, you can use this great activity for many purposes.

• Determine a specific lexical area to use as group names like colours, animals...etc.
• Give each student a group name in private, so noone will know the others' groups or group mates.
• Set up a safe environment. This is vitally important because all the pupils are going to do this activity with eyes closed. So, they have the possibility to harm themselves in an unsafe environment.
• Now, eyes get closed. With the instructor's countdown, they start shouting the group name they were given. The ones from the same group try to come together as soon as possible.

       I hope you like it. Have it your way :) Take it easy.
       See you soon...
                             McD

HOT OR COLD?

             I'm sure you all have tried this classical game many times before. I've added some rules and made it a little bit more challenging.
             We determined three objects beforehand. The one going to be the "it" chose one of these objects; but in order to be able to choose the one s/he wanted, s/he had to describe it (shape, colour, size... etc.) before it was hidden.
             At the next step, eyes got opened and the search began. As the "it" moved away from the object, the others shouted "Cold, cold, cold!" and as s/he got closer to the object, they shouted "Hot, hot, hot!". They kept on doing the same until the hidden object was found.
              Last year I tried the same game with "Physical Appearance" words. The person chosen to be hidden was described ( hair, eyes, weight, height...etc.) and the"it" got him/her.
              These are my variations of this game. I hope you like them or get your own ones.
       Good Luck :)

SAVE YOUR SHIP

• Determine a lexical area of vocabulary. (fruits, animals, adjectives, stationery... etc.)
• Prepare a worksheet or a list of words for the students to study on. (visually supported, not in the mother tongue)
• When the pupils feel ready for the game, divide them into groups of four or five.
• Choose a captain and a shooter for each group. (the rest is the crew.)
• Let the pupils to pick a name for their ship.
• Then let the game begin :)  

 Here is how:
The ship that the instructor picks starts first. The captain says the first word (from the vocabulary list they studied beforehand), then the crew one by one till the shooter's turn comes. The shooter says his/her own word and then another ship's name. (All the pupils should say different words from the list). Now the ship chosen by the shooter has the turn and they do the same. If the captain of the ship cannot give a word in two seconds or one of the crew and shooter repeats the same word, their ship sinks and the group loses the game. It goes on until one ship is left and becomes the winner.

Did it work?
Absolutely yes! It's an enjoyable and challenging way of learning and teaching vocabulary... I'm sure you and your pupils are gonna love it!