Another visit to a R$1,99 store!

See what I've found at a R$1,99 store!

1) A bowling game - it can be used just as it is but with one difference: the student who loses has to answer a question from the teacher or from his opponent;

2) Two cheering hands - they can be used when teaching kids. Explain the students you're going to start a competition in which the one who raises his or her "cheering hand" first gets the right to answer the question the teacher is going to ask. Remember kids and teens love having something new in class, even if it's just a detail.

3) A simple and (veeery cheap) game - this one can be also used as the bowling game. We play it according to the instructions but the one who loses has to answer questions which can be previously prepared by the teacher or asked by his or her opponent during the activity.

There's no excuse for not participating! When a general review or a comprehension check is done through a game every student participates! They have lots of fun and don't even feel they're actually practicing the language. Great!

Family!

I don't know a better way of teaching family vocabulary than working on family trees. Tomorrow I have to teach two of my teen students and for that I've just prepared an "imaginary" family tree. I explain. I simply got some pictures out of magazines and made up some names for each person. So right before class, I'm going to put all the pictures on the board, because I really think this way it's not only an easier way to present the new vocabulary, but also to practice the structures which are necessary for their complete understanding of the content. Questions with "who" can be asked right after the vocabulary explanation so that the teacher can check on their comprehension once again. As a wrap up a great idea is to ask them to create their family tree using only names and drawings if they feel like to. Don't forget to use their work as another way of practicing the content by asking each other questions about their families. Simply great! Have a nice day, colleague!

Ups and Downs!

I start every class with a general review because I think it's really important for the students to remind the old content and also get ready for the new one. With kids and teens I usually make use of a game for that purpose and this time I wanted to find something different! So I remembered an old board game we used to have at home with some ladders which was really nice and guaranteed us great moments of fun! So why not use it in class? Once the board has some numbers on it (mine has got 47, for example), all I needed to do was to prepare the same number of questions so that the student had to answer them according to the number they stopped on. Simple as that! Imagine "student A" stopped on number 23, then the teacher should ask that student question 23. The rest is the same. If a student stops on the top of a ladder he has to go down and if he stops under the ladder he's allowed to climb it. Really nice! Have a great weekend, colleague!

An old book, a new idea!

As we're staring a new semester today I thought about using something old...for something new! I explain. A few years ago I bought the book "English Upgrade" (Macmillan) in order to try using it in class but I must confess I didn't like it very much...just didn't feel it works well on all abilities. On the other hand, it brings some great board games at the end of every unit so I thought about using them in my lessons. If you have old books or some material you're not using, a good idea is to take a different look at them and use the nice things they contain! Have a great day, colleague! Have a wonderful start!

Wigs??!!!

Yes!!!! Wigs!!! One of these days I went to those kind of stores in which we find special items for parties and I bought three wigs: a black, a green and a pink one. I thought about using them to improve some simple activities especially with my students who are kids. Last week I had the chance to work with them in class and it was awesome!!! So I prepared some forms with simple information such as name, age, favorite food, sport, etc and asked them to create a character with a different name, age, and so on. So they were supposed to wear those wigs and also some very funny sunglasses I got at the store, too. I also participated and students were really motivated! We started then the "interviews" and it ended up being a great and very different activity! Have a great weekend, colleagues!

My mini blackboards!

One of the things I bought for my mini school a few months ago was a "mini blackboard". You can easily find one of those in any R$1,99 store. Actually I got two of them in order to use in class when I have two private students studying at the same time. Last Wednesday I made use of those boards and it was a nice activity. I was teaching "feelings", such as: hungry, sad, tired, thirsty, etc. So I told them I'd mime one of those and they were supposed to find out what I was feeling. All they had to do was to write in their "mini blackboards" (dont forget you need chalks,too!) the word related to what I was miming.But they couldn't look at each other's answers and they couldn't change them either, you know, just like certain game shows on tv! Remember that any extra material you bring to class can improve your lesson and get your students even more motivated about what they're learning. Have a beautiful Sunday, colleague!

Dice!

It happens to everybody. Sometimes we just can't think about a game to play with our students in order to have fun and consolidate the content, as well. Don't worry. For those moments all you gotta have is a dice and it's okay. Many variations are possible and you can create your own! Two days ago I created mine and I could review the content through this simple game I made up. As I had two students with me at that moment I got three dice because I played the game, too. The rules are simple. The one who gets the highest number doesn't do anything, the one who gets the lowest, answer a question and the one who gets the second higher number, asks a question. Ready. So if student "A" gets 5, for example, student "B" gets 2 and student "C" gets 3, student "C" has to ask a question to student "B" and student "A" is "free". Notice that if you work with large groups you can have them in small groups playing the game at the same time! Can't wait to play it again! See you, colleague!