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Song Activities 

Whispers

• Write a word on a slip of paper and show it to a student. This student must whisper it to the second student. Then the second student must draw a picture of what he or she heard, and show it to the third student. The third student, then, writes the word that represents the picture and shows it to the fourth student. Then the fourth student whispers it to the fifth student.... and so on. This continues until you get to the last student, who must say the word to the class.

Race to the Word

• Put a list of vocabulary words on the board. Divide the class into two teams. One person from each team must then stand about five feet from the board. You read a definition of a word and they must then race to point to the word first. Award points.

Appropriate for all levels

My holiday

1. The teacher gives the class clues as to where he will be going on holiday by describing his typical activities there, e.g. I'll be eating fish and chips. I'll be drinking tea. I'll be watching Arsenal.

2. The students have to guess the city, which is, of course, London. The teacher points out that very obvious clues like I'll be visiting Buckingham Palace would not be allowed. The students are then divided into groups and a member of each group is secretly given the name of another well known town, for example Washington, Edinburgh, Paris or Rome.

3. A student in each group then describes what he will be doing there during his holiday. The other students in the group take turns to guess where he will be going. Sentences and guesses must be given within 30 seconds. e.g. Student 1: I'll be drinking wine. Student 2: Will you be visiting Paris? Student 1: No, I won’t. I'll be watching a bullfight. Student 2: Will you be staying in Madrid?

I´m pulling your leg

Listening

Procedure: Tell the students about a real experience or plan of yours, but mix in some fantasy elements. Here is an example, based on a plan to spend the evening playing chess with an old friend. Keeping a straight face, but with a twinkle in the eye, say:

"Oh, I am looking forward to this evening! You won´t believe me! I don´t think I have told you before but I play chess. I am so famous that chess players all over the world come to play against me. Haven´t I told you? Yes, I know it´s difficult for you to believe. But this evening Boris Karpov, the Russian grand master is coming. Of course, it will be a difficult match..."

By this time (if not before!) your students will be expressing their disbelief. Admit that you may have exaggerated a little and ask them which parts of the story they think are true.

Variation: Divide the class into groups of four or five. The students then take turns to tell a story which is either true with fantasy elements added, or wholly true, though difficult to believe, or wholly untrue. The other students listen and say which elements, if any, are true.

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Have some fun activities/ideas?  How about worksheets, review sheets or songs?

Send your ideas to aparedes@cec-epn.edu.ec. Please include a short summary of the activity along with any worksheets or extra materials needed for the activity.