Arbeitsblatt: Warm up Übungen Englisch

WARM-UP ACTIVITIES FOR YOUR ENGLISH CLASS TOPIC GRID holidays weather sports food hotels sights (Sehenswürdigkeiten) family apprenticeship/ studies languages travelling nature music at the age of 18 au pair (Ausbildung/Lehre Studium/Lernen) plans for the future summer jobs islands books friendship relatives health (Freundschaften) (Verwandte) (Gesundheit) flat (GB) apartment(US) or house shopping movies English speaking countries French speaking countries animals instruments history geography celebrities Royals (Angehörige der Königsfamilie) means of transport festivals/holidays (Transportmittel) (Feiern, Feiertage) politics elections (Wahlen) (to) votewählen WARMERS Around the world in 26 letters! Adjectives alphabet Tongue twisters Three true, one false Where am I? Label me Verb race The last letter Game Whispers The alphabet game Divide the class into teams and ask them to try and think of country beginning with each letter of the alphabet, omitting letters and X. Students win one point for each correct country, and an extra point is awarded if they know in which continent the country is situated. The winning team has the most points. The game can also be played with other topics, e.g. music (see topic grid) Divide the class into 4 teams and give each group piece of paper with the letters of the alphabet written vertically A-Z. Teams have 5 minutes to try to think of an adjective beginning with each letter of the alphabet. The winner is the team with the most letters completed. Variation: Nouns or Verbs Alphabet Ask your students think of short tongue twisters. First, they need to think of an adjective, for example mall. Then they need an animal and verb that begin with the same letter such as heep and wim. After that, ask them to invent sentence that includes all of these words, e.g. The smallest sheep swims in the sea. The sentence doesnt need to make sense but does need to be grammatically accurate! Listen to the students ideas and decide as class which is best. Tell students what time you went home last night, what you ate for dinner, what you drank with your breakfast and whether you had shower last night/this morning. Make one of these sentences false. Ask students to guess which piece of information is false. Students do the same in pairs. Useful to practise the past simple tense! Give different pictures of places to pairs of students who write short email to their friends saying what they do every day in this place. After 10 minutes, collect the pictures, put them on the board and number them. Then put the emails they have written up on the walls of the classroom and ask the students to read them and decide who is where! Put students in groups of five and pick one student as model. All the models stand at the front of the class. Give each group 15 pieces of paper with sticky tape. The team writes part of the body on each piece of paper and sticks the label the model relevant body part. Divide the class into three teams and the board into three columns. Each student runs to the board and writes verb in their column and passes the pen to their team mate. Verbs cannot be repeated, and the team with the most correctly spelled verbs is the winner! Time: 2 minutes One student says food or drink item in English (e.g. ice cream) and the next student says word that begins with the last letter of the previous word (e.g. ice cream m meat). The game continues until all students have thought of word. Variation: The game can also be played with other topics (see topic grid) Arrange students into 2 lines. Using combination of foods, whisper to the first student in each line like , love but hate . Each student whispers it to the second student in their line once only, the second to the third and so on. The last person in each line tells the class what they heard. Divide the class into groups of four. The students take turns in saying the alphabet in order. Each student can say one, two or three consecutive letters, then the next student continues. The student who says is the winner. Sing song Hangman Secret word Word classes dictation 20 questions Cant say yes or no Fact or fiction Chain fairytale Draw the picture If youre musically inclined, or even if youre not, songs can be lively way to get everyone involved. This is one of the most traditional and oldest warmers. Decide on word that is the topic of your lesson (e.g. school) and play hangman with the students. To vary it little, you can change the picture. Try playing Crocodile, where you draw man and then crocodile little by little next to him with its jaws wide open. Tell the students that you have puzzle for them. You are thinking of word, and you are going to give them clues one at time for that word. When they think they know the word they should write it down. An example of clues for topic-based lesson on school would be: 1. It is place. 2. Almost everybody goes there when they are young. 3. Some people like it and others hate it. 3. Teachers work there. Write on the board NOUN, VERB, and ADJECTIVE in three columns and ask students to copy it into their notebooks. Then dictate series of words about the topic of your class. Students must write the words in the correct column. One person thinks of an object (person, place, or thing). Everyone takes turns asking yes/no questions until someone can guess correctly (or until 20 questions are asked). The difficult part is that you cannot ask wh questions! Example: PINEAPPLE. Does it talk? No. Does it make life easier? No. Do you eat it? Yes. Is it something you would eat for dinner? No. Etc. If someone makes mistake in forming the question, other club members can help turn it into proper question. In this game everyone is given certain number of coins or squares of paper (about 10). Everyone moves around the room starting conversations and asking each other questions. The only rule is that you cannot say the words YES or NO. If you accidentally say one of these words, you have to give coin or square to the person who you said it to. Try to trick each other by asking questions that you would almost always answer with yes or no. Think of other ways to trick your friends. Sometimes asking two quick questions in row works well. (Especially tag questions: Are you new here? This is your first time in America, isnt it?). This game is great way to practise using small talk and to add variety to your vocabulary. It also makes everyone laugh. In this game, one person tells short story about themselves or someone they know or heard about. Usually it is something funny or crazy. It can be true story, or something made up. Everyone around the room has to say whether they think the story is fact (true) or fiction (made up). The narrator reveals the truth when everyone has guessed. Members can take turns telling story. This is fun writing warm-up. Everyone has piece of paper and writes the first sentence or two to start fairytale (not one that already exists). Example: Once upon time there was frog that had no legs. He wanted to get married, but there were no female legless frogs in the land After one minute the leader will say SWITCH. At this time the writers have to put down their pens and pass the papers. They cannot finish their sentences. Then, the next writers will continue the story. The leader should warn the writers that they will soon have to wrap-up the story during the last two minutes so that each story has conclusion. Read all of the stories out loud for good laugh. You can extend this activity by trying to edit each other writing and spelling errors. In this activity members split up into pairs or small groups. One person looks at scene from magazine or book (the leader should cut out enough pictures, or bring in enough magazines). The other person has pencil and blank piece of paper. The person with the picture will try to describe everything he sees to the drawer. This is Categories Categories II Who am I? Jeopardy Hot Seat Broken Telephone What would you do? good practice for using prepositions of place. When the describer is finished, compare the drawings to the real thing! Whose is the closest to the original? For this game, one person thinks of category, such as MOVIES. In circle, everyone must take turn thinking of Movie title (in English of course). If someone takes too long to give an answer (the leader should count to five) then that person is out and new category begins. If someone gives an answer that doesnt make sense or is incorrect, he is also out of the game. For example, if the category is VEGETABLES and someone says banana that person is out. The game continues until only one person is left! The students are given five categories (animals, fruits vegetables, persons name, work-related word, country) and one letter of the alphabet (s, b, w, r, m). In limited period of time, they must come up with as many examples of each category that start with that letter. When the first letter is done, check everyones answers. If the student has word that no one else has, that student gets point. Then move on to the next letter. In this game, the leader prepares cards with famous people names on them. The leader tapes one card on the back of each member. Then everyone pretends they are at party and asks each other questions to find out their own identities. When someone guesses their own name correctly, the name-tag gets taped to their front and they continue to chat with the party guests until everyone is wearing the nametag on the front. In this game, which is based on the famous game show Jeopardy, everyone writes down ten answers to questions about themselves. After writing down the answers, people have to form pairs or small groups and try to find out what the questions are. Example: (answer purple) What is your favourite colour? Blue. What colour do you hate? Green. What colour is your underwear? Purple! You can stop at three guesses if you want, or keep going until someone in the group can guess the question. In this game, the class is split up into two teams. One member from each team sits facing the group. The leader holds up word (or writes it on the board if you are in classroom) for all of the team members to see except for the two players in the hot seats. The teams must try to get the person in the hot seat to guess the word or phrase. The first person to guess correctly gets to stand up and new member from their team takes the hot seat. The person on the other team has to remain in the hot seat until she gets an answer first. You can keep score or just play for fun. This game can also be played in pairs. One pair member closes their eyes while the leader shows the word to the other pair members. The first pair to get the word right gets point. This is listening and pronunciation activity that always gets people laughing. The leader first must think of sentence or phrase and whisper it to the person beside her. That person will then whisper what she heard to the next person. Each person can only say, Can you please repeat that? one time. When the message reaches the end of the chain that person must speak out loud. Oftentimes the message will be completely different when it reaches the end. famous example is the army message that started as Send reinforcements, were going to advance and ended as Send three and fourpence, were going to dance. Prepare by coming up with list of interesting scenarios, such as winning million dollars. Write the scenarios on individual pieces of paper and give one to each student. Students play by meeting in pairs to discuss the scenarios. Conversations should begin with question, such as What would you do if you won million dollars? Adverts from newspaper Guided visualization If-clauses game The order game spy with my little eye something beginning with (A) Generic terms Make lot out of little Object game Minute Mysteries Other versions of this game include choosing questions that fall under certain theme or requiring that students ask and answer questions using lesson-specific grammar points Look in local newspaper or online for personals ads (women seeking men and men seeking women). Specifically, look for ads that are seeking very specific type of person (e.g. non-smoking petite women over age 60) and that use idiomatic expressions (e.g. the apple of my eye, looking to straighten out my life). Cut out ads, making sure that for each one you choose, there is another profile that matches the desired characteristics of the first one. Be sure to cut out the legend that explains the acronyms commonly used in personals ads (i.e. SWF is single white female). Hand out personal ad to each student. Allow your students five-ten minutes to read their ads carefully, asking you for help in clarifying any unclear expressions. One student starts by reading his ad exactly as it is written. If someone else in the class does not understand an expression that was used, s/he should ask the student reading to explain the term. Then, whoever thinks that her profile is compatible with the one just described responds by pretending to leave message in the former voice-message box, explaining who she is and why she would make good match. Continue until each person has spoken at least once. Variation: fun alternative is to have several possible mates for each man (or woman), so that the first to read gets to listen and evaluate each candidate, then decide which one hed like to go out with. Ask the students to sit as comfortable as possible and tell them to close their eyes and imagine scene in their mind. Ask them to think of all the details that they can ee in their scene. When you having finished setting the scene for them, ask them to turn to partner and describe what they were imagining. Here is an example for visualization on the theme of going back to school. Each student gets sheet of paper and writes the first part of sentence which starts with if (e.g.: If it doesnt rain today,). The paper is being folded and handed in to the next students (who cant see the first part of the sentence). The second student writes the second part of the sentence (e.g.: will kiss my boyfriend). One student starts giving an order (classroom phrases like open your book, stand up etc.) and the next student (or the whole class) must do exactly what hes told and so on. Englische Version von Ich sehe etwas was du nicht siehst Find as many words as you can to (spring, beach, music, see topic grid) Banana and cocoon are both six-letters words that contain only three letters. Let the students think of as many words as they can that are at least three letters longer than the total number of letters in them. What is the longest word you can think of in which no letter is repeated? (uncopyrightable) Bring around 20 objects to class. Teacher shows them to the students one by one, confirming the name of each object. Then the objects are put away. Students have to write down the names of all of the objects (toothbrush, facecloth, film, mirror, bandaid, book, tuna, fork, knapsack, thread, headband, headphones, perfume, tape, cassette, watch, blowdryer, scissors, stapler, comb, disk, remote control, cards). The teacher gives the students scenario and the students have to figure out what happened. The students can ask any question that has yes/no answer. There is lady who lives on the 50th floor of an apartment building. Every day she likes to go shopping, so she takes the elevator all the way down to the ground floor English speaking marathon Giving advice and heads out to shop. When she returns, she takes the elevator up to the 10th floor and then walks the rest of the way to the 50th floor. On rainy days, she takes the elevator all the way to the top. Why? Solution: The lady is very short. While she can reach the ground floor button in the elevator, she sure cant reach the 50th floor button! On sunny days she can reach the 10th floor button and has to walk the rest of the way up. On rainy days she carries an umbrella and uses it to reach the 50th floor button. First, put the students in pairs. Have them stand opposite their partner. Next, tell them that you want them to speak in English with their partner for as long as possible. Tell them they can start from How are you? and continue from there. Encourage them to try to have normal English conversation and that it doesnt matter if they make mistakes. The purpose of this activity is to talk talk talk. Tell them that if their conversation stops for too long (e.g. 5 seconds) or they start speaking in language other than English (e.g. Japanese), they have to sit down. The last pair standing wins the classroom speaking marathon. Have them start. As they speak, walk amongst them and listen. Dont correct them, but try to make sure they are using English and that they are having real conversation (I prohibited my students from just repeating the same question back and forth). 1) Write the below five sentence patterns for giving advice on the board: You should suggest Why dont If were you How about 2) Tell your students that you have problem, e.g. one of your teeth hurts. Ask them to give you some advice. One will likely say You should go to the dentist. Great. Write the suggestion go to the dentist on the board beside You should. Next, get the students to fit that idea (go to the dentist) into the other sentence patterns. e.g: suggest (that) you go to the dentist. Why dont you go to the dentist? If were you would go to the dentist. 3) Tell them to get piece of paper, and write down two (or more) problems that the following type of people might have: students workers the elderly They can write it down in point form in their own native language if theyd like. It not important how they write it down. Give them one minute. 4) When ready, tell one student to start by saying his/her first problem. Have the student say something like I am student. have problem. am failing all of my courses. Next, get the other students to give advice using one of the patterns on the board. When student gives suggestion using one of the patterns, put check mark on the board beside that pattern for him/her. Then get the next student to tell his/her problem to the class and get advice. The activity is finished when every student has given advice using all of the patterns. 100 WARM-UP QUESTIONS Find more conversation questions on different topics: MISCELLANEOUS LOVE POEM FUNNY QUESTIONS TONGUE TWISTER THE MAGIC TRIANGLE LIMERICK SAYINGS There was young lady from Riga Whether the weather be fair Who smiled as she rode on tiger or whether the weather be foul They returned from the Well weather the weather With the lady And the smile on the face of the tiger. Whatever the weather If we can weather the weather together JOKES/COMICS Penguin man was walking along Hietzinger Hauptstrasse near Parkhotel Schönbrunn when he found penguin walking along the road. So he picked it up and took it to the local police station. He said to the policeman I found this penguin on Hietzinger Hauptstrasse, near Parkhotel Schönbrunn. What should do with it? The policeman looked at the man and said It obvious what you should do with it! Take the penguin to Schönbrunn Zoo. The man said Of course, Ill take it to the zoo and he left the police station with the penguin under his arm. The next day the policeman was on duty in the city centre when he saw the man walking along the street with the penguin by his side. The policeman stopped the man and said I thought told you to take the penguin to the zoo? The man replied Yes, took it to the zoo yesterday. Today Im taking it to see the Opera House. PICTURES Working with pictures – possible tasks SONGS DEAR MR. PRESIDENT – BY PINK Dear Mr. President, Come take walk with me. Let pretend were just two people and Youre not better than me. Id like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly. What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the street? Who do you pray for at night before you go to sleep? What do you feel when you look in the mirror? Are you proud? How do you sleep while the rest of us cry? How do you dream when mother has no chance to say goodbye? How do you walk with your head held high? Can you even look me in the eye And tell me why? Dear Mr. President, Were you lonely boy? Are you lonely boy? Are you lonely boy? How can you say No child is left behind? Were not dumb and were not blind. Theyre all sitting in your cells While you pave the road to hell. What kind of father would take his own daughter rights away? And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay? can only imagine what the first lady has to say Youve come long way from whiskey and cocaine. How do you sleep while the rest of us cry? How do you dream when mother has no chance to say goodbye? How do you walk with your head held high? Can you even look me in the eye? Let me tell you bout hard work Minimum wage with baby on the way Let me tell you bout hard work Rebuilding your house after the bombs took them away Let me tell you bout hard work Building bed out of cardboard box Let me tell you bout hard work Hard work Hard work You dont know nothing bout hard work Hard work Hard work Oh How do you sleep at night? How do you walk with your head held high? Dear Mr. President, Youd never take walk with me. Would you? LEMON TREE – BY FOOLS GARDEN Im sitting here in boring room It just another rainy Sunday afternoon Im wasting my time, got nothing to do Im hanging around, Im waiting for you But nothing ever happens and wonder Im driving around in my car Im driving too fast, Im driving too far Id like to change my point of view feel so lonely, Im waiting for you But nothing ever happens and wonder wonder how, wonder why Yesterday you told me bout the blue, blue sky And all that can see is just yellow lemon tree Im turning my head up and down Im turning, turning, turning, turning, turning around And all that can see is just another lemon tree Sing, dah Im sitting here, miss the power Id like to go out, taking shower But there heavy cloud inside my head feel so tired, put myself into bed Where nothing ever happens and wonder Isolation is not the good for me Isolation, dont want to sit on lemon tree Im steppin around in desert of joy Baby anyhow Ill get another toy And everything will happen and youll wonder wonder how, wonder why Yesterday you told me bout the blue, blue sky And all that can see is just another lemon tree Im turning my head up and down Im turning, turning, turning, turning, turning around And all that can see is just yellow lemon tree And wonder, wonder wonder how, wonder why Yesterday you told me bout the blue, blue sky And all that can see, and all that can see And all that can see is just yellow lemon tree ICEBREAKERS AND WELCOMING ACTIVITIES FILLERS