Activities

1- Taking Responsibility of Your Actions
This activity is so good to acquaint students to take responsibility of what they do. A teacher should ask students to write in sheets of paper what they want their next colleague to do in front of the class. These can be crazy stuff. The teacher has to read all the sheets of paper to ensure they are appropriate to be done. They have to write the action and their next colleague's name on the paper. The teacher collects the sheets. Then she/he says that in order to take a responsibility of actions, each one is going to perform the activity they wrote for their next by colleague. That will erupt laughter in the classroom because each one will do the same activity they wanted the other person to do. These activities can be embarrassing and funny!

 2- Creativity [[image:184688260_1a6f139a4d_m.jpg align="right"]]
This is a very good activity to discover your students creativity. A teacher asks them to identify five uses of something other than its original use. For example, he/she might ask their students to identify five uses of a cup or a bottle of water (something in front of them). They should be able to use their creativity and say five uses of the object in front of them. A bottle of water can be used as a vase, fish container ( of course small ones), paperweight, it can be used as a toy with some decoration, and we can use it to put our pens and pencils in it. The teacher can do a competition out of this between two teams. This activity can be used as written or spoken exercise.

3- Hot Potato
Ask each student to write a question, that may be a little bit difficult to answer. Then, ask them to fold their questions (the teacher should go through questions). Then, collect their questions and make a big paper ball out of their paper sheets. Then, throw the ball to anyone of them asking them to take one paper out of the wrapped paper and answer the question.

4- Building a Tower [[image:5134600035_b5abb8449d.jpg width="250" height="250" align="right"]]
Ask students to build a tower out of paper. Provide them with paper, sellotape or scotch tape etc...This activity will engage students especially those who are kinaesthetic learners.

5- Your Own Wall Paper
This is a very good activity for practicing writing English .Divide your students into two teams. All what you need is a big sheet of paper, scissors, and color pens. Ask them to do a wall paper to be hanged on their class wall. Each one of the two teams has to write a five-sentence paragraph about something eg: politics, movies, entertainment, etc.. and after they finish each one of them has to present their piece. This is an engaging collective activity.

6- Numbers Do not Lie
 Make students stand in a horse shoe shape, then each one of them has to take a number according to the number of students. A teacher starts by saying a number, then the student who hears his/her number has to say another number quickly. Then, the student who hears his/her number has to say another different number. If a student hesitates or does a mistake, then students have to reorganize themselves from the beginning taking different numbers and they should change their places. The teacher gives numbers according to the number of students he/she has in a class. If s/he has 12 students, each student takes a number from 1 to 12.

7- Do as what paper says
 This is a truly fun game when you find students having a nap inside your class. Before doing this game, a teacher should have a bunch of folded slips of papers that have different kinds of fun activities students should do. The teacher should have a ball. Ask students to stand in a circle and play a song. Students should throw the ball to each other and when the teacher stops the song, the student who has the ball should take one of these slips and so what is written on that slip. The teacher should close his/her eyes while stopping the music. The teacher can write any command for example, "imitate famous actor", "sing", "jump while raising your arms".

8- I am the post man
This game requires energy and movement in the class. It's like musical chairs game. Ask your student to set a circle with their chairs. If you have 10 students you should have 9 chairs. Then, a teacher starts out by standing in the middle and saying "I am the postman/post person and I am bringing letters for those who are wearing rings". Those who wear rings must change their places and sit on any other chair.Those who do not, they do not move. The left student, because of the missing chair, will be the postman. This game is very good to practice English vocabulary. The important thing in this game is the postman has to say something common so that people move.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">9- Doing a Line
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If you want you students to practice grammar, this is the game. Divide your students into two even teams and make them stand in two lines in front of the board. Then, divide the board into two parts, each team should take a part. They have to choose a name for their team. Give each team a marker, and each member in a team has to write only one word. The end result should be a complete grammatical sentence. Do not allow students to agree on what they will write. They should be able to coordinate what they are going to write according to words they have on board. For example, if the first student writes //"I"//, the second student has to write a word that goes with the word //"I"//

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 10- Alphabet Game
Divide your students into two teams and ask them to get 26 words starting with the English alphabet letters. It's not that easy as they have to get those words from what exists in the room. Nothing outside the room!

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">11- Big Fish/Small Fish
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Organize your students into a circle. Start the game by saying that when I turn to a person to the right I have to say big fish and when I turn to the left I have to say small fish. The trick lies in when you say big fish, both hands should indicate the opposite size ie: small fish and vice versa when you say small fish your hands should indicate big in size. Students will like this game as you are not synchronizing your hand movements with what you say. When you do the correct hand movement and say the correct words big fish for turning right, the person on the right has to continue by turning either to the right or to the left saying the correct words (big fish or small fish depending on where they turn) and the hand movements. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> If your students got the game, you could move and make it more difficult by adding new words; big pink fish and small blue fish. ENJOY!!

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 12- Word Compiling
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> This activity is very good in practicing different vocabulary. Divide your students into two teams, then one of the team will start by choosing a word category such as food, musical instruments, books, animals, etc.. the other team should have already chosen a person to say words of such category in a minute. A teacher should keep out a timer for that. For example, if the first team chooses animals, the representative of the second team should name as many kinds of animals as they can; cat, dog, rat, elephant, etc...

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">13- Guess, who am I...?
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This activity is very good for practicing posing questions especially yes/ no questions. One of the students will choose a public figure that is known to other students. Then, other students should know the figure through asking yes/no question to the person who chose the figure. They have only ten questions to know that figure. The winner is the one who says the name of the figure. The student who is being asked should stand in the middle of the class.

14- Simon Says
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Organize your students into a circle, then one of the students should stand in the middle of the class to ask students to do what s/he says. The student should start by saying " Simon says ....." The student can choose any action like //"move your hand, leg, etc//... All of students should follow promptly and do what s/he said. The student in the circle should say "Simon says" if s/he does not say that, s/he is out as well as any other participant who does not follow promptly.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 15- 7 Up
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ask students to stand in a circle. Ask them to say numbers from one to seven. But, when the first one starts s/he has to say the number while putting either their right or left hand on his/her head. Then, if s/he puts the left hand, the person on the left has to continue the numbers and say 2 and put one of his/her hands on his/her head. If he puts the right hand, the person on the right, will be the next and say 3 while putting his/her hand on his/her head etc...The seventh person should say 7 Up while also putting their right or left hand on his/her head. You can repeat the numbers from one to seven to continue and student number 17 has to say also 7 Up, etc...

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Get to students different interesting articles from English newspapers. Then, divide them into small groups of threes or fours. They should read the articles and present what they understood from it. This activity enhances self-confidence and presenting using English.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">17- Taboo
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is an electronic device or sometimes it comes in a box of cards. "The object of Taboo is for one person, the clue giver, to give descriptive clues to his or her partner or group about a keyword printed on a card so that the partner or group can guess the keyword; however, the clue giver must describe the keyword without using (1) the word itself or (2) any of the five taboo words listed on the card. Sounds, gestures, or drawings are not allowed. The clue-giver team or partner has to guess the word in one minute.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">18- Insert me
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">What to prepare:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 1. Make a list of six to seven sentences, each one containing an independent clause. Also decide on a modifier that can be inserted into the sentence. Following are three examples. Example A: Today all professionals use computers in their offices and homes. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Modifier for insertion: “practically” <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Example B: The American College of Physicians recommends a blood test for thyroid disorders for women 50 or older. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Modifier for insertion: “at least once every five years” <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Example C: In the village we visited, meat and chicken are served on special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Modifier for insertion: “only”

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 2. Write the complete sentence in large print on one long strip of heavy paper or cardboard. On a smaller piece of paper, write the modifier (a word or a phrase) for insertion. Do the same for all the sentences. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 3. On five index cards make a caret (the ^ insertion mark) that is large enough to be seen by students in the back row. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Playing the game <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 1. Divide the class into five groups and assign a number to each group. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 2. Give each group an index card with the caret (^) and some pieces of masking tape measuring about 1.5 inches long. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 3. Tape up a sentence at the front of the class and show the students a modifier for insertion. When you call out a group number, that group must decide where the modifier belongs in the sentence. When the group has made a decision, a representative must come to the front and tape the index card in the place where the modifier should be. If that group’s answer is wrong, call out another group number. If the second group gives the right answer, that group gets a point; if their answer is wrong, give the correct answer. Then go on to the next sentence. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 4. The group that has the most points wins. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> For further practice, divide the class into groups and ask each one to prepare a similar exercise consisting of three sentences and modifiers. During the next class students can play the game using their own exercises. The teacher simply watches out for errors and makes corrections only when necessary.

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Note: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Taboo and Inset me are taken from English Teaching Forum, 2009, number 3, volume, 47 by E. Cervantes

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">19- Collocations Game
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is an extremely fun game and I tried it with my students. But, it takes much time from 45 minutes to an hour. [| This is the link for the game, extremely useful!]

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 20- TIC TAC TOE
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This game is similar to Bingo. Divide your class into two teams, and have each team to choose a name. Each team would have its own mark; O or X. Draw a nine square grid on the board. Write the vocabulary you want them to practise into squares. For example: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Each team should try to get their mark whether X or O in a row. To do that, the first team should choose the place in which they want to put their mark. For example, if they chose the upper-left corner "book", they should put a "book" in a sentence. Then, you should get a confirmation about the connectedness of the sentence from the other team. If the first team got it right, they put their mark in the square. If they did not, they do not mark the square. Then, the second team takes its turn and choose a square and compose a sentence. The team which gets their mark in a row first whether horizontally, vertically, or diagonally is the winner. You can vary the difficulty according to your students fluency level. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">book || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">window || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">basket ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">telephone || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">an eraser || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">blanket ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">magazine || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">glass || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">bottle ||

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">21- The Pyramid game- another way to play hangman
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This game is very useful in revising vocabulary. Draw a pyramid on the board divided at least into 10 sections. Below the pyramid draw as many blanks as your word has letters. For example, if the word is pursue, the blanks would be 6. Students should try to guess the letters in the word. If they said a correct letter, you should put that in the proper blank. If they got a wrong letter, you should put the letter in one of the sections of the pyramid, this will remind students of what letters they said.

22- Board Races
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> If you are having hard time in motivating your students, that's the game to get them on track! Divide your students into two teams and each team should choose a representative for it. When you say something they should race to come to the board to write it correctly. That might be numbers, adjectives, or any other recent concept. This activity is very good in revising concepts.

23- Describing Joe
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Choose a student to come to the board to draw what other students dictate him/her, it can be a person. Ask other students to name and describe that person. Have students take turns in describing that person. For example, "Joe has long hair." " He is so thin". "He is wearing a hat". " He is wearing big shoes". This game is suitable for elementary stages.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">24- Stand Up If
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> This game is very good in checking students comprehension of learned concepts. Write on the board "Stand Up If". "Stand up if you have a mother". Almost all of students would stand up. This activity can be done to check their understanding for family relations "Stand up if you have a cousin" etc..

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> The game can be varied into clothing and colors. "Stand up if you are wearing, pants, dress, red shoes, etc... <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> It can be about general questions "Stand up if you like chocolate, cooking, have a husband, etc...

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">25- Drawing game
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a nice activity for revising vocabulary or prepositions for elementary students. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Ask your students to draw everything you say. For example,

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Draw a house. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Draw a table inside the house. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Draw a television on the table. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> draw a car outside the house. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Draw a woman inside the car. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Draw a tree beside the house. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Draw a sun over the tree.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Then, ask your students to show their pictures.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Another version of the game: to revise body parts. Ask your students to draw a friend from another planet. For example,

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has three heads. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Each head has one eye. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has two ears on her first head. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has one ear on her second head. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has three ears on her third head. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has no arms. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has a very big stomach. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">On her stomach she has a mouth. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">My friend has four legs. <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Each leg has one big foot with two toes.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">26- Command game
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This game is good in teaching imperative. Choose two students to begin. One must give command and the other must obey. Some commands might be "stand up, turn around, raise your arm, jump up, go to the window, etc..." .Then, after four commands have the student who has been giving commands to sit down and the other who was obeying to choose another person to command another student in the class. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 27- Letters Game
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Another game for practicing vocabulary and spelling. Give your students a long word for example like fantastic. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> They have to come up with as many words as they can out of the same letter of the word fantastic. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> They can have: as, as, tin, tic, sat, fist, an, tan, fin, attic, sit, fan, saint, sin, if, static, scan, stain

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Make it as a competition diving them into teams and the winner is that who gets many words out of each word. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Another example, is teacher.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> They can have:

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Car, rat, care, reach, race, ache, hare, cheat, hear, art, tar, cater, cat, heart, cheer, here, chart, etc...

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">28- Days of the Week
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Students can practise recent learned vocabulary in this game. For example, they can practise days of the week or numbers. You can bring a small ball to class and ask students to throw it to each other randomly to say the days of the week or numbers. Whoever hesitates is out and who makes a mistake until you have a winner. For example, one student will say " One, then s/he throws the ball to another student. The one who receives the ball has to say two etc...

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Note: games from 20 to 28 are taken from Book of Games, prepared by Center for Curriculum and Instructional Materials Development for Primary School Teachers, Cairo, 2003

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">29- Throw the ball
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a nice activity for practising and reviving vocabulary that your students have. Choose a letter, for example "A", then throw the ball to any student in the class. This student has to throw the ball to any other student and whoever receives the ball has to say another word which begins with the same letter. If a student do not have a word which starts with the same letter, s/he has to stand up. Then, the teacher chooses another letter and so on. As for those who are standing, they have to stand until the ball is thrown to him/her to say a word which begins with the letter in turn.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">30- Reporting news

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a great activity, tell students that they have to read any piece of information/news. Then, ask them in the next session to write words on board about this piece of news and we have to guess what was this piece of news about. Then, the teacher can ask them, why did you choose this piece of news, do you think it's important? etc...

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">If you have large number of students you can divide them into a group of four and divide roles between them, one is the leader, anther is the secretary, etc... The teacher should bring them magazine, pieces of information, articles, etc.. Students have to decide what they should talk about. Then, the leader have to deceide how they are going to speak about it. Then they present it answering questions like: why did you choose this topic, etc... Taken from Shelly Terrell webinar

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">31- Song Activity: Never Say Never

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a very interesting activity for many levels starting from upper elementary into advanced ones. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|This is the song for the activity and a word document for it]

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">32-Songs website

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This site is for practicing songs with your learners. You can make it as a competition between two teams and then make the team which lost to sing it karaoke. [|Songs website]

33- Phonetics website:

[|Practicing phonetics]

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">34- Zip Zap Zoom

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a very good activity for the start of teaching your learners not to stutter while doing a presentation. Put them in a circle while one is standing in the middle. Tell them that the person on the right will be zip while the person on the left will be zap, and the person in the middle will be zoom. Then, if the person in the middle said Zip looking to someone from the circle, the person in the circle has to say very quickly without stammering the name of the person on his right. If the person in the middle said zoom looking to one of the persons in the circle, then he should say the name of the person in the middle. If they stuttered, they should be out of the circle.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">35- Imagination

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Play a piece of music, then ask students to write a scene of movie that suits this piece. This activity incorporates different intelligences of students.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">36- Guess the Code

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This is a very good game for critical thinking. Divide a class into two teams and then each team agrees on a certain code for a communication. For example, a team agrees to touch their bracelets while communicating. The other team has to figure out the code. The team which should figure out the code starts to ask any question and each member of the team(who has a certain code for communication does the action, touching their bracelets while replying). Then, the other team responds tries to figure out the code after all the team has answered their questions.