CATESOL Conference ‘06 © Jack Bailey baileyj@sbcc.

edu &
San Francisco, CA Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Table of Contents:
Backs to the Screen Mystery Bag: 20 Questions!
Check Homework Newspaper Gallery
Classroom Interviews Odd One Out
Comic Descriptions One Change
Corner Conversations One-minute Speech
Crossword Puzzle Partner or Small Group Conversation
Dictation Picture Recall
Dictation Relays Picture Story
Find a Partner Proverbs
Find Someone Who Question of the Day
Find the Mistake Quick Talk
Gameboard Read
Give One, Get One Riddles
Grammar Conversations Round Robin
Group Quiz Songs
Hangman Survivor
Human Bingo Three things you learned last week
Idioms in Context Tongue Twisters
Irregular Verb Relay Treasure Share
Jokes True or False TPR
Line-Ups Two truths and a Lie
Look Again Pictures Vocabulary Dice Game
Matching Who am I?
Meet Someone New Word/ Sentence Scramble
Mingle Word Search
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Class Starters
What are they?
• Each activity can be completed easily in five to fifteen minutes.
• Late arriving students can easily join in.
• Activities are fun rewarding and educational.

Why do them?
• Reward and don't punish students who come to class on time.
• Encourage punctuality.
• Value student time.
• “I can’t start because there aren’t enough students in class yet,” is not an
acceptable excuse to begin class late. Begin on time with a class starter, so
students are immediately stimulated and ready to learn!

50 Example Class Starters

Title Backs to the Screen
Materials • Short video clip of one to 3 minutes.
Procedure 1) Pre-teach key words and phrases that students will need to describe
what you will show them.
2) Put students in pairs and have them self-assign “A” and “B” students
3) Student A stands or sits with his/her back to the screen. Student B
faces A and the screen.
4) Play a video clip w/o sound.
5) B talks non-stop describing to A what is taking place on the screen.
Encourage students to use as much detail as possible.
6) After a minute or so, stop the video and have students switch places.
7) Continue the video while A now describes the action.
8) After both students have described part of the video, replay the clip
w/o sound for all to see.
9) Replay the clip with sound.

Title Check Homework & Homework Reward (Appendix A)

Materials • Homework that needs to be checked.
Procedure 1) Check homework.
Variation • Give students a homework paper at the beginning of the term. When
you check students’ homework, ask them to put their “homework
paper” on their desks. If a student did his/her homework, sign/stamp
or place a sticker on the homework paper. While checking student

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homework, students could do a journal entry and/or compare their

homework.

Title Classroom Interviews (Appendix B)

Materials • Half sheet with 4 questions and space for students to write
responses.
Procedure 1) Give each student a “classroom interview” handout
2) Go over the directions and questions
3) Do an example classroom interview
4) Tell students to stand up, walk around the room and interview 4
people.
5) Elicit from a few students what they learned during the interview.

Title Comic Descriptions (Appendix C)

Materials • Humorous comic strips contain little or no text.
Procedure 1) In pairs, one student has their back to the front of the room while the
other student describes the contents of a comic strip as it is revealed
by the instructor.
2) Pre-teach important vocabulary as necessary.

Title Corner conversations

Materials • 4 posters with topics/ questions (e.g., fall, winter, spring and summer)
Procedure 1) Place a poster in each corner of the room.
2) Explain that students will have conversations about different topics.
3) They should choose the topic they would like to talk about first and
stand in that corner of the room.
4) Students in the same corner of the room should have a conversation
about their topic.
5) Give a sign that students have to change corners to have a different
conversation with other students about a new topic.
6) Repeat step 4.

Title Crossword Puzzle (Appendix D)

Materials • To create a crossword puzzle, go to http://school.discovery.com 
custom classroom  puzzlemaker  criss-cross puzzle (takes about
10 minutes total! Register for free first)
Procedure 1) Give each pair/ small group 1 copy of the crossword puzzle.
2) Go over the directions together (it is important for students to know
the difference between “down” and “across.”)
3) Do one together (optional).
4) Tell the class it’s a race: which pair/ group can solve the puzzle the

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quickest?
5) Go over answers and award winners with a prize.

Title Dictation
Materials • Paper and pen (optional)
Procedure 1) Read words or a sentence to students
2) Ask students to exchange their paper with a partner to correct the
answers
Variation • You could also have students compare their answers with each other
and write the answers on the board to review accurate spelling.
• The dictation could be a short quiz as well.
• Give students a blank bingo paper. They should write each word they
hear in a different box. Play a short bingo game. The winner should
also have the correct spelling!
• Have students draw a tic-tac-toe grid. They should write each word
they hear in a different cell. Go over the answers. For each correct
answer, students should put an X in the cell. For each incorrect
answer they should place an O. If students have three X’s, they win a
prize.

Title Dictation Relays

Materials • Dictation sentences formatted for relay
Procedure 1) Students are divided into pairs.
2) One member of each pair (A) is asked to come to the front of the room
while the other member (B) remains at a desk at the back of the room.
3) The A partners are asked to read the first portion of a dictation posted
on the front wall.
4) The A partners must then walk to the back of the room and dictate
what they can to their partner- no yelling!
5) Half way through the posted dictation, the partners should switch roles
until the dictation is finished.

Title Find a Partner

Materials • Index cards with vocabulary and definitions
Procedure 1) Give each student an index card.
2) They should first decide if it is a vocabulary word or meaning.
3) Have students roam around the room to find their partners.
Variation • Once partners have found each other, have them sit with each other.
Each pair should stand up to reveal their vocabulary word and
definition. The class decides if it is a correct match by giving it a
“thumbs up” or “thumbs down.”

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Title Find Someone Who (Appendix E)

Materials • Worksheet (Worksheet asks them to, “Find someone who…
Ate eggs for breakfast.
Took the bus to school.
Saw a movie last weekend.
----
Has been to Disneyland.
Has eaten escargot.
----
Has climbed a mountain.
Has washed dishes this week.
Has planted a garden.)
Procedure 1) Hand each student a find someone who worksheet.
2) Go over the directions and do an example first.
3) Have students roam around room finding other students to complete
their worksheets.
4) Students work until worksheet is complete or time is called.
Variation • Targeted Pronunciation.
• Targeted verb tenses.
• Icebreaker / Way to learn names.

Title Find the Mistake

Materials • Sentences with mistakes
Procedure 1) Individually, in pairs or in groups, have students identify mistakes in
sentences.
2) Discuss answers.
Variation • In a writing class, you could give student-produced sentences from
their essays (keep each sentence anonymous).
• For this activity, you can focus on a specific problem area.
• You could tell students the number of mistakes in each sentence/
paragraph.
• You could turn the activity into a competition.

Title Game Board (Appendix F)

Materials Worksheet
Procedure 1) Divide class into groups.
2) Hand each student a game board, die and game piece.
3) Go over the directions and do an example first.
4) Have students roll the die. The person with the highest number
begins.
5) Students take turns answering questions from the game board.
6) The person who finishes his/her game board first wins.
Variation • Icebreaker / Way to learn names.
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• Targeted grammar/ vocabulary

Title Give One, Get One

Materials • Teacher prompt of list for students to form.
Procedure 1) Ask students to individually start a list such as:
a. “Things found in a house”
b. “Ways to describe a person”
c. “Activities done during the weekend”
2) After a few minutes ask students to compare their lists to a partners.
3) From their partner’s list they must both give them an item they hadn’t
thought of and take an item they hadn’t had before.
4) After giving and getting ideas, students move on to other partner’s.
5) Rewards can be given for the longest lists.

Title Grammar conversations

Materials • Grammar question
Procedure 1) Write a question on the board using a specific grammar structure
(e.g., What did you do last night?).
2) Share responses in pairs/ groups.
Variation • Have students share highlights of their lives (e.g., what is one
highlight of your life as a child, teenager and adult). This also works
well as a poster presentation.

Title Group Quiz

Materials • Quiz (e.g., 5 multiple-choice questions)
• Paper and pens
Procedure 1) Divide class into groups.
2) Each group should divide a paper into four, write A-D on each part of
the paper and separate the papers, so you have 4 cards.
3) Each person in the group should have a card with a letter (A, B, C or
D).
4) Have each group come up with a group name and write the names
on the board.
5) Read and show the first question on an overhead. Tell each group to
decide the correct answer.
6) The group member with the correct letter should hold up his/her card.
7) Give each group with the correct answer a point.
8) Repeat steps 5-7.
9) The team with the highest points wins.
Variation • Instead of creating a multiple-choice quiz, give them a cloze activity,
true or false task or Jeopardy activity (e.g., Name the capital of
Canada _________).

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• Have each student complete a quiz and collect it.

Title Hangman
Materials • Whiteboard/ blackboard
• List of words (optional)
Procedure 1) Do an example hangman first. Think of a word. Write the same
number as lines on the board as there are letters in the word.
2) Each student/ group attempts to find out the secret word by guessing
one letter at a time. If the letter is guessed correctly, write the letter on
the correct line on the board. For each letter that is guessed
incorrectly, a body part is drawn on a scaffold.
3) If all letters in the word are guessed correctly before a complete body
is drawn, the student/ group who guessed the word the quickest wins.
If not, no one wins and the word will be revealed.
4) Ask a volunteer to pick or choose the next word and start a new
hangman game with the class.

Title Human Bingo (Appendix G)

Materials Worksheet
Procedure 1) Hand each student a human bingo worksheet.
2) Go over the directions and do an example first.
3) Have students roam around room finding other students to complete
their bingo sheet.
4) Students work until the first student has bingo!
Variation • Targeted Pronunciation.
• Targeted verb tenses.
• Icebreaker / Way to learn names.

Title Idioms in Context (Appendix H)

Materials • Target idioms embedded in sentences or paragraphs that help give
meaning. Example idioms: http://www.rong-chang.com/idioms.htm
Procedure 1) Write on board or OHP.
2) Ask student pairs to identify idiom and discuss possible meaning.
3) Solicit responses.
Variation • Underline idioms for lower level students.
• Have lower level students draw a picture of the idiom on paper. They
should have a picture with the idiom written underneath it and the
meaning written on the back of the paper, so they can use it as a
flashcard.
• You could do an idiom matching first. After that, each group could
make a large flashcard for one of the idioms. They should have a
picture with the idiom written underneath it and the meaning written

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on the back of the paper, so they can use it as a flashcard. Have each
group give a short presentation in front of the class.
• Ask higher-level students to use the idiom in a new sentence or have
groups create a short dialogue to perform in front of the class using
the idiom in context.
• For homework, have students write the idiom, meaning and an
example sentence.

Title Irregular Verb Relay

Materials • Whiteboard or blackboard and markers
• List of verbs:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslirrverb.html
Procedure 1) Divide the board into 2-5 parts.
2) Divide the class into 2-5 group.
3) Have each group stand in a line facing one part of the whiteboard.
4) Hand the front person in each group a marker and give the simple
tense of a verb. Each front person should then write the verb in the
simple past (irregular verbs are especially good!)
5) Each front person should write the simple past and pass the marker
to the next person in line.
6) Repeat step 4-5.
7) The group with the most correct answers wins!
Variation • You could also give words to spell.
• Write 10-15 irregular verbs on the board. Divide class into two groups.
Have the students line up into two groups. Hand the front person of
each group a fly swatter. Give the simple present of a verb. The front
person of each group should find the irregular verb on the board and
hit it with the fly swatter. The person who hits it first wins a point for
their team. Each person should hand the fly swatter to the next
person line.

Title Jokes
Materials • List of appropriate jokes
Procedure 1) Share with students orally.
2) Discuss the meaning.

Title Line-ups
Materials • Create questions. Use questions that make it possible for students to
create a line. Example questions are:
- What is the first letter of your name?
- How many brothers or sisters do you have?
- When is your birthday (month/ day)?

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- What is your height?

- What is your age?
- How long does it take to travel from your home to school?
- How long have you studied English?
- How many hours of TV do you watch every day/ week)?
- How many hamburgers do you eat in a week?
Procedure 1) Ask students a question (e.g., “How many brothers and sisters do you
have?”)
2) Tell students to stand up and make a line (e.g., no siblings are on the
left; highest number of brothers and sisters on the right)
3) Go over the responses
Variation • To make it more challenging, tell students they are not allowed to
speak. Instead they can sign their answers. Especially for low levels,
this creates a lot of laughter.
• For advanced levels, you could also ask controversial questions (e.g.,
Do you agree or disagree with abortion? Students should line up
according to their degree of agreement or disagreement. After that
you could even “fold” the lines, so students who agree are face-to-
face with someone who disagrees. They could try to convince the
other person of their opinion.)

Title Look Again Pictures

Materials • The Book (See booklist)
Procedure 1) Present in book or on OHP and ask pairs to discuss differences.

Title Matching
Materials • Matching handout
• To create a matching activity, go to http://school.discovery.com 
custom classroom  worksheet generator  matching (takes about
10 minutes total! Register for free first)
Procedure 1) Hand each pair/ group a handout with a matching exercise with
vocabulary words and the meaning.
2) Go over the directions and give one example.
3) Explain that the first pair/group who solves the matching exercise
wins!
4) Have each pair discuss the meaning of the vocabulary words.
Variation • Use matching strips. Use the matching strips to play concentration.

Title Meet Someone New

Materials • Nothing
Procedure 1) Ask students to sit with someone they don’t know for 3 minutes and
get to know them. You may wish to give them some basic question to
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ask each other.

2) When finished you can ask them to introduce their new friend to
another pair.

Title Mingle
Materials • Index cards with questions. (Kathy’s cards from Alta ESL work great)
Procedure 1) Students circulate around the room with question cards and form
pairs.
2) Once in pairs they ask and respond to each other’s questions.
3) When done, students swap cards and find a new partner.
Variation • Index cards with target vocabulary, common student errors, etc.

Title Mystery Bag: 20 Questions!

Materials • A paper bag with a mystery item
Procedure 1) Hold up a paper bag and explain that you have a mystery item in the
bag.
2) Explain to students that the purpose of this activity is to ask yes/ no
questions in order to find out what the item is. You can only respond
to their questions with “yes” or “no.” (If necessary, review yes/no
questions).
3) Have students take turns asking yes/no questions.
4) The person who guesses first wins a prize!
Variation • Have students bring a mystery item to class. In groups, have them
ask yes/no questions to find out what it is.

Title Newspaper Gallery

Materials • Newspaper articles
Procedure 1) Cut out 5-10 newspaper articles depending on the size of the class.
2) Hang the articles around the classroom.
3) Have students walk around the room, read the article and write 1-2
interesting things they learned about it. When ready, have them find
another article.
4) Share interesting findings with the class.
Variation • Have students bring a newspaper/ magazine article to class. Have
them share the article in pairs/ small groups.

Title Odd One Out (Appendix H)

Materials • Word groups.
Procedure 1) Post a group of 3-15 words on the board or overhead.
2) Students working alone, in pairs or in small groups discuss which
word doesn’t belong on the list and why.

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Title One Change

Materials • A selection of random or selected objects.
Procedure 1) Display a group of objects on a table in front of the room and ask
students to study it for one minute.
2) Ask students to close their eyes while you change the position of one
or more items.
3) Students then describe the change.

Title One-minute speech

Materials • Talk chip/ topic card
Procedure 1) Give each student a talk chip/ topic card.
2) In small groups, each student has to give a 1-minute speech using
their talk chip or topic card (e.g., My best friend is …)
Variation • Ask a volunteer to come to the front of the class. The student should
take a “talk chip” out of the bag or hat. Have the student give a 1-
minute speech using the topic. Have the student choose the next
presenter.
• You could also ask each student to write a topic about which they like
to talk. Collect the topics and distribute them around the class, so
each student has a topic about which they should talk.

Title Partner or Small Group Conversation

Materials • Handout with questions (The book Conversation Inspirations has
100’s of great questions!)
Procedure 1) Give handout with questions.
2) Students discuss questions in pairs or small groups/ interview partner.
3) Elicit from students what they learned about their partner.

Title Picture Recall

Materials • Large picture or illustration on OHP.
Procedure 1) Show the class a picture on the OHP for 1 minute.
2) Students in pairs then try to recall everything they can about the
picture.
3) You can focus the language of the activity by asking directed
questions such as:
4) What were people doing?
5) What were people wearing?
6) What was the weather like?
7) Where was ______ ?

Title Picture Story

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Materials 1. Pictures
Procedure 1) Give each group a picture.
2) Have them tell/ write a story about the picture. Who is it? What is the
person’s name? What is he/she doing, feeling or thinking? Etc.
3) Share pictures/ stories with the whole class.

Title Proverbs (Appendix I)

Materials • List of appropriate proverbs
Procedure 1) Share with students orally on board.
2) Discuss meaning.

Title Question of the Day

Materials • Question (The Book of Questions) works really well
Procedure 1) Say or write down a question on the board.
2) Have pairs/ groups discuss the question.
Variation • Have each group brainstorm a question to ask the teacher. Answer
the questions.

Title Quick talk

Materials • Set of topics/ questions
Procedure 1) Give each group a set of cards with topics.
2) Tell the class to place the topic cards face down.
3) One student takes a topic card and talks about the topic for a short
time.
4) Have the next student take a topic card and talk about it quickly.
5) Repeat steps 4 and 5.

Title Read
Materials • Something for all students to read
Procedure 1) Students read silently or aloud in pairs or groups.
Variation • Ask pairs to share what they read.

Title Riddles (Appendix J)

Materials • List of appropriate riddles
Procedure 1) Share with students orally on the board.
2) Discuss meaning.

Title Round Robin

Materials • Paper and pen
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Procedure 1) Divide class into groups.

2) Give each group a piece of paper.
3) Give a topic to the class (e.g., family).
4) One person should have a blank paper and write the topic on the
paper. Then, he/she passes the paper to the next person to write a
word under it. Then, that person passes it onto the next, etc.
Variation • Each person could have a blank sheet of paper with a topic written on
it. They write a word associated with the topic and pass the paper to
the next person. Then, this person receives a new word from another
group member.
• Each person in the group could describe a different picture answering
a question about it. After they have answered the question, they pass
the paper and picture to the next person (see example).

Title Songs (Appendix K)

Materials • Song
• Handout
Procedure 1) Hand each student a handout with a song with missing words.
2) Students listen to the song and fill in the missing words.
3) Go over the answers (and sing the song!) For example, if you’re
studying the present progressive, you could play “Tom’s Diner” by
Suzanna Vega. After the students have solved the cloze exercise,
you could have them stand up each time they hear the present
progressive.
Variation • Cut up song lyrics into strips of paper. Place the strips in an envelope.
Divide the class into groups and hand each group an envelope with
strips. Each group member should have a few song strips on his/her
desk. Play the song and have the groups place the strips into the
correct order.
• Give each student a vocabulary word. Listen to a song. The student
who hears his/her word should stand up when they hear it.

Title Survivor
Materials • Paper and pen/ overhead sheets
Procedure 1) In groups, have students make a list of 10 items they would bring if
they were stranded on an island.
2) Groups share their items.
Variation • You could have each group write their list on an overhead sheet or
poster paper and give a short presentation.

Title Three things you learned last week

Materials • Paper and pen (optional)

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Procedure 1) In pairs/ small groups, have students brainstorm 3 things they learned
in the last class.
2) Give markers to different students in the class and have them write
down 1 thing they’ve learned.
Variation • You could also ask your students to write down 1 thing they found
confusing. This could reveal a lot.

Title Tongue Twister (Appendix L)

Materials • Tongue twister
Procedure 1) Write a tongue twister on the board and rehearse together
2) Tell students to practice the tongue twister individually saying it as
quickly as possible.
3) Have each person say the tongue twister out loud. (You may want to
reward the students who can say it the quickest without any
mistakes!).
Variation Ask student pairs to practice together.
Have students/ groups create a tongue twister and present it to the class.

Title Treasure Share!

Materials • Students bring an important possession to class (e.g., a photo of their
family)
Procedure 1) In groups, have students take turns showing and sharing the
importance of their treasure.
2) Illicit from students what they learned about their teammates.
Variation • Have students stand in two lines opposite each other. Have them
share their treasure with the person facing them. Have one side move
one step to the right to face a new person. Students share their
treasure with a new person.
• This also works well as an inside-outside activity.
• Have students show their key chains and explain the use of each key.
• Have students bring a favorite quote to share with a group/ the class.

Title True or False TPR

Materials • List of questions
Procedure 1) Divide the board in two and write yes on the left and no on the right.
2) Explain that you will ask questions. If a student thinks the answer is
YES, he should stand on the left. If he thinks the answer is NO, he
should stand on the right.
3) Review the answer after each question.
Variation • This works great as a review. You can have 2-5 categories. Students
should stand in the part of the classroom that supports their opinion.

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Title Truths and a Lie (Appendix H)

Materials • Index cards
Procedure 1) Tell your students two truths and a lie.
2) In pairs/ small groups, students decide which facts are true and which
one is a lie.
3) Share solution.
4) Students write two truths and one lie on an index card.
5) Students read their two truths and one lie to their partner(s).
6) The partner guesses the answer.
7) Partners/ group members switch roles.
Variation • Ask 3-5 volunteers to come to the front of the class to form a panel.
Each panelist should either tell a truth or lie. Have the class decide
which panelists told the truth and which ones a lie. Switch panelists.

Title Vocabulary Dice Game

Materials • One die
• Handout with instructions explaining what each number on the dice
means
• Vocabulary cards
Procedure 1) Divide class into groups.
2) Hand each group a die and instruction paper.
3) Go over the instructions and give an example.
4) Students take turns tossing the die. Then they take a vocabulary card.
Depending on their die, they have to either (1) act it out, (2) draw a
picture of the word, (3) create a sentence using the vocabulary word,
(4) create a question to ask the group using the vocabulary word, (5)
explain the vocabulary word without using the actual word and have
the group guess the word.
Variation • Instead of giving each group a die, give them a spinner with four
colors. Each color signifies a specific task (e.g., blue is create a
sentence, yellow is act out the word, red is draw a picture and green
is choose 1)

Title Who am I?
Materials • Cards with names of famous people/ vocabulary
Procedure 1) Attach the name of a famous person to your back (or forehead).
2) Explain that you have to find out “who you are” asking yes/no
questions. Model some questions.
3) Have students brainstorm more questions and have them write them
on the board.
4) Guess the person’s name on your back.
5) Give each student a card and have them attach it to another student’s
back without showing them who they are. Attach a card to each

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student’s back.
6) Have students roam around the room and guess who they are. When
they have solved it, have them attach the card to their chest and
answer yes/no questions.

Title Word Search (Appendix M)

Materials • Word Search handout
• To create a word search handout, go to http://school.discovery.com
 custom classroom  puzzlemaker  word search (takes about 10
minutes total! Register for free first)
Procedure 1) Hand each student/ pair a word search.
2) Go over the directions and give one example.
3) Explain that the first person/ pair who solves the word search wins!
4) Have each pair discuss the meaning of the vocabulary words.

Title Word Scramble (Appendix B)

Materials • Handout with word scrambles (optional)
• To create a word search handout, go to http://school.discovery.com
 custom classroom  worksheet generator  scramble (takes
about 10 minutes total! Register for free first)
Procedure 1) Write DGO on the board and have students guess what animal this is.
Explain that the letters are mixed up.
2) Explain that there will be a competition between groups.
3) Hand each group a list of 5-10 scrambled words/ write the scrambled
words on the board.
4) The group that unscrambles the words the quickest wins!
5) Have each group discuss the meaning of the vocabulary words.
Variation • Instead of using scrambled words, use scrambled word order in a
sentence instead (school.discovery.com is a great resource for this as
well  worksheet generator  mix up). To review the sentence
scramble, you could write each word from the sentence on a separate
piece of paper. Ask for as many volunteers as you have papers for.
Ask the volunteers to make a line in front of the class holding up their
papers. Have the students in the class direct the location of each
volunteer to create the correct sentence.

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix A

Your Name:

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix B

Classroom Interviews:
Celebrations!
Directions: Please talk to four students about their celebrations and take notes in the
table below. Enjoy!

Name Country Celebration What do you do?

Christmas
Word Scramble

Unscramble the following words. All the words are related to Christmas.

1) aeithesst rmrc __________________________

2) rbeeeDcm __________________________

3) pntesser __________________________

4) kictosnsg __________________________

5) nltaa ausCS __________________________

Solution:
(1) Christmas tree (2) December (3) presents (4) stockings (5) Santa Claus

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix C
Comic Descriptions

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Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix D

Thanksgiving!
Crossword Puzzle

Directions: Please read the clues to solve the crossword puzzle below.

Across Down
1. A large orange vegetable 2. The month in which Thanksgiving
5. A popular dessert for the falls
Thanksgiving meal 3. Another word for relatives
7. A large bird which is often eaten 4. Many people like to watch this game
during holiday meals on TV
8. The season after summer 6. The first people who lived in North
America

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix E

Find Someone Who! (2 pages)

Present & Past Tense Question Review
Directions: Walk around the room and talk to different people. Ask the following
questions in English and when you find someone who says YES to the question, write
his or her name.

Do you…..? Yes, I do/ No, I don’t.

1. like Santa Barbara?

2. like to watch a lot of TV?

3. like to do homework?

4. like to exercise?

5. like to speak English?

Did you…..? Yes, I did/ No, I didn’t.

1. have happy holidays?

2. travel out of the U.S. during the holidays?

3. stay in California during the holidays?

4. gain weight last month?

5. drink champagne on New Year’s Eve?

6. speak English on Christmas morning?

7. spend a lot of money in December?

8. feel a little lonely over the holidays?

9. get sick over the holidays?

10. make any New Year resolutions?

(for example, I will stop smoking)

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Find Someone Who…

Directions: Please turn the following statements into questions. Walk around the room.
Ask each person a different question. If he/she answers “Yes,” write his/her name. If the
answer is no, find a different person. Good luck!

1. Find someone whose first name begins with the same letter as yours

2. Find someone who was born in the same month as you

3. Find someone who is wearing the same color shoes as you are

4. Find someone who has three or more siblings

5. Find someone who plays a musical instrument

6. Find someone who likes to dance

7. Find someone who speaks more than two languages

8. Find someone who is an only child

9. Find someone who went to the same high school as you

10. Find someone who is left handed

11. Find someone who is vegetarian

12. Find someone who rode a bike to class

13. Find someone who wants to study the same thing you do

14. Find someone who likes to surf

15. Find someone who is a stranger to you

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Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix F:

Game Board

Directions: Put your markers on the start. In groups, take turns rolling the die. The
person with the highest number begins. Roll the die again. Move your marker to
the correct place. Read the question out loud and answer it. Give the die to the
person sitting on the right. The person who gets to the finish first wins!

What do you like to How many cups of What do you like to

START do in your free coffee do you drink watch on TV?
⇒ time? a day?
⇓

How often do you How often do you Where do you eat Where do you go
go to the cinema? have English your breakfast at for walks?
classes? home?
⇓ ⇐

Where do you go What do you like to Where does your Where do you go
shopping? eat? best friend live? during the
weekends?
⇒ ⇓

Where do you go What do you do on How do you get to How often do you
for holidays? Friday nights? school? wash your hair?

⇓ ⇐

What clothes do How often do you What time do you How many hours
you like to wear for see your friends? get up on Sunday do you work every
school? mornings? day?
⇒ ⇓

Where do you Where do you go How much time do

FINISH work? to relax? you take to do your
homework?
⇐
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Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix G

Human Bingo
Directions: Interview your classmates. Start the question with “Have you ever.”
To answer a question, use: Yes, I have. OR No, I haven’t.
Try to get a YES answer to each question. When you find a person who answers YES,
write his/ her name in the square. Do not write the name if he/she answers no. The first
person with 5 squares in a row wins (say BINGO)!!

Have you ever …?

been to San been on an gone to a gone camping cycled

Francisco airplane festival in Santa
Barbara

taken a bus in gone to the shopped at the visited the been to the
Santa Barbara mountains in La Cumbre Mall harbor in Santa mission in
Santa Barbara in Santa Barbara Santa Barbara
Barbara?

been to a park gone to the Create your visited a casino visited

in Santa Santa Barbara own question Carpinteria
Barbara Zoo

visited San been to Trader tried Chinese gone to a gone to the

Diego Joe’s food movie in Santa beach
Barbara

been to a party eaten at a gone swimming been to the owned a pet

in Santa restaurant in farmers’ market
Barbara Santa Barbara

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix H

Idioms in Context

• I got soaked on the way to school. It was really raining cats and dogs.

• The high cost of living in Santa Barbara forces some people to burn the midnight oil.
Each day the finish one job and drive to another.

Odd Man Out

Directions: Read the vocabulary in the box. Circle the word that does not belong.

Soccer
Basketball
Tennis
Football
Volleyball
Track

Teacher
Student
Secretary
Custodian
Teacher’s Aide

Chair
Table
Door
Desk
Arnold Schwarzenegger

One Lie

• I’ve traveled in 28 countries.

• I’ve been a vegetarian for 13 years.
• I’ve sold ceramics at the Sunday crafts show at the beach.
• I ran the LA marathon twice.
• I’ve lived in Santa Barbara half of my life.

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Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix I
Proverbs

1. "Actions speak louder than words"

2. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"

3. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder"

4. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"

5. “Don't bite the hand that feeds you"

6. “Don't burn your bridges behind you"

7. “It's better to be safe than sorry"

8. “No pain, no gain"

9. “Slow and steady wins the race"

10. "Haste makes waste"

11. "Better late than never"

12. "His bark is worse than his bite"

13. “A stitch in time saves nine"

14. "Out of sight, out of mind"

15. "Two heads are better than one"

16. "Don't put all your eggs in one basket"

17. "One rotten apple spoils the barrel"

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix J
Riddles (2 pages)
What was given to you, belongs to you exclusively and yet is used more by your friends than
by yourself?

...Your name

Every time you stand up, you lose this. What is it?

...Your lap

What runs around town all day and lies under the bed at night with its tongue hanging out?

...Your shoes

Think fast: There's an electric train traveling south. The wind is from the north-west. In which
direction would the smoke from the train be blowing?

…An electric train would not have smoke.

How can you avoid hitting your fingers when driving in a nail with a hammer?

… Hold the hammer with both hands.

What walks on 4 legs in the morning, 2 legs in the afternoon, and 3 legs in the evening?

…A man

What has a head like a cat, feet like a cat, a tail like a cat, but isn't a cat?

…A kitten

When is a doctor most annoyed?

… When he is out of "patients".

Why isn't your nose twelve inches long?

… Because it would then be a foot.

What has five eyes, but cannot see?

… The Mississippi River

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Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

What is it that by losing an eye has nothing left but a nose?

… The word NOISE

Which one of our Presidents had the largest shoes?

… The president with the largest feet.

What five letter word has six left after you take two letters away?

.....sixty (take away 'ty' and six is left)

What is it that someone else has to take before you can get it?

.....your photograph

What is it that everyone requires, everyone gives, everyone asks and that very few take?

.....advice

What goes from New York to California without moving?

.....a highway

Can you explain how long cows should be milked?

.....The same way you milk short cows

What is the best thing to put into cakes?

.....Your teeth

What kind of umbrella do most people carry on a rainy day?

.....A wet one

What always happens at the end of a dry spell?

.....It rains

Why was Washington buried at Mt. Vernon?

.....Because he was dead

What runs all around the yard without moving?

.....The fence

What is all over the house?

.....The roof

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix K

I’ll Always Love You

By Whitney Houston

STEP 1: You will listen to a song.

STEP 2: In groups, you will organize the sentences from the envelope.
STEP 3: You will highlight the future tense.
STEP 4: You will listen to the song again!
STEP 5: In groups, you will have a conversation. Answer the question:

Who will you always love? Why?

Cut up into strips 

If I should stay,

I would only be in your way.

So I'll go, but I know

I'll think of you every step of the way.

And I will always love you.

I will always love you.

You, my darling you. Hmm.

Bittersweet memories

that is all I'm taking with me.

So, goodbye. Please, don't cry.

We both know I'm not what you, you need.

And I will always love you.

I will always love you.

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

A Weather Song:
Have You Ever Seen The Rain?

Directions: Please listen to the song and fill in the missing words.
 cold  day  hot  rain  rain
 shining  storm  sunny  sunny  sunny

Someone told me long ago

There's a calm before the (1) ,
I know!
It's been comin' for sometime.
When it's over so they say
It'll rain on a (2) day,
I know!
(3) down like water!

I wanna know: have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know: have you ever seen the (4)
Comin' down on a (5) day

Yesterday and days before

Sun is (6) and rain is (7) ,
I know!
Been that way for all my time.
Till forever on it goes
Thru the circle fast and slow,
I know
It can't stop I wonder!

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a (8) day?

YEAHHHHH!

I wanna know, have you ever seen the (9) ?

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny (10) ?

By Creedence Clearwater

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix L
Tongue Twisters (2 pages)
Six sick slick slim sycamore saplings.

A box of biscuits, a batch of mixed biscuits

A skunk sat on a stump and thunk the stump stunk,

but the stump thunk the skunk stunk.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Did Peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers?
If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers,
where's the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Red lorry, yellow lorry, red lorry, yellow lorry.

Unique New York.

Betty Botter had some butter,

"But," she said, "this butter's bitter.
If I bake this bitter butter,
it would make my batter bitter.
But a bit of better butter--
that would make my batter better."

So she bought a bit of butter,

better than her bitter butter,
and she baked it in her batter,
and the batter was not bitter.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
bought a bit of better butter.

Six thick thistle sticks. Six thick thistles stick.

Is this your sister's sixth zither, sir?

A big black bug bit a big black bear,

made the big black bear bleed blood.

She sells sea shells by the sea shore.

The shells she sells are surely seashells.
So if she sells shells on the seashore,
I'm sure she sells seashore shells.
The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
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Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

Pope Sixtus VI's six texts.

One smart fellow, he felt smart.

Two smart fellows, they felt smart.
Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

I slit the sheet, the sheet I slit, and on the slitted sheet I sit.

Mrs. Smith's Fish Sauce Shop.

"Surely Sylvia swims!" shrieked Sammy, surprised.

"Someone should show Sylvia some strokes so she shall not sink."

A Tudor who tooted a flute

tried to tutor two tooters to toot.
Said the two to their tutor,
"Is it harder to toot
or to tutor two tooters to toot?"

Shy Shelly says she shall sew sheets.

Three free throws.

I am not the pheasant plucker,

I'm the pheasant plucker's mate.
I am only plucking pheasants
'cause the pheasant plucker's running late.

Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.

A flea and a fly flew up in a flue.

Said the flea, "Let us fly!"
Said the fly, "Let us flee!"
So they flew through a flaw in the flue.

Knapsack straps.

Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

Lesser leather never weathered wetter weather better.

Inchworms itching.

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 © Jack Bailey [email protected] &
Marit ter Mate-Martinsen [email protected]

Appendix M

Word Search

Directions: Please find the following words in the word search below.

 Arrow  Card  Chocolates  Cupid

 Date  Flowers  Gift  Heart
 Kiss  Love  Poem  Red
 Ring  Romantic  Roses  Valentine

F S S Q M C J D K D L U S Z A
B L B E U K I S N Z O V E T B
D T O P S E T O G K V D T K D
B E I W T O G I F T E R A P A
A D R A E O R W J N V A L U K
D K D R H R G N I R J C O D Z
J H I D T Z S T V O S U C Q S
X J P S F R N R H O N W O A T
B O K J S E Y D D Z V O H R Z
N G E N L R O M A N T I C R R
Q V G A R L I P S L E O G O N
Y O V P V M H T R A E H F W Y
D S O W F U K Y Z X D S W W V
L E U E X L E W I V K F M D M
M K R G B Y P Z N W F H O L V

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References

Conversation Inspirations
Nancy Zelman
Alta ESL
ISBN: 0-88647-094-8

Five-Minute Activities
Penny Ur and Andrew Right
Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0-521-39781-2

Index Card Games

Raymond Clark
Pro Lingua Associates
ISBN: 0-86647-158-8

Look Again Pictures

Judy Winn-Bell Olsen
Alta ESL
ISBN: 1-882483-70-7

More Index Card Games

Raymond Clark
Pro Lingua Associates
ISBN: 0-86647-075-1

Zero Prep
Laurel Pollard and Natalie Hess
Alta ESL
ISBN: 1-882483-64-2

Zero Prep for Beginners

Laurel Pollard, Natalie Hess and Jan Herron
Alta ESL
ISBN: 1-882483-82-0

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