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SpeakUp - jazykové centrum
Od roku 2001 ponúkame kurzy angličtiny pre všetky vekové kategórie, predávame jazykovú literatúru, organizujeme jazykové tábory na Slovensku a študijné pobyty v anglicky hovoriacich krajinách. Pripravujeme semináre a workshopy pre učiteľov a študentov zamerané na hľadanie a rozvíjanie alternatívnych foriem jazykového vzdelávania.

• Jazykové kurzy pre starších študentov a dospelých
• Certifikáty s medzinárodnou platnosťou
• Happy School - detská jazyková škola
• Ďalšie vzdelávanie učiteľov
• Jazykové pobyty a tábory

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

GREAT TEACHERS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD... true, or not?...

What makes a great teacher?

1. Passion for teaching.
2. Love of kids.
3. Love of the subject.
4. Understand of the role of a school in a child's life.
5. A willingness to change.
6. A work-ethic that doesn't quit.
7. A willingness to reflect.
8. Organization.
9. Understanding that being a "great teacher" is a constant struggle to always improve.
10. Enough ego to survive the hard days.
11. Enough humility to remember it's not about you.
12. A willingness to work collaboratively.

Do you agree with all these points? They are from Chris Lehmann´s article which you can find here...

Maybe the text will help you to start to improve your work... maybe it will persuade you that you are on the right way... :-)

Perhaps this web-site will help you too...

The main aim of it is to offer plenty of examples of different classroom activities - icebreakers, warmers, roleplays, games, crossroads... activities which improve grammar, vocabulary...

This page is and always will be under construction... It means that we will try to update it regularly to make its offer wider... and every teacher of English can be its creator too...

Icebreakers

1. Five colours

Introduction

- get-to-know-you game that helps people learn new facts about each other in an easy way. size. The icebreaker works best when the group size is limited to 12.

Setup

• circles in five colours for each student
• variation - candies

On the board

• Red - Favorite hobbies
• Green - Favorite place on earth
• Blue - Favorite memory
• Yellow -Dream job
• Orange - Wildcard (tell us anything about yourself!)

Variations

1. changing topics /colours for younger students or for avoiding repeating the same information

Close-up activity

1. every student speaks about him/herself
2. one student speaks about another one

2. Did you know? BINGO!

Introduction

- this game is a get-to-know-you style icebreaker too. The recommended group size is large or extra large.

Grammar

present simple, past simple or present perfect

Setup for the game

Prepare a 5 by 5 table, with interesting facts written inside the boxes. These facts can include funny or bizarre things.

Activity

- students wander around the room and to obtain the signatures of people who have the facts listed on the bingo sheet. Once a person successfully obtains a full row (5 in a row), whether horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, he or she shouts "BINGO!" and wins.

The examples for tables:

• Likes anchovies
• Has been to Hawaii
• Speaks more than two languages
• Has never been on a plane
• Has more than four brothers
• Has gone without a shower for more than three days

Be creative! You can mark the center square "FREE SPACE" like traditional bingo games. After you have prepared the table, print out enough copies for the number of players you are expecting.

Instructions for How to Play

Pass out a sheet to each person, along with a pen. Explain the objective of the game and the following rules: (1) each person you talk to may only sign your sheet once, and (2) to win, you must get signatures to form 5 in a row horizonally, vertically, or diagonally. Say "Go!" and ask your participants to begin. Once someone shouts "Bingo!" everyone returns and the person must introduce the people who signed his or her sheet. If desired, you can ask each person to explain their fact. This icebreaker game is fun way to get to know humorous or unique facts about people. Enjoy!

3. Fabulous Flags

Introduction

- Fabulous Flags (also known as the Personal Flags Activity) is a useful icebreaker activity to help people convey what represents them or what is important to them. This get-to-know-you activity is best done indoors. Any number of people can participate. The recommended age is 7 and up. Materials required are: several sheets of paper, pens, and colored pencils/crayons/markers.

Setup

Each person draws a flag that contains some symbols or objects that symbolizes who they are or what they enjoy.



Close-up activity

• each student speaks about him/herself
• one student speaks about another one

Variations

- after everyone has finished sharing the individual flags, as a big group you can ask everyone to brainstorm ideas on what to draw for a large class-wide flag

4.Four corners

Introduction

Another good icebreaker for the beginning of a school semester or as a fun way for people to get to know each other better. Four Corners (also known as Four Squares) is a simple activity in which students share who they are through the use of handdrawn pictures. This icebreaker is for all ages, and works well with small and medium groups. It usually takes about 15 minutes, depending on how much time you want to allow for sharing the pictures. It is an excellent way for students to show-and-tell what makes them unique!



Setup

You'll need sheets of paper and writing utensils. Don't worry, no artistic skills are required for this icebreaker activity - just have fun and encourage everyone to enjoy being creative while illustrating who they are!

Variation

Students can draw on board and explain immediately... Each person divides the sheet into four boxes/squares or board can be divided.

Close-up activity

• students can speak about themselves
• one tries to guess
• creating questions

5. Icebreaker Questions

Introduction

Icebreaker Questions is simply a list of 20 great questions that you can ask people to help them feel more part of a group or team. These questions are fun and non-threatening. You can use them as an icebreaker for meetings or classrooms, written on notecards and adapted for other games, or simply as a fun activity to help people get to know each other better.

Setup

You can use them as an icebreaker for meetings or classrooms, written on notecards and adapted for other games, or simply as a fun activity to help people get to know each other better.

Here is a list of twenty safe, useful icebreaker questions to help break the ice:

1. If you could have an endless supply of any food, what would you get?
2. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
3. What is one goal you'd like to accomplish during your lifetime?
4. When you were little, who was your favorite super hero and why?
5. Who is your hero? (a parent, a celebrity, an influential person in one's life)
6. What's your favorite thing to do in the summer?
7. If they made a movie of your life, what would it be about and which actor would you want to play you?
8. If you were an ice cream flavor, which one would you be and why?
9. What's your favorite cartoon character, and why?
10. If you could visit any place in the world, where would you choose to go and why
11. What's the ideal dream job for you?
12. Are you a morning or night person?
13. What are your favorite hobbies?
14. What are your pet peeves or interesting things about you that you dislike?
15. What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?
16. Name one of your favorite things about someone in your family.
17. Tell us about a unique or quirky habit of yours.
18. If you had to describe yourself using three words, it would be…
19. If someone made a movie of your life would it be a drama, a comedy, a romantic-comedy, action film, or science fiction?
20. If I could be anybody besides myself, I would be…

Sample questions are for intermediate and higher students. But you can change them to use this icebreaker in younger groups.

6. Two Truths and a Lie

Introduction

This game is a get-to-know-you icebreaker. Recommended group size is: small, medium, or large. Works best with 6-10 people. The object of the game is to to determine which statement is the false one. Interesting variations of this game are provided below.

Setup

Any indoor setting will work. No special materials are needed, although pencil and paper is optional. For all ages. No special materials are needed, although pencil and paper is optional. For all ages.

Instructions

Ask all players to arrange themselves in a circle. Instruct each player to think of three statements about themselves. Two must be true statements, and one must be false. For each person, he or she shares the three statements (in any order) to the group. The goal of the icebreaker game is to determine which statement is false. The group votes on which one they feel is a lie, and at the end of each round, the person reveals which one was the lie.

Variations

"Two Truths and a Dream Wish." - An interesting variation of Two Truths and a Lie is "Two Truths and a Dream Wish." Instead of telling a lie, a person says a wish. That is, something that is not true - yet something that the person wishes to be true. For example, someone that has never been to Europe might say: "I often travel to Europe for vacation." This interesting spin on the icebreaker can often lead to unexpected, fascinating results, as people often share touching wishes about themselves.