Guess the Classmate Activities

Guess the Classmate Activities Short Version:  Have students write a short list of words in a given time. (e.g. words that describe what you did last weekend).  The teacher then collects the papers, reads a few and students guess who they think wrote it. Longer Version:  Have students fill out a worksheet similar to the one below.  Make sure know students don’t write their names on the paper.  Collect all of the forms and have students pick one at a time (whole group or small group). Have students read the information and guess who is being described. Three Words that describe you: Your favorite….:  Free Time Activity______________   Animal______________ Subject___________ Your Dream Job ______________________    Your Hero _____________________ Something people in this class don't know about you ___________________________

1st//3rd/2nd Person Story Retelling

1st//3rd/2nd Person Story Retelling -     First Round: Students work in pairs answering a basic question like ‘What did you do last weekend?’ with 5 different sentences (I went, I ate, etc.).  Any speaking topic or language structure can be targeted (e.g. tell a travel story/story progressing words, what were you doing in 2015/past progressive).  Their partner must remember and repeat the sentences ‘You went, You ate, etc.) Partners:  A-B   C-D Second Round:   Students then change partners and must repeat the sentences of their original partner (John went, He ate, etc.).  The new partners must also remember what they’re hearing. Partners: A-C  - B-D Third Round Each person is partnered with the person whose story they heard in the second round.   They tell each other their partner’s own story.  Their partner then tells them how accurate they were. Partners: A-D  B-C

Spot the Differences with Photos

Find the Photo  Differences

Have students work in pairs. Give each pair two pictures that look similar, but include several differences. Students do not show the photos to each other.  They have to describe the picture and find both similarities and differences.  After this activity, tell the students to put the pictures side by side so that they can check whether the differences they found really exist or not. Sample Worksheet (answers) numbers & colors

If this is too difficult for students, you can give the two pictures to both students and have them work together to find the differences. To add interest for higher level students, use more realistic photos and have them them work together to write descriptions of the differences Specific language forms can be targeted.

Sources of ‘Spot the Difference’ Photos & Tasks:

• http://www.spotthedifference.com/
• http://www.tmz.com/category/whats-the-big-frigin-difference/
• https://www.thespruce.com/spot-the-difference-4086389
• http://alutiiqeducation.org/files/resource_pdf/spot_the_difference_task.pdf
• http://www.games-kids.com/game/20028/max-and-ruby-differences.html
• http://www.kidsfront.com/find-differences.html
• https://www.freeprintablecoloringpages.net/category/Find_The_Differences

Picture Dictations

Picture Dictations

Find a large magazine photo or textbook illustration that shows a specific setting (a city, park, kitchen, school, office, hospital, store etc) and several people engaged in a variety of activities. Don’t show learners the picture. Pre-teach any unfamiliar vocabulary you will use to describe the picture. Orally describe the picture, using level-appropriate sentences, and pausing between lines to allow learners to draw the picture while you describe it. Include some negative statements such as “The woman isn’t wearing a hat.” and confirm that learners don’t draw in response. Describe the picture a second time to allow learners to check their work. When finished, learners compare their pictures to the original and to each other’s pictures.  For higher level learners, pictures can be given to them and they can describe them to their partners. They can also choose from their own photos.

Picture Sources

• ELTPics.com ELTPics Sets
• Wellcomeimages.org
• Openclipart.org
• Commons.wikimedia.org
• Creative Commons Search Page - select sources and types of license 
• Morguefile.com
• Flickr Advanced Search (select 'Only search within Creative Commons-licensed content) 
• Google Advanced Image Search (check usage rights) 
• Times Photos of the Year
• Interesting Flickr Photos
• The Big Picture
• National Geographic