Somedays we just feel as though there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done. We may find ourselves, 3 weeks into a term, churning out the same mundane lesson starter. Books on desks, pens out, write down the date, LO etc. Vocabulary testing or finishing off work.
In the past, I have been guilty of slipping into a "lazy routine" and then I wonder why students are switching off in my lessons. This term, I was determined to break that habit and therefore I set myself the task of using a different starter each lesson to help students engage and settle quickly in the lesson.
To ensure that I didn't increase my planning time any further, I focused on things that needed minimum input but that would (hopefully) result in maximum output.
One of the activities that my students love is Trapdoor.
It's very easy to adapt. Create a powerpoint with 2-3 sentences on. Every so often, place in a word cloud which contains 3 alternative words. Write down 1 word from each cloud on a piece of paper. Students have to read the text out loud, when they get to a word cloud, they have to guess which word you have chosen. If a student guesses correctly then they continue. If they are incorrect, a different student takes over. They must start from the beginning of the text each time.
Word Scatter is also popular with my students. I choose a mixture of pronouns, verbs, nouns and time phrases. Students have to create as many sentences as they can in 3 minutes.
To differentiate, I display verbs in the infinitive and challenge students to conjugate them or use a different tense.
An alternative is to call out a sentence and students write it down on a wipe board.
Talking Dice are great for encouraging group talk. Students roll a dice 3 times. Each time they make a note of the numbers. On the board, display a grammatical item which links to the dice numbers. Students must use these items in their sentence and they are assessed by their peers.
Two of my most popular items on TES are Give Me a Clue and Sentence Auction.
For Give Me a Clue, put students into pairs, one sits facing the board, the other faces away. Display pictures on the board which one student must describe to the other. For a challenge, I list "forbidden words" which cannot be said during the description.
Sentence Auctions are simply a mixture of sentences which are either grammatically correct or incorrect. Students work in small groups and are given a starting fund of 20 Euros. They must then bid on the sentences, saying whether or not they think they are grammatically correct or incorrect.
Other ideas include;
Oral dominoes: Each student is given a domino card with target language on one side and English on the other. One student has the starting card which just contains an English phrase. They read out the English and the rest of the class listen to see who has the TL translation. This students then reads out their card. This continues until all students have read out their dominoes. It is great for keeping students focused. My students like to have a "practice run" the second time they like to be timed to see if they can get faster as doing it.
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Gimme 5: Students have to say 5 items of vocabulary linked to a certain topic, 5 opinion words, 5 past participles, 5 adjectives etc.
Word Stretcher: Write a word on the board from a recent topic eg croissant/der Kopf/ coche, pupils suggest a
sentence containing the word, for which you award a score out of 10 for their
impressiveness. Vary generosity of your mark scheme dep on ability of group.
Clear the board: Write up 20 or so words or phrases randomly
all over your board. Split the class into 2 groups. Set the clock. Call out a word/ phrase, pupils compete against each other to say the translation. If they are correct then you rub it out. Penalty of 10
seconds if anyone calls out. They try to beat their own previous class record
each time you play.
Pass the bomb: You need a kitchen timer and a small box. Paint the box black and write "attention bomb" on
it. Put the timer in the box. When you play, set the timer for between 1-2
mins, put it into the box and ask a question that links to something that you've covered recently. It needs to be something that can have
many different answers.Give the bomb to the first pupil, who can pass it on when
they've said an answer. Whoever is holding the bomb when it goes off has to do
a forfeit, like saying 20-1 backwards in the TL or singing a song.
These are just a few of the things that I use but hopefully they will be of use to you. If you'd like a copy of any of my resources then please let me know @SJBarnes81.
