Activities for first lessons 2

Try not to correct them too much and be available to help with vocabulary needs.

An object which is important to me

Make a list of 4 or 5 objects which you hold dear (or take them to the class). Play this question game in 2 ways.

• Show or describe your objects. Students ask you questions about each object.
• They must try and think of at least 5 questions for each object (give them time to think of questions in pairs, if necessary) .
• Students then choose an object or 2 objects and ask each other about them.

OR

• Keep the identity of the object secret. Ask questions to guess the object: Is it animal, vegetable or mineral ? Is it worth a lot of money ? Can you use it at school ? Do people use it at home ? Is it an item of clothing ?
• After a few questions reveal your object and give some background to it : It’s a key ring which my brother gave to me for my 18th birthday It was my best birthday and this key ring reminds me of it.

A person I admire

Students choose 3 people (one from their family, one at school and one in public life).They explain their choices to each other. Prepare this by using your own examples and reviewing adjectives to describe people.


The expert game

Ask students to make a list of 5 interests or hobbies that they may have. Make a list for yourself on the board:

• Write expert on the board and elicit a definition.
• Ask students if they think they are an expert on something. Explain that we can know a lot about something we are particularly interested in.
• Look at the lists you have made. Students should choose 2 interests from their list of 5. Explain that for this lesson they will be the class expert on those topics.
• They must write their 2 topics on a piece of paper/or the back of their original list and display these 2 topics in front of them on the desk.
• Do the same for yourself and invite questions about your topics from the class. 
  For Example: Horror films:
   
  • Which is the best horror film ever made?
  • When did you first get interested in horror?
  • Is it better to see a horror film on video or at the cinema?
• Divide the class into As and Bs. As play experts and stay seated. Bs get up and go and ask the experts about their topics of interest.
• Encourage them to move around the experts. Half way through change roles. Bs are experts with their topics displayed. As are questioners.

You might wish to practise some of these expressions first:

• Sorry, I’m not sure about that.
• I’ll have to check up on that before starting.

This game can be played more than once in a school year!