Posted on by karolasenglishblog

Sometimes too much ain’t enough

Introduction:

This is a board game to practise too and enough. I have noticed that a lot of my students often mix them up so I prepared a short activity for them to practise both. Students get sentences that they have to react to and the person with the most polite, ingenious, creative sentence wins. If the students are not feeling very creative you can just settle for ( never a good idea, why not push them and demand more) correct responses but I would encourage students to stretch their imaginations a little and come up with some exciting ideas.

Level: A2+

Objectives:

  1. To create sentences with TOO or ENOUGH in response to sentences provided on the board.

Materials (Click on the worksheet below to download the PDF file):

  1. Sometimes too much ain’t enough board game

Procedure:

  1. Give students a copy of Sometimes too much ain’t enough board game or display it on the screen if you are using Zoom or any other platform. If you are not currently using Zoom just follow the instructions of my other board games.
  2. The teacher throws the dice twice – the first throw indicates which column the students should use, and the second throw indicates which row, to obtain the question. 
  3. The player now gets a sentence they must respond to using either TOO or ENOUGH. The idea though is for the players to be as polite as possible or as original as possible and of course correct. If their sentence is correct they receive one point, e.g. if they land on the first square I am not going to eat this soup, the possible answers could be: There are not enough flies in it, the starter was too filling and I couldn’t possibly eat more, the soup is not salty enough, too salty etc. etc.  The sky is the limit.
  4. The player with the highest number of points wins. Since the game could actually go on indefinitely, with students giving different responses to the same sentences, you can decide when to end the game.
  5. At the end, ask students to write down 3 ideas their classmates came up with that made them laugh, surprised them or provoked any other intense positive or negative reactions.

 

Posted on by karolasenglishblog

Can you see the error of your ways? Sequel

Introduction:

This is an activity for lower intermediate students to review some of the most common mistakes they make. The students correct the mistakes individually, write sentences that are true for them and interview their partners. The mistakes in the exercise are genuine  mistakes made by my own students during Continuously present and How well do you know your folks? activities.

Level: A2

Time: 45 minutes

Objectives:

  1. To identify and correct common mistakes made by lower intermediate students.
  2. To practice changing statements into questions.
  3. To develop fluency and confidence in speaking.

Materials (Click on the worksheet below to download the PDF file):

  1. Can you see the error of your ways sequel worksheet, one per student, per pair or a small team.

Procedure:

  1. On the left hand side of the board, write I have 2 childrens and in pairs, or groups of three, ask students to highlight the error and correct it.
  2. When they have finished, ask them what the error was and underline it on the board. To the right of the sentence, ask them to write their correct sentences on the board. Go through them together as a class and ask which statement is true for them e.g. I don’t have any children, I have one child, I have two children etc.
  3. Then, in their pairs or individually, ask the students to change the statement from the second column into a question, e.g. Do you have any children? How many children do you have? Write on the board to the right of the correct sentences.
  4. Clarify understanding and explain any incorrect suggestions.
  5. Give each student Can you see the error of your ways sequel… or display it on the screen if you are using Zoom and individually ask students to circle the mistakes in sentences 1 to 10.
  6. When they have finished, check together as a class.
  7. Individually, students then write correct sentences in the second column, making each statement true for them, as per the example ( if you are using Zoom ask students to make notes on a piece of paper and when they are finished copy the examples on the board).
  8. Check together as a class.
  9. Individually, ask the students to change the statements from the first column into questions and write them down in the third column, as per the example.
  10. Monitor closely. When they have finished, they check the answers with a partner.
  11. Explain any mistakes on the board.
  12. Then, put students into pairs, or groups of three, and ask them to interview each other using the questions.
  13. If students need more practice, ask them to switch pairs / groups and repeat the process.

Fast finishers:

  1. Ask students to write down 4 things they have learned about their classmates.

Related posts:

Make no mistake

Correct me if I am wrong

I will make better mistakes tomorrow

Blah Blah PET Part 1

Can you see the error of your ways?

Bid it 2 Win it FCE Sentence Auction

Bid it 2 Win it Sentence Auction

My favourite mistakes card game

 

Posted on by karolasenglishblog

Active noughts & passive crosses

Introduction:

This is a free board game to practise/revise active and passive voice in an entertaining way. Students change passive-voice sentences to active voice sentences or active-voice sentences to passive voice sentences. If they manage to do it correctly, they add either an O or an X to the board until they line up 6 symbols in a row.

Level: B1

Time: 30 – 45 minutes

Objectives:

  1. To revise passive and active voice.
  2. To change a passive voice sentence to an active voice sentence or an active voice sentence to a passive voice sentence and line up 6 symbols (O or X) in a row.

 Materials (Click on the worksheet below to download the PDF file):

  1. Active noughts passive crosses board game one per team.

 Procedure:

  1. Divide the students into teams and hand out Active noughts & passive crosses board game  to each team or simply display it on the screen if you are using Zoom. If you have smaller groups students can also play individually.
  2. To see who starts do rock, paper, scissors.  Whoever wins chooses the square they want to start with. Next the player(s) turns the sentence from active into passive voice or passive into active voice (the sentences in the dark blue squares are active-voice sentences and the ones in light blue squares are passive-voice sentences. If the player(s) manage to do it correctly, they add either an O or an X to the board. The first player to line up 6 of their symbols in a row wins. Since I have been using Zoom I have actually inserted predefined icons ( a star and a heart) when I played with my students as it looked cleaner and much cuter on the screen than an O or an X . You can find the stamps in the annotation tools when you start screen sharing.
  3. Monitor at all times and go through some of the most problematic sentences together at the end of the class. At home ask students to transform the sentences in all the squares without an icon into either a passive or an active voice sentence.

Related posts:

Two-round boxing match