Warm up

Activities

HOLGER ZAMORA
 What animal is gray
and has a trunk?

A mouse going on
vacation

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 What animal eats and
drinks with its tail?

All do. No animal takes off its

tail when eating or drinking

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 Why is an eye doctor
like a teacher?

They both test the

pupils
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 Why is mayonnaise
never ready?

Because it is always
dressing.

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 Why do cows wear
bells?

Because their horns

don't work

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 What is the best way
to prevent milk from
turning sour?

Leave it in the cow.

HOLGER ZAMORA
 Why does a dog wag
his tail?

Because no one
else will wag it for
him.
HOLGER ZAMORA
Do you ever have students
who look like this?
 Purpose of Warm-ups.

• Relax
• Transition to English
• Quick review of something students
have learned
• Background knowledge for
something they are going to do.
 Warm ups are highly
motivating since they are
amusing and at the same
time challenging.

HOLGER ZAMORA
 Some Advice

HOLGER ZAMORA
 - Once the game has
begun, the teacher should
not interrupt to correct
mistakes in language use.

HOLGER ZAMORA
 - Give clear instructions;
otherwise, the objective
cannot be achieved, and the
game cannot be played

HOLGER ZAMORA
 Verb Review Game
• Level: Any Level
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: Vocabulary
• This game can be played in teams or individually, depending on
the size and knowledge of SS.
• Method:
• 1. The teacher gives SS 5 minutes to review a list of both
regular and irregular verbs.
• 2. Then the teacher writes something like this on the board :
"things we do with our feet"
• 3. SS then have exactly one minute to write all the verbs
related to this topic, such as: walk, kick, dance, run,
jump, etc.
• 4. After the time is up, the teacher checks the students'
lists of verbs. Each verb counts for one point. Any verbs
appearing in more than one list are eliminated.
• Then the teacher writes another topic on the board,
"things we do with our mouth”, for instance.
• The student or team with the most points is the winner.
 20 Questions
• Level: any level
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: Yes/No questions activity.
• Method:
• 1. One person thinks of an object (person, place, or thing).
Everyone takes turns asking yes/no questions until someone can
guess correctly (or until 20 questions are asked). The challenge is
that you cannot ask "wh" questions!
Example: PINEAPPLE. Does it talk? No, it doesn’t. Does it make
life easier? No, it doesn’t. Do you eat it? Yes, it does. Is it something
you would eat for dinner? No, it doesn’t. Etc...
If someone makes a mistake in forming the question, other club
members can help turn it into a proper question.
• Suggestion: you can make a competence in groups.
 Can't Say Yes or No
• Level: any level
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: Yes/No questions activity.
• Method: In this game everyone is given a certain number of
coins or squares of paper (about 5). Everyone moves around
the room starting conversations and asking each other
questions. The only rule is that you cannot say the words YES
or NO. If you accidentally say one of these words, you have to
give a coin or square to the person who you said it to.
Sometimes asking two quick questions in a row works well.
(Especially tag questions: This is your class, isn't it?). This
game is a great way to practice using small talk and to add
variety to your vocabulary. It also makes everyone laugh. 
 Fruit Cocktail
• Level: All
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: moving fast.
• Instructions: This is a fun warm-up that involves getting a seat fast and
not to be punished.
• Teacher asks SS what their three favorite fruits are, then teacher
names SS with the fruits and models the activity, every time one S
stands, the rest of the class asks him or her a question, if the S fails
three times he is punished.
 A+B=C
• Level: any level
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: vocabulary.
• Students are given two letters of the alphabet and they
must come up with words that include both of those
letters. If the letters were “t” and “l” for example, the
student would say “T plus L =…” and then finish with a
word like “towel”. The next person then has to do the
same in a short amount of time. The letters can be used
in order or reversed, and the word can be any length, but
must be one single word. Words cannot be said twice in
one game.
 Musical chairs
• Level: any level
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: speaking warm up.
• Preparation: Get a CD music
• 1. Start by identifying 4-5 personal topics that the students might share
information about themselves. For example, if you are working on
preferences, you might ask students what they would say about their taste
in fashion, food, music, etc. They should think of 2 or 3 sentences they
would say for each topic.
• * Note that this “mental rehearsal time” for thinking of sentences is very
important. It not only gives them time to prepare, it gives them a lot of
practice, mentally. More language goes on in this step than in the game
itself.
• 2. Students work in groups of 5-7. They arrange
chairs in circles, face out. There is one less chair
than person in each group. They walk in a circle
around the chairs as you play the music. When you
stop it, they scramble for the chairs. The person
who doesn’t get a chair must say at least 3
sentences about their preferences on any subject.
• 3. Then start the music again. Continue.
• * Note: the person who loses isn’t out. You don’t
need to remove any more chairs. The game just
goes on.
•  
 Lots of talk
• Level: intermediate
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: speaking and memory warm up.
• These activities are more open ended. You aren’t sure
where they will lead. This time we can practice reported
speech.
• Preparation: Get a ball of string for each group of 8-12
students.
• 1. SS work in small groups. Each S says a sentence,
(present past, future, etc.) before passing the string ball.
(e.g. I am traveling next week)
• 2. The S who receives the ball says another
sentence (e.g. I went shopping last night) and so
forth.
• The string keeps moving around. Each person who
speaks has to keep holding on to it. It ends up being
all tangled up, as if everyone was part of a spider’s
web.
• 3. Finally to wind the string each S has to report
what the last S said.
 DICTATION EXERCISE
• Level: Basic - intermediate
• Target group: All
• Type of activity: writing and listening warm up.
• Preparation: Get paper and pencils for each group of 5-
8 students.
• SS have to read, copy and then dictate. The group that
finishes first wins.
 Tic tac toe
• Level: Any
• Target Group: children / young adults
• Type of activity: grammar, vocabulary activity.
• Method:
• 1. Ask SS to write sentences with the grammar structure. The group
that makes the three in line wins.
• 2. SS have to work in group to decide the best sentence.
• 3. It is important to be accurate with the sentences.
•
Line-up!
Level: All
• Target Group: All
• Type of activity: listening, asking, moving.
• Method:
• 1. SS have to line-up according to what the teacher say,
for instance: Birthdays, How much money they have in
their pockets right now, the number of siblings they have,
etc.
 Asking and Answering
• Level: All
• Target Group: All
• Type of activity: Practicing questions.
• Method:
• 1. T. plays some music and gives SS two
markers, the red one means the S has to
ask a questions and the blue one means
the S has to answer.
 Soap Faces
• Level: Advanced
• Target Group: All
• Type of activity: Speaking / Describing a person.
• Method:
• 1. Copy and hand out one copy for each group of four SS
• 2. Each S must think of one of the faces and write all the information
about that person. Ask SS to make funny and outrageous descriptions
as they wish.
• 3. The SS take it in turns to read out their description. The other SS
listen and try to guess which person the description refers to.
• 4. As a variation activity, write on the board starters such as:
• I like people who ….
• I don’t like people who …
• I like a person whose …
• I don’t like a person whose …
 You’ll be the most popular
teacher if you get the right
activity.
HOLGER ZAMORA
THANK YOU