Balloon Categories

This activity requires a bit more prep than most of mine do, but I think it is a great way add some extra fun into an activity...after all balloons make everything fun!

MATERIALS

String / Yarn / Ribbon: If you are using the same colored balloons then make sure to use different strings.
Sharpies : Again, this works a LOT better if you have different colors, however it would also work with just one color if needed. One color per group would work best.
Balloons: If you only have one color for ribbons you really need differently colored balloons.
Helium : I suppose this could be done without floating...but the floating really adds something to it.






PREP

1. Blow up the balloons with helium (or without if helium is not available).
2. On each balloon mark a different category. You want AT LEAST as many balloons as groups you will divide the students into. These can be topic based (Fruits, Vegetables, Animals, School Supplies etc), Alphabet (each balloon gets a letter), Parts of Speech (Verbs, Nouns, Adjectives) or anything. In my case my students are reviewing transition words, so we'll put the different categories: Addition, Cause and Effect, Contrast, Exemplification etc. I would also write a sample sentence e.g. CAUSE AND EFFECT: I like John _______ he is rich.
3. Tie a ribbon to each balloon. The ribbon should be long enough that if it floats to the ceiling it can still be grabbed by your shortest student (or to add some fun jumping make the ribbons shorter). If you have differed colored balloons then the ribbons don't matter. If you have the same color then use different ribbons. 

 ACTIVITY

1. Divide the class into groups. I'd suggest partners, but depending on your class size this may not be possible. Ideally you want each group to have a different colored sharpie. 
2. Explain to the class that you are setting a timer for 30 seconds (I like projecting http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ onto the board). They have 30 seconds to grab a balloon, talk to their partner and write a word that fits the category (or in my case a transition word that fits the category and sentence).
3. After 30 seconds they grab another balloon (this is why the different colored ribbons or balloons are helpful)  and repeat the process, only this time they have to make sure that they don't repeat a word that a different group has written. 
4. If they can't think of a new transition word they simply re-release the balloon.
5. Once all groups have had a chance at each balloon I give a 2 minute free for all where they can grab any balloon and write down more transition words that fit that category and have not already been used.
6. At the end of the activity gather the balloons and as a class (without saying who wrote what) go over the answers. Does everyone agree that "Honest" starts with an O? Is "In the other hand" a transition word? etc.
7. While you are reviewing the answers (as a class) tally up the points per group (via the color sharpie) give 5 points per correctly written word. 

POST ACTIVITY
Give the winners a prize (or bonus points, or let them pop all the balloons)  and congratulate yourself on a game well done!

Variations:
As always I encourage variations!

• No helium? No problem! Filling the room with balloons on the floor is fun too! (Though I do like the jumping and grabbing of ribbons effect the helium gives)
• You can also alter the game completely and make it a game of "don't touch the floor" where each time they touch a balloon they need to say a word in the category. Sort of a balloon volleyball.
• Instead of organizing via 30 second spurts you can simply give 5 minutes of free for all. A little more chaos, but if you have a good grip on your class it should be fine.
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Any adaptations that you think would work? Have you done something similar with your classes? How was it?

I am thinking of a word that rhymes with....

Looking for an easy filler?

The fast and the dirty rules:

To start the teacher thinks of a word and writes it on a piece of paper (to prevent cheating later) and says says, “I am thinking of a word that rhymes with frog”

Then students try to guess the word, but instead of saying their guess they give a hint, “Is it an animal cats fear?”

Now the teacher has to figure out what animal they are guessing and respond “No it is not a dog”

“Is it another word for a pig?”

“No it's not a hog.”

“Is it something people use to write online?”

“No it's not a blog”

“Is it what happens when the sky is really thick and you can't see through it?”

“I don't know” (The teacher doesn't know! So the person has to tell the word they meant.)

“Is it fog?” (This person gets a participation token/point for stumping the “teacher”)

“No it's not”

“Is it a slow run?”

“Yes it's a jog!”

If they guess correctly then they get to be the teacher and think of a word for the class to guess (and get a token).

This is even better than the teacher thinking since students have to try and guess what the students are thinking when they propose a rhyme.

ALTERNATIVES

• I normally let them guess until they get it but sometimes I'll cap it at 20 guesses. It's usually my end of class filler, so I try to get students to beat their score (can you guess in less than 5 this time?). If it takes more than 20 guesses then the person who thought of the unknown word “wins.”
• You can give more clues according to the class, so if you are practicing syllables (teaching superlative perhaps?): “I am thinking of a two syllable word that rhymes with _______”
• Use it to practice parts of speech, “I am thinking of a verb that rhymes with frog” (clog, flog, jog, snog, etc.) This can be hard so consider omitting the rhyming.
• Another way to make the game easier is to get change the rhyming aspect. “I'm thinking of an animal that starts with a D” (Dragon, Dinosaur, Dog, Duck, Deer, Dolphin, Donkey, Dove, Dragonfly, etc.)
• If you are giving out participation tokens you can give it to students if they guess correctly (a good way to get students involved) or if they posit a guess that the thinker can't guess.
• With upper level students I tend to exclude words with suffixes, otherwise trying to guess all the words that rhyme with nation is rather hard and time consuming.
• Play it like Alternative Hangman where students have to answer review questions and only if they get a review question right are they allowed to guess.
• You can also play it as a team game where correct guesses or stumping the “teacher” gets your team points. To keep it going fast you can cap it at 10 guesses.

Why is this game good?

It helps them practice rhymes

It helps them practice interrogative statements (making questions).

It helps them practice basic vocabulary and defining words in English.

Most importantly it helps them practice thinking and forming sentences in English.

Students like it!

Much thanks to Lauren, one of the awesome ladies I studied with in Spain, for introducing me to this game. She got us all hooked on it when we were waiting in line or on long public transportation rides.

Not another Cloze! How else to use songs in EFL classes

Songs are awesome! And I have seen SO many gap fill assignments (which are nice) but let's look at how else to use songs.

For the sake of continuity I am going to use one song for this entire post (though other songs will be mentioned). Let's look at It is a music video mixed from two K-op music videos (Fantastic Baby by Big Bang and Scream by) 2NE1 the song is actually by Regina Spektor and it is called, "All the Rowboats." I like to use videos students haven't seen, so this works well because even if they know the song my Mexican students won't know the K-Pop visuals, and if my Korean students recognized the bands they won't know the lyrics.

1. Make your own songs: So for this one instead of: "All the rowboats in the paintings they keep trying to row away, and the captains' worried faces stay contorted and staring at the waves." you could change it so something to review parts of speech, "All the nouns stay in the paintings they are objects or things. Without verbs they have no action there is no moving." or whatever. Songs are a great way to review concepts you have learned or just give students something to humm during tests.

2. Use songs to describe grammar points: This would be an easy song to use for prepositions (and you could follow up by asking about the people in the video: they are on the table, under the fence etc).

3. Practice Punctuation Lyrics are hardly ever punctuated properly as they are arranged by rhythm and rhyme rather than syntax. Have your students avoid comma splices and run ons by punctuating a song,

 "First there's lights out, then there's lock up
Masterpieces serving maximum sentences
It's their own fault for being timeless
There's a price you pay and a consequence
All the galleries, the museums
Here's your ticket, welcome to the tombs"

"First there's lights out, then there's lock up: masterpieces serving maximum sentences. It's their own fault for being timeless; there's a price you pay and a consequence. All the galleries, the museums, here's your ticket; welcome to the tombs."

4. Describe music videos! I LOVE music videos.

• Write ten sentences describing the video. Have five of the sentences be incorrect. This can be any grammar point. Participle phrases, appositives, tense, proper modifiers, etc. Examples:
• The owls eyes, looked right at you, are scary.
• The people attacks the fence trying to destroy it.
• There are much people dancing at the party
• Students should correct the five wrong sentences 
• The owls eyes, looking right at you, are scary.
  
• The people attack the fence trying to destroy it.
  
• There are many people dancing at the party.
• Use the  grammar point. Tell students that they need to write ten sentences using participle phrases / adjectives / adverbial clauses / whatever to describe what is happening. They get really specific and sometimes funny!

5. Mess up the lyrics Write the lyrics incorrectly and have students try to fix them.

• You can mess up the words for minimal pairs/homophones "Thirst their's lights out," instead out "First there's lights out." Depending on the level on your students you can either have them do it without listening (and then let them listen to check), have them listen without the paper and then pass out the paper and have them work from memory, or have them do it while listening.
• Mess with the tenses:  "First there's lights out, then there are lock up" have students read messed up lyrics and fix the verbs. Then listen to the song to check. To differentiate tell some students how many mistakes are in each column, and don't tell others. Or, give one student a worksheet with more/more difficult mistakes.

6. Work the Paragraph Have students find a Topic Sentence in the song. It can be literal (Tequila makes her clothes fall off) or deeper "This song discusses immigration policies" "This song is about how people don't appreciate art" "This song is about a holocaust museum" Then have them find support in the lyrics. This really makes students follow paragraph structure using evidence from the song and then explaining it in their own words.

7. Spice up a song Take lyrics out of a song and have students make them better

• Remind them to use synonyms. She says, "all the rowboats" a lot, what else could she say?
• Have them add adjectives or clauses to make better sentences.
• Underline phrases that could be changed to phrasal verbs or phrasal verbs that they have to change to phrases "First there's lights out, then there's lock up" --> First everyone has to make the rooms dark, then everything gets locked

8. Make it active! TPR doesn't have to just be for kids! Give each group a chunk of the song and have them make up a quick dance/collection of hand movements WHICH MAKES SENSE with the lyrics. This really means they have to focus on meaning and think outside of the box to prove comprehension.

There we have 8 easy ways to get songs into the classroom. How do you like to incorporate music? How else would you use this song?

DIY Parts of Speech Poem

When I was in high school, college and even throughout my masters I met a LOT of students who didn't know the basic parts of speech.

When I was in elementary school I learned a poem which started, "Nouns are just the names of things like rice and birds and snow and rings" it went on to explain other parts of speech, "When something is done the adverb then tells how and why and where and when" etc.

I heavily altered the poem to focus on what I teach in one of my classes and review the basics.

I also wanted to make it  more dynamic and interactive than just a poem so I made it into a mad libs like assignment.

You can download it for free at TeachersPayTeachers or BusyTeachers there also is a sample of the poem once it is completed. If you haven't signed up for Teachers Pay Teachers yet click here to go straight to their sign up page (Remember it is free!).