Vocabulary notebooks

This is a good opportunity to tell students how you expect them to record vocabulary. Tell them if you want them to keep a special section in their notebooks or to buy a separate notebook for vocabulary. Go over some ways of recording vocabulary (word spiders, labelled pictures, word + translation etc.) and let students use the one that they find most useful. And whatever system you use, don't forget to collect student notebooks regularly and check that they are keeping them up to date!

Class review

One way of using class time for review is to get students to teach each other. Try this:
_ Divide the class into pairs or groups of three students per group.
_ Each group decides on an area they want to teach: make sure that each group is teaching a different thing.
_ Groups prepare a poster of the point they are teaching. The poster should contain marker sentences and grammar rules clearly laid out. If they can, groups can also include recommendations for how to remember the point (e.g., similarities with their own language, tricks for memorizing vocabulary, etc.)
_ Give groups about five minutes to present their poster.
_Display posters around the walls of the classroom.

Do you really?

Pairs write ten sentences about things they think, like or dislike. Three of the sentences should be false.
Pairs form groups of four.
One student in each pair says each sentence aloud; the other student from the same pair responds with "So do I, I don't, etc". Three of the responses should be false.
The pair who has been listening says which of the statements and responses are false.

Visual/spatial intelligence

Some students find directions and maps extremely difficult. This may be because they have difficulty with left and right and/or they have difficulty with spatial awareness. Do different activities in class to help students develop an understanding of maps and directions. These activities should involve a mixture of positional references (Where is A with respect to B?) and directions (How do I get from A to B?). Where is the pet store with respect to the shoe store? The pet store is opposite the shoe store. Where is the pet store with respect to the gym and the restaurant? How do I get from the pet store to the gas station? etc.

Stimulating memory

Memory plays an extremely important role in language learning. Some students will inevitably have better memory skills than others, but you can help stimulate your students' memories. Try the following activities:

• Remembering sequences: Give students list of things to remember, like times, places, adjectives, etc. Students should try to memorize and produce the lists in order. For example: These are the stores on Main Street: toy store, shoe store, bookstore, pet store, flower store and the supermarket.Recite the list several times.Students listen and then reproduce the list orally or in written form.
• Remembering details in a picture: Choose a picture that has a reasonable amount of detail. Students look carefully at the picture for a minute. Ask cuestions about the details in the picture.
• Organizing information: Organizing and ordering information improves memory. Imagine, for example, how difficult it would be to remember a random list of 46 letters. On the other hand, it would not be difficult to memorize the first sentence in a pharagraph. Help students connect and organize the information they learn in class. By organizing and adding meaning to material prior to learning it, students will learn it better and recall it easier. For example, organizing material on paper, such as making an outline or mind map, can facilitate this process.

Moral and civic education

If a student has arrived late to this class, ask Why were you late today?
Ask Why is it important to arrive on time? Ask students to speculate about what happens when someone arrives late to class: the class activity is interrupted, the teacher has to explain the activity again, etc.
Explain that people who always arrive late are being incosiderate to their fellow students and to their teacher.

Health education

Some students may be worried about their weight. They may be tempted to skip meals, especially breakfast. Explain that we need breakfast for energy. If we don't eat a good breakfast, we feel tired and cannot work well in class.
Remaind students that they should eat three meals a day. On the board, write Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Divide the class into three groups. Assign one meal to each group. Students make a list of suitable foods for their meal.
Discuss the results. Explain that there is some food that we like but really don't need, such as candy, cake, ice cream and sodas. It's healthier to eat fruit and drink water or juice.
Explain that if we want to lose some weight, we should eat slightly less in each meal, choose food carefully and do exercise.

I could...

Students stand in a circle.
Say a sentence about yourself using could: When I was five, I could swim. Toss a ball to a student. The student says a sentence about him/herself using could and tosses the ball to another student, who in turns, says another sentence, and so on.
When a student drops the ball or cannot say a sentence, the game starts over again. Play the game a second time, but have students make sentences with couldn't.

More Wh questions!

Write question words on the board: What / Where / Who / How / When
Divide the class into pairs.
Students write five questions about their classmate.
Students ask each other their questions.
Students write a short story about their classmate, and share it with the class.