Apples to Apples
The students would need to be at least at an intermediate level in order to make this game effective. They would need to have a solid base vocabulary that they could use to come up with stories and or sentences pertaining to the words on the Apples to Apples card.
Using the Apples to Apples cards, we would divide the students into pairs or small groups, depending on class size. Each student would get one or two cards (depending on the time available for the activity and the level of the students. The higher the level, the more cards they get).
Vocabulary
For the class, we would create vocabulary lessons based on the words contained on the cards. The cards would be chosen appropriately according to the student’s level in the English language, and would pertain to the content that was being taught in the class at the time. Students would use the cards to find synonyms for their new words, allowing them to more fully understand each word in different contexts.
Speaking/Listening
Students will be divided into groups and handed out card(s) (as previously stated). Depending on the number of cards that each student has, they will be required to create either a sentence or a short story to share with their group member. The other student will listen to the first student’s story, paying careful attention to details and such, and will repeat a summarization back to the first student.
Writing
The first student will, during the second student’s summarization of their story, carefully write down their original story in as much detail as they can. The student will then be offered a chance to share their story with the class (if there is enough time) and will then turn in their story to the teacher for correction and a completion grade.
This activity will offer students a fun and different way to practice their on the spot thinking and speaking skills, allowing them an experience not unlike that of speaking with a native speaker but without the pressures on the students. The Apples to Apples activity can also easily be changed to reflect the different levels of students in the same class, allowing for a tailor made activity for each student without spending much time setting it up.
Short Story
Students should be at an intermediate level in order to fully comprehend this activity. Hand out a copy of the attached short story to each student and have him or her read it.
Reading
Students will be required to read through the article multiple times to help improve their reading speed and comprehension. The first time, students will be allotted four minutes to read the passage and then answer five content questions on the passage to ensure that the student’s have understood. Each time the student reads the passage through again there will be less time allowed to read, forcing the student to practice their speed reading skills so they will be able to answer the different questions at the end of each timed reading.
Writing
This activity is to be done instead of the reading activity. Hand a copy of the story out to each student and allow him or her time to read it. Following this reading, collect the student’s copies of the story and instruct them to write a version of the story in their own words. While this does not need to be collected and graded, it is a good and non-stressful way for students to practice their English writing skills without feeling the pressure of having to write a graded paper.
Speaking
This portion can be completed after either previous section of the activity or can be completed separately. Have students get into partnerships and summarize the story. Then, have them discuss what they would do if they had been in Bill’s situation. Prompt them with questions such as “Would you have spit on Tom’s desk” and “Would you complain about being fired” in order to spark discussion, but let students do the majority of the talking on their own so that they are having a real conversation.
Catch Phrase
The students could be at any level to participate in this activity. All they need is a vocabulary list and they are set and ready to go! As the groups become more advanced, however, the activity will become more exciting and interactive.
Vocabulary
This activity is all about the vocabulary list. Using a Catchphrase template, (usually found online for such programs as Pages), teachers can easily create a circle of vocabulary words that fits into an older model Catchphrase game, allowing students a nearly limitless way to practice their vocabulary. Not only is this easy to do, it is also much more efficient than traditional note cards and can be used by more than one student at a time, allowing for interaction while learning vocabulary words.
Speaking/Listening
After handing out the templates and the game, the teacher can divide the students into groups of as few as two or up to ten. The students will take turns passing the game around the circle and describing the vocabulary as quickly and precisely as possible, resulting in the other students eventually guessing the word that the first student is describing. This gives the students an opportunity to practice their speaking skills in relation to their vocabulary words, at the same time allowing the teacher and other students to check on their pronunciation of the words needed for class.
Writing
After going around the circle until the vocabulary words have all been used, have the students write down each of the words that they had to describe in the game. Then, depending on the amount of words used and the level of the students, have them write a short story based on the words that they described. They can then share their story with the other students, allowing for critique from the other students on whether or not they used their vocabulary correctly.
Picture Game
Students will need to be at an intermediate or advanced level in order to participate in this activity. They will need to have a solid base of vocabulary in order to describe the pictures accurately and in detail.
Writing
Students will look at the picture that the teacher has placed on the board and will write down what they believe to be happening in the photo. This can either be based off one singular photo (as demonstrated) or off a series of photos, it is at the teacher’s digression to choose what he or she wants to do. This picture activity will allow students to exercise their creativity through writing, a skill that is not commonly used in today’s schooling system unless one is in a creative writing specific class.
Reading
Following the writing activity, the teacher will provide the students with the actual story behind the picture, allowing them to practice their reading on a fairly basic level. This will allow students to see other possibilities for how they could write and see the actual story behind the picture. This will also help students with their reading capabilities.
Speaking/Listening
Following the previous two activities, students will be required to break into groups and discuss their stories that they wrote for the picture with other students. This could lead to discussion, depending on time available to the class, but it does not necessarily need to. This easy activity will provide students with an opportunity to practice their English in a low-pressure situation, which will help them become more comfortable with the language, and, by extension, more comfortable speaking in public with native speakers.
Short Story
He was in his 60s. He was short, fat, and arrogant. He was the plant manager, the supervisor, the boss! His name was Tom. He relished every minute of his power. He yelled at the employees. He called them names. He smoked daily, even though it was against the law to smoke in the workplace. He didn’t care. As the license plate on his car said, he was The Boss.
California is an “at will” state. That means that your employer can let you go for no reason (“You’re fired!”) or almost any reason ("You’re fired because you’re too tall!”). You can take your firing to court if it involves discrimination—sexism, racism, or ageism. However, even if you were discriminated against, proving it in court is difficult.
Tom considered himself a macho man. He did not know that his employees considered him a jerk. They made fun of him behind his back. They called him Tommy Troll because he was short and mean and had no manners. Never once had anyone heard Tom use the words Please, Thank You, Excuse Me, or I’m Sorry.
Everyone wanted to attend his funeral. But that wasn’t going to happen soon. After his last physical, he presented his blood test report at a weekly staff meeting. Every item on that report was within the acceptable range. “The doctor said I'll live to be 100,” he said proudly, immediately depressing most of the employees.
Tom played golf every Sunday with some other supervisors. He was a bad golfer, but he thought he was good. He liked to joke around and make fun of other golfers. On the first tee last Sunday, Tom joked about a golfer who had just teed off: “Look at that guy. He swings like a girl.” Tom laughed heartily at his own joke. His buddies were silent.
“What did you say?” asked the golfer angrily. He had overheard Tom’s remark. He was a mean-looking man.
“Uh, nothing,” Tom said.
“Yes, you did. You said I swing like a girl. Now I’ve got something to say. You apologize like a good little girl, or I’ll give you a fresh knuckle sandwich.”
In front of his golf buddies, Tom meekly apologized. After only nine holes, during which Tom was unusually quiet, he excused himself and went home. He said he had a headache. But his friends thought it was shame that was eating at him. The next day, Tom was still upset. He told Bill to report to his office. He had never liked Bill. He always wondered why he had hired him in the first place.
“I’m letting you go. I don’t need you here. Your last day is Friday."
Bill wasn’t surprised. Saying nothing, he spat on Tom’s desk and walked out.
Picture Game
Clarence was a teenage horse, often shunned by the other ponies for his love of all things rock and roll. His favorite thing to do was to run to the far end of the pasture and toss his long hair in the wind, doing the head bang along with the music played by the farm hands as the worked in the fields next to his pasture. The one thing that made Clarence sad was that he had no rider. No one seemed to want to care for this rock and roll horse.
One day, as Clarence was head banging, a girl wearing dark clothing stopped as she walked past his pasture. After watching him jam out for a few minutes, she, too, began head banging along with the music. Clarence and the girl proceeded to have a full on heavy metal jam session, air guitars included.
When the rest of the ponies were let out to the pastures the following day, the farmer kept Clarence in his stable, saying that he had a surprise for Clarence. Clarence got scared because usually when the farmer said that the animal was never seen again.
Shortly after, the girl with the dark clothing walked in. Based on their jam session the day before, she had decided to adopt Clarence. Clarence pranced around his stable, having never been so excited in his entire life! Clarence and the girl went back to her home together, and for many years afterwards enjoyed epic jam sessions on a daily basis.
