Games to help students learn English.
When I published my last post on teaching English with poetry, it was just for fun. The poem was a joke and it was presented in the competition called Britain’s got Talent. It was very motivating for teenagers and I used it to teach some vocabulary.
This post is different. This time, I am going to use a poem by a real, acknowledged poet Michael Rosen. I love his poetry and I would like to share it with my students. Moreover, the poem is great for teaching the prepositions of place.
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In this post, you will find a listening activity, a grammar dictation and a creative writing activity.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Michael Rosen poem – video
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following worksheet and ask the students to listen and put the pictures into the correct order. [su_spacer][su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Michael-Rosen-poem-You-Cant-see-me.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Michael Rosen – poem[/su_button][su_spacer]Check the answers with the students and then ask them to work in pairs and reconstruct the text of the poem.
Give them about five minutes to do this and then tell them to listen again and correct their poems. If necessary, play the poem several times.
In the last activity, students should write their own poem. They should use different prepositions and pieces of furniture to Michael Rosen’s.
It might be a good idea to display the following infographic now and ask the students to use all the prepositions in their poems.
Once the students finish writing their poems, they read their poems in pairs and then the most courageous read their pieces in front of the class.
If you would like to exploit the poems more, you can collect the best ones and prepare the listening exercises for them. Or, alternatively, you could ask your students to draw such a listening exercises for their poems themselves.
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I think the poem by Michael Rosen is wonderful and it helps students learn the prepositions of place. I think it is worth exploring Michael Rosen´s website for more interesting poems.
Speaking activities are one of the most popular teaching activities. Students usually like them and they are very useful. However, there are not many speaking activities around. That is the reason why I created several dealing with present continuous tense.
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In this post, you can find a worksheet with three different speaking activities to practise the present continuous tense. I have tried all the activities in my classes, and they worked very well.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Present continuous tense – speaking
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following worksheet and hand out the pages to your students. Make sure that students work in pairs and one of them has got the first page and the other the second one.[su_spacer] [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Present-continuous-speaking.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present continuous speaking – worksheet[/su_button] [su_spacer] I usually start my lessons with the second activity – miming. I perform one of the actions and my students have to say what I am doing. Then I perform another and students have to choose from the list on the worksheet the correct sentence. Check that the students understand all the sentences in the section Miming.
Then students work in pairs. One of them performs one of the actions and the other tries to guess it. Once he/she guesses correctly, they swap roles. They go on like this till they perform all the actions or you stop them.
In the first activity, students first complete the questions using IS/ARE/AM. Check their questions and then they try to form the short answers. They form both the YES and NO answers. Again, check their answers.
Students read the questions and circle the answers that are true for them. Then they work in pairs and ask and answer the questions. When they finish this, they change partners. They should change partners at least twice.
The last activity is called War Ships. First, students work in pairs and dictate the underlined sentences to their partner. Demonstrate that they should read the question first and then dictate the sentence. The one who listens has to write the sentence on the line where the question is. Once they dictate all the questions and complete the free squares they cover their worksheet in such a way that their partner cannot see their grid.
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In the grid, they colour 5 squares. They must colour only the answers – not the questions. Now, their task is to discover the squares their partner has coloured. They do so by reading the question and answer they think their partner has coloured. Their partner listens and if they hit the coloured square they admit it by saying HIT. If they miss, they say MISS. Students take turns. The winner is the one who finds the five squares before their partner does.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Present continuous test
[/su_heading][su_spacer] As a bonus, I would like to offer a simple grammar test on the present continuous tense. It is simple and it tests the basic things about the present continuous tense.[su_spacer] [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Present-continuous-speaking.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present continuous tense – test[/su_button] [su_spacer]
I have been looking for some great new teaching activities ever since I started teaching. And when I saw the book “50 Ways to Teach Grammar” by Maggie Sokolik offered on Amazon for 1 dollar only, I could not resist and I bought it. In this review I would like to share my opinion on this book and the few activities I found useful and interesting.
First of all I have to say that the book is extremely short. I was able to finish reading it in 45 minutes and I am not a quick reader. But I am not complaining. The description clearly stated that this book has just 64 pages and for one dollar I did not expect much.
Even though the book is short I still managed to find several activities which I would like to try in my classroom.
[su_spacer][su_heading]50 Ways to Teach Grammar – activities
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The first activity I liked is called Active/Passive. First, ask the students to find 5 sentences in a material they have read recently. I think that it would be ideal to ask students to look for the sentences in a text they have just read in their textbook. As you will use this activity when you teach passive, the texts in your textbook are likely to contain the right kind of sentences. The sentences must contain just one clause.Ask your students to identify, whether the sentences are active or passive. If they are active, students should write them in passive and vice versa. Then collect their sentences and check them. There should be some follow up activity, but Ms. Sokolik does not suggest any.
Another activity I found useful is called Phrasal Verbs bingo. Hand out the following bingo card to every student.
(The picture comes from http://anglofile.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/phrasal-verb-bingo.jpg)
Start the activity and your students have to write 3 sentences using the phrasal verbs with speak. The sentences must use the words in one row or column.
When they finish, they run to you and you check the sentences. If they are correct the student wins.
The third activity which I am going to use in my classroom is a nice starter to teaching articles. Prepare a short text and delete all the articles. Now dictate the text and ask the students to fill in the missing words. Then try to elicit the usage of articles.
The fourth interesting idea is called Put the Apple in the Basket. After teaching prepositions of place bring some containers and ask your students to use some real objects all of them have. Now, give instructions like “Put the book in your bag.” “Put your pen on your desk.” Once your students do these correctly, ask them to work in pairs and give the instructions to their partner.
The fifth activity I like is called I´ve never. It is a very useful activity when you teach the present perfect tense and you need some more speaking activities. Students write 5 sentences starting with I´ve never and then read them to the rest of the class. Other students listen and note down the numbers of the sentences they think that are not true.
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50 Ways to Teach Grammar – comments
[/su_heading][su_spacer] I was able to find 5 interesting ideas in the book which I am going to use. You might find more ideas there, especially if you are new to teaching. However, there is one real problem with this book. All the activities are just raw ideas.The author does not mention any follow up ideas and what you should and should not do once the activity finishes. Moreover, some of the activities are not suitable for large classes but Maggie Sokolik never says so in her book.
Therefore, if you are a novice teacher you might find out that many of the activities do not work for you, because of there are no classroom management and lesson planning tips.
[su_spacer][su_heading]50 Ways to Teach Grammar – summary
[/su_heading][su_spacer] All in all the book “50 Ways to Teach Grammar” is not bad for 1 dollar. There are some interesting ideas and none really bad ones. I mention the most interesting ideas above. The biggest problem is that the ideas are just ideas and there are not classroom management tips or lesson plans.
When you teach the concept of countability in English, students have to learn to use the words A, SOME, THE, ANY, AN in front of the nouns correctly. To decide correctly, students have to take several mental steps.In this post I explain the mental process and I offer your students a chance to practise it in several games.
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In this post you will find a simple infographic, which explains the thinking process. Moreover, there are three brand new games in which students can practise the grammar.
A SOME THE ANY AN – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] To decide correctly which word should be used in front of the given noun, students should ask the following questions in this order:
If the students have already spoken about the thing, then we have to use the article THE. If not, then they have to ask whether the noun is in plural or uncountable. If any of the answers is Yes, then two more questions have to be asked. Is the sentence a request or an affirmative sentence? If the answer is YES, then SOME have to be used. If the answer is NO, then ANY have to be used.
If the noun is not in plural or uncountable, then A or AN is used. AN is used if a vowel is pronounced at the beginning of the noun. Otherwise A is used.
The process might seem a bit complicated when you read the text, but my students found it very easy when they could use the infographic.
[su_spacer][su_heading]A SOME THE ANY AN – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] To practise the grammar, I created three brand new games. All the games are in HTML5 and they will play on desktops and mobile devices.The first game is called Shooting Game. Your task is to read the sentence and shoot the correct answer. To shoot the word, just click it. Speed matters and you will see your score at the end of the game. Will you be better than me?
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/a some any the/ShootATHESOME/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Shooting Game[/su_button][su_spacer]The second game is called Dice Game. Your task is to type A, SOME, THE, ANY or AN (do not use the capital letters) and then stop the dice. The more points the dice show the more points you get. Moreover, if both the dice show the same number, you get a bonus – 10 points.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/a some any the/DiceAtheSome/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Dice Game[/su_button][su_spacer] ADVERT:[showmyadsa] The third game is called Time Guess. Your task is to complete the sentence with the correct word and then click the button STOP at the moment you think the countdown got to zero. The closer to zero you get the more points you get. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/a some any the/TimeAtheSome/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Time Guess[/su_button][su_spacer] [su_spacer][su_heading]
Poll – Which game do you like best?
[/su_heading][su_spacer]Which game do you like best?
Recently, I have been reading a book about learning and memory. It contains a lot of facts, but the longer I read it the more it seems obvious that there is only one way to learn anything. And that is by learning. To sum it up, all the research shows that the more time you spend learning, the more you learn. It seems there is no easy way around it.
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In my teaching I have devised a lot of methods to make the learning easier for my students. Even though many of the materials are interesting and helped many of my students learn a lot of things, I have avoided overloading them with a lot of practice. I made a mistake. Only the practice makes perfect and the students should be given as many chances to practise the language as possible.
In this post, I would like to partially repay the debt. This post contains 10 quizzes in which the students can learn 90 irregular verbs. Each quiz contains a short activity where students should supply the past tense and past participle of the given verb. The second part contains sentences which should be completed with the past participles and past tenses of the ten verbs practised before.
At the end of each test the students are asked to provide their names and they can compare their results with other students.
All the tests will work on desktops and mobile devices. I hope you will find these quizzes useful and your students will learn a lot.
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Irregular verbs – quizzes
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It is a well accepted fact that students remember things better if they discover them for themselves. However, it is a real challenge to design our materials in such a way that we allow the students to discover the rules. I have tried to create such materials for my students and they were really successful. While last year my students often formed the questions wrongly, this year they claim it is really easy.
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In this post I am going to share with you a worksheet with the two activities that will help your students discover the rules how to form questions and short answers with the verb to be in the present simple tense. Moreover, there is a quiz where your students can practise the grammar.
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Verb to be – questions and short answers
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following worksheet in colour and hand out the first page. Go through the sentences and ask the students to translate them. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Forming-questions-and-short-answers.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Verb to BE forming questions and short answers[/su_button]Then tell your students to form questions in the squares under the sentences. Do not help your students for two or three minutes. Let them discover the logic for themselves. After the couple of minutes go around the classroom and help the struggling students. Show them a question or two and I am sure they will understand the principle.
Check the questions at the end of the exercise.
Now, hand out the second page. Once again, give your students a few minutes to complete as much as they can in the worksheet. Then, help the students by saying that to complete it correctly they need to use the table on the right and show them one sentence as an example. Then go around and help the struggling students.
Check the answers at the end.
And now your students know how to form the questions and answers.
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Verb to be – quiz
[/su_heading][su_spacer]The following quiz can help your students practise questions and short answers with the verb to be in the present simple tense either at school or at home. At the beginning, students should complete the questions and short answers. In the second part, students have to put the words into the correct order to form the questions. The students will be rewarded with a game if they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices.
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[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/verb_to_be/FORMING QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Verb to be – quiz[/su_button]
The present perfect tense is one of the most difficult tenses for learners of English. It is not easy to form the tense correctly as you need the verb HAVE or HAS and the past participle. Moreover, the usage is very specific and many students feel that they could do with the past simple tense only. Thus teaching this tense is not easy.
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In this post I do not aim to explain anything about the present perfect tense. Here, I would like to share a set of activities to help you teach this tense. You will find here two speaking activities and a worksheet with five more activities to help your students master the present perfect tense.
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Present perfect tense – speaking activities
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following worksheet contains two speaking activities. I have tried both of them in my classes and they worked very well.The first activity is a very simple one. It should be used if your students know just how to form the present perfect tense and you want to practise it with them. Print the first exercise and cut it in the middle. The students have to write whether they HAVE or HAVE NOT done the activities in the pictures. (Check that the students form the tense correctly).
Then students work in pairs and read their sentences to their partners. They listen and tick the activities their partner has done.
In the last phase students write the sentences about their partner.
The second activity is called Clock speaking. I has been very successful in my classes and it always leads to a lot of speaking in English.
Print the second page of the worksheet and hand it out. In the first part students have to arrange a partner for each time. Set the following rules:
- You may have only one person for each time.
- Write the name of your partner next to the time.
- You cannot have the same person on the paper twice.
Do not worry about the chaos. In the end there will be some people who will not have a partner for one or two of the times. Elicit the times and pair the students yourself.
Then call out one of the times. The students find their partner for the time and ask the questions for the given time. They ask the questions in italics only if their partner answers yes to the first question (emphasize this). After a couple of minutes call another time.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Present-perfect-worksheet.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present perfect tense – speaking[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Present perfect tense – worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following worksheet contains 5 activities. They are based on the verbs contained in the fifth Unit of the textbook Project 3 (third edition) by Oxford University Press. The activities are in random order and you can order them in any way you like.The first activity is a crossword. Students should fill in the past participle of the verbs.
The second activity is a gap fill. Students should choose the correct option for each sentence.
In the third activity students should fill in HAVE or HAS.
In the fourth activity students have to write the past participle of each verb.
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In the fifth activity students have to complete the text either with the present perfect tense or the past simple tense.
Present perfect tense – links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] If you need a mind map and a video, you will find them at Present perfect post.If you decide to teach the activities above, certainly start with the following song.
This is my first post on writing. I have not written a post on writing because my students do not like to write and I felt that the textbook activities were enough for them. However, as I have to observe my younger colleagues, it so happened that I saw them teaching the same thing twice. And as I got bored I started to create a lesson that I would teach using the same topic. And this post is the result of the activity.
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The aims of the lesson are these:
- To write a letter about their favourite toy with young learners.
- To learn some basic phrases for writing a letter.
- To practise their reading skills.
To achieve these objectives, I have prepared a reading activity, a vanishing drill and a worksheet with several exercises. I hope you find them useful.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Writing a letter – reading
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following set of letters. Cut them and place each letter around the classroom. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Happy-street-1_unit-3_letters.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Eight letters for young learners[/su_button]Print the following worksheet. You need to print it in colour, otherwise your learners will not be able to complete the first task.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Writing-a-letter-happy-street.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Writing a letter worksheet[/su_button]Hand out the worksheet and tell the students to take their pens and walk around the classroom, read each letter and write whose toys are in the pictures. Students can cooperate and help each other here. This activity takes about ten minutes.
Check their answers in the end.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Writing a letter – vanishing drill
[/su_heading][su_spacer] To teach the key phrases, I have prepared the following vanishing drill. Display the first slide and read each sentence aloud. Ask your students to repeat after you. Read the slide at least twice.Display the second slide. Now, some words are missing. Ask the students to read the slide aloud (all of them at once). They have to say the words that are not there, too. Go on displaying more slides. Each time several new words vanish.
In this way, your students will learn to pronounce the words correctly and they will memorise the basic phrases from the presentation.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/writing/YLE folder/Vanishing phrases letter (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Writing a letter vanishing drill[/su_button]ADVERT:
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Writing a letter
[/su_heading][su_spacer] After finishing the drill, ask your learners to complete the exercise two on their worksheet.Check their answers and now ask them to think about their favourite toy. Elicit a few descriptions of their favourite toy and now tell them that they have to write a letter about their favourite toy.
Collect their letters at the end of the lesson and correct them. Ask the students to bring the toy they wrote about into the next lesson.
In the following lesson, ask the students to place their favourite toy on their desks. Choose several letters, read them aloud and students have to say who wrote the letter.
When I was looking for some materials to teach the present simple tense of the verb to be I was rather unpleasantly surprised by the fact that there are very few speaking activities. Obviously, the verbs IS/AM/ARE are taught to elementary students whose vocabulary is severely limited. But, there should be some speaking activities anyway. And I could not find any.
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That was why I decide to create one. Moreover, I managed to find a great song to help me drill the verb to be with my students. I hope you like the two activities, too.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Verb to be in present tense – song
[/su_heading][su_spacer] When I searched the internet I found the following simple song by Rockin’ English Lessons. It is simple, short and yet catchy. My students loved it and sang it three times.Display the song and then simply play it and ask your students to sing along. It is a wonderful drill.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Verb to be in present tense – Speaking/h2>[/su_heading][su_spacer]
Print the following worksheet.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Verb-to-be-speaking.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Verb to be present simple speaking[/su_button]ADVERT:
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Cut it in the middle. Students work in pairs. Each students gets one half of the worksheet.
First students complete the exercise 1 with the verbs IS/AM/ARE. They use only these three verbs. To check their answers here, is a simple way to do it. Say:”If your first sentence starts with “My father …” STAND UP.” Now go through the sentences with those who are standing. Then ask them to sit down and ask the others to stand up and check their answers too.
In the second task, students read their sentences and write YES or NO into the squares provided. They write YES, if the sentence is true for them and NO if it is not.
In the third task, they work in pairs and read the sentences to their partner. Their partner listens and says YES, if they think it is true. If they think it is not true, they say NO. They count how many times times they were right. (About 25% of students get all their answers right.)
In exercise 4 students use the negative forms of the verb to be in the present simple tense. They take five of the NO sentences from the exercise 1 and write them in negative.
The last exercise is a classical gap fill. Students complete it with the correct form of the verb to be in the present simple tense.
I have covered nearly all the tenses there are on my website. But it is the first time I deal with the present perfect continuous tense. It is not an easy tense, but I think it is not really difficult either.
To help you teach this tense there is an infographic, a worksheet, an audio and an online quiz. I hope you find these useful.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Present perfect continuous – audio
[/su_heading][su_spacer] I start the lesson with the following audio file which was created by BBC. My students like these audio files as they are pretty interactive.You should listen to the file first and then stop the recording when the woman is expected to answers.
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This BBC recording can be freely downloaded at http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1313_gramchallenge28/
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Present perfect continuous – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Display the following infographic and explain how the present perfect continuous tense is formed.
Then explain the usage of the tense.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Present perfect continuous – worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following worksheet. Seat students in pairs and give each student one page from the worksheet. Thus each student has a different picture.Activity 1: Students look at their pictures and tell their partners whether they have been doing the activities in the pictures. If they say that they have been doing something, their partner immediately asks how long they have been doing it. In this way you ensure that the students listen to each other.
Activity 2: Students complete the exercise with present perfect simple or continuous.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/grammar/Present perfect continuous/present perfect continuous speaking.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present perfect continuous worksheet[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Present perfect continuous – quiz
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following quiz can help your students practise the present perfect continuous tenseat home. The quiz consists of a simple gap fill exercise. Students should complete the text with either the present perfect simple or continuous tense.The students will be rewarded with a game if they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/grammar/Present perfect continuous/Present perfect continuous quiz (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present perfect continuous – quiz[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Present perfect continuous – Links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] You will find a nice explanation of the present perfect continuous tense at British Council site.
After teaching present simple to my elementary students, we wrote a test and I collected the most common mistakes my students made. I analysed the mistakes and prepared games and exercises to help my students learn from their mistakes.
In this post there is an infographic with all the mistakes, their corrections and explanations. Then there is a worksheet with 4 exercises, two games and an online quiz to practise the most difficult aspects of the present simple tense.
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Common mistakes – present simple – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] In the following infographic there are all the most common mistakes my students make in the present simple tense. I have divided the mistakes into three categories. First, my students struggle with questions (they often forget to use DO/DOES). Second, their negative sentences frequently miss something. And last but not least, they still do not stick to the SVOMPT word order.In the mind map there are all the wrong sentences, their corrections and in blue ink there is an explanation why the sentence was wrong.
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Common mistakes – present simple – worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Some might find it attractive to start the lesson with the mind map but I do it differently. I use an activity which I found in the book by Scott Thornbury called Teaching Unplugged. I copy all the wrong sentences – each on a separate piece of paper – and I place the sentences around the classroom. Students take a sheet of paper and a pen or pencil and go around the classroom. Their task is to copy and correct the sentences on the sheet. They can help each other. I stop the activity after ten minutes and then I elicit their corrected sentences.Only after this activity I display the infographic and explain the mistakes.
Then it is time to hand out the following worksheet:
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Present-simple-worksheet.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Common mistakes in present simple tense worksheet [/su_button]In the worksheet there are four exercises. The first one is slightly unusual. First the students have to decide where the verbs go and then they have to put the words into the correct order. The rest of the exercises are all standard exercises.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Common mistakes – present simple – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer]The first game is called Penalty Shootout. In this game you should choose the correct form and then try to score a goal. Good luck.
As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers.
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[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/common_mistakes/present simple/Present simple en garde.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present simple – Penalty game[/su_button]
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To practise the present simple tense you can play the following game. Its name is En Garde. Your task is to choose the correct answer and then stop the target as close to the centre as possible. Hopefully, you will be faster and more accurate then your opponent. The game is in Flash and will play only on desktops:
The following quiz can help your students practise the past simple tense at home. The quiz consists of two parts. In the first part, students should put the words into the correct order. In the second part, students have to put the verbs into the correct form. Students will be rewarded with a game after each part of the quiz they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/common_mistakes/present simple/Present simple tense quiz (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Present simple tense – quiz[/su_button]
The verb TO BE is the most important verb in English. Unfortunately, it is the most irregular verb in English, too. However, as all students of English manage to master its forms in the end, there is no reason to dispair. This mastery comes through practise.
In this post I would like to share with you several several exercises and games in which your students can practise the verb. There are about 90 different sentences in which students should use the verb TO BE. The vocabulary is limited so that students with a vocabulary of 100 words will be able to do the exercises.
In this post there is an infographic, a worksheet, an online quiz and two games. I hope it is enough and your students will learn the forms of the verb to be.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Verb to be – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] In the following infographic all the affirmative and negative forms are covered. The lower part gives a simple rule of thumb to help your students decide which form of the verb to be they should use.
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If you teach a monolingual group of elementary students it is a good idea to translate the second infographic.
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Verb to be – worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following worksheet is nothing fancy. There are no sophisticated communicative activities or unusual exercises. There are six simple exercises to practise all the forms of the verb TO BE. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Verb-to-be-worksheet.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Verb to be worksheet[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Verb to be – online quiz and games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following quiz can help your students practise all the forms of the verb to beat home. The quiz consists of two parts. In the first part, students should match the beginnings and ends of the sentences and complete the sentences with the verb TO BE. In the second part, students have to put the verb TO BE into the correct form. The students will be rewarded with a game after each part of the quiz they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/grammar/Verb to be/Verb to be quiz (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Verb to be – quiz[/su_button]The first game is called Penalty Shootout. In this game you should choose the correct form of the verb to be and then try to score a goal. Good luck.
As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers.
The second game is in Flash and will play only on desktop computers. It is called On Target, and your task is to choose the correct option and then shoot all the bad cows and ducks. You can shoot one of the bottles on the wall to get a bonus. Enjoy.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/grammar/Verb to be/Verb to be on target.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Verb to be – On Target game[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Verb to be – links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] There are some great activities to practise the verb to be at British Council site.If your students do not know the adjectives used in this post, there is great song teaching the adjectives by my friend Jules from English Through Music Madrid.
I have created this post for my students to learn the seven days of the week. They are not difficult to remember but some students confuse them. In this post there is a simple infographic, a song, a worksheet and two games. I hope you like this post and find it useful for your students too.
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Days of the week – song
[/su_heading][su_spacer] This song is by my friend Jules from English Through Music Madrid. I like it and it helps introduce the topic. [su_spacer][su_heading]Days of the week – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Introduce the way the days are spelt in the following infographic.
Days of the week – worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following worksheet and hand it out. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Days-of-the-week-worksheet-complete.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Days of the week – worksheet[/su_button]In the first part, students translate the words and copy the red words into the squares provided. The aim of this activity is to give students an opportunity to practise the spelling of the words.
The other three activities are puzzles. In the first crossword students have to complete the crossword with the days Monday to Saturday.
In the second wordsearch, students should find the seven days of the week.
In the third crossword students should fill in the days of the week according of the clues provided.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Days of the week – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The first game is called Teacher Invaders. In this game you should type the correct day of the week and then you try to shoot all the invaders. The invaders look a lot like the teachers, but we do not mind as long as you learn all the words :-). Good luck.As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Days of the week/Days of the week invaders.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Days of the week – Invaders game[/su_button]
The second game is in Flash and will play only on desktop computers, too. It is called Half a Minute, and your task is to type the correct answer before half a minute runs out. Enjoy.
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[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Days of the week/Days of the weekhalf a min.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Days of the week – Half a minute game[/su_button]
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Days of the week – links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] You will find great activities to teach Days of the week at British Council site.
This is the first post in a series on irregular verbs. It is called irregular verbs worksheets because in these posts I am going to publish worksheets in which your students can practise irregular verbs. There will be 10 irregular verbs each time and at least four exercises to practise them. Moreover, there will be an interactive version of the worksheets, so your students can practise at home too.
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In this post your students can learn the past tenses and past participles of the verbs: be, make, drink, have, sing, write, give, read, run and sleep. In the worksheet there are seven exercises to practise the verbs: three crosswords and four fill in the blank exercises.
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Irregular verbs worksheet – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The worksheet starts with a simple infographic.
If you use this material in a class, first present the irregular verbs using the infographic. Present the verbs and ask the students to translate the verbs.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Irregular verbs worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the following worksheet for each student. (Use a duplex print to save paper). [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Irregular-verbs-worksheet-001-complete.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Irregular verbs worksheet 1[/su_button] ADVERT:[showmyadsa] As I write above there are seven exercises. On the first page, there are crosswords which students should complete by writing the past tense and past participle of the verbs.
Exercises 4 and 5 are simple fill in the blanks exercises. Students should use either the past participles or past tenses of the verbs they learnt.
Exercises 6 and 7 are fill in the blanks exercise again. But this time the students complete questions and once they finish, they could use the questions for speaking. They work in small groups and ask and answer the questions. In smaller print there are additional questions students should ask to make the conversation longer and give students more opportunities to use the target language.
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Irregular verbs worksheet – online quiz
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following quiz can help your students practise the irregular verbs at home. The quiz consists of two parts. In the first part, students should complete the sentences with the past tenses of the ten verbs. In the second part, students have to complete the sentences with the past participles of the ten verbs. The students will be rewarded with a game after each part of the quiz they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/irregular_verbs/worksheets/Irregular verbs worksheet 001 (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Irregular verbs quiz[/su_button]
To count uncountable nouns in English students need to know the containers they are most often sold or served in. In the textbook I teach at school I need to teach six of these containers: a loaf, a tin, a packet, a glass, a cup and a bar.
In this post you can find a video, an infographic and two games to teach the six containers and their usage. I hope you like the post.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Simple containers – video
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Play the following video and let the students repeat the phrases after you. After the first 30 seconds, your students have to say the phrase before it appears on the screen. Play the video at least twice and share the link so that the students can practise the vocabulary at home.ADVERT:
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Simple containers – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] After presenting the vocabulary in the video, it is time to present the information in print. The following infographic summs up the containers vocabulary and the food it is most frequently used with.
You can download the high-resolution image here:
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Containers/simple containers/containers simple.jpg” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Infographic full size[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Simple containers – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The first game is called Teacher Invaders. In this game you should type the correct container and then you try to shoot all the invaders. The invaders look a lot like the teachers, but we do not mind as long as you learn all the words :-). Good luck.As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Containers/simple containers/containers simple.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Simple containers – Invaders game[/su_button]
The second game is in Flash and will play only on desktop computers, too. It is called Half a Minute, and your task is to type the correct answer before half a minute runs out. Enjoy.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Containers/simple containers/containers simple half.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Simple containers – Half a minute game[/su_button]ADVERT:
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Simple containers – Links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] I have already published a post on containers. This post contains more containers than this one.British council has a nice post on containers here.
Irregular verbs in English are forever. No matter how you teach them, the students resist. I have already designed about twelve different ways to teach irregular verbs and my students still struggle. I have tried to teach the verbs in context, through rhymes, straightforward and in songs but to no avail. However, the last method, using picture rhymes was quite successful, so here I come with another set of 18 irregular verbs.
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In this post there is the infographic with all the verbs, a simple worksheet and two games to practise the irregular verbs in English. I hope you find this activity useful.
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Irregular verbs in English with rhymes – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Go through the infographic with your students. Read the words aloud and explain that the words in the pictures rhyme with the past tenses and the past participles.
Give your students time to study the words (about 4 minutes should be enough). Now hand out the second page of the worksheet and ask the students to write the past tenses and past participles of the verbs using the picture clues.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Irregular-verbs-in-picture-rhymes-2.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Irregular verbs in picture rhymes – worksheet[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Irregular verbs in English with rhymes – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The first game is called Penalty Shootout. In this game you should choose the correct past tense and past participle of each verb and then try to score a goal. Good luck.As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/irregular_verbs/irregular verbs rhymes/Irregular verbs in rhymes Penalty.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Irregular verbs in picture rhymes – Penalty shootout[/su_button]
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The second game is called Fling the Teacher. To win the game, you have to answer all the questions by choosing the correct forms of the given verb. If you answer all the questions correctly you will fling your teacher. (But I am sure, that he/she will not mind as long as you know all the irregular verbs 🙂 ). The game is in Flash and it will only play on desktop computers.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/irregular_verbs/irregular verbs rhymes/Irregular verbs in rhymes fling.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Irregular verbs in picture rhymes – Fling the teacher[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Irregular verbs in English with rhymes – other posts
[/su_heading][su_spacer]- Irregular verbs again
- Irregular verbs again 2
- Irregular verbs – third time lucky?
- Irregular verbs in context 1
- Irregular verbs straightforward
- Irregular verbs straightforward #2
- Irregular verbs straightforward #3
- Teach 9 irregular verbs in one lesson
- Irregular verbs in context – Scream
- Irregular verbs in context – Teacher story
You can see a wonderful video by Fluency MC here:
The phrase USED TO is one of the highly productive chunks in English. I have already published a post on Used to but I have created several new activities since, and I would like to share those with you. So, in this post you will find several USED TO grammar activities which will help you teach this grammar point.
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In this post there is a song by my friend Chris Barickman, a speaking activity, a game and a grammar worksheet.
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Used to – song
[/su_heading][su_spacer] This song is by my friend Chris Barickman. He is a tallented musician and the song is a great way to introduce the grammar. Ask the students to listen to the song and choose the photo of the man who sings the song. Is it the man in picture A, B or C?
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Used to – mind map
[/su_heading][su_spacer] After the song, it is the ideal time to highlight the grammar. Display the following infographic and show how affirmative sentences, negative sentences and questions are formed.
Remember to emphasize that USED TO is used for repeated actions or states in the past.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Used to – speaking activity
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print and hand out the following worksheets. Students work in pairs and one of them has got worksheet A and the other worksheet B.
Ask the students to look at their worksheet and tick the things they used to do when they were younger. Remind them that they should tick only the activities they used to do often and yes, they can do them now too.
Students work in pairs and tell their partners what they used to do and didn’t use to do.
Then students ask their partner whether he/she used to do the activities in the pictures.
In the end students can write about their partner what he/she used to do.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Used-to-speaking-worksheet.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Used to – speaking worksheet[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Used to – grammar worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print the worksheet and ask the students to complete it. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Used-to-grammar-worksheet.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Used to grammar worksheet pdf[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Used to – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The first game is called Penalty Shootout. In this game you should choose the correct option and then try to score a goal. Good luck.As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers.
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[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/used_to/Used to/Used to penalty game.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Used to – Penalty game[/su_button]
The second game is in Flash and will play only on desktop computers. It is called On Target, and your task is to choose the correct option and then shoot all the bad cows and ducks. You can shoot one of the bottles on the wall to get a bonus. Enjoy.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/used_to/Used to/Used to On target game.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Gerund or infinitive – On target game[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Used to – links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] As I write above, I have already created one post on USED TO. You can find here.There are some great games and exercises at British Council site too.
There is a nice explanation at BBC learning English.
Do your students struggle with the words somebody, anybody, something, anything, everything, everybody, nothing and nobody? Do they get these basic words wrong nearly every time? If your answer is yes, then this post is just for you.
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In this post I would like to share with you several tools to help your students use the words somebody, anybody, something, anything, everything, everybody, nothing and nobody correctly. In this post you will find an infographic and two games. I hope you will like it.
Somebody or anybody, something or anything – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Display or print the following infographic and ask the students to read through it. Then elicit what they learnt. If you feel that they did not get the message, explain the grammar using either their MT or your own words.Mention please, that the word BODY, could be replace with ONE and the meaning will be the same. Emphasize the spelling of NO ONE (two words instead of one). [su_spacer][su_heading]
Somebody or anybody, something or anything – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] To practise the usage of the words somebody, anybody, something, anything, everything, everybody, nothing and nobody your students can play the following game. Its name is En Garde. Your task is to choose the correct answer and then stop the target as close to the centre as possible. Hopefully, you will be faster and more accurate then your opponent. The game is in Flash and will play only on desktops: [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/irregular_verbs/withFluencyMC/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#f8d23c” size=”6″]En Garde game[/su_button] ADVERT:[showmyadsa] The second game is in Flash and will play only on desktop computers. It is called On Target, and your task is to choose the correct option and then shoot all the bad cows and ducks. You can shoot one of the bottles on the wall to get a bonus. Enjoy. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/verb patterns/Gerund or infinitive on target.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Gerund or infinitive – On target game[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]
Somebody or anybody, something or anything – What more?
[/su_heading][su_spacer] I realize that the post is rather short. What do you think would be the best activity to add?What activity should I add?
A few days ago the scholars Mélodie Garnier and Norbert Schmitt published a list of most common phrasal verbs in English. Moreover, they listed the most frequent meanings of the verbs. The pedagogical impact of this discovery is really big. Finally we have the list of the phrasal verbs we should teach. You can see the abstract of the article here.
Having the list at my disposal I could not resist and I created the following post. There is an infographic with 8 most common phrasal verbs, two games and a worksheet with 4 exercises.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Most common phrasal verbs – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] According to the research the most common phrasal verbs in English are come up, go out, come back go on, find out, come out, go back and pick up. I have displayed the verbs in the following mind map. There are the phrasal verbs, their meanings and example sentences.ADVERT:
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Most common phrasal verbs – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] To practise the phrasal verbs you can play the following game. Its name is En Garde. Your task is to choose the correct answer and then stop the target as close to the centre as possible. Hopefully, you will be faster and more accurate then your opponent. The game is in Flash and will play only on desktops: [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Phrasal verbs/Most common phrasal verbs En Garde.html” target=”blank” background=”#f8d23c” size=”6″]En Garde game[/su_button]The second game is called Fling the Teacher. To win the game, you have to answer all the questions by choosing the correct phrasal verb. If you answer all the questions correctly you will fling your teacher. (But I am sure, that he/she will not mind as long as you know all the phrasal verbs 🙂 ). The game is in Flash and it will only play on desktop computers.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Phrasal verbs/Most common phrasal verbs Fling.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f8d23c” size=”6″]Fling the Teacher game[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Most common phrasal verbs – worksheet
[/su_heading][su_spacer] You can download a worksheet with all the phrasal verbs here. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Phrasal verbs/Phrasal verbs worksheet.pdf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Phrasal verbs worksheet[/su_button]ADVERT:
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In the worksheet you can find a text which contains all the phrasal verbs. I think the teenagers will love the story 🙂 Then there are comprehension questions.
In task two, students should use the phrasal verbs and complete the questions. Check their answers. Now ask them to choose three questions they would like to ask you. Answer the questions as well as you can. Then the students work in pairs and discuss the questions in pairs.
In exercise three students complete the crossword.
In exercise fours students can complete the text either in writing or orally.
The usage of Some and Any in English is quite simple. Some is used in positive statements, requests or offers and ANY is used in questions and negative sentences. However, many textbooks confuse students by mixing this simple concept with the concept of countability.
In this post I will try to keep the explanation as simple as possible. There is an infographic, an online quiz and two games in this post.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Some or Any – infographic
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Print or display the following infographic and ask your students to explain it to you. I am sure that there will be at least one student who will understand the infographic and will be able to pass the knowledge. If there is none, you should explain that SOME is used for positive statements, requests and offers while ANY is used in negative statements and questions.ADVERT:
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Some or Any – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The first game is called Penalty Shootout. In this game you should choose the option and then try to score a goal. Good luck.As the game is in Flash, it will only play on desktop computers. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/some and any/Some any football.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Some or Any – Penalty[/su_button]
The second game is in Flash and will play only on desktop computers. It is called On Target, and your task is to choose the correct option and then shoot all the bad cows and ducks. You can shoot one of the bottles on the wall to get a bonus. Enjoy.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/some and any/Some any on target.html” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Some or Any – On target game[/su_button]ADVERT:
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The following quiz can help your students practise Some or Any either at school or at home. The quiz consists of two parts. In the first part, students should complete the sentences with Some or Any. In the second part, students have to match the beginnings and ends of the sentences. The students will be rewarded with a game if they pass. The quiz is in HTML5, so it will play on all desktops and mobile devices.
Some or Any – links
[/su_heading][su_spacer] You can find some interesting materials on Some or Any at the British Council site.And on Youtube you can see the following great video with the explanation of Some and Any.