Recently I published a post on TV programmes vocabulary. In this post I would like to add a few activities to help the teachers prepare a great lesson on this topic and to give students a few more activities to practise the vocabulary.
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Unlike in the previous posts, there are several worksheets which you can print out and use. There is a song and a gap fill, a bingo worksheet and a worksheet with five more activities to practise the vocabulary connected with TV programmes. And of course there is a mind map to help you remember the new words better.
[su_spacer][su_heading]TV programmes – song
[/su_heading][su_spacer] I love using songs at the beginning of a lesson. Especially if they are popular, they can serve as a great starter. If you are just a learner of English, you can try the interactive quiz below.For this lesson, I am going to use the song Throw Away your Television by Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
Complete the lyrics:
I you need the lyrics for your classroom or a you simply prefer paper materials, here are two pdf files.
TV song_red hot chilli peppers
TV song red hot chilli peppers – key
At the end of the song I will elicit the topic of the lesson by the following questions:
What will be the lesson about?
What will we learn?
Once I get the topic of the lesson out of the students I move to the other part of the lesson.
[su_spacer][su_heading]TV programmes – Vocabulary presentation
[/su_heading][su_spacer] There are three ways to go about presenting vocabulary. I would use the video from the previous post on TV programmes vocabulary and the following mind map.
If you do not like any of the materials above, all the new vocabulary is listed in the worksheets too.
[su_spacer][su_heading]TV programmes – Vocabulary practice
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The practice is based upon the following worksheets. Print them out and follow the instructions:If you have already presented the students with the video and a mind map, start with the second exercise. Students should put the words into the correct form and complete the sentences. Once they complete them, discuss the questions in pairs and then as a whole class.
The other exercises are quite simple and quite fun. Ask the students to do as much as they can in 10 minutes. You can give them the answers at the end of the activity or you can check their answers.
Once we do the worksheets, I give my students a chance to use the new words creatively. Ask them to write 3-10 questions using the new words. Help the struggling students by giving them the simple example What sports programmes do you watch? and show them that they can create 12 questions by replacing the words sports programmes with other TV programmes vocabulary.
When the students write the questions give them a chance to ask you their questions. Answer the questions and at the same time you have a chance to correct the most striking mistakes.
After a while ask the students to discuss the questions in pairs.
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At the end of the lesson I try to put a game. This time I have prepared the Bingo game for my students. Print out the following worksheet and cut it. Shuffle the cards and give each student one. Ask them to work in pairs and say the names of the TV programmes they have on their cards. They can ask you if they are not sure.
If you are sure that the students know all the words there are two options for you. You can either read the words yourself or I ask each student to say one of the words. Remember to state the winning combination before you start the game.
And that is the end of the lesson. If I count correctly, the lesson will take about 40 minutes.
When students hear the phrase indirect questions, they get scared. But actually this is one of the easiest grammar points in English. The only thing you have to watch out for is that if a sentence starts with a certain phrase (Do you know or Could you tell me etc.) you have to use the word order for an affirmative sentence. To put it simply, after the aforementioned phrases do not make questions.
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To help you master this grammar there is a mind map, a video and several games in this post.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Indirect questions – video
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following video is based upon BBC learning English recording. To make it easier for learners of English to follow I have added the text and illustrations.We recommend that you watch the video and stop the recording every time there is a task and answer the task before MASA does. It is a great fun and a superb way to learn English.
If you want to watch it full screen, click here:
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/indirect questions/Grammar challenge_indirect questions_film (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#17ad38″]Indirect questions video[/su_button]
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Indirect questions – mind map
[/su_heading][su_spacer] The following mind map tries to show the rules for indirect questions in a graphical form. As you can see each indirect question has to start with a phrase signalling that it is an indirect question. Then you use a question word or IF/WHETHER (if there is no WH.. word) and the word order of a normal statement.ADVERT:
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Indirect questions – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Now it is time to practise what you have learnt in the following games. The first one is a quiz with two games. If you answer the quiz correctly you can play the games called Angry Farmer and Math Pop. Both the quiz and the games are in HTML5 so you can play them on your mobile phones. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/indirect questions/indirect questions_quiz (Web)/index.html” target=”blank” background=”#17ad38″]Indirect questions Quiz[/su_button]The second game is in Flash and it will play only on your desktop. It is the notorious On target game. If you choose the correct option you will be given a chance to shoot the bad ducks. Moreover, you can get a bonus if you shoot one of the bottles on the sides. Enjoy.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/indirect questions/indirect questions on Target.swf” target=”blank” background=”#17ad38″]Indirect questions On Target[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]Vocabulary videos
[/su_heading][su_spacer] On Youtube we have created a new channel which contains all the vocabulary videos we have created. Here are some of them. So do not miss them:You can learn the words connected with the environment at http://youtu.be/PbBR1sNc6C4
There is a vocabulary video introducing the Town features at http://youtu.be/5Plh_LBjwks
At http://youtu.be/c0T5j-5MEg8 you can learn some vocabulary to speak about Plants in English.
For young learners we have some names of Animals at http://youtu.be/wb6Ctlvz0Ys
If you want to learn more vocabulary on Sports you can go to http://youtu.be/14_5rLiIAm0 and learn the names of Winter Olympics sports
At http://youtu.be/9IWZb61DG1M you can learn Clothes Vocabulary
Furniture vocabulary is presented at http://youtu.be/7VOpE1n74h0
One of the most difficult parts for learners of English to learn are personal qualities.
To help you with this, you can try the video at http://youtu.be/3KisHI5O6WY
In my last post I try to teach 11 common similes in English. However, as some students still feel that they need more practise, I have decided to produce this post too. This post contains a visually appealing demonstration of all the 11 similes, a short film to learn the phrases and a dictation exercise.
[su_spacer][su_heading]Similes – picture
[/su_heading][su_spacer] You can see all the similes in one picture. Go through them and try to remember the phrases.ADVERT
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Do you know these similes?
Similes – video
[/su_heading][su_spacer] In the following video you can see and hear all the similes. In the first part you are asked to repeat the phrases. In the second you have to produce the phrases on your own.[su_spacer]
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Similes – dictation
[/su_heading][su_spacer] In this task you will hear the similes used in simple sentences. Listen and write the sentences. If you succeed you can play the game Angry finches. Good luck [su_spacer][su_heading]Similes – practice
[/su_heading][su_spacer] If you know all the similes print out the following mind map and complete it with the similes. You should keep the printout and use it for future reference.
Complete this mind map with the similes you remember
In English there are many ways to speak about future and at the same time there are many grammarians who claim that there is nothing like a future tense in English. I do not want to discuss this issue here, I would only like to present two ways of speaking about future.
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First I will introduce the basic system of future tenses in English according to the speaker’s certainty. The tenses presented at the bottom of the pyramid are the least certain to happen. The tenses at the top of the pyramid are the most certain.
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And in this post, I would like to deal with the tenses that are at the bottom of the pyramid: MAY/MIGHT and WILL.
MAY/MIGHT and WILL – mind map
[/su_heading] First study the following mind map. Notice that MAY/MIGHT does not make questions about the future. Moreover, there do not exist any short forms of the negatives of MIGHT and MAY (no mayn’t or mightn’t.)[su_spacer]
MAY/MIGHT and WILL – GAMES
[/su_heading] Once you have studied the mind maps and the explanations above, it is time to practise all you have learnt in several games. The first game is called On Target and your task is to choose which word best suits into each gap. If you answer correctly you will be given a chance to shoot the bad ducks. You can shoot a bottle too and get a bonus.[su_spacer] [su_lightbox src=”https://engames.eu/future/will_might on target.swf”][su_button] Will and Might – On Target [/su_button][/su_lightbox] [su_spacer] In the second game you should choose the correct form again and score a basket. Good luck.
[su_spacer] [su_lightbox src=”https://engames.eu/future/will_might hoopshoot.swf”][su_button] Will and Might – Hoop shoot[/su_button][/su_lightbox] [su_spacer]
I don’t know whether anyone will be interested in this mini series called Two Dates. However, as all the research shows that extensive reading helps students improve their English I put it here. There is a short story cut into four parts and a mind map which can serve as a comprehension worksheet.
Moreover, you can learn the vocabulary from the worksheet and there are two games to practise the new vocabulary.
Two Dates – video story – part 1
[/su_heading] Watch the video and try to understand the story. If you want to make this exercise slightly more challenging, switch off the picture and just listen.ADVERTISEMENT:
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Two Dates – mind map
[/su_heading] Try to complete the mind map with the information from the story. Use your dictionary and translate the vocabulary. Once you finish the worksheet (mind map) watch the video again and check your answers.
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Two Dates – games
[/su_heading] In the first game you should write the jumbled word in the correct way. You have always 30 seconds to manage this. [su_lightbox src=”https://engames.eu/Two_dates/Chapter_1/two dates chapter 1_half a min.swf”][su_button] Click Here to play the game – Two Dates – Chapter 1 – Hoop Shoot [/su_button][/su_lightbox]In the second game you should complete each sentence with the correct word.
[su_lightbox src=”https://engames.eu/Two_dates/Chapter_1/two dates chapter 1_hoop shoot.swf”][su_button] Click Here to play the game – Two Dates – Chapter 1 – Hoop Shoot [/su_button][/su_lightbox] [su_heading size=”16″]Two Dates – story
[/su_heading] Here is the whole story if you do not want to listen to it and just read it. [su_heading size=”12″]Two Dates – Chapter 1
[/su_heading] Alan was the wallflower in his class. He was always a little shy and he had no real friends when he was younger, but he always thought that this would change by the time he went to secondary school.It had not happened.
Alan did not know why he had such a hard time talking to people, especially girls. He had no problem talking to his mother or sisters at home, but when a girl asked him a simple question in school, he would get nervous, and his whole face would become as red as a tomato as he tried to get the words out.
There were two beautiful girls in his class, Susan and Martha. Not only were they beautiful, they were smart and popular too. Susan excelled in English, whereas Martha was better at numbers and was usually the one with her hands up in the air for every question asked during Maths class.
Alan was not popular, neither was he particularly handsome. He was neither the tallest boy in class nor the most athletic one. He did not excel in any subject, and his grades were average at best. This did not help his confidence, and it got weaker year by year.
But that year, Alan wanted to make a difference. He wanted to be noticed, and he wanted to make friends for once. Their school was organizing a dance, and boys usually asked girls out to be their dates.
In the past, Alan usually chose to stay home, watch some television with his parents or play video games. He did not have the courage to ask any girl out, and he certainly did not want to go to the dances alone. He always felt left out when he returned to school the day after, listening to all the fun and good times that his classmates had at the dance. He no longer wanted to be that guy that stayed at home, miserable and alone, without a date.
Alan wanted to be different that year.
He tried by making small talk with the boys. He offered to help Bruce with his homework. Bruce, was a bully, but was also the best looking boy in class. He sneered at him and stood above him. Alan tried to look smaller in his seat. “You? Help me with my homework? Do you think I am stupid and I need some help?”
“No, I just wanted to help,” Alan’s voice sounded strange.
The whole class laughed at him. Alan sank deeper into his seat and pretended not to care. His ears were burning with shame.
He looked down on his homework and tried to ignore the students around him.
From the edge of his vision, Alan saw a pair of pretty shoes. He looked up in surprise at Martha’s face.
Beautiful, popular Martha.
“Hi Alan,” she smiled.
“H…Hi,” he said shyly.
She looked very pretty indeed, showing off her beautiful figure in a lovely yellow floral dress. Her long blond hair was in perfect curls around her sweet face.
“Maybe you could help me. Do you want to go out after school?” Martha asked Alan.
Alan nearly choked. He could not believe what he was hearing. Martha? Beautiful popular Martha was asking him out on a date! What should he say?
To learn Passive voice it is necessary to know the past participles. If you do not know the past participles go to our post on Past participle and learn the irregular verbs first. Once you do not have any problems with past participles, it is time to learn the Passive voice in English.
Passive voice is used if the subject (the thing before the verb) does not do the action described by the verb. Then you have to insert the verb “TO BE” in the correct form in front of the verb in past participle.
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Passive – graphical presentation
[/su_heading] First there is a mind map describing the form of the passive.ADVERTISEMENT:
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The second graphic clearly shows the usage of passive voice: Your task is to write two sentences under each picture using present simple tense and past simple. The sentences in the first column should be in active voice and the sentences in the second column should be in passive voice.
See how passive is formed
Passive – games
[/su_heading] Here you have a chance to learn the passive through games. Play each game at least twice and then I think that you will understand the basic rules of passives.The first game is a simple online quiz. Try to fill in the verbs in the correct form.
The second game is called Hoop shoot. Once again, choose the correct form and then stop the sliders in the center.
[su_lightbox src=”https://engames.eu/Passive/passive_hoopshoot.swf”][su_button] Click Here to play the game – Passive Hoop Shoot [/su_button][/su_lightbox]
The word “HOW” is one of the most productive words in English. It helps us create meaningful questions and sentences. The word “HOW” combines with many other words to create these questions.
In this post I try to introduce the basic phrases “How much”, “How many”, “How often”, “How well”, “How long”, “How far” and “How old”.
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How in questions – mindmap
[/su_heading][su_spacer] Here the students can practise the basic usage of the word HOW in questions. First, they should create their own questions and later they can cover the inner rings and say the correct phrases.ADVERT:
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The way you can create questions with how.
How in questions – games
[/su_heading] [su_spacer] In the first game your task is to complete the questions with the correct word. Moreover, you should shoot all the invaders and save the Earth 🙂 [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/HOW_QUESTIONS/how_questions_invaders.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Teacher Invaders[/su_button]In the second game you should choose the correct answer and shoot only the BAD ducks. You can try to shoot one of the bottles too and get a bonus.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/HOW_QUESTIONS/how_questions_ontarget.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Shooting game[/su_button]I hope that by now you know all the basic usages of the word HOW.
I had been using these phrases long before I learnt that they were a grammar item. However, as I have to teach them to my students at school, I have created this short post. There is just a simple graphical presentation of the phrases and two games to practise them.
To practise phrase there is someone doing in a more realistic and communicative way I recommend using some similar picture where students should find the differences. Nice pictures for spotting the difference can be found at Maryglasgowmagazines (you have to pay to be a member though).
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There is someone doing – Mind map
[/su_heading][su_spacer] This simple chart shows how the phrase There is/are … doing something should be formed.ADVERTISEMENT:
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The way these phrases are formed.
There is someone doing – games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] I think I have not used the Penalty template for some time, so here you can play the penalty shootout. Your task is to answer each question correctly and then score a goal. Good luck. [su_button url=”https://engames.eu/there_is_someone_doing/there is someone doing penalty.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Penalty shootout game[/su_button]The second game is called Teacher invaders. Your task is to shoot all the invaders and finish the sentences with the correct for of the verbs in the brackets. Be careful with your spelling.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/there_is_someone_doing/there is someone doing invaders.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Past simple or past continuous? – quiz[/su_button] [su_spacer][su_heading]More grammar games
[/su_heading][su_spacer] You can find some more grammar games for elementary students at our site. For example there are games and mind maps to learn the past simple tense of irregular verbs. Or you could try the games on forming Adverbs correctly.
Two days ago we encountered a simple exercise in our textbook. Students’ task was to fill in the missing prepositions. Even though my students are strong lower intermediate students who can understand a lot of English and speak quite fluently, they were not able to use the correct prepositions. Although the students met the adjectives and prepositions many time before, they could not use them. So I have created this post where I will teach the adjectives and prepositions.
This post contains only a few adjectives but I believe it is better if you always use a few adjectives with the correct preposition than if you know a lot of adjectives and use the prepositions wrongly.
Adjectives and prepostions – infographic
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Learn the few adjectives with the right prepositions.
Adjectives and prepostions – games
I have been using games in class for quite a long time, but I never fail to be surprised how easily students learn the correct answers to the questions just because they want to win the game.
The first game is called Teacher Invaders and your task is to shoot all the invaders and complete the sentences with the correct prepositions.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Adjectives_Prepositions/adjectives prepositions.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]Teacher Invaders game[/su_button]The second game is called On target and your task is to shoot as many bad ducks as you can. You can shoot a bottle too and get a bonus. Give it a try.
[su_button url=”https://engames.eu/Adjectives_Prepositions/adj prepositions_ontarget.swf” target=”blank” background=”#f56b68″ size=”6″]On Target game[/su_button]
More posts on prepositions
If you need more practise on prepositions there are two more posts on prepositions at our site. They explain the usage of the prepositions AT, IN, ON for places and time.
You can find the posts at:
https://engames.eu/prepositions-place/
https://engames.eu/prepositions-at-in-on-time/
This is quite a simple grammar point – adjectives with the endings ed or ing. The more annoying it is when students use the endings incorrectly. In this post you can find a mind map, two games and a BBC presentation on this topic. I hope it will work fine for you and that you will never ever confuse these two endings again.
Adjective endings – mind map
I call it a mind map but in fact it is a graphical explanation of the grammar point which has nothing to do with a mind map.
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Adjective endings – games
In both of the following games your task is to choose the correct adjective and then shoot 🙂
Adjective endings – On Target game
Adjective endings – Penalty game
Adjective endings – BBC grammar challenge
I have tried to turn the great BBC programme into a video. You can watch the result below. It explains the usage of the grammar.
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This will be quite a short post. But sometimes easy does it. So, I hope it will be the case.
I would love to explain the usage and form of Used to here. To achieve this I have created the following mind map:
Used to – mind map
In this mind map I try to explain the form and usage of the form USED TO:
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Used to – games
There are two simple games to practise the grammar explained above. The first one is called On target. Your task is to choose the correct form to complete the sentences and then you will get a chance to shoot the bad ducks. You have 5 shots but you might win a bonus if you shoot one of the bottles 🙂
Used to – On Target
Used to – Teacher invaders
The second game is called Teacher invaders. Shoot all the invaders and save the Earth. Moreover, your task is to complete each sentence with the correct form of “USED TO”.
Many elementary students feel they cannot see the difference between these two tenses. To help them I have created a rap which explains the grammar and gives some example sentences, two mind maps explaining everything simply and several games to practise this grammar point. I hope you will find it useful.
Present tenses – mind maps
The first mind map explains the basics about the present simple tense:
The second mind map has already been published here in the post on Present continuous tense. The mind map explains the usage and form of the present continuous tense.
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Present tenses – rap
Watch the rap and then try to answer the comprehension questions in the game On target. The rap explains the usage of the two tenses and gives some examples.
Now try the comprehension game. Answer all the questions and then shoot the bad ducks 🙂
Play the game here.
Present tenses – games
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Now it is time to check whether you understand the grammar point. Here is a game called En Garde. Your task is to choose the correct tense and then hit your opponent. Good luck.
You can play the game En Garde here.
There are very few grammar points that I know so well as conditional sentences. Students always ask about them and they appear in tests and students. I have tried many times to explain this grammar, but I feel that I have always failed. I have created about 5 different presentations and three mind maps till I got to this simple one.
Conditionals – mind map
This is the simplest mind map I have managed to create and students say it is fine and they can understand it now. I hope it works the same way for you.
Read the map from the left side. The two arrows in the midle of the map show that the RESULT part can be at the beginning and the IF part at the end.
The horrible mess in the middle of the Unreal conditionals, shows the mixed conditionals, where the IF in the past can have a RESULT NOW. Or where IF now can have a RESULT in the past. I hope you understand.
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Conditionals – games
It is very important to understand the grammar rules, but it is even more important to be able to use them correctly. You can try this out in the following games.
The first one is called On Target and your task is to answer the questions and shoot all the BAD ducks. You can get a bonus if you shoot one of the bottles.
The second game is a new one. It is called darts. You should choose the correct answer but then WAIT and click it only at the moment you aim at a high number. It is not as easy as it seems. You can leave your score at the comments section and the winner will get ELM magazine from us.
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Scientists claim that the center for rythm is located next to the long-term memory in our brain. Knowing this, we could exploit it to the students’ benefit and teach them vocabulary through rhymes or raps. So, I tried to create the following rap to teach the students the following words: beach, prefer, rhyme, crazy, bone, railway, clothes, lots, fun, sand and shower.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap -video
First listen to the following rap and answer the comprehension questions under the video.
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Now check your comprehension by playing the following game:
Crazy vocabulary rap – Hoop shoot
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – mind map
Now that you met the vocabulary it is time to introduce it. I love introducing new things using mind maps, so here is another one. Each word contains a definition and three examples.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Vocabulary games
Once you think you know all the words it is time to test your knowledge. There are three games to check whether you really know the words. In the first two your task is to complete each sentence with the best option. If you answer correctly you will get to play a game.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Hoopshoot game
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Fling the teacher game
The last game is a bit different. You will see a definition and then you have to write the word. Do not forget to shoot the invaders, though 🙂
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Teacher invaders game.
Crazy Vocabulary Rap – Lyrics
You might want to learn the whole text, so here you are:
I’m going somewhere on this train
I’m going somewhere fun
A place that has a beach and sand
Railway take me to that sun….
I prefer to go somewhere out west
But any beach will do
Before I go I need a shower
I have no water, what to do….
I need a beach where clothes aren’t needed
Cuz mine I do not have
They got destroyed by a beast
Doing something reasonably bad….
He was drinking lots of milk he was
This milk I wanted some
Cuz in my youth I want strong bones
To stay in shape and have some fun
This rhyme is really crazy
This I really know
Time for me to say bye bye
It’s time for me to go….
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Negative prefixes are very productive. It seems that if you learn these then you might be able to create countless English words. However, it is not enough to learn only the prefixes. As each word has its own prefix and there are just a few rules you have to learn the whole words.
Knowing this, I took 4,000 most frequent words in English and I looked for the words with negative prefixes among them. Once I found them I created the following mind map:
Negative prefixes – a mind map
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Go through the mind map above and use a dictionary if you do not know any of the words.
Negative prefixes – games
Once you think that you know the words with negative prefixes I believe it is time to test your knowledge in games. This time there are 4 games. The first two (En Garde and On Target) contain the same tasks in different games. Choose the one you like better and plaaaaaay!!!
Negative prefixes – En Garde
Negative prefixes – On target
In the game called Half a minute your task is to put the jumbled word into the correct order. It is not easy but if you know the words you should manage to do this.
Negative prefixes – Half a minute
The last game is called Teacher invaders. Your task is to shoot all the invaders and write the words with negative prefixes. I believe this is the most difficult game, so give it a try!!!
Negative prefixes – Teacher invaders
Negative prefixes – a blind mind map
Have you played all the games and they were a piece of cake? Let’s try something more challenging. Print the following mind map and complete it with the missing words:
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This material is a demonstration of the approach called CLIL. In CLIL You learn the content and thus you learn the language. However, experimenting a bit with the approach I like to do this a bit differently. First, I introduce the vocabulary through the mind map, then I present the text (this time in a video) and then we assess the understanding and play the games to practise the vocabulary.
Battle of Hastings – video
Watch the video and try to understand it.
Battle of Hastings – mind map
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Battle of Hastings – games
Once you have watched the video you should try the comprehension questions in the game. Your task is to shoot only the evil figures.
Battle of Hastings – On Target game
Vocabulary games: In the first game you should read the definition and guess the word. Then click the arrow and you will see the correct words
Now that you know the words it is time to see whether you know the words:
Fill in the blank – vocabulary
Battle of Hastings – For teachers
As many of the readers of this blog are teachers here is a brief section for them. When I teach this section I display the second slide of the Powerpoint presentation and I teach the vocabulary there. Then I play the video and play the comprehension game On Target with the students (divide the students into two teams to make the game more enjoyable.) Then I display the last slide and the students have to retell the story of Harold, Harald and William. Moreover, there is a pdf file with the mind map and a presentation which is easy to display on the IWB as it is in Powerpoint.
1066_Battle of Hastings
Battle_of_hastings
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Three days ago we were talking about presents with my students and I could hear that they were using the verbs buy,give, get etc. in a way that everyone would understand them but which was wrong. So, I created the following presentation and several exercises. What surprised me was that even after my presentation the students protested that some other forms (the ones they used) were correct too. But it is not true. They are not and you have to use the verbs in the way demonstrated here to be understood and correct.
Verbs with two objects – mind map
I am really proud of this mind map. It took a lot of time to construct and I think it clearly demonstrates the verbs and their usage:
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Verbs with two objects – games
Once you have mastered the three possible patterns it is time to use them. There are two game to practise this grammar point. In the first one you should choose the correct option to get a chance to hurt your opponent. Are you good enough to win the fight?
Verbs with two subjects En Garde game.
The second game is quite quick. You have to shoot all the invaders and answer all the questions. The best I have ever seen was level 5. Can you get further?
Verbs with two objects – Teacher invaders
Verbs with two objects – for teachers
I have realised that this site is frequently visited by teachers. And that is why I have decided to enter this part into my post. Here I would like to offer the teachers the materials tuned for teaching. First is the mind map in powerpoint file. If you have an IWB you can display the parts of the mind map and explain the concept.
The other file contains the mind map in a pdf file.
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BBC site offers a lot of interesting and really useful materials for learners and teachers of English. However, they just present something and they do not give you much chance to learn what they teach. That is why I prepared this short post.
Take a rain check – video
Some time ago a researcher proved that students can learn a lot if they just read and listen to a text. Therefore I turned the BBC recording into the following video which follows this principle.
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Take a rain check – mind map
Once you have read and listened to the recording it is time to identify the most difficult parts which you should learn. Here is a mind map with all the important language from the recording:
Take a rain check – games
And to remember all the key words and concepts from the recording it is best to practise them in games. Here are two games:
Enjoy
In time clauses it is important to understand that you cannot use WILL after certain conjunctions, even though you are referring to the future. And that is the whole trick. If you do this (not will do this), your English will be fine. And that is what you need.
Time clauses – mind map
To make this concept clearer I have created the following mind map. Read the mind map clockwise and start at 12 o’clock.
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Time clauses – games
As the grammar point is quite simple to understand, I have created only two games to practise this. The first one is called Fling the Teacher and if you answer (not will answer) all the questions correctly you will fire the teacher because you won’t need him any more. So what are you waiting for? FLING THE TEACHER!
Fling the teacher – time clauses.
The second game is ideal for a classroom. You can work in two teams and the teams fight against each other. If you answer incorrectly your opponent gets a free chance to hurt you.
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As there are no articles in my mother tongue, using them correctly in English is a real challenge. Like many other non-native speakers, I often leave them out or use one too many. And my students do this too.
I have been thinking for years how to teach articles effectively and finally I feel that I found the way. I created a mind map which shows the thinking process you should go through to have the articles correct.
Articles – mind map
There are two mind maps. The first one is simpler and the other is for more advanced students.
The mind maps show the thinking process you should go through to get the articles correct. Start at 1 o’clock and go clockwise.
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The following Mind map is for intermediate students:
Articles – Video
If you still feel that you need more explanations, you can watch the following video explaining the usage of the definite article “THE”. The recording was prepared by BBC learning English.
Articles – games
For those of you who regularly come to our site there are two new games this time. The first one is a classical game called Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. You have to answer all the questions correctly to win this game. Good luck!
Articles – Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
The second new game is called Fling the teacher and your task is again to answer all the questions correctly. If you manage to do this you will fire the teacher :-), because you will not need him any more.
The last game is the Penalty game which has been used here several times (eg. for teaching prepositions AT, IN, ON or verb patterns )
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Do you think that the materials at this site are useful? Would you like to be first to learn about our new posts? So follow us on TWITTER:
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