Last update July 3, 1997. If you have ideas you would like to share, send them via email.
I would like to thank my colleages in the New York City public school system whose willingness to share ideas gave me the inspiration to start this project.
Send comments or lesson ideas to John Korber
I have used the symbol of the tree to see how many uses of a particular verb ( in this case,"to grow") students in the class can generate. This exercise can be used to review or introduce a large variety of of verb form uses. The procedure is as follows:
Draw a tree and the sun on the blackboard. Write the infinitive "to grow" at the root of the tree, and explain that it is the source of all the tenses that derive from it. Draw leaves on and around the tree. Then ask the students to come up with as many sentences using as many different tenses of the verb as they can think of. The work can be done as a class, or in groups that share their lists with the class later. Later, list the sentences on the blackboard. Some ambitious and artistic students may want to make a poster out of the result. Some possible sentences are:
The aim of this game is to review family vocabulary and to expose students to the possessive case. Students are not supposed to be able to produce the sentences in the game. It is mostly reading comprehension. I have used this game with beginners (monolingual classes) and it has proved to be a lot of fun as well as very rewarding in terms of comprehension.
1-Print or write cards with the following sentences:
Leave enough space between the verb and the next word so as to be able to cut the card in two pieces, one with the subject and verb, and the other with the object.
2-Divide the class into A's and B's. Give the A's the cards which have the beginnings and give the B's the ones that have the endings.
3-Ask both groups to think of how they would complete their cards. Allow them some time to think.
4-Now each member of each group must interact with the members of the other in order to find the card that matches theirs (this may become a bit of a chaos, but never mind,it helps students to relax and get closer to one another). Once they have, they must sit together, and wait until everybody has found their partner.
5-Ask each pair to read their sentences and confirm or correct with the help of the other students (this is a good listening-comprehension exercise).
6-Ask each pair to go to the chalkboard and write thier sentences, so that the whole group has the opportunity to have all the sentences for further reference.
7-As a round-off, you may ask the class to formulate a rule on how the possessive case works.
Another gameAs well as being a reading comprehension exercise, this puzzle tests students ability to spell. Number 1 across may be difficult to figure out, especially for boys; they should put themselves in the position of a woman, since the answer is "husband". See the attached file for the grid.
Across
Down
Aim: To provide students with input (have/have got)(be wearing)and to reveiw vocabulary (physical descriptions and clothes).
Students should have been exposed to vocabulary concerning physical description (height, build, colour of hair, colour of eyes) and clothes (colour and pattern).
Procedure:
Have students draw a grid in their notebooks on a separate sheet, so that you can collect them.The grid should include the name of the student being described and these details about the students:
Also have the students create space to describe three items of clothing being worn. Including the names of the items worn, the colors, and the patterns.
Obviously, the physical characteristics will vary according to each individual and so will the clothes. Although there might be several students with the same physical characteristics, they should have no problems to identify the person described when you get to what they are wearing.
If the class is too large, you might choose to read out half their papers, and leave the rest for the following period. If so, before leaving, ask them to have a look at what everybody is wearing and to try to remember for the following day.
The next day, you can read the rest of their papers, but this time, when you get to the description of their clothes you will have to use "he/she was wearing", an opportunity to expose them to the past of the verbe "BE" if they have never been exposed to it. Once you have finished with all the papers, write a similar description to the ones you read (or two if you used the past) on the chalkboard.
Next, write this on the board:
..........(name of person) is a .......(height and build)boy/girl with ......(length).....(style).....(colour)hair and .........(colour)eyes. He/she is wearing .........(colour),.........(pattern),........(item).
The words in parenthesis should not be written on the chalkboard.
Telling riddles is an excellent listening comprehension exercise for intermediate level ESL students. They are entertaining. Students love them whether they can solve them or not. They also make a great effort to understand the riddles so they can tell them to their friends after class. This activity is good for low intermediate and up.
Have students take notes as you tell each riddle. Recommend that they write freely and quickly trying to capture as much of the story as they can while you tell the riddle at a natural speaking pace.
Before asking for, or revealing the solution have students discuss the riddles in small groups or pairs. This encourages retelling the riddles, sharing notes, reviewing important details, and discussing possible solutions.
Have students rewrite one or several of the riddles working from the notes they took. You may also want to use riddles for short listening-clozes. There are many sources for riddles in books and on the internet. Below are some riddles I have enjoyed using with my students.
An Arab sheikh tells his two sons to race their camels to a distant city to see who will inherit his fortune. The one whose camel is slower will win. The brothers, after wandering aimlessly for days, ask a wise man for advise. After hearing the advice they jump on the camels and race as fast as they can to the city. What does the wise man say? Solution: He told the brothers to switch camels.
Many years ago a private detective had to hire a new assistant. He had three candidates and he decided to give them a little quiz. He said, "Look Guys, there's a crime that needs to be solved and there's a clue in one of the public libraries in Brooklyn. The clue is stuck inside a book, between pages 165 and 166.
Two of the guys jumped up and bolted out the door. The third guy just sat there. The private detective said to the man who remained, "You got the job." Why did he get the job? What did he know that the other two candidates didn't know? Solution:There is nothing between pages 165 and 166, just as there's nothing between pages 1 and 2 of a book. The candidate who didn't get up knew this. He knew the clue was a bogus clue. (Page one is the right hand page and page two is printed on the back of that page.)
Two undergraduate chemistry students at a major university had a highly successful semester in an introductory chemistry class. Their confidence was so high in fact that they decided to blow off their reading period, that period they give you to study for final exams, and they went to a fraternity party in a town quite a distance away. They had a pretty good time. So good in fact that they didn't make it back in time for their final exam. They missed the exam. In a panic, however, they devised a plan.
They agreed to tell the professor that they had a flat tire and this prevented their returning in time to take the exam. They pleaded with him, "Let us take the exam, please. This could ruin us. We promise nothing like this will ever happen again."
The professor agreed and told them to return the next morning. The two returned the following morning, and the professor gave them their exam. He had them leave their books and backpacks in the office and sent them to different rooms to take their exams. The test consisted of only two questions. One five-point question was some fairly simple chemistry problem, and each student, smiling confidently, answered the first question easily. Then they turned the page, and the next question was worth ninety-five-points. What was the second question? What was the second question that the professor put on the make-up exam? Solution: Which car tire was it that got the flat?
A man and his son decided to go on a vacation for a week in the countryside. They drove out of the city and after a half an hour got into a terrible accident. The father was shaken, bruised, and had a broken arm, but he he did not have a life threatening injury. The son, however, was seriously injured. An ambulance came and took both of them to the hospital back in the city. The son needed immediate surgery. He was rushed into the operating room, and a doctor came. The doctor took a look at the boy's face and said, "I can't operate on this boy. Doctors aren't allowed to operate on family members. They could make a mistake because they are very nervous. Get another doctor quick. This is my son! Who is the doctor? Solution: The doctor was the boy's mother.
Everyday a man who lives on the tenth floor, takes the elevator down in the morning to leave his apartment building. One the way home he takes the elevator up to the seventh floor, gets off, and walks three flights up to his apartment. He does this everyday even though he hates walking the three flights up. When it rains, he takes his umbrella and can take the elevator all the way to the tenth floor. Why ? Solution: He is very short and can only reach the seventh floor button. When it rains, he can reach the button with his umbrella.
A man walked into a large room and discovered that a man had committed suicide by hanging himself. The dead man was hanging in the middle of the room from a rope. Beneath the man was a large puddle of water. There was no furniture in the room and the man was hanging three feet from the floor. The nearest wall was ten feet away. How did the man hang himself? Solution: He was standing on a block of ice.
One summer afternoon, a group of people where having a party. One of the guests hated everyone at the party, and decided it was a good chance to kill them all. He brought a large bowl of punch made with fruit juice, vodka, and ice. He took one drink, and then told the host that he had to take care of some business and would return in about two hours. When he returned, the punch bowl was half empty and all the people, to his delight, were dead. How did he kill them? Solution: The ice cubes were poisoned. After they melted, the punch became poisoned.
I have collected about fifteen more riddles that I can email you. Just drop me a line atJakajk@aol.com.
These are tongue twisters sent to the CUNY TESL mailing list. Students love the challenge.
More tongue twisters can be found at:Twister
Contact:John Korber
