CYCLE 1, FIRST GRADE

CLASSROOM GAMES AND ACTIVITIES(1) BALL GAME: You will need a regular soft ball for this activity. S answers questions, T throws a ball to the Ss and the S who catches it, has to answer a question, it can be use as an assessment in all levels. T can ask What is it? showing a flashcard and the S answers. This is for the lower levels, and you can practice grammar structures for higher levels. You can use as many variations as you can (e.g. you can use it for practicing any vocabulary or grammar). (2) NAME CHAIN: You dont need any material for this activity. This activity is very useful for getting to know each other. Ask Ss to make a circle. T asks the first S Whats your name? and the S has to answer My name is .., then that S has to ask to the next S Whats your name? and the S has to answer My name is ., and that S has to ask to the next S, and so on.

(3) PUPPET CONVERSATION: Hand puppets really work with young learners especially for those who are very shy, sometimes you will notice that Ss prefer talking to a puppet than to you! You can use any puppet you want (made by you with a sock or using any teddy bear you have or with a character from a T.V show) you can use it to introduce yourself in the first class, you can introduce the puppet or ask Ss for the puppets name and then ask each S for his/her name, and its better if they can use it too. You can also use puppets in any conversation you need.(4) TIC TAC TOE: This activity has a lot of variations; you can use it with vocabulary or grammar, with or without visuals, using simple marks (X or O), writing just vocabulary or vocabulary with missing letters (according Ss level). Draw a basic tic tac toe on the board (#) divides the class into two teams and ask vocabulary or grammar (depending on Ss level) if the Ss responds correctly, he/she places a mark on the tic tac toe. You also can do it placing 9 flashcards (representing words, phrases, questions, etc, depending on the Ss level) face down on the board and writing a number over it (cover the flashcard with plastic), divides the class into two teams and asks Ss to call out a number to see that flashcard. The S from the team that gives the correct answer claims a space with an X or O. When you play this game using just vocabulary with higher levels you can use different markers to differentiate the winner team (for practice spelling) if you want to make the game funnier, you can use a ball to select Ss from each team. (5) BAG GAME: You will need a dark bag and paper pieces for this activity. T shows a bag and the papers that will be inside the bag (according to the vocabulary or the grammar you are teaching or reviewing); T needs to explain each paper corresponds to a word from the vocabulary or a part of the grammar. For this activity you can divide the class in teams or do it with the whole class (T picks and shows the papers and the S who knows answers) or asks volunteers (S passes and picks a paper from the bag and answers) T gives points or stickers depending on the way T presents the activity.(6) SIMON SAYS: This activity is used to practice TPR (Total Physical Response) and you can check if the Ss understand what you are teaching about different topics (e.g. commands using verbs, body parts, etc.) T says an instruction and Ss have to follow it (e.g. Simon says sit down, Simon says stand up, etc) T explains to the Ss that if he/she doesnt say the phrase Simon says they cant move. If a S makes a mistake he/she has to sit down until the next round. To avoid confusion you can use the phrase Teacher says instead of Simon says.(7) UNCOVER: After the vocabulary has been taught you can play this game with your Ss using different flashcards and another flashcard (object) to cover the flashcard you will slowly reveal until someone guess what it is. You can give stickers or candies to reward your Ss and motivate them.

(8) CLAPPING GAME: This activity is usually used to practice numbers and it also has some variations. T says a number and Ss have to clap as many times as the number mentioned. You can increase the difficulty changing the order and the amount of times Ss have to clap (depending on the level) (e.g. T says 1 and Ss clap 5 times, 5 = 1 time, 2 = 4 times, 4 = 2 times, 3 = 6 times, 6= 3 times).(9) SPIN THE BOTTLE: Sit or Stand Ss in a circle with a plastic bottle in the middle. T spin the bottle, when it stops spinning the S it is pointing to is shown a flashcard and asked to say what it is. If the answer is correct then that S can spin the bottle. You can practice grammar too (e.g. T models the structure for a question like What is it? so the S the bottle is pointing to says the question while he /she show the flashcard and the opposite S answers Its a).(10) T-SHIRT GAME: Divide the children into two teams and give adults T-shirt to each S from the teams. At the signal, the first person on puts on the T-shirt gets the opportunity to answer first, if the answer is correct the S gets a point for the team, if is not, the other S gets a chance to answer. You can use this activity with vocabulary by showing flashcards, or just with grammar by asking a question.(11) MEMORY GAME: With this activity you can review spelling and vocabulary. T pastes flashcards and word cards facing down on the board, then divides the class into two teams and passes some Ss to uncover a flashcard and a word card to see if they corresponds each other, T gives points when a S makes a pair.(12) FLY SWATTER GAME: T Divides the Ss into two teams. T sticks flashcards or write answers on the board, give a fly swatter to a S from each team. T says a word from the vocabulary or asks a question, the Ss have to run and slap the correct flashcard or answer on the board, the first one to slap it gets a point for his/her team. If you do this activity with grammar, you need to consider the level of your Ss.

(13) THE NUMBERS GAME: T divides the group in four or five teams. T gives a bag with two sets of numbers from 1 to 10 to each group. T sticks tak or tape at the four corners of the classroom. T says a number for example: 17and the first team to form the number on the wall (students stick the numbers on the tak or tape) wins a point. Optional: if the teacher does not have the tak or tape he/she can ask students to stand up together in the corner forming the number. Depending on the level are the numbers with which to work if they are in sixth grade numbers you can put up to 3 or 4 Digits. This activity can be done as a warm up, wake up activity, wrap up or as an assessment if you are teaching numbers.

(14) THE SPIDER WEB: Materials needed: a ball of yarn, Teacher starts by introducing him or herself holding the ball of yarn and asks a student at random What is your name? and throws him or her the ball of yarn.The student that catches it will respond My name is... and will repeat the action (what is your name?) until everyone has introduced themselves. The students and teacher will end up tangled. (15) WARM UP. TARGET GRADE: 1-5 At the beginning you simply shout out commands at the kids. First of all simple things like "Stand Up" or "Sit Down" are OK, along with "Good Morning", or Good afternoon. Also, try tricking them by saying "STAND UP" when they are already standing up!

As you meet the kids more you can add words such as JUMP, SPIN, EAT, DRINK, CHEER, CLAP, Later BOY, GIRL can be added (much laughter when boys stand up when you say "GIRLS STAND UP"). Also BIG, SMALL e.g. BIG JUMP, LITTLE JUMP and QUIET, LOUD e.g. QUIET CLAP, LOUD CHEER. Or try using "PLAY" e.g. "Play Piano, Play Tennis" or things like "Watch TV" For "Clap" or "Cheer" get them to vary the volume as you raise or lower your arm - it's a great "volume control" for the moments when you do want them to be in silent!!!

(16) FAMILY MEMBERS AND ROOMS OF THE HOUSE: TPR. Level 1T posts in the corners of the classroom flashcards of the rooms of the house (living room, bathroom, dining room, kitchen and bedroom). Then forms 5 teams with all the Ss in the class, one per each room, and give each team the name of a family member, e.g. T tells one team you are mothers, and tells another team you are fathers, etc, once the T has assigned a name to each group, he starts giving commands and says: Fathers, go to the kitchen Mothers, go to the living room This activity can be done as a wake up or wrap up.

(17) COMMANDS-DO THE OPPOSITE: In this activity the teacher asks students to stand up and calls out the commands stand-up and sit-down. Once kids have followed these commands for about four or five times, the teacher asks them to say the words and to do the actions. After doing this for about four times, the teacher tells them that now they are going to do the opposite of what he/she is going to say. This is, when the teacher says stand-up students will repeat this and do the opposite of what they supposed to do. Teacher places a chair at the front of the class to model the activity (this can be done only the first time they perform this activity and it is recommended only for first and/or second graders). This activity can be done as a wake-up and sometimes as a warm-up, especially if students are taking the English class after the school break.

When practicing action words the teacher can take out the do the opposite aspect of the activity but still has students repeat what he/she says. For example: Teacher asks students to stand-up and says Play soccer and students repeat the phrase after the teacher and act out as if they were playing soccer.

(18) POINT TO: In this activity the teacher sticks different flashcards around the classroom (the ones they are seeing as part of the vocabulary of any lesson). Then, he/she asks students to stand-up and says: Point to the apple and all the students will look up for the apple and point to it at the same time. The key here is that the teacher sticks the flashcards while giving the class (or if the English class is in the first hour or after recess stick them before students get in to the classroom), so students do not pay much attention to were the flashcards are.

This activity can be done as a wrap-up (after teaching vocabulary) or as a wake-up to review, to practice and to reinforce vocabulary and it is suitable for any level.

(19) THROW THE CUBE: T makes a cube with a box, T draws a picture on each side of the cube, of the vocabulary of the unit. T throws the cube and Ss have to say a sentence with the picture. (20) SWAP UP: S plays a competition using a fly swatter. T divides the group into 2 teams. One of each team comes to the front and takes a fly swatter. T posts flashcards on the board and says sentences related to the flashcards (e.g. Shes eating, Hes crying etc) and the first S who hits the flashcard wins a point for his/her team.

(21) GOOD MORNING BALLS:1. You have four different colored balls, (they should be very light weight, small balls).

2. Get the class to make a circle.

3. Then give four people a ball.

Red Ball Hi

Yellow Ball - Hello

Green Ball- Good Morning

Blue Ball - Good Afternoon

4. The class members pass or gently throw the balls and the person who receives them says the meaning of the balls.

(22) RASSIAS DRILL: In this activity the teacher will say: My name is__________ 3 times and the students will only listen to the teacher. Then the teacher using the 4 steps of the drill, voice, snap, point and look, will ask different Ss randomly to say it aloud. The teacher will repeat the same activity for the questions so the Ss answer: My name is_______, Im ________ years old, I live in ________.(23) BODY NUMBERS SHAPE GAME: The whole group go outside the classroom and make a circle in the school yard. T explains that when he/she says a numbers from 0 to 12, Ss are going to make it with their body. If necessary, Ss can make the numbers in teams.

(24) COLORFUL ICE CREAM CONE ACTIVITY:T Cuts out ice cream scoop circles in a variety of colors and place magnets/Velcro on the back. Also T cuts out an ice cream cone and does the same. T Hands each "scoop" to a student and have each student stand up and tell teacher their color, one at time. Next, call on the colors one by one. They will place their scoop on top of teachers ice cream cone to build one giant ice cream cone treat. Seems easy enough, but the students get a kick out of the finished project.(25) COLORS:In this activity teachers can provide a fun English Class to students in which they can teach:COLORS, SHAPES, TOYS and NUMBERS.Material Needed: Foamies of all colors, Bookmarks, Glue, Scissors, Tape.We begin to cut geometric shapes of different sizes using all of the colors.Shapes are: Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Oval and Circle.Once weve cut geometric shapes, we can make several types of toys such as:Baseballs, Boats, Teddy Bear, Kite, Flowers, Worm, Train, etc.We can start with something very simple, we use a white circle to transform it into a Baseball, we can do something a little more difficult using squares, rectangles, circles and triangles building a Train.At the time of starting our English class, we can start teaching colors and then go on by showing each geometric figure (Square, Rectangle, Triangle, Oval and Circle), once its done, were ready to build our toys (Baseballs, Boats, Teddy Bear, Kite, Flowers, Worm, Train, etc).

While were teaching our class, we can ask some questions such as:

-What color is it ?

-What is this ?

-What color is the rectangle/oval ?

-What shape is this ?

-How many squares/triangles/circles do you see ?

-Do you see any squares in the Train/Kite ?

-Are there circles in this Worm ?

-Is there a oval in this flower ?

-etc.

(26) GO AROUND THE CLASSROOM!!:For this activity T needs one school supply small picture for each student.T will paste one white sheet for each school supply with the name of the school supply on the top, around the classroom. Ss will color cut and paste the school supply in the correct sheet.(27) PERSONAL PRONOUNS: After explaining the personal pronoun, the teacher asks Ss to cut 5 pieces of paper and to write on each one, one pronoun: (he, she, it, we, and they).

When the Ss already have the 5 written pronouns, the teachers says sentences like: Brisa and Ivn and the Ss have to raise the paper with they written on it. They continue the activity with different examples.

Examples:

Brisa and Ivn . They

Manuel and I .. We

Pedro. He

Mara.. She

The green table.. It(28) STUDENTS DO AN INTERVIEW: Previous class teacher talk to some ss to represent a movie star or a Singer, like Hanna Montana, Shakira, Julia Roberts etc.. or teacher brings to the classroom several clothes to do it.

The rest of the students have to do the interview with questions already wrote.

(29) VOCABULARY SPORTS PANTOMIME:Teacher writes the vocabulary about sports that they already saw on pieces of paper and put them in a small box, then teacher invites a student to the front and ask him/her to take out one, read it in silence, he/she has to pantomime the sport and the rest of the students have to guess it.

e.g. of vocabulary: baseball, soccer, volleyball, basketball, tennis, swimming and running.

As the student guess, write the sport on the board. Make sure all these sports are pantomimed.

(30) I LIKE TO EAT SONG/ FOOD PROJECTI like to ate ate ate apples and bananasI like eat eat eat epples and benenes I like to ite ite ite ipples and bininisI like to ote ote ote oplles and bononosI like to ute ute ute upples and bununus

T asks Ss to bring fruits such as bananas, apples oranges, peaches, grapes, strawberries, pears, and condensate milk can for the purpose of making a fruit salad Ss will be able to smell, touch the food and at the end taste it.

(31) RASSIAS DRILL: Teacher selects a group of ten to twenty Ss to make a semicircle, then the T sets himself in the middle of the circle and models a sentence for Ss to listen the sentence three times, in this case the sentence would be I like basketball, then T substitutes the sport for other sports such as tennis, baseball, etc. and models with one snap, points to him/herself then says the sentence with the substitution for the Ss, then it would be: I like tennis, then T says one more time the first sentence, I like basketball, and ask Ss to say it along after him/her. T does this 3 times, and then says the word to substitute alone (in this case it would be tennis), then T snaps, point to a Ss and then looks at it, and ask for the Ss to say the sentence with the substituted word for example: I like tennis, after that T says another substituted word as baseball, then T snaps, points to another S and looks at him, and ask from the S the sentence with the substituted word: I like baseball, and so on, so the T practice the structure for the whole sports the Ss learned.

(32) HANGMAN: The teacher is the executioner, and student(s) the letter guessers. Either print out some pre-prepared hangman pages or draw a simple gallows on the board and write out the alphabet above or below the gallows. The teacher will think of a word an mark out blanks (short lines) for each letter of each word. Then a student will guess a letter. If that letter is in the word then teacher writes the letter in everywhere it would appear, an cross out that letter in the alphabet. If the letter isn't in the word then add a body part to the gallows (head, body, left arm, right arm, left leg, right leg). The player will continue guessing letters until they can either solve the word (or phrase) or all six body parts are on the gallows. The student wins by guessing the word before the person is hung.

Printables: http://www.printactivities.com/Paper-Games/Hangman-Word-Game/Hangman1.shtml

(33) HOT POTATO: Anything can be used for a hot potato: Bean bag, ball, a doll, etc. Music, a phrase or a chant Classroom arrangement depends on the teacher. T either starts music, a song or a chanting phrase (e.g. pass it! pass it! pass it!) to have the children start to pass the hot potato around the classroom. When the music stops, the student holding the hot potato is meant to participate in the target activity. The game continues at teachers discretion.

The "potato" can be any item - it makes the game even better if an objectrelated to the class theme is used.

(34) CRAZY TRAIN: T pastes flashcards on different parts of the classroom. Students line up in a choo choo train line. T mentions a name of the flashcards pasted on the wall and the crazy train must go to the corresponding flashcard.

(35) SNAKE GAME: Teacher draws a snake on the board and writes words related to the vocabulary to be taught (mixed with some other letters to make it more challenging for the students) inside of the snake, then, teacher asks some volunteers to come to the board and circles the words from the vocabulary learnt. This activity is really useful because it helps students to develop their reading skills and to review the vocabulary of the day.

(36) PICTIONARY: Good for reviewing vocab. Pick a S and show him/her a picture or whisper a word into his/her ear. The S draws the picture on the board and the first S to guess the picture gets to draw the next picture. This can also be played in teams with a point system.(37) FOLLOWING COMMANDS: This activity is really useful for warm up, wake up or wrap up, T says and does the actions of some commands, then T says the commands and asks students to do the actions, teacher has to say the commands in a challenging way to make it funnier for the students e.g.( Touch your head, turn around, step forward, step backwards, etc).(38) CRAZY TRAIN:

Materials: Flashcards or Graphics

Rules: T pastes graphics/flashcards on different parts of the classroom. Students line up in a choo choo train line. T says and the crazy train must go to the corresponding flashcard.

(39) SNAKE GAME:

Materials: Board Markers

Rules:

Teacher draws a snake on the board and writes words related to the vocabulary to be taught (mixed with some other letters to make it more challenging for the students) inside of the snake, then, teacher asks some volunteers to come to the board and circles the words from the vocabulary learnt. This activity is really useful because it helps students to develop their reading skills and to review the vocabulary of the day.

(40) LETTER/WORD CARDS:

Materials: Cards

Rules: Letter cards: Teacher prepares some cards with some letters according to the todays vocabulary. T provides students with the cards and asks student to form the words (students can work in pairs or individually) When they words are done, they can stick them on their notebooks.

Word cards: Teacher prepares some cards with some words according to the structures to be taught. T provides students with the cards and asks students to form the structures correctly. (Students can work individually, in pairs or in teams) when they have the structures done, they can stick them on their notebooks.

(41) TRUE OR FALSE:

Materials: Board Markers

Rules: T divides the board into two parts, at the left T sticks FCs related to the key vocabulary, at the right t sticks the card with the words; T picks up a card and gets it close to certain FC and elicits from Ss either it corresponds to the FC or not by saying True or False. This activity is fun for students and get them involve with the class, at the same time, they identify the vocabulary of the day.

(42) SETTING PREFERENCES ON A CHART:

Materials. Carboard with a chart.

Rules:

Teacher draws a chart on the board containing the vocabulary to be reviewed or taught, Teacher asks students the questions "Whats your favorite (food/number) ? to all the students, teacher puts a check next to the (food/number) mentioned by the students, at the end they are going to check what is the favorite (food/number) of the class and talk about the results gotten through the chart.

(43) AIRPLANE COMPETITION:

First, have your Ss make some paper airplanes. Stand the Ss in a line boys vs. girls and let them test fly their planes. For the competition, throw a plane at the time for Ss to say and practice their English. Like desk, table, chair, etc.

(44) CLOSE YOUR EYES!:

SKILLS: describing objects; asking and responding questions.GROUP SIZE: 4 to 24

PREP TIME: 5 to 20 minutesINTEREST LEVEL 3 to adultABILITY LEVEL: beginners to intermediateLANGUAGE USED: look at ------. close your eyes! colors, articles or school supplies.GAME: choose a student to begin. Tell the student, look at Rogelios desk. Allow the student to examine the persons desk for about five seconds, then direct the student, close your eyes! After the students eyes are closed ask him or her questions about the desk examinated. For example you might ask what is next to Rogelios pencil case if the students answer incorrectly, direct him or her to open his/ her eyes again and ask another question. Depending on class size, you may allow students up to three turns. if the student correctly answers the question, he or she chooses a player as well as a person or object and ask the next question.

(45) ATTENTION: Call out commands such as: attention, salute, march in placestop, sit down, stand up, walk in a circle, clap your hands. stop. At first students will copy you but later they should be able to do the commands without you.(46) CAN YOU..? ACTIONS: Use this game for teaching can you .? Yes, I can. no, I cant. these actions are fun: wiggle, dance, run quickly, hop, skip, so a star jump, do a handstand, touch your toes, cross your eyes, snap your fingers, sing., etc. ask a student can you ( cross your eyes)? If the student replies, Yes, I can then say ok, go! And the student does the action. If the student says no, I cant say too bad. Ok can you ?(47) TOILET PAPER ICEBREAKER: Level: Any Level This activity is used as a "getting to know you", icebreaker on the first day of class.

Teacher takes the toilet paper roll and takes several squares of toilet paper, then hands the roll of toilet paper to a student. The teacher tells the student to take some, more than three.

After everybody in the class has some paper, we count the squares we have, then we have to tell that many things about ourselves, in English. This activity works well with substitute teachers also.

The toilet paper is such an attention getter.(48) BASKETBALL: Ss take a shot at the trashcan/box/etc. First ask a question to S1. If she/he answers correctly then she/he can have a shot at the basket. If the S gets the ball in the basket then s/he wins 2 points. If the S hits the basket without going inside then s/he wins 1 point. The person who gets the most points is the winner. This can also be played in teams.

(49) THE SPELLING TRAIN: T. Divides the group in rows, each row is a team. The purpose of the game to spell a Word/words correctly as a team.

Procedure: T hands out a small pieces of paper to first S on each row.

T. shows a flashcard/ realia /picture

Each S has to write just one letter of the word/words shown by the T.

As soon as the first S writes the first letter, the piece of paper to the next on his/her back and so on. The row thats finishes first wins if the Word/ words is /are correctly spelled / spelt.

The S front of row goes to is at the back of row after Word/ words are complete.(50) I SPY: T says, I spy with my little eye something that begins with B Ss try to guess the object (e.g. Book).(51) LAST LETTER , FIRST LETTER: T starts by saying a word, then a S must make a word that starts with the last letter of the word that the T said (ex. Bu --- stea k ---ke y---yellow, etc) . Continue around the class, Row, circle, etc, until someone makes a mistake. (52) WHATS THE TIME MR. WOLF?: Ss stand against the wall of the classroom and the T stands at the front with his/her back to the Ss. The Ss chorus Whats the time, Mr. Wolf? and T replies its (ex 5 oclock). The Ss then take (5) paces towards the T. At one point T replies Its dinner time! and chases the Ss back to the back wall. Any Ss tagged by the teachers have to sit out in the next round.(53) WORD SNAKES ( CHAIN ): Have the Ss sit with the T in a circle. T says a word ( or sentence ) and then the next S repeats that word and adds a new word. S2 then says the 2 words and adds another. Continue going around the circle until the list gets too long to remember.(54) COLORS: T pastes a colorful alphabet on the board and ask Ss to say the color of each letter e.g. "What color is this letter?".

(55) ALPHABET: T says the alphabet and asks Ss to repeat it. After Ss say it T says the first letter of the alphabet "a" and asks a S to say the following letter "b", T says another one e.g. "r" and a S says "s" and so on.

(56) BALL GAME: T throws a ball randomly and the S who catches it must say his/her name. A variation for this game could be to ask Ss to say a color, animal, country, or any vocabulary.

(57) ANIMAL SOUNDS: T says an animal e.g. "It's a cat" and Ss make the noise "meow". To relate animals with sounds. (58) ACTIONS: T tells Ss that if they listen to a number they clap their hands, if they listen to a classroom object they jump and if they listen to an animal they turn around.

(59) NUMBERS: T says a number e.g. "5" and Ss clap 5 times. If the T says the number in Spanish cinco Ss shouldnt clap their hands, if they do they lose.

(60) SNAKE: T says "A" and the S in the front of the first row says "B" and the next one says "C" and so on. If a S makes a mistakes or doesn't remember the following letter the T starts all over again with letter A. it could also be used with numbers.

(61) PANTOMIME: T introduces the new vocabulary with mimic in order to have ss conveying meaning. T asks Ss to mime the words that he/she says.

(62) Telephone line:T whispers a sentence in present progressive to the first S in the line and he/she whispers the sentence to the next in line and so on. E.g. "Youre dancing". The last S says it aloud.(63) BINGO: S gets ready to play bingo by preparing a bingo card on his/her notebook. S divides the page by drawing two vertical lines and two horizontal. Meanwhile T writes on the board the new vocabulary plus words related to the five stores (bookstore, books, magazine, candystore, chocolate, candies, lollypops, shoestore, sneakers, sandals, petstore, puppy, kitten, fish, toystore, ball, kite, doll, robot). Ss choose nine words and places them in the griddle. Using flashcards T says the word at random. Ss check the words in the card, winners