The Little Magic Box of Words

I’ve been teaching for a decade yet I still write short lesson plans, like this:

Intro: 10 min

Reading (p.x ex.y) : 20 min

Speaking: 15 min… Etc.

However, I always have to be prepared when the students finish the task quicker than I expect, and suddenly I end up with 10-20 minutes and no idea what to do (there are days when you simply can’t be creative on the spot). To avoid this embarrassing situation I always have my little magic box of words.

I took little pieces of paper (post-its would do) and wrote different words on them. Depending on the level, the words may vary, but since it’s my last resort, I don’t use it often enough to customise the set – the words focus on everyday life and common objects, food, jobs etc. Now, using the same words I can come up with a lot of exercises for different groups of students.

Starter/ Elementary: pantomime, pictionary

Pre-intermediate: one person defines/describes the word, other students try to guess it

Intermediate: taboo game (similar to the definition one, but you’re not allowed to use certain words)

Upper-Intermediate: taboo, making synonyms, writing a short poem about the word etc.

So, as you can see, a little box of simple words can be very useful in need 🙂

Indeed 🙂