5 Simple Warm-ups
Spring is indeed a trying time for teachers and students alike. I’ve always had something I call the spring mood, when I wish I could shed my skin like a snake and wake up fresh and ready for something new. And when I look at those poor students, I can imagine they feel pretty much the same – and it’s no surprise as literally every living thing wakes up and stretches. Well, the only classroom remedy I know to make students shake the winter off and get into the learning mode is a batch of fresh warm ups. I want to share with you my top 5 warm-ups you can use both online and in a regular classroom:
Word of the day
It’s a very simple warm-up because all you need is one of the words you’re going to introduce during the lesson, e.g. furball. Write it on the board and offer three possible explanations (e.g. 1 – cat’s hairball, 2 – affectionate name for a very hairy baby, 3 – a game where you use a hairy ball). Ask your students to guess the meaning (without looking it up, of course), make a little voting and then reveal the true meaning of the word.
My favourite aspect of this warm-up is that you can introduce a lot of funny, nonsensical or sophisticated words or phrases and chances are that your students will actually remember them! Also – you can ask your students to prepare some words and have them do the actual warm-up. They work, you rest – what’s not to like?
Travel the world
I’ve already shared the ideas on how to use Google Earth, so you can check my previous post, but if you don’t feel like it just visit Google Earth and roll a die – it will take you to a random place in the world. Now all you need to do is encourage an impromptu discussion whether your students would like to visit this site, what would they expect to see there etc.
Music time
Have you tried starting your lesson with music? You can start playing music before your lesson and welcome your students with some cool vibes – give it a go with my Spotify That is Epic list (you can also take a look at some ideas on how to use it in the classroom here). This will probably end up with a short chat about music etc., but it’s all you need to get your students talking. You can also ask them to pick and present their favourite pieces of music and talk about what we like in these songs.
Storytelling
Start the lesson with a short story created by your students! All you need is either three random pictures (you can find them before the class) or, if you teach in a regular classroom, Story Cubes, StoryBits or StoryBits Kids. Just pick three random pictures, divide your students in groups and ask them to create short stories. This will give you a great opportunity to refer to these stories during the lesson, especially as examples while teaching grammar – your students will definitely remember it better!
There’s no such word as random
This is a great activity combining warm-up with energizer and it’s all about lateral thinking. Pick three pictures or words (depending on the age and proficiency of your students) and ask them to find something they have in common. Sometimes it can be very easy, sometimes pretty difficult, but it will help your students’ brains shake off weariness and get ready for some proper learning. With time your students may get really good in lateral thinking, so don’t be afraid to use it while explaining new material, as it will be gradually easier for them to find connections and relations between new chunks of knowledge.
I hope you and your students will like these warm-ups, and if you use other activities, share them in the comments.
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