The first lesson with a new class is exciting not only for the teacher, but also for the students. The teacher has several tasks: to create a warm, friendly atmosphere in the classroom and to determine the level of English in children. It is important to understand the age of the group in order to select tasks that are appropriate in meaning. But games in the classroom are considered the best start!
They help to defuse the situation and are aimed at well-coordinated work in a team, which will help develop team spirit and responsibility. Thus, the teacher can unobtrusively check the basic grammar and vocabulary, as well as understand how best to split children into pairs or groups for further fruitful and comfortable lessons. We have prepared children's games, for online and offline lessons. Moving from simple to complex, you can accurately and discreetly test students' knowledge, as well as create a friendly atmosphere.
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"One, two, three"
An easy game built on attention. Suitable for children with elementary level. Ask the children to stand in a circle or write the sequence in the chat if the lesson is online. Students should count aloud in English, skipping multiples of three, and instead they should say their name.
For example:
The first says: " One."
Second: " Two."
The third says his name: " Olya."
And the fourth continues the count: " Four."
The game is fast-paced, and those who lose count leave the competition until there is only one winner.
"What's your name?"
This is a great way to prove that learning vocabulary doesn't have to be boring. Each child says their name and adds an adjective to it that begins with the same letter. If you are not sure that the children have such a vocabulary, then as a warm-up for this game, ask them what adjectives they know to describe a person and write it on the board, adding those that the children have forgotten.
The game looks like this:
The girl says: " I am beautiful Barbara."
Her classmate continues, " I am smart Sonya."
And the boy replies: " I am kind Kirill."
"Indian nicknames"
An original game for kids to get to know each other. The participant takes turns calling the name, and the rest of the class should come up with an interesting Indian nickname for him.
For example:
The girl begins: “ I am Barbara. »
The rest offer options: “ Beautiful bird, black bear. »
Try to help the guys with nouns or adjectives if the game gets stuck. The winner is the one who came up with the maximum number of nicknames. Count the points of the participants.
Facts
We consider this activity in English as a warm-up for the next one. The teacher writes 10 facts about himself on the board and gives the children 30 seconds to memorize them. Then he erases them. The task of the children is to remember and name as many facts about the teacher as possible. Ask students to say sentences using she to make the game more difficult . This way they will remember the endings for the Present Simple tense.
"Common ground"
We organize joint work so that the guys learn to communicate. The idea of how to study or reinforce in practice the topic " hobby ". Divide the class into small groups of 3 or 5 people. Ask them to write down on cards the facts that they have in common. The most obvious one, such as the general teacher, can be omitted. The team that has the most in common wins.
"Giving gifts"
This game can be used to practice speaking in English. The task of the participants is to give each a gift and say why.
For example:
"I'd like to give Masha a bike to ride in the park."
Guess the question
Use it to make grammar fun and practice questions in English. Write answers to different questions:
- moscow,
- english teacher,
- cat,
- blue,
- watching TV.
The task of the children is to name the questions, the answers to which they see:
- Where do you live? / Where are you from?
- What do you do?/ What's your profession?
- What is your favorite animal? / What pet do you have?
- What is your favorite colour?
- What is your hobby?/ What do you usually do in the evening?
If the guys can do it quickly and the lesson time allows, then ask them to write several answers in turn, so everyone will be the leader.
Throwing a ball
The perfect game to practice any English tense. The structure of sentences in English is puzzling, especially in the construction of questions. Try to make this process fun, and the grammar lesson will be easy and humorous.
You need a ball to play. The task is to throw the ball to each other by asking a question that the other player has to answer. Gradually, the pace of the game can be accelerated and adapted to any grammatical topic.
Possible questions:
- When is your birthday?
- Where do you study?
- What is your favorite film?
- What were you doing yesterday?
- What will you do tomorrow?
"The first letter"
A game that allows you to keep children's attention on vocabulary, grammar and speech. Therefore, it is suitable for guys with a confident level of Elementary. The student who starts first is selected. The task is to answer the questions using the first letter of your name.
The conversation might look like this:
Teacher: "What is your name?"
Student: "My name is Diana."
Another student: "Where are you from?"
Diana: "I'm from Dmitrov."
Classmates: "What do you do?"
Girl: "I'm a dentist."
Teacher: “What is your favorite color? »
If Diana finds it difficult to answer, she returns to her place with 2 points for each answered question. The players then take turns taking their place. The winner is the one who scored the maximum number of points.
Conclusion
The games on this list are great not only to introduce children, but also if students already know each other, and teachers see for the first time. Such active exercises help to show that learning a language is not a boring memorization of rules and tasks from a textbook, but also a necessary tool in communication with peers. This approach will reveal the personality of the student in the classroom, to which he will begin to go with pleasure.
If you want to know more activities for elementary students, we recommend reading the article, where there is a complete list of fun activities distributed according to the class.
We hope you found the perfect exercises for your students in our article and look forward to your feedback in the comments.
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If you want to better understand the lesson plan in English and the sequence of tasks, then we suggest you improve your skills with the help of the TEFL / TESOL course. After completing the course and receiving an international certificate, you will be confident in the effectiveness of your classes and will be able to come up with your own tasks based on the purpose of the lesson. To get the most profitable TEFL / TESOL course and get a certificate, follow the link.