Summary
Highlights
Questions to a Partner00:00:22
Prepare different sets of questions for Student A and Student B, encouraging them to ask and respond to each other. This activity maximizes student talking time.
Survey00:00:49
Create a list of questions for students to ask different classmates as they walk around the room. This promotes interaction and allows students to move.
Speed Dating00:01:09
Students sit with partners, ask several questions from a list for a minute or two, then switch partners. Encourage follow-up questions for more natural conversation.
Running Sentences00:01:48
Students collaboratively continue a story or an idea, with each student adding to the previous one. This is also great for practicing conditionals.
Deserted Island00:03:33
Students draw something, then are told they are on a deserted island and must persuade others why they should survive based on their drawing. They prepare arguments and plead their case.
Taboo00:03:08
Students explain a given word without using specific forbidden words. Scaffold the activity by first allowing helper words, then removing them to increase difficulty.
Two Truths and One Lie00:04:49
Students write two true statements and one false statement about themselves. Classmates then ask questions to guess the lie. Split students into groups to maximize participation.
Alibi00:06:23
Students work in groups to create an alibi for a fictional crime. 'Investigators' interview group members separately to find inconsistencies, promoting detailed storytelling and questioning.
Hot Seat00:07:53
One student sits with their back to the board (the 'hot seat'). Other group members are given a word or phrase and must explain it to the 'hot seat' student without saying the word itself. Can be competitive.
20 Questions00:08:30
The teacher (or a student) thinks of an object, person, or place, and students ask up to 20 yes/no questions to guess what it is. Use groups to increase student talking time.
Secret Zombie (Bonus Activity)00:08:54
Before class, prepare paper strips with 'H' (human) or 'Z' (zombie), with a few 'Z's. Students have conversations and secretly shake hands. If a zombie rubs a human's hand, that human becomes a zombie. Students try to determine who the zombies are.