firstrunnerup

First Runner-up of The Best Activity for Crowded Classrooms Category
Ayhan Diril, Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi, Tokat

Information about the Teacher
Name of the current institution the teacher is working: Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi
Grade level(s) the teacher is teaching: Beginner
Year(s) of experience as an English teacher: 29
Information about the Activity
Primary Category: Speaking
Students’ English Proficiency Level: Elementary
Students’ Age Group: 20
Students’ Grade Level: University Prep
Purpose of the Activity: To teach pattern sentences which are often used in spoken English. To correct pronunciation, to teach vocabulary,
Class size: 40
Group size: 10
Materials Needed: Cards on which there are sample sentences chosen from films.
Technology Needed: Internet (to pick up sample sentences)
Brief Description of the Activity:
1. As a warm up activity the students can be asked to write some of their favourite questions and answers in any film they like. The teacher picks up these sentences. While the students are handing these to the teacher they can read some of them aloud.
Procedures: Sentence Card Game.
52 or 104 cards are cut beforehand for the game. On these cards there will be sample questions and answers which are often used in daily life. For example: On one of the cards the question can be ‘’How do you feel today?’ On the three cards the answers can be like ‘I feel good. I am fine…etc.
If you want to use 52 cards there must be 13 different questions (1 question 3 answers).The class can be divided in groups of 4 or more according to the sitting positions.
The game begins when one of the players put one of the 4 cards in his hand on the desk (He doesn’t show his card to others). If the sentence is a question the next player checks his cards if he has the suitable answer to this. If the sentence is an answer he checks to see if there is a suitable question to this. If he has, he puts it on this card and picks it up. If there is not a suitable one he puts any card in his hand on the card which is put by the previous student.
At the end whoever gets the most cards wins the game. In order to achieve the goal the players recite the sentences they deal with aloud so that the pronunciation can improve and the sentences are memorized. If the teacher prefers Turkish meanings of these sentences under the English ones it is an option.
This game can also be adopted for teaching phrasal verbs.
2. The students can choose the sentences according to the structure taught in class.
3. After this activity is over, as a revision the teacher can ask students which sentences are in their minds. They can tell these sentences aloud. Or some can tell the questions and others can make a guess of the answers. If each student remembers at least half of the sentences, the goal is reached.