grammar

example sentence

description

‘Was’

past tense be verb

This cap was 2000 yen last week.

Was This Cap 2000 Yen Last Week? Pairwork Speaking/Listening A simple battleship type game where students try to guess the prices their partner has chosen. 15 minutes.

Past Progressive/continuous

I was reading a book then.

Where Were You? Part 1- writing/listening. Individual. Students write an "I was --ing" sentence on a strip of paper and give it to the ALT, who performs the provided dialogue with the JTE, using the strips from the students to fill in blanks in the dialogue. 10 mins. Part 2--Writing/speaking/listening. Pairs. Students write "I was --ing" in the blanks in the dialogue and practice it in pairs. Can also incorporate emotional states into the dialogue. 15 mins. Part 3--Time permitting, Pairs/individual. Some pairs perform dialogue for the class. 5 mins.

Did Maki Watch TV Yesterday? Listening/Speaking A pairwork activity where the students get the missing info on their handout from their partner. 15 min.

Clue: Murder Mystery Game Speaking/Reading Students are detectives and collect clues to help them solve the murder. 35 min.

Murder Mystery Listening/Writing A group activity where someone is the detective and questions group members to find the killer. 25 minutes.

Past auxiliary ‘did’

Did the ball fly into the water?

Did You Eat Ramen? Students will think of “Did you~?” questions. Lunch groups will take turns asking the ALT “Did you ~?” questions. Groups will compete against each other to “score” as many “Yes” answers in as possible within a three minute time limit. In the second round, groups will compete to get “No” answers. 25 minutes

Battleships Students play the popular game Battleships using the grammar point. 15 min.

What Did You Do Last Night? Listening/Speaking A simple pairwork interview game. 10 minutes.

Did You Brush Your Teeth Yesterday? Listening/Speaking Interview bingo game- students ask people in the class questions to complete the bingo sheet then play name bingo. 15 min.

Did You Play Volleyball Yesterday? Listening/Speaking A pairwork boardgame practicing the grammar point. 20 minutes

Did You Do Your Homework? Writing/Speaking Students ask their partner a series of questions trying to get as many yes answers and then no answers as possible. 20 min.

Copular verb ‘look’

You look happy.

This is Nobita. He Looks Happy. Students draw a picture and then use it to practice using the phrase, “He / She looks ~”. 15 min.

He Looks Sassy Writing Students complete the worksheet, first with the correct options then with their own ideas. 15 min.

He Looks Cool. Speaking/writing Pairs. Students ask their partner’s opinion regarding different people and fill out a questionnaire 15 min.

She Looks Happy Writing. Students complete the worksheet. 10 min.

Future tense

I am going to visit Lake Towada tomorrow.

Going Karuta Students play Karuta using time expressions 15 min.

Whatever Will Be, Will Be Students read each other’s palms and tell their partner what they see. 15 min.

MASH a fun game that allows students to predict each other’s future. 25 min. (same game, different worksheet)

The Rain in Spain interview game using future tense and weather vocabulary. 20 min.

Newspaper Game Using the question sheet and a newspaper the students try to answer as many weather questions as they can 20 min.

I Am Going to Have Dinner at Milkyway Speaking/Listening Students get cards with point values on them and walk around asking people questions. Cards are exchanged and points gained and lost. 25 minutes.

Where is Carmen Sandiego? Writing/Speaking Students, in groups, make sentences in order to find out what country the teacher is hiding in. hint sheet world map 35 minutes

I Am Going to Eat a Horse speaking activity. Classic grid activity where students armed with a character card must guess each others’ characters through use of future tense sentences. 15 mins (PDF file) worksheet

Transitive verbs

Show me your passport, please.

Show Me Your Passport Speaking activity. Students make passports and perform the dialogue with each other. 25 minutes.

South Africa passport　American passport　Canadian passport

We call it a moai.

His Friends Call Him Lenny Writing. Students complete the handout. 10 minutes

I Call My Cat Kitty-chan Writing/speaking. Students interview each other to find out what they are called by their family members. 20-40 min.

What Do You Call Kagakusha in English? Writing/Speaking Students complete a chart of various occupations and carry out a dialogue in English with a partner. 25 minutes. 

Please Call Me J-Lo Speaking The students are given identity cards. They then try to fill out their worksheet by walking around meeting the other celebrities. 25 minutes.

Nicknames Speaking/Writing The students walk around and complete a survey of class nicknames. 15 minutes.

Auxiliary verb ‘may’

May I use your pen?

May I Ask You a Favour? Writing/Speaking Students in groups come up with correct ways of asking requests. 30 minutes.

Infinitive verb

I use a computer to play games.

I Want to go Orienteering!: Speaking / Listening. Group. Students are asked to make up sentences using the grammar point. They then take turns saying their sentence and repeating the sentences in the order they are spoken. 10+ min.

I Want to Be Taller Speaking/Listening Pairs Students fill out a form by asking their partner questions. 15 min.

What are your plans for the future? Pairwork, speaking. Standard battleships game, practicing 3^rd person ‘wants to be __________’. 10-15 minutes.

I want something hot to drink. Pairwork, speaking and writing. Mindmaster game, practicing want [noun] to [verb]. 10-15 minutes.

I Went to English Class to Catch a Thief This is a “detective game” where the students must find a thief (from among the characters on the worksheet) by interviewing other students for the missing information. 15 min.

Stop Thief!! Reading/writing Students get clues to help them solve the crime. 25 minutes. Police reports

Apartments Student try to find 8 differences by asking questions about their partner’s picture. 20 min.

Kocho-sensei Wants to Play Tennis Tomorrow Speaking/Listening Students play Mastermind using the grammar point. 25 minutes. 

I Have a lot of Questions to Ask...: Speaking / Listening. Pair Work. Students practice asking and answering “Do you have anything to ~?” questions while playing a fun celebrity secret-identity guessing game. 15-20 min.

I Want to Be a Battleship A battleship game to practice this grammar point. 20 minutes.

I have to speak English now.

I Have To Watch TV Writing/Speaking Students fill in a schedule for the week and then ask their partner what their plan is. 15 min.

Verb Blocks Students make lunch groups. Each group is given a block. JTE numbers the student one to six. All the #1 students roll their dice and make a sentence. The next student rolls the dice and makes a difference sentence. JTE awards points, 10 for a correct sentence, 5 for poorly structured sentence and 0 for no attempt. Each student gets 2 minutes. 15 min.

She Has to Go to Australia Writing Students practise the grammar point by completing the sentences. 15 min.

I Have to Go To Bed at 9:00. Speaking/writing Students interview a partner about things they have to do. 15 min.

Auxiliary verb ‘will’

I will show you her picture tomorrow.

I Gave My Teacher My Homework!: Group. Part 1 - Writing.  Students in groups get  10 envelopes with sentences to reorder. Students reorder and rewrite 10 sentences altogether. Part 2 - Writing. Individual or group. Students write the sentences they reordered  on worksheet 7E in the alternate form. For example: I gave my brother a bike. / I gave a bike to my brother.30 min.

Auxiliary verb ‘must’

You must help your mother

What Must We Do? Students receive a copy of the worksheet. They are asked to match the custom with the country. 10 min.

You Must Bring a Lunch! Students answer a true and false quiz and then write about school rules at their own school. 15 min.

Telephone call

May I speak to Mike, please?

A Telephone Call. Students will listen to and practice the model dialogue. Students change parts of the skit, and perform in front of the class. 35 minutes.

Conditional sentences

If you can go, please call me.

Rampant Consumerism In lunch groups, students fill in worksheet. On student from the lunch group will read out a sentence and the rest of the class must guess whose sentence it is. 20 min

If I am free…Bingo Speaking/Writing Student interview each other to get names for bingo. 15 minutes. (big PDF!)

If You’re Lucky speaking in groups. Board game where the students practice using ‘if’ clauses. 30 min game board

If You Give A Bear A Hug… 　(PowerPoint)Listening/Writing Students are introduced to the conditional ‘if’ and then match one part of the sentence with its counterpart. They then write out the sentences themselves. 20 minutes.

If You Want, I Can Help Reading/Writing Students make sentences using ‘if’ clauses and then go on to write their own. 15 minutes.

If I Had a Million Dollars…. Speaking. Students practice the dialogue and then interview classmates. Supplemented by the lyrics to ‘If I had a Million Dollars…’ 30 minutes.

Verb ‘think’

I think (that) we need a parking area.

Travelling in Canada Board game where the students write questions and then ask various people in the class. 20 min.

I Think Puri-kura is Fun Speaking/writing Pairs. Students interview a partner and ask their opinion concerning various topics. 15 min.

‘When’ conjunction

People complained when a bike fell on Kumi.

Home at Last! Divide the class in two and have each group make a circle. Each player makes a sentence using ‘when’, starting clockwise from the ALT/JTE. If the player cannot make a sentence they move 2 paces backwards. If the player makes a sentence with an incorrect structure, then the player gets a chance to correct the mistake. The team in which all the players have completed making a sentence wins. 15 min.

What Do You Do When You Are Hot? Speaking and listening interview activity. Students walk around the class filling out their survey. 15min.

I Feel Happy When I Study Students match the two columns to make proper sentences then write their own original sentences. 15 min.

When I was in England I saw David Beckham. Speaking/Listening Pairwork gap fill activity 20 minutes.

When He Was In Brazil He Played Soccer. Writing Students make sentences from the words given. 10 minutes.

When I Match Sentences I Feel Happy. Sentence matching. Students match the columns to make plausible sentences. 10 minutes.

When I Eat Lunch, I Use Chopsticks. Writing/Speaking Students complete sentences and then interview friends to find out what they wrote. 25 minutes.

You Should Eat More Fruit!. Writing Students look at the examples on the attached worksheet and try to match up the appropriate advice with the appropriate problem. 15 minutes.

Mad Libs Writing/Reading The students fill in the categories without seeing the story. Then, they are given the story to plug in the words they wrote to create an interesting story. 15 minutes. Good for practicing ‘become/became’

Review

Jeopardy Review Speaking/Listening The students play Jeopardy review the grammar points. 25 minutes.

‘because’ conjunction

I am against the plan because we need our parks.

I Like Japan Because…. Writing Students makes sentences using the grammar point. 15 minutes.

If/When/Because Writing Students complete the sentences by matching up clauses. 15 minutes.

Existence subject

There is a present under the tree.

Is There a Listening Pyramid? Speaking and listening pair work activity. One student reads their path to the other student who checks their answers. 15 min.

Is vs. Are. Writing Students complete sentences by choosing the correct word. 10 min.

There Is a Shrimp in My Soup Writing Students complete the worksheet by choosing the correct verb. 10 minutes.

Half a Picture (PDF) students walk around the room trying to find the other half of a picture taped to their back 15 min..

With Love and Joy Go Fish game that gets the students to use the question ‘Is there…?’ 15 min.

With Love and Joy The students draw pictures in each box to help them remember the story better. 30 min.

What’s Wrong? Each student receives a worksheet with a copy of the text of this section which has mistakes on it. The ALT reads the correct version two times. The first time, the students circle incorrect words. Second time, they write the correct word. 15min.

Is There an Apple on the Table Writing Students choose the correct verb to complete sentences. 10 minutes.

Is There A Ghost in Your Room? Speaking. Battleship-type game using the grammar point. 20 min.

Gerunds

I finished writing this poem.

Let's Enjoy Happy With Me! Part 1 - Writing / Speaking (Interview). Walk around. Students walk around and interview others using the attached worksheet. Part 2 - Students write sentences about the people they interviewed.30 min.

Ayaka Likes Playing the Piano Writing. Students complete sentences using gerunds. 15 min.

Comparatives

& Superlatives

Godzilla is stronger than King Kong

The World Where We Live. Quiz. Listening. Teacher reads off questions about the world. Students try to answer. 10 minutes.

Line-up (PDF) Students in groups/pairs listen to the teacher describing four people. Listening to the descriptions they put the names in order. 15 min.

Comparative Drawing Students listen to the teacher read descriptions of three different scenes and them. 15 min.

Who is the littlest in your family? Students mill around the round asking their classmates questions to complete a chart. 20 min.

Class Survey An individual writing activity. The students fill out a survey about who is the ‘best singer’ etc. and the results are posted at a later date. 15 min.

Who Has The Longest Legs? Listening The students listen to the teacher read out clues about the length of everybody’s legs. The students should write down each hint and the answer to the question, who has the longest legs? 10 minutes

Who’s Who Reading The students read the clues and try to complete the picture with the correct names and ages for everybody. 15 minutes Optional listening version where the clues are read out by the teacher, here. 15 minutes.

Comparison Board Game Speaking The students, in pairs or groups, try to finish the board game before the other using the correct superlative or comparative forms. 15 minutes.

At the Electronics Store reading/speaking a dialogue practicing buying electronics complete with pictures. 30 minutes. Electronic store pictures (big file)

What a Big Family! Reading/Speaking Read and Run. Students in groups, one person at a time must run and read the hint on the sheet of paper and return to the group to tell them. 20 minutes.

Comparatives and Superlatives

This movie is more interesting than that one.

Miffy is More Interesting Than Mickey Writing The students write out their opinion concerning different things then the results are calculated to create a class consensus. 25 minutes.

Who is The Most Interesting Teacher? Students give their opinions in a written questionnaire. 15 min.

Who is The Most Boring Teacher? Listening/Speaking Students ask 3 of their classmates about who they think is the most beautiful, handsome, interesting, exciting, and popular teachers. 20 minutes. Note: the teachers’ names on the worksheet should obviously be changed to teachers at your school. 

More and Most Spoons Reading Based on the card game Spoons. The students, in groups, are given 3 cards each. They try to make a set of three cards of the same word in its three forms. 15 minutes.

Comparanimals Students write sentences using superlatives and comparatives describing animals. 15 min.

Quiz Reading/writing Students read the questions and answer. They then write out the correct answer as a complete sentence. 20 min.

Better Board Game Reading/Speaking Students play a board game in pairs or groups that gets them to use the grammar point. 20 minutes.

Better Interview Writing/Speaking The students interview their partner asking them about their preferences. 20 minutes.

The Dice Game Writing. In groups the students roll dice to select nouns. They then come up with comparative or superlative sentences using those nouns. 30 minutes.

Sudoku Writing Students complete a Sudoku game by writing in comparative and superlative words. 20 min.

What do you think? Writing. Students complete the sentences with their own opinions. 20 minutes.

‘Best’ superlative

Emi is my best friend.

Which Do You Like Better, Bananas or Peppers? Speaking/listening Pairs. Students fill out a questionnaire by asking their partner’s preferences. 15 min.

I Like Picture B Better Than Picture C Get the kids to draw four pictures of whatever you fancy (e.g. dog, horse, person, robot). Then they use the dialogue to get each other`s 1-4 ranking (1 being favourite) which can be put into the scoresheet. Then after the speaking activity they make the sentences at the bottom. 20 min.

Comparison

They fly as high as a bird.

Crossword Students complete a crossword with the appropriate words. 10 min.

As Fat as a Pig Reading Students make sentences using the cut outs. 10 minutes

The Rating GameReading/writing Students read the options and rate them according to which they like best. 30 minutes.

Which is bigger? Worksheet Reading/writing/listening/speaking Student complete a worksheet and then interview each other. 45 minutes.

Auxiliary verb

Shall I show you a bigger one?

Shopping Lingo reading/speaking a dialogue for students to practice buying things. 30 minutes.