Teaching Activities

When teaching classroom teachers will often look to make the class more interactive.
One-way lecturing without any participation from the students often leads to an
inefficient and boring lesson. But in a dynamic classroom, where students are vocal and
participative they will learn more effectively.

There are many such classroom activities teachers can use to ensure the students learn
efficiently. They are also a good barometer to gauge how much the students have
understood and retained. All these activities will require the students to practically
apply their concepts and articulate their knowledge.

Following is the list of Classroom activities that can make learning fun –

 Think, Pair and Share

 Exit Slips
 Debate
 Free Writing
 Case Studies
1] Think, Pair & Share
This is a good activity to encourage thinking and problem sharing. Here the teacher will
pose a question or a problem at the end of the class. First, the students are encouraged
to brainstorm on their own. Then pair up the students, so they can discuss their ideas
and provide contrasting views. And finally, all pairs can share their observations with
the entire class. This will ensure that students engage with their peers and communicate
their learnings.

2] Exit Slips
Exit slips are a great way to collect feedback from all students. Here the teacher will pose
a general question at the end of the class. All students are required to write down their
answers. The question can be somewhat specific or generalized like “what is the most
important thing you learned today?” or “what still confuses you in this topic?”. Such
prompts will help student process the information they gathered during class and
integrate the data.

3] Debate
Staging a debate is a great way to enhance the conceptual clarity in students and
sharpen their reasoning skills and abilities. The debate can be pairs or can be in teams.
Asking students to take an opposing view to their beliefs also forces them to look at he
lessons from another perspective. This is beneficial for students in the long run as well,
being out of their comfort zones.
4] Free Writing
Here the students are given one to two minutes to pen down their thoughts on one
particular point or prompt given by their teacher. This can be done anytime during the
lesson as per the teachers wishes. It will help the students articulate their thoughts and
force them to do some critical thinking. It also helps the teacher understand the
students perspective and the depth of their understanding.

5] Case Studies
Case studies allow the students to apply their new found knowledge to a real-life
situation or scenario. It sharpens their problem solving skills. They must analyze the
situation and start working towards the presented problems using their skills and
knowledge. And they must also establish their criteria or motivation or thinking behind
their answers/solutions. It helps develop their critical thinking, decision making and
other valuable skills.

There are many other interactive classroom activities the teacher can employ in the
classroom. Demonstrations, plays, watching documentaries, role play, games such as
scrabble, puzzles, etc. The teacher must pick the best activity as per the lesson and the
characteristics of the students. As long as they engage the students and develop their
soft skills while sharpening their knowledge, the job is done.

Another 10 Fun Classroom

Activities to Help Students
Practice Speaking English
This collection of fun games and role play activities for English language teachers should arouse
some enthusiasm after a vocabulary drill or new grammar study. As the sequel to the previous
article 10 Fun Classroom Activities to Help Students Practice Speaking English, these
exercises are aimed at helping your students get to know each other better and practice speaking
with confidence in the ESL classroom. English classes of all sizes and ages can get involved,
meaning adults, children, parents, tutors and school teachers can all participate. The activities can
be used as time allows or if you want to focus on learning a specific skill such as speaking or
practicing new vocabulary.
Face Game
If your students do not know already then first teach them the following parts of the face: forehead,
chin, ear, eye, nose, mouth. Now, ask the students to make fists with both hands and touch their
ears. On the first round, you play the role of the leader and say: ear, ear, ear – forehead (or a
different part of the face from the list above). The third time that you say ear, say it more slowly, so
that other players know that you are about to switch. When the new part is called out (in this
example, forehead), everyone must quickly move both of their fists from ear to forehead at the same
time. If anyone, including the leader, touches any part of the face other than the forehead is the loser
and takes over as the new leader. As punishment, the loser must share their views on any subject of
your choosing with the class.

Fast Food Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires two students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. One
student will act as the manager of a fast food restaurant. The other will act as a student looking for a
part-time job. The restaurant has advertised a part-time vacancy, so the student has come for an
interview. The two should try to develop a lively yet formal conversation of the job duties, employee
benefits, and the student’s qualifications and experience before the manager reaches his/her
decision. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: wages, salary, personality, official duties,
and position in a job.

Travel Agency Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires two students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. One
student will act as an agent in a travel agency. The other student will act as a customer. The
customer wants to take a trip to Australia for two weeks and asks for help from the agent about the
travel route, airplane tickets, hotel rooms, places of interest, etc. The students should try to keep the
conversation lively. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: peak season, airlines, double
room, single room, economy, first class, one way ticket, and roundtrip.

TV Discussion Panel Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires any number of students. Ask for volunteers or select from the
class. Each student will select and play the role of a current or historical political figure such as:
Barack Obama, Abraham Lincoln, the Dalai Lama, John Lennon, Arnold Schwarzenegger, etc. You
will acts as the host of a TV discussion panel in which each of the famous political personalities
participate. Begin the discussion by asking one of the students what they think about the future of
America. After the first student has answered, each of the other students can give their opinions.
The students should try to enliven their answers by using the person’s typical mannerisms and
accent if possible. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: improve, capitalism, free market
economy, thoughts, peace, and get along with one another.
Guessing Game
Using vocabulary the students have learned recently, prepare some cards with one word written on
them. During class, select one of the cards without showing the students what is written on it. The
students will try to figure out what the word is by asking questions, which you will answer. They may
only ask “yes-no” or “choice type” questions such as: is it something you can eat? Is it made out of
paper? Is it a thing or a person? Is it an animal? Can it move? Is it something we can use? The
students can guess what is written on the card whenever they think they have enough information.
Anyone who guesses right wins a piece of candy or another reward provided by you. Then go to the
next card.

Company Employees Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires four students who will act as employees who work in the same
company. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. Person A joined the company just two weeks
ago. He/she has an MBA and takes work very seriously. Person B is an average employee who is
fed up with the job after working there for ten years. Person C is an easy going person who has
been working there for four years. The fourth student will act as the director of the office, Person D.
A is working hard to finish a report due today but can’t concentrate because B and C are talking and
laughing loudly. A asks them to keep the noise down and tells them to act more professionally in the
workplace. This causes B to begin arguing with A while C tries to calm the situation. The director will
walk in during the heated argument. Each student should think about what they would say and act in
his or her role. Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: Master of Business Administration,
be cocky, be serious, quarrel, and lecture somebody for wrongdoing.

Piece Together a Narrative

Copy each sentence below on a card, and give each student one or two cards in random order. The
students must memorize the sentence on their card(s) and then hand the cards back to you. The
students take turns to recite their sentence(s) to the class. After all students have spoken, the whole
class must work out the correct sentence order to make the completed narrative.

 Everyone says exercise is good for your health,

 but I really don’t like doing exercise.
 No matter if it’s basketball or football,
 all types of ball sports are just running around a field.
 Think about it, after every time you run and jump, don’t you feel hot and thirsty?!
 I also don’t understand why so many people like watching sports games.
 Besides, does it really matter who wins and who loses!
 There’s also swimming.
 Of course, you won’t get hot from swimming,
 but as soon as you’re not careful then you could swallow water.
 The conditions aren’t good and you could die!
 Perhaps it’s only dancing that’s good.
 You can listen to a good song and dance at the same time;
 If you want to go fast then go fast,
  if you want to go slow then go slow,
 it’s so much better!
Shorten or lengthen the narrative according to the number of students you have in your class.

Musical Chairs Game

Ask your students of they know any songs in English. If not, then teach them a simple pop song,
children’s song, or something suitable for the current holiday season. Make space so that the
students can place their chairs in a circle with one chair less than the total number of students. The
game starts with the students circling around the chairs, singing the song they have just learned.
When you say ‘stop!’ every student should quickly take a seat. The one student left standing is the
loser of this round. As a punishment, he or she must describe some important events in their life to
the class and then he/she is out of the game. Remove one chair and start the game again. Repeat
until only one player is left. Declare him/her as the winner.

Celebrity Name Game

Before class, prepare cards with names of well-known celebrities on them, one per student. The
names should be easily recognizable to the students. Give each student a card and ask them to
describe the person on his/her card to the class. Ask the students to add humor to their description
by using the celebrity’s mannerisms. Their description may begin with statements such as: I’m male
and over 6 feet tall. I have blonde hair. I recently married a famous singer. The rest of the class will
guess the person’s identity. Split the class into two teams to add some healthy competition. Some
useful supplementary vocabulary includes: bald, belly, blonde-haired and blue eyed, and wear
glasses.

Exchange Student Role Play

This role-playing exercise requires two students. Ask for volunteers or select from the class. One
student will act as a curious young foreign exchange student. The other will act as his or her tutor.
The student saw some advertisements for the upcoming presidential campaign. In class, he/she is
asking the tutor questions such as: How does your country elect a president? Who is allowed to
vote? Can anyone run for election? Some useful supplementary vocabulary includes: family
background, popularity, reputation, record of formal schooling, qualifications, promise to undertake,
and conditions.