Regular Past Simple Pronunciation Slap the Board Game.

(TESOL Worksheets)
[Embedded below, and on Google (drive, slides, pub), is a PowerPoint document for practicing regular past tense - pronunciation.  It was created to supplement a lesson from the English World 2 textbook, and all the vocabulary in this activity is taken from that lesson.  But since it can also stand on it's own, I'm posting it here.  (Even though some of the vocabulary English World has chosen to highlight is a bit obscure.)  
The first half of the PowerPoint is for presentation.  The second half is practice.  The PowerPoint Presentation is used with four cards that are printed out and posted around the room.  (Google drive, docs, pub).  The students are divided into two teams.   One person from each team comes to the front.  The teacher pronounces a regular past tense, and the students compete to slap the appropriate sound.  (Ideally with fly swatters if available, with their bare hands if not.)
This was for very young beginning students, so I've committed a couple sins here in order to simplify things.  I've written up the phonetic /Id/ sound as /ed/ (to keep it consistent with the spelling), and I've divided the /Id/ sound into /tId/ and /dId/.
Udate--although I've also done a version with adults, that follows more traditional phonemic spelling.  Powerpoint for this version here (drive, slides, pub), and flashcards here (drive, docs, pub).]

/t/

/d/

/ded/

/ted/

Like Likes Scrambled Sentences

(TESOL Worksheets--present simple, subject verb agreement, 3rd person singular s)
Google drive, docs, pub
[Cut up the sentences into different cards. Divide students into groups of 2 and give each group a set of cards and a grid with blanks They have to re-arrange the cards to form correct sentences. Students glue the cards onto the grid. Each group gets one point for each correct sentence. This is designed for very young students who are beginners. It is meant as a follow up to the jump the line activity in the previous post.]

I	like	pizza.
He	likes	soccer.
They	like	bananas.
She	likes	carrots.
We	like	cake.
It	likes	swimming.
You	like	singing.
He	likes	basketball.

Jump the Line Game: Like / Likes

(TESOL Worksheets--Present Simple, Subject Verb Agreement, Third Person S)
Google: drive, slides, pub
Updated Version Here: drive, slides, pub
Like Likes Cards for Slap the Card Game: drive, docs, pub
[At the link above, and embedded below, is a PowerPoint presentation for practicing the like/likes distinction (i.e. the 3rd person "s").  The PowerPoint shows various sentences using like.  The students have to decide if the sentences use "like" or "likes".  If the students decide the sentence uses "like" , they run to the left side of the room.  If they decide the sentence uses "likes", they run to the right side of the room.  This activity is designed for very young learners who are beginning students.]

Present Progressive Tense Use, Continuous, ESL Grammar Fun Game Online


[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   
The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on the present continuous with very young children. In particular, it was useful for practicing subject verb agreement, and selecting the appropriate auxiliary verb (am, is or are).  It was used in a classroom that had a projector and an interactive whiteboard.]

Mad Max: Fury Road

(Movie Review)

The Negatives
*  A mindless action film--the bad guy is irredeemably evil, and exists just for the sake of being evil.   Watching this film does nothing to further your understanding of the human condition.

The Positives
* The greatest mindless action film of all time.

The Review
This was the most intense thing I've seen on the screen.  Ever.  I was completely blown out of my seat.
The thing is pure male id.  (Possibly not ideal for the average female viewer, although I'll leave that determination to the females themselves.)  But definitely not for the faint of heart.
But if you want a movie to wow you like you've never been wowed before, this is it.

Rating
10 out of 10 Stars.  (If all movies were judged on some sort of idealistic scale, probably no mindless action movie would deserve to rank higher than a 5.  But I'm judging this film against it's genre --for a mindless action movie, as a mindless action movie, it just completely blows every other movie you've ever seen out of the water.)

Links
Whisky Prajer's thoughts here.
Fredrik deBoer's thoughts here.  (The fact that both of these gentlemen gave this film such rave reviews was the main reason I was so receptive to seeing it myself.)

Link of the Day
Professor Noam Chomsky - Education is Indoctrination

Falling Leaves. Phonics: Words ending with ck

(TESOL Worksheets--Spelling, Pronunciation, phonics)
[This is a phonics lesson on words ending with the letters "ck" for very young children.  It was created to supplement a lesson in the textbook English World, and the words selected are from the textbook.  Since I believe it can also potentially stand on its own, I'm posting it here as well.  
This game is Falling Leaves.  It's a game I recently got from one of the senior teachers at my school.
First, I review the spelling and pronunciation of the words with the PowerPoint presentation.  (On Google Here (drive, slides, pub), and embedded below.)
Then the students are put into groups, and assigned a color.  
Before class I photocopy the cards on to different color pieces of paper.  I throw these papers up in the air, and the students grab the color for their group.  Then they try to arrange these letters on the sheet I give them beneath the appropriate picture.
I haven't uploaded the pictures to blogger, so the text below doesn't contain the pictures.  But it can be viewed at Google Here (drive, docs, pub).]

cards

s	a	c	k
s	o	c	k
d	u	c	k

Answers:

s

a

c

k

s

o

c

k

d

u

c

k

Find Someone Who: General Verb Tense Review

(TESOL Worksheets--General Verb Tenses)
Google (drive, docs, pub)
[This is a Find Someone Who game specifically designed to review several different verb tenses.  It is based off of a lesson in Lifestyle textbook, and this is a modified version of one of their activities.  Nevertheless, I believe it can stand independently, so I'm posting it here.  It reviews the same verb as the crossword game in the previous post.]

Find someone who…

1. cleans their room every day.  _____________________

2. didn’t have time to eat breakfast yesterday.  _____________________

3. is currently planning a vacation.  _____________________

     

4. was eating dinner at 6 p.m. last night.  _____________________

5. will do the laundry tomorrow.  _____________________

6. has wanted to start exercising more, but hasn’t had the time.  _____________________

7. has always wanted to visit Angkor Wat, but has never been there.  _____________________

8. plans to meet their friends for dinner this weekend.  _____________________

9. is going to eat dinner at soon as they get home.  _____________________

10. hates cooking, but has to do it every day.  _____________________

Verb Tense Review Crossword Game

(TESOL Worksheets--General Verb Tenses)
[This is a crossword puzzle designed to supplement a textbook lesson in which several verb tenses were being reviewed at once.  It was used to supplement the Lifestyle textbook, and thus reflects the verb tenses and the definitions highlighted in that textbook, but I believe it can also be used independently, so I'm posting it here.
At the new school where I'm currently working at now, they've got a lot of really creative ideas for puzzles and crosswords. One idea is to paste the questions around the room, instead of on the paper. So something I've been doing lately with these crosswords is cutting off the questions, and photocopying it with just the crossword blanks. Then the students have to walk around the room to find the questions. This works either as just a way to get the students to walk around the room, or it can also be adopted to a running dictation, where one student sits at their desk, and the other student runs around the room to find the questions and report back.

Apologies to Michael Lewis, who thinks these sort of verb tense definitions are not true, and worse than useless because they give the students false information.  Like many teachers, I have to make the best of the curriculum I have, even when I might disagree with it.  The textbook I have been assigned is making use of these definitions, so I devised this activity as a way to try to make the best of it by at least making it into an activity.

Below are the crossword questions I used.  The Microsoft word version of the crossword questions (to cut up and paste around the room) is on google (drive, docs, pub).  The crossword is on google docs here, and the answers here.  Also, in order to facilitate going over the answers as a class afterwards, I've included the questions and answers on a PowerPoint presentation (drive, slides, pub.]

5 Across→ We use this to talk about past actions with present results, actions or states that began in the past and are still continuing now, and finished actions that happened at an indefinite time in the past.

6 Across→ We use this to talk about current activities or short-term activities.

8 Across→ We use this to talk about finished actions and situations in the past.  They may have happened recently or in the distant past.

1 Down↓ We use this to talk about regular activities, long-term situations, and things that are always true.

2 Down↓ We use this to talk about future plans and arrangements.

3 Down↓ We use this to talk about the background situation in a story, to describe past actions or situations which were in progress at a particular time in the past, or to show two or more actions were in progress at the same time.

4 Down↓ We use this when we talk about intentions and future plans, and when we can see now that something will happen in the future.

7 Down↓ We use this when we're making predictions, when we're deciding something at the moment of speaking, and to make offers and promises.

Sorting Activity: Present Continuous, Gerund, or Adjective

(TESOL Worksheets--Adjective, Gerund, Present Continuous)

Google (drive, docs, pub)

Below are 15 sentences using the “-ing” form.  Some of them are being used as present continuous verbs, some as nouns, and some as adjectives.  See if you can sort them into the correct category.

1. Eating is my favorite thing ever.

2. My teacher is really boring.

3. She’s having a bath now.

4. That movie was amazing.

5. He’s eating pizza.

6. This news report is really surprising.

7. He’s running.

8. Excessive dieting is bad for your health.

9. I really like reading.

10. This book is interesting.

11. Movies are entertaining.

12. They’re watching TV.

13. I’m working right now.

14. Climbing can be a very dangerous sport.

15. Walking is the best form of exercise.

Present continuous	Adjectives	Gerunds (When the –ing forms are used as nouns)

Answers:

1. Eating is my favorite thing ever. (Gerund)

2. My teacher is really boring. (Adjective)

3. She’s having a bath now. (Present continuous)

4. That movie was amazing. (Adjective)

5. He’s eating pizza. (Present Continuous)

6. This news report is really surprising. (Adjective)

7. He’s running. (Present Continuous)

8. Excessive dieting is bad for your health. (Gerund)

9. I really like reading. (Gerund)

10. This book is interesting. (Adjective)

11. Movies are entertaining. (Adjective)

12. They’re watching TV. (Present Continuous)

13. I’m working right now. (Present Continuous)

14. Climbing can be a very dangerous sport. (Gerund)

15. Walking is the best form of exercise. (Gerund)

Present continuous	Adjectives	Gerunds (When the –ing forms are used as nouns)
3. having 5. eating 7. running 12. watching 13. working	2. boring 4. amazing 6. surprising 10. interesting 11. entertaining	1. Eating 8. dieting 9. reading 14. Climbing 15. Walking

Subject object pronouns game
[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on object pronouns with young children.
 The link above I used with young children studying the difference between subject pronouns and object pronouns.  It was used in a classroom that had a projector and an interactive whiteboard.  The class was divided into 2 teams, and competed against each other.]

Adjectives Antonyms Opposites ESL Vocabulary Crocodile Board Game

[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   
The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on adjectives with very young children.  It was used in a classroom that had a projector and an interactive whiteboard. ]

Demonstrative Pronoun Games (This, that, these, those)

[In an effort to keep track of useful materials--so I can find it again when I need it--I'm collecting links to stuff that I've had good luck with using in class. I'm indexing it, along with my own materials, over here and here.   
The above link is to materials that I've used successfully for a lesson on demonstrative pronouns with very young children. It was used in a classroom that had a projector and an interactive whiteboard.]

Present Continuous for Future Arrangements: Schedule Mingling Activity

(TESOL Worksheets--Present Continuous for Future Arrangements)
Google: drive, docs, pub
[This is used to practice the present continuous for future arrangements. The students fill out the schedule.  (There are instructions on the sheet, which I sometimes verbally supplement by telling them to fill in two time slots for each day, and leave one time slot free.)  Then they mingle with their classmates, and try to find a time when they and one other person are free to meet for coffee.  Once they make an arrangement with someone, they write it in their schedule, and that space is no longer free.
I use this as a slightly less controlled follow up to this activity here.]

Write in your schedule.  (It can be your real schedule, or an imaginary schedule).  Make sure you put in at least 10 items somewhere in the schedule.  Then walk around the room and talk to your classmates.  Try to find times to meet your classmates.

	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
Monday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Tuesday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Wednesday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Thursday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Friday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Saturday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________
Sunday	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________	____________________ ____________________ ____________________