Friday, March 09, 2018

Zombie Sentences

(TESOL Ideas--Any Grammar Point)

This was something I just came up with on the spot because I had a class of students who I was boring to death, and I needed to shake things up quickly.
But... it worked well enough that I re-used it a couple of times, and I thought I'd add it to my list of activities that can be used for any grammar point.

The students are sitting along the edges of the classroom in a circle.  I am the zombie.  I start walking slowly towards one of the students with my arms outstretched.  They must make a sentence using the target grammar point (or one of the target vocabulary words) before I get to them.  Then they call out the name of another student.  I turn and walk slowly towards the new student.

Examples of grammar points I've recently used:
Present Perfect for Experiences:
"Tom, have you been to China?" "No, I haven't.  Lisa, have you eaten pizza?" "Yes I have, Rick..."
Reported Commands:
"Tom told Lisa to stand up." "Lisa told Mark to go home." "Mark told Rick..."

There are a few variations on how to play.
Some days we play that the student is out when the zombie touches them, and we play until we only have one last man standing.
Some days, when the zombie (me) touches a student, they become the new zombie, and I go back and sit down at my desk.  Then, that student is the zombie until they tag someone else.  (The students occasionally have to be reminded that zombies must walk slowly).
Some days, the number of zombies keeps growing and growing.  When I touch one student, they and me are both zombies.  When we get a 3rd student, then we have three zombies.  Eventually most of the class are zombies.

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