IELTS First Day Lesson

(TESOL Worksheets--IELTS)
Google: docs, pub
[I prepared this for a colleague who wanted a standard IELTS First Day Lesson template.  It's a collection of all the activities I usually do on the first day of an IELTS course.  Most of these activities I've already posted on this blog, but now they're all together on one Google document.
This is for a 2 hour class with a 15 minute break in the middle.  For classes with different time lengths, it will need to be adjusted.
The links take you to the activities themselves.]

ICEBREAKER:--20 minutes
 Get to know Your Group--Google Drive link HERE
This has nothing to do with IELTS, but it just based on the assumption that students will be curious about their classmates, and this helps everyone to get to know everyone. 
There’s nothing magical about this activity.  Any other icebreaker can be substituted here quite easily if there is another one you prefer.
This one can sometimes go on forever if you let it, so teacher needs to be strict about the timing.  Recommend setting the time limit at 15 minutes (timing on the sheet says 30 minutes, but recommend changing this).  Allow another 5 minutes for presentations.

Difference between IELTS and General English--10 minutes
Google Drive Link HERE

Cut up the cards and shuffle them.  In groups, students arrange cards into categories for General English and IELTS.
Feedback on Slideshow HERE.

IELTS Needs Analysis--15 minutes
Google Drive link HERE

Students interview their partner.  At the end teacher collects all the papers for later analysis.

Take an early break here--15 minutes

After the break, play:
IELTS Quiz Game--Usually takes about an hour
Google Drive HERE

Pre-Quiz: Put students into teams. (3 teams work best, but could also play with 4).  They choose team name. 
Students have 5 minutes to pool all their knowledge of IELTS.

Each team is given 10 points to start with.
The categories and the numbers are written up on the board, but not the questions.  The teams will chose a category and a number and bet a certain amount of points before hearing the question. If they get the question right, they gain those points.  If they get the question wrong, they lose those points.
Explain to the students beforehand that the difficulty of the questions is at random.  1 is not necessarily the easiest, and 10 is not necessarily the hardest.  Explain to the students that some questions will be very very difficult, and some will be ridiculously easy, and that a certain amount of luck is involved in the game.
This usually takes about an hour.
Various variations are possible.
* Open book quiz (for classes that don’t know anything)
* Mini-white board race (instead of calling on individual teams)

Extra time allowing:
Teacher tells students that extra studying at home will be necessary if they want to move up a bandscale.  Students brainstorm ways that they can study reading, listening, writing, speaking, grammar, and vocabulary at home.  Afterwards each group shares their ideas, and teacher writes up on board.