TEFL Lesson Planning - Warmers That Will Make Your Students Adore You Part II

In a previous article we talked about the importance of including a warmer in TEFL lesson planning and outlined the most important aspects to be included. Here is a summary of what we said the warmer should include:

1. An easy-to-succeed activity.
2. Include continuity from the last class.
3. Physical activity.
4. Physical contact.
5. Co-operation between students.
6. Break the usual classroom layout.
7. There should be an aim to the task.
8. Link into the next part of the lesson.
9. A 5 to 10 minute activity.

But how can we put these things into practise?

To illustrate how, we will go through an example warmer - a classic called 'Grab' - and each time one of the elements above is satisfied, it will be shown in brackets. Lets take an imaginary group of students to give some context:

• Ages: 15-17
• Level: Intermediate
• Number of students: 10
• Previous class teaching aim: should for advise
• Present class teaching aim: phrasal verb forms
• Materials used: flash cards with illustrations of common action verbs

What to do:

• Greet the students.
• Hold up a flash card (e.g. a picture of someone running)
• Ask the students 'What's he/she doing?' (easy to succeed)
• The first student to reply correctly (S1) is asked to come to the front of the class. (activity)
• S1 is given the next flash card and the teacher prompts S1 to ask the class 'What's he/she doing?'
• The first student to reply correctly (S2) is asked to come to the front of the class. (activity)
• S2 then continues with the process.
• When all the students are at the front of the class, the teacher tells the students to form a closely knit circle sitting on the floor. (activity, co-operation, breaking with the classroom layout, physical contact)
• All cards are placed face up on the floor.
• The teacher says an unfinished 'should for advise' sentence with an action verb from a flash card in mind e.g. 'To keep fit you should...' (includes continuity from the last class)
• The teacher, by way of example, then grabs a relevant flash card (running, for example)
• The teacher states that by grabbing the card he/she has won a point. (an aim to the task)
• The game is now set to start, and the teacher gives another 'should for advise' sentence.
• As the students try to grab relevant cards, their hands will collide (activity and physical contact)
• The teacher will often have to peel away layers of hands to find whose is at the bottom of the pile and who is therefore the winner (teacher-student physical contact)
• To keep the card, the winner has to complete the unfinished 'should for advise' sentence appropriately using the verb from the flash card.
• The student who wins the card then has to say the next unfinished 'should for advise' sentence to continue the game (this student does not grab for a card)
• The winner is the student at the end who has most cards.
• The teacher then says 'Thank you. Now please go back to your seats, sit down, pick up a pen and note down what I write on the blackboard.'
• The teacher then writes these very same instructions on the blackboard, and asks the students to say what kind of verbs he has underlined: 'Go back to your seats, sit down, pick up a pen and note down what I write on the blackboard.' (Link into the next part of the lesson - phrasal verbs)

By the time you have finished this warmer, you will have well prepared students, and a very positive cooperative atmosphere in the class. Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention: your students will adore you!

In the next article, we will give a list of different activities that meet all these requirements for a good warmer, all of them great fun, and needing next to no materials.

Adrian Allen is one of the co-founders of http://www.findateacher.es and http://www.buscaprofesor.es which is a bilingual search tool for private teachers to advertise themselves to students. It can be used either for free, or by paying a small subscription fee for better ranking in the database. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Allen

New Teacher Tips - Using Songs to Motivate ESL Students. By Dorit Sasson

Songs for teaching might help you with the big question of how to motivate your students. Songs are fun, help relax the classroom atmosphere, incorporate both reading and listening skills, and in general, are enjoyable! When students see a teacher entering the classroom with a tape in hand, they are suddenly very motivated to learn, especially when it comes to teaching ESL.

Teaching songs should ideally follow a traditional lesson plan. Since they incorporate both reading and listening skills, ESL teachers can weave these skills into their lesson plans. By all means, this lesson plan is not exhaustive.

Lesson Beginnings (Pre)

Teaching songs must involve a purpose for listening. It is up to the teacher to create that purpose. Here are a few ideas for lesson beginnings regarding teaching songs.

1. Show a piece of art work as an example for teaching the song "Starry, Starry Night" as a lead-in.

2. Have students imagine what the world would be like in twenty or thirty years as a springboard to the song "Imagine" by John Lennon. Collect their answers by writing them on the board.

3. Give students the basic vocabulary from the song and ask them to predict what the song might be about.

Now it is time to play the song. Make sure the song is recorded on a good quality cassette. Using CD's are ultimately, much better. Have clear copies with reasonably large font. When choosing a song you yourself like, avoid singers who muffle the words and choose age appropriate themes and lyrics. Use an attractive layout to enrich the visual side of your lesson plan.

Listening to the song itself is the main core of your activity. Play the song at least twice.

Here are a few sample main activity ideas:

1. Delete every seventh word or so to create a cloze activity. Depending on the level of your students, you might want to insert a word bank.

2. Present the students the song with twenty mistakes. Have students circle the mistakes. Depending on the level, you could ask them to correct the mistakes or give them a word bank and have them choose the right word.

3. Give students envelopes with sentence strips. Have them read and if possible, put the sentence strips in the correct order. (The chorus should be in one section) Students check their answers while and after listening to the song.

4. Song Bingo. Have students choose nine words from the song. They mark an X when they hear the word being sung.

Lesson Endings (post)

1. Have students write their own 'imagines' in relation to John Lennon's song "Imagine." Encourage them to share with the rest of the class.

2. Students prepare a memory game based on the words they learned from the song.

3. Students can reflect on how the song made them feel and jot down any random thoughts or feelings for a further classroom discussion.

The most important thing is to have fun!

To receive your free ebook, "Taking Charge in the Classroom" and your free weekly ezine containing tips, news and in-service training sessions for teachers, visit the New Teacher Resource Center at http://www.newteachersignup.com Dorit Sasson is a freelance writer, educator and founder and director of the New Teacher Resource Center. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorit_Sasson