Larry Slater

Having one team choose a word and then telling the other team a word that rhymes with the chosen word play this game. For example: if the chosen word is ‘hot’, then the word given to the other team could be ‘pot’. The other team would have several guesses to discover the chosen word. If [...]

Simulate a telephone conversation. Use an old telephone to give it some theater. Choose two students as talkers. On the board have pictures that represent what one of the talkers must talk about. The other talker must respond accordingly. The number of pictures determines the length of the conversation. To make it very interesting, both [...]

Here’s one that will help in teaching words that rhyme. As you say words such as rule and mule, slap your hands against your thighs and then clap them together. This creates a one-two beat. As in the example: ru-le, mu-le, etc. This same beat can be used with three syllable words where you stomp [...]

The teacher says two sentences and a student must determine whether they were the same or different. Make sure you say the sentences in as exactly the same way as possible.
“You are big.”
“You are big.”
The same.
“I am tall.”
“I am small.”
Different. So don’t just use sentences but also use minimal pairs as well. (Example: Leaf – [...]

Two teams are used. A student from one team is instructed to touch or point to an object and ask “What’s this?” or “What’s that?” The student next to them must answer by making a complete sentence like: “It’s a clock.” or “It’s your watch.” If the student is wrong than a point is taken [...]

Collect a number of items that can be put up for sale. Place a price tag of a certain number. You use buttons for currency. A is worth two buttons. A crayon is worth 1 and a piece of paper is worth 3 buttons, etc. Give the students a certain number of buttons to purchase [...]

Try to count everything as you touch it. Count the buttons on a shirt as you touch them. Count paper clips as you put them into a box. Every time you see a number have the student say the word for that number. If there are a number of items of anything, count them as [...]

Make a clock by fastening clock hands onto a paper plate using a string. Add numbers to the clock, preferably 3,6,9,12. Now list a daily schedule that the student keeps. Show the time on the clock. For a digital readout, just write out the time before the event. Example: 7:30 – Breakfast. 8:00 – Go [...]

Teach a word and teach its opposite at the same time. If you are trying to teach ‘up’ then also teach ‘down’. Left then right. Open then close. Short than tall and so on.

Both you and a student have a toy car. As you roll the car along the table or floor or wall or whatever, make up a commentary of where you are and how the car is going. (Example: The car going fast. The car is under the table. The car is beside Tom.) The student [...]

Each student whispers a simple thing for the next student to do. For example: Smile, Sit down, Stand up, touch you head, etc. The student must then act out the directions.

Make up a scrapbook with each page dedicated to one letter. On the page collect and paste pictures of things that begin with that letter. Select pictures that only begin with the simple sound and not the compound sound, i.e. sail and not shell.

Letters represent sounds but this may not be easy for a student to understand. Have the student give their name. As you say the name have the student think of which letters makes the correct sounds. You can have letters such as those furnished with scrabble or other games. Have the letters laid out face [...]

Not everything is viewed from the side. Think of something that everyone knows the name of; let’s say a tree. Draw two pictures of a tree on two cards; one picture is your standard side view the other may be one from above the tree. Now show the students first the card with the view [...]

Get a large manila envelope and a piece of cardboard that just fits into it. Find a large picture of just one item that will fit on the cardboard and paste it on. Put the cardboard in the envelope. When you are in front of the class, begin to pull out the picture in stages. [...]

As you go around the room, have each student ask a question of the student next to him. The only words they can’t use is yes or no or maybe. For example:
Q. “Are you hungry?”
A. “I am hungry.”
Q. “Do you like hamburger?”
A. “I like hamburger.”

While this is not a competitive game, it is a very useful way to teach What, Where, When, How and Why. These words will cover a lot of the questions your students will ask in their usage of English.
Start our by asking your students simple questions. These can be answered with one word such as:
“What [...]

How can you teach a student sounds? Well, here’s a very useful game to do just that. The teacher says a word and then asks a student what sound the word started with (or ended with or what sound is in the middle of the word). The student gets one chance and receives a point [...]

Collect ten small objects from the students and place them in a box. As you put them in the box, have the class see them and say what they are. Put your hand into the box and grab hold of one object but do not show it to the class.
Teacher: “What do I have in [...]

Hold up pictures that exemplify a single concept; something like running or swimming. Make up a simple sentence about the picture and tell it to the class. If it is true then the class will repeat the sentence back to you. Here you as the teacher can compete against the class. If the class repeats [...]

As you are leaning the names of the body parts, this little ‘art project’ might be fun to do. A large piece of paper is folded into fifths. The teacher tells the first student to draw a head on the paper. The next student is told to draw hair, the next eyes, the next a [...]

Over, under, right, left. Here’s a fun way to teach these direction words. Divide the kids into teams. Have them form a line. Give the first person a ball of some kind, the bigger the better. Now instruct them that they are to pass the ball to the person behind them. They are to do [...]

While this activity takes up a lot of space, it is truly a total learning experience. Divide the group into teams. Have each team decide upon a letter or number. Then have them lie on the ground and create the letter or number with their bodies. They can grab onto each others wrists and ankles. [...]

Get some very cheap paper (newsprint) and a marker. Set the kids down and have them think of a word that says something about their school using the letters of the alphabet. (Example: Average school (not the greatest to use for your school but it works), Bad school, Cool school, etc.). You can use other [...]