When a class needs a little pick-me-up, this is the perfect lesson. Students have to get active to play this game - in small groups, students compete against each other to be the first to identify words that rhyme. The words from the worksheet are laid out randomly on a table, one student calls out a word and the others struggle to SLAP the other words that rhyme.

    For similar style lessons, see:

       Rhyme Time 1 Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 19
       Rhyme Time 3 Lesson Collection Set #3 - Lesson 30
       Rhyme Time 4 Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 30
       Rhyme Time 5 Lesson Collection Set #4 - Lesson 23     -and-
       Rhyme Time 6 Lesson Collection Set #5 - Lesson 26.

    A massive discussion generator, The Marriage Counselor gets students to role play a happily married couple (who have been bickering a lot recently) and a marriage counselor who tries to get them to talk about their problems.
    The problems that this couple share are fairly common ones that people bicker about. There are 36 "complaint" for the husband and wife, 18 each.
    For example, the husband says: "She's always late for everything and makes me wait for her," or the wife says: "He's always inviting friends to our house but he never tells me they are coming."
    Together, with the "counselor," the couple try to work through their problems.
    Complaining, agreeing, disagreeing, discussing and offering advice are all involved with this lesson. Students will have to listen carefully to each other and the counselor must keep a written record of the counseling session.
    The download includes several sets of cards and a Counselor's Report worksheet.
    There is an easier version available. It's called Marriage Counselor from Lesson Collection Set #3 - 12.

     This lesson can be used for just about anything - vocabulary development, verb practice, sentence construction ---- you decide how to use the dice.
    Students make their own dice, either four, six, *eight or *ten-sided, using the templates from the worksheets Then, depending on what element of English the students need to learn, review or practice, words can be written on the dice faces and used in an almost limitless number of games.
    This lesson is not only for kids! Adults will have a really fun time, too. Getting students physically involved with language learning is very important to help them learn naturally.

    * Templates for the eight and ten-sided dice are available for members of EFL4U.com who have purchased the complete Lesson Collection Sets.

Some suggestions as to how to use these dice:

Vocabulary builders

Category games (fruits, vegetables, countries, etc.)

Truth or Dare game

Progressive Story Telling (each student adds a word or phrase to a story)

Commanding classmates to do things (sing a song, run to the blackboard, etc.)

Time or Date practice (8:30am, 9:46pm, last month, two weeks ago, etc.)

Jeopardy - students write answers and others come up with the questions

Two-word verb practice

Literally hundreds of other ways to use these dice!!

    This is another "psychology test," in which students have to choose among four things that occur at the same time - each with their own "psychological" interpretation. Using the conditional use of "would" to make their choices, students then explain the reasons behind their choices.
    There are four situations illustrated on the worksheet. 1) The phone is ringing. 2) Someone is at the door. 3) The baby's crying (and needs attention). 4) It's starting to rain and the clothes are getting wet.
    Since everything begins to occur at the same time, students must decide what they would do first, second, third and fourth. Each situation has a "psychological interpretation."
    No one can remain complacent while doing this lesson. After prioritizing one's choices and learning the hidden "psychological" meanings, students are guaranteed to strongly agree or disagree with the results. To do this, they'll have to use English!!
    This lesson is a wonderful ice-breaker or wrap up at the end of a class. Everyone will have an opinion, about themselves and their classmates. A very fun and natural generator of conversation.

    In pairs, students ask each other a set of six "Why Weren't You...?" questions which are listed on the worksheet.
    For example:
      "Why weren't you dancing at the party last week?"
      "Why weren't you sleeping when I called? It was after 3:00 p.m.!
      "Why weren't you waiting for me after class? I told you I might be late?"

    To answer the questions, students need to listen to each other carefully as well as think of a good reason.
    Partners rate the reasons according to their believability and the final score is written at the bottom of the worksheet.

    There are three other similar worksheets available. They are:
      Why Were You...? in Lesson Collection Set #3 - 1.
      Why Did You...? in Lesson Collection Set #3 - 18.
      Why Didn't You...? in Lesson Collection Set #1 - 7.

    Another lesson in the Tom Swifties series. These are slightly more difficult than the first two sets, but with a little persistence, students should not only be able to figure them out, but enjoy the wacky humor as well.
    What's a Tom Swiftie? Here are a few from the worksheet:

      My shoulder has popped out of its socket,˛ Tom said disjointedly.
      That large bird looks pretty sick,˛ he said illegally.
      This halibut is excellent,˛ he said he said superficially.

    Tom Swifties are a fun way to pick up new vocabulary while working with adverbs. Once students catch on, they will probably be throwing Tom Swifties around for weeks!
    For similar style lessons, see:

      Tom Swifties (See 7a above.) -and-
      More Tom Swifties (See 7b above).

    A great pair work activity to practice adverbs and adverbial phrases of frequency. Students will also use first person and third person. The lesson has two worksheets.
    This is a double (or even triple) pair work activity where students first ask each other "Do you ever...?" questions. This is followed by "How often do you...?" questions and finally there is a "How often is...?" question.
    For example,
      Q: "Do you ever eat junk food?"
      A: "Yes, I do."
      Q: "How often do you eat junk food?"
      A: "I often eat junk food."
      Q: "How often is often?"
      A: "I eat junk food three or four times a week."

    A very practical and fun pair work activity to collect information, discuss backgrounds and develop friendships. Students will eventually create an 8-page portfolio with extremely detailed information about one other student in class.
    In pairs, students ask questions about their partner's background in order to collect a whole lot of information which will eventually compose a detailed Personal Profile.
   But this is only the beginning - there are a total of eight (8) worksheets that will complete the Personal Profile lesson.
    Little by little, students will build an extensive profile of their partner including information about his/her birth, education, family, travel experiences, first time experiences, best friends, self-characterization, desires, habits, personal preferences and on and on.
    Perhaps the greatest element of this lesson is the natural conversation and discussion that ensues when students start talking about themselves and asking their partner questions.

    There are six additional worksheets in this collection:

       Personal Profiles 3 & 4 (Lesson Collection Set #3 - Lesson 6).
       Personal Profiles 5 & 6 (Lesson Collection Set #5 - Lesson 28) -and-
       Personal Profiles 7 & 8 (Lesson Collection Set #4 - Lesson 7).

    Students work together in pairs or groups to think of words that fit a selected topic and that also begin with a pre-determined letter. For example, the topic might be: Something in a restaurant. The chosen letter might be "L." Students try to think of anything in a restaurant that begins with the letter "L," i.e., Linguini, Lobster, Ladle, Lettuce, Lima beans, Lemonade, Lamp, etc.
    Another example topic might be: Something scary. The chosen letter might be "D." Students try to think of scary things that begin with the letter "D," i.e., Dracula, Darkness, Doberman pinschers, devils, dungeons, etc.
    This worksheet can be used over and over - there are six topic lists and students only use one of the lists at a time. Each topic list can be played in three rounds for a total of eighteen really fun lessons.

    Students will learning a lot about each other, but not only in the traditional sense. In this lesson, students ask and answer questions, BUT three of the answers will NOTbe true! Students try to convince their group mates that they are telling the truth for all of the questions (but everyone knows before hand that only seven of the ten answers will be true).
    Everyone must answer 10 questions; seven of them will be true and three of them will be false. In order to detect the true answers from the false ones, students will need to closely inspect their group mates' faces, gestures and vocal control in order to tell. They may also want to ask follow-up questions just to be sure.
    This is a game, but like poker, keeping a straight face and building a bluff are often more revealing of a person's real character than the actual answers.
    Believe Me! is a wonderful activity for students of all ages to use English in a natural and fun way.

    Similar to the above lesson, but this one includes some Tag Questions. Once students are familiar with the way this lesson works, they're guaranteed to have a good time trying to read the truth or falsity of their group mates' answers.
    As with Believe Me! above, seven of the questions will be answered truthfully and three of them will be answered falsely. In order to detect the true answers from the false ones, students will need to closely inspect their group mates' faces, gestures and vocal control. They may also want to ask follow-up questions just to be sure.
    Believe Me! and Believe Me! (2) are wonderful lessons for students of all ages to use English in a natural and fun way.

    Halloween is a great time for parties, visiting haunted houses and listening to (and/or watching) scary ghost stories. This worksheet offers students the chance to create their own really scary ghost stories.
    Pairs of students create a ghost story using this worksheet to help them organize their thoughts. It also assists them with how to proceed from simple sentences to easy paragraphs. Using simple past tense verbs, students will be able to improve their storytelling skills with descriptive adverbs and adjectives.
    Following the simple outline on the worksheet, students can not only practice their creative writing skills, but there is ample opportunity for students to create the story together which involves discussion, agreeing and disagreeing with each other.

    A wonderful Halloween lesson to keep your students busy and having fun while learning.
    Working in pairs, one student helps the other student get through a maze by giving directions. Students will have to work together closely or they may just end up getting completely lost somewhere in the depths of this Halloween Maze.
    The Teachers' Instructions offer a variety of variations so that just about any student will gain English skills with this fun, yet educational activity.
    This lesson is particularly flexible, it can be adjusted to fit the needs and interests of just about any level of English proficiency - and it's really fun. Two of the variations include: The Blaster and Knock, Knock.

    For other Halloween lessons, see:
     The Ghost Story Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 12
     Halloween Word Circle Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 30b -and-
     Trick Or Treat Lesson Collection Set #5 - Lesson 19.

    Having a lot of fun answering questions such as:
      What would you do if you could fly? or
What would you do if you saw a ghost sitting next to you on the train?
    Most of the questions are pretty strange and students will start laughing right away. Meanwhile, they will be building fluency with conditionals and third person pronouns.
    Everyone has fun and students are automatically motivated to explain themselves to their partners with this all time favorite lesson.
    Here are a few other What Would You Do...? questions:
      What would you do if you realized that you were invisible?
      What would you do if you heard your dog singing an English song?
      What would you do if you could time travel?

    There are eight What Would You Do If...? questions on each worksheet for a total of 16 odd, even weird questions that are intentionally bizarre in order to stimulate students' creativity.

    A very active and fun board game to practice a variety of English language skills including: spelling, writing, counting and giving directions.
   This lesson is definitely NOT for teachers who prefer a quiet classroom.
    Students play this game in groups. Rolling a die, one student lands on a square and the group mates assign something for him/her to do. Afterward, the play advances to the next student. The winner is the student who reaches FINISH first - but to get there, he/she will have to perform various tasks.
    The seven categories are:
    Actions
      Touch the blackboard with your right elbow.
      Walk around the desk.
      Hop on one foot for 30 seconds.
      Walk backwards.
      Brush your hair.
      Close your eyes and spin around 12 times
    Numbers
      233,874 € 47,091 € 3,674,602 etc.
    Words
      Chimney, November, calendar, etc.
    Questions
     What's your name? How old are you? Whošs your favorite actress, etc.
    Writing
      Encyclopedia, Furniture, Cookie, etc. -OR- The big, green frog jumped over the lily pad, etc.
    Drawing
      Draw a cat next to a dog. Draw a cloud behind a mountain. Draw a sunset over the ocean. Etc.
    Saying
      Days of the week, the alphabet, months of the year, the names of five different animals, seven of the States, three recent movie titles, six words that begin with the letter G, etc.

    Sports can be confusing; for example, do you play boxing or do boxing or just box? How about tennis, golf and scuba diving?
    This lesson helps students use the right form of the sport in a competitive, yet fun way.
    This worksheet is a board game where students race against each other while using the phrases:

      Let's...
      Let's go... ___ing  -and-
      Let's play... ____ correctly.

    There are three racers and three monitors. Each monitor listens for the accuracy of one of the "runners" during the race. If there is a mistake, for example:

       Let's play skiing

      the monitor shouts PIT STOP! and the racer must correct the sentence before continuing the race.

    Students will practice using phrasal verbs and specific prepositions to compose short sentences in order to describe the process of tying a necktie.
   Some of the sentences that they will use to describe the process include:
      Cross the short end of the tie over the long end.
      Put the long end of the tie up through the loop.
      Pull the thick end of the tie down through the front of the loop.

    This is a terrific lesson because the students focus on a physical task that requires English.
    Although some students may be able to tie a necktie, most likely, few can describe the process in English. This lesson helps with the use of verbs and prepositions.

    This fun yet simple pair work activity helps students practice adverbial phrases of frequency.
    Students will also be able to practice subject/verb agreement for both first person (First Partner) and third person (Second Partner).
    Practicing basic English grammar patterns doesn't have to be boring. This lesson immediately gets students asking each other interesting questions. More times than not, students will automatically branch off into more detailed conversations just to learn more about their partners.

    A few of the Do You Ever...? questions are:

      Do you ever go to bed after 1:00 am?
      Do you ever lose your temper?
      Do you ever lend money to people?

    A typical Q & A dialogue would go something like this:
      Student A: Do you ever talk to strangers?
      Student B: Yes, I do.
      Student A: How often do you talk to strangers?
      Student B: I occasionally talk to strangers.

    (Optional Follow-up questions for higher-ability students:)
      Student A: When was the last time you talked to a stranger?
      Student B: The last time I talked to a stranger was a few days ago. I saw a woman holding a map and she looked confused. I asked her if she needed any help. . . etc.

    There are 11 Do You Ever...? questions on each worksheet, plus there's space for students to ask each other one original question.

    For a similar style lesson, see:
     How Often is Often? Lesson Collection Set #2 - Lesson 8

    Students will have an incredibly ridiculous conversation with this lesson. One student is the caller and the other is one of Santa's elves, the Operator. The caller asks Santa for his/her (very strange) Christmas wish.
    Traditionally, children send a letter to Santa. But these are modern times and in this lesson, the letter is replaced with a hilarious telephone call.
    Remember Mad Libs? This is similar but made for the EFL ESL class. Did I mention FUN?? I've yet to find anyone who doesn't crack up with this lesson.
    But...beneath this silliness, there is a serious lesson at work. Students ask each other for various items (including parts of speech), build their vocabulary and listen carefully.

    These simple lists are amazingly useful to stimulate discussion and description through asking and answering questions.
    There are 14 lists in total, any one of the lists will produce a vast amount of conversation as students strive to learn as much as they can about another student's experience, memory or opinion.
    These lists are not recommended for lower-ability students because of the extreme importance required of asking and answering questions. But with intermediate to higher level ability students, these simple lists are just delightful.

    These are the 14 lists available to VIP Members;
      Three Happy Memories
      Three Sad Memories
      Three Funny Things
      Three Things I Want To Do
      Three Things I'd Like to do Again
      Three Things I Wish I Hadn't Done
      Three Things I've Never Told Anyone
      Three Wishes
      Three Of My Best Memories
      Three Of My Worst Memories
      Three Movies / Books I Really Enjoyed
      Three Movies / Books I Didnšt Enjoy
      Three Things That Changed My Life
      Three Things I Hope I'll Never Have To Do

    Idioms are common in everyday conversations among native English speakers, in movies even in the print media. Students of English often hear them but it's difficult to discover their meanings since many dictionaries do not offer definitions.

    There are six worksheets with a total of 108 idiom cards; they have been carefully selected from the thousands of available idioms because of their 'commonness, interest level and usability' in conversation for English learners.

    These cards can be used in pairs, groups or as a whole class activity; the following methods explain several ways in which they can be used:

    Method 1: In groups of four to six, each group is given one set of Idiom Cards. The cards should be well shuffled and placed in a deck face down. One student takes the top card, shows it to everyone, and the others take turns saying what they 'think' the idiom means.

    Method 2: In groups, each student draws an Idiom Card from the deck and learns its meaning (from the teacher, the internet or an Idiom Dictionary). Students return to their group and one of them shows the idiom to the others. Students ask the owner of the Idiom Card "Does it mean...?" questions; the owner replies with "Yes, it does," "No, it doesn't."

    Method 3: As a pair work activity, each student takes five or six cards, learns their meanings and shows one of the cards to the partner. The partner tries to guess the meaning and the owner offers several example sentences to assist. If the partner arrives at the correct meaning of the idiom, an example sentence should be created as well.

    Method 4: To teach idioms in a whole class setting, the teacher randomly selects one of the Idiom Cards, reads it and makes sure that all students have written it in their notebooks. Then the students ask "Does it mean...?" questions and the teacher says, "Yes, it does," "No, it doesn't.," or "Close, but no cigar."

    Method 5: An Idiom a Day: Each lesson, the teacher introduces an idiom (using a similar procedure as Method 4 above) but stops with only one idiom. On the next day, the previous idiom is reviewed, students use it in a sentence and then a new one is introduced.

    List making is a wonderful way for students to begin the development of sentences (which may eventually develop into paragraphs).
    In this lesson, students make four lists for the holidays: I want noun..., I want to verb..., I'd like to verb..., and I need noun....
    Once students fill in their Christmas Lists, the fun begins. They can ask each other about the items on their lists -OR- this can easily be converted into a guessing game.
    But... there is a serious lesson at work here; students will be practicing four common grammar patterns:
      I want a/an/some noun(s)Š,
      I want to verb a/an/some noun(s) for personŠ,
      I'd like to verb to placeŠ    -and-
      I need a/an/some noun(s) for our Christmas party.

    Pair-work crossword puzzles are a really fun way for students to work with listening, spelling and building vocabulary skills.
    In this activity, students have half of the answers to the puzzle and their partners will provide hints for the missing answers.
    By the end of this activity, students will know most of the major (and even minor) symbols of Christmas.
    From an educational point of view, this lesson is perfect for getting students to ask and answer questions; this also improves their listening skills.

    Practice with will and wonšt, agreeing and disagreeing, predicting someonešs future, asking for and offering hints. Students try to predict their group mates' New Year Resolutions.
    Students write one: I will... and one  I won't... New Year's Resolution for themselves for the coming new year.
    The other students try to imagine (predict) the two resolutions. This lesson requires a little writing and a lot of discussion.
    The class can become really animated when students realize what their group mates predict for the new year.

    Students tell their partner's fortune - but with a twist. They tell their partner Good News and Bad News. The Good News and Bad News predictions will turn your class into a flurry of excited (and animated) conversation.
    This lesson begins with a simple question: "What do you want to do?"
    From the responses, students create their partner's fortunes. For example, a student may say: "I want to take a nice vacation."
    The partner then creates Good News and Bad News predictions about their partner's vacation. For example:

      You will take a long vacation this year.
     The Good News is that you will see some interesting places.
     The Bad News is that you will lose your passport and all your money!

    Do your students know what a cow, a rooster or a horse says in English? The worksheet has illustrations of 17 different animals. Students first learn the English equivalent of the animal sounds and then they use the worksheet for a really fun activity.
   In groups of three, students offer hints about a selected animal. For example:
       It's dangerous, OR It's noisy.
    The other students try to guess the animal. To do so, they have to ask the question:
      Does it say Cock-a-doodle-doo?
    If correct, the student receives four points. If not, a second hint is given such as:
      It has a long tail.
    The other students try a second guess. For example:
      Does it say Whinny, Whinny?

    The process continues until the students have identified the selected animal by its cry.
    Underneath all the silliness, there is a real English lesson at work. Students practice simple present tense verbs; giving hints using: It is..., It has..., It eats..., and It lives... to describe various animals.

    Warning: This is a really noisy lesson and guaranteed to be fun!

    This is a multi-approach lesson, fun and very useful to practice:

• Prepositions of time (...on day, at time)
• Teacher's choice of grammar practice including:
  • future tense (What will you do? OR What are you going to do?)
  • present tense (for future) (What are you doing on day, at time?)
  • past tense (What did you do / were you doing on day, at time?)
• Spelling
• Working with time
• Giving hints (in sentences) using the same letter of the alphabet, i.e., Cooking a Chicken with Caroline.
• Practice with articles
• Learning a few proverbs
  
     In pairs, students have to ask and answer questions. They don't give away the answers, but they give each other hints. For example, if the answer is Pig, students give their partners hints using the letter "P. For example, a typical conversation would go like this:
        What are you doing on Monday at 1:12?
        I'm Playing the Piano with Peter.
        Is it a P?
        Yes, it is.
     In this way, students give each other hints about the answer.
  
     After they finish part one, they can check their answers by completing a coded Animal Proverb section.