Time: : 35+   
Level: : HS~Adult  
Mode: : Group Activity

If you've ever tried to buy something at an auction, you know how exciting it can be. This lesson offers a new twist to buying items at an auction.

The main worksheet is the Auction Menu, it describes the items for sale. Students can read all of the items for sale at Today's Magic Auction and decide how much they're willing to bid for each one.

The Menu Worksheet also offers examples for students to tailor the items for their own needs and desires. The second worksheet is to be cut into cards and these are the Actual Items that students purchase. Here are some examples of items for sale:

You can say something to someone that you didn't say at the time.
You can change one decision in your life.
You can meet someone from your past for a few days.

Once students have decided on which items they want from the Auction Menu Worksheet, the Auction begins. A student draws one Magic Auction Card from the stack and either keeps it or sells it. If the item is for sale, the student becomes the Auctioneer and tries to get the highest price possible for the item. As students begin to bid on the items for sale, the excitement really grows as the prices become higher and higher.

When finished, students describe to the others what they've purchased (and sold), and how they will use the items to alter times and events in their past.

For similar style lessons, see:
Magic Auction (Present Tense) (see Lesson 1b below)
Magic Auction (Future Tense) (see Lesson 1c below). Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: :Group Activity

These Magic Items are useful right now. The items listed on the Auction Menu Worksheet describe the items for sale along with examples for students to customize the items according to their desires.

Students can bid for these items in the auction and, if the winner, can either use them for themselves, or can sell them for a profit.

The second worksheet (to be cut into cards) shows the Actual Items that students can purchase.

Here are some examples of items for sale:

You can have an evening with anyone in the world.
You can make someone fall in love with you.
You can change one thing about your personality.

Students first decide which items they want from the Auction Menu Worksheet.

Then the Auction begins (see Magic Auction - Past Tense above for a description).

For similar style lessons, see:
Magic Auction (Past Tense) (see Lesson 1a above)
Magic Auction (Future Tense) (see Lesson 1c below).

Back to Top

Time:  : 35+  
Level: : HS~Adult  
Mode: : Group Activity

These Magic Auctions may have a giant implact on one's future. The items listed on the Auction Menu Worksheet describe the items for sale along with examples for students to customize the items according to their wants. Students can purchase these items for themselves or for someone else.

The second worksheet (to be cut into cards) shows the Actual Items that students can purchase.

Here are some examples of items for sale:

You will become famous for something.
You will be able to buy something that you never thought possible.
You will be able to travel into space and return safely.

After students decide which items they want from the Auction Menu Worksheet, the Auction begins (see Magic Auction - Past Tense above for a description).

For similar style lessons, see:
Magic Auction (Past Tense) (see Lesson 1a above)
Magic Auction (Present Tense) (see Lesson 1b above).

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Time: 45+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Small Group

Students role play a Matchmaker and offer explanations as to why a male and female would (or wouldn't) make a good couple.

    This lesson has 24 Matchmaker cards - 12 for male and 12 for female.

    Each card has three elements of information. For example,one male card says:
      He is always late.
      He's a carpenter.
      He's messy.

    A randomly chosen female card might say, for example:
      She loves good food.
      She's a professor.
      She's shy.

    In groups of four, students discuss whether or not these two people would or wouldn't be good for each other. They offer opinions, give examples, agree or disagree with others and try to come to a suitable conclusion about this chosen couple.

    Would a carpenter get along well with a professor? If she loves good food, is she (will she become) chubby? If he's messy and she's shy, will the house be a disaster area (because she's too shy to say something?) or will her professorial instincts teach her husband how to be neat?

    This discussion-based lesson encourages students to offer opinions about the prospects of a good or not so good "Match." To do so, they will be expressing themselves with a whole lot of English conversation. Back to Top

Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Whole Class

Listening to numbers is a major part of language acquisition. Money, weather, sizes and quantities, distances – they all depend on accurate numbers. Did the taxi driver say 17 dollars or 70 dollars? Did the weather forecast say 14º or 40º? Should we be on highway I-18 or I-80?

This worksheet has three sections - all dealing with listening for the correct numbers. Section #1 has a list of 12 Phone Numbers. Section #2 is concerned with Shopping Numbers and Section #3 asks for 8 Address Numbers.

The teacher can easily adjust the difficulty of these tasks simply by reading faster or more slowly. Even advanced students will be challenged to catch all of the numbers when the lists are read quickly.

This lesson is ideal as a whole class activity (or even as pair work lesson).

For similar style lessons, see:
Numbers-Numbers 2 see 3b below
Numbers-Numbers 3 see 3c below -and-
Numbers-Numbers 4 see 3d below. Back to Top

Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Whole Class

The purpose of this lesson is on listening to numbers. Some of the most critical use of language learning is to correctly understand the numbers, whether it's for shopping, time, distances, sizes, phone numbers, and on and on.

There are three sections to this worksheet - all dealing with listening for correct numbers. Section #1 is a list of World Weather Numbers. The teacher pretends to be a radio announcer reading the weather report for eight cities.

It may sound like this: A fine good morning to all of you out there in radio land. The hight temperature in Athens today is expected to be a chilly nineteen degrees. The low temperature is going to be even colder at just thirteen degrees. The sun rose this morning at six oh five and will set this evening at seven thirty. There is only a 10% chance of rain.

Section #2 is concerned with Before and After Measurement Numbers of a weight trainer. The narration could sound like this: When Jerry Davis first joined the sports club, his neck size was a weak 35 centimeters in circumference. But after only three months at Carl's Gym, his neck measurement is now a respectable 43 centimeters. There are 13 more before and after measurements for students to write on their worksheets.

Section #3 deals with Money (Shopping) Numbers. There are 20 items listed on the worksheet; students write down the prices they hear.

For similar style lessons, see:
Numbers-Numbers 1 see 3a above
Numbers-Numbers 3 see 3c below -and-
Numbers-Numbers 4 see 3d below. Back to Top

Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Whole Class

Numbers * Numbers 3

This lesson is all about numbers - some of the most critical use of language learning is to correctly understand numbers, whether it's for shopping, time, distances, sizes, phone numbers, weather, and on and on.

This worksheet is divided into three sections. Section 1 works with simple math formulas - students do not need to calculate anything, but they need to listen carefully to the dictated numbers. Here's a typical reading for Section 1:

  Sixty times 14 divided by 42 plus 113 equals 133.

Section 2 contains six announcements that would be heard at an airport. A sample announcement would sound like this:

  All passengers leaving on the 9:16 am flight to Tokyo on Cathay Pacific's CP304 should be assembling at Gate 58. The flight is now boarding.

Section 3 contains information about making a reservation at 5 different hotels. A sample message would sound like this:

  Thank you for calling (Student's Name) Travel Agency. The information you requested concerning the Pine Ridge Hotel follows. The Pine Ridge Hotel has 30 single rooms priced at $74.60 and 209 double rooms. If you'd like to make a reservation, please call 683-1904. Check-in and check-out is 11:15 am and 3:45 pm, respectively.

Teachers can choose to make their own Master Template (to adjust to the appropriate student level ability) or can use the Sample Template that accompanies this lesson.
For similar style worksheets, see:

Numbers-Numbers 1see 3a above
Numbers-Numbers 2see 3b above - and
Numbers-Numbers 4see 3d below.

Back to Top

Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Whole Class

This worksheet concentrates on listening to numbers. It has been designed to help students listen for regular numbers and ordinals. It also helps students distinguish between numbers such as 13 vs. 30.


The first entry in Section #1 is about telling time which can be said in several ways. Two-thirty can also be said as half past two; six fifteen can also be said as a quarter past six. There are a total of 15 time numbers for students to write on their worksheets.

Section #2 uses fractions for students to listen to numbers. For example: 14 16ths plus 17 18ths equals 59 72nds. This is not a math class - the teacher also reads the answers. There are 12 fractions in this section.

Section #3 works with conversions from Imperial measures to and from metric. For example: One inch equals 2.54 centimeters. Or One liter equals 1.057 quarts. There are 16 conversions on the worksheet.

For similar style worksheets, see:
Numbers-Numbers 1see 3a above
Numbers-Numbers 2see 3b above - and
Numbers-Numbers 3see 3c above. Back to Top

Time: 25+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Tea Time

This is a fun way to learn or review simple present tense using questions and answers.

Additionally, students will be working with singular vs. plural nouns as well as subject - verb agreement.

In pairs, students try to find 12 differences between their pictures. To do that, they need to work with "Is there...?" and "Are there any...?" questions.

Since students can not look at each other's worksheets, they have to communicate clearly - both in speaking and listening.

Working together, students should be able to identify all of the items which are different in their pictures. In so doing, they will automatically be working with singular vs. plural nouns and their respective verb forms.

This lesson is so compelling that students will immediately become deeply involved trying to find all of the differences - teachers may find themselves with a half hour of needed free time!

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Time: Varies
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class

Popcorn English

Everyone loves popcorn, right? The topics given on these two worksheets need to be cut into cards and then folded over and over until they are small (and look a little like pieces of popcorn).

Students, in groups of three or four, then have a choice to use this "popcorn" to do one of the following

a) make a speech

b) have a discussion -or-

c) have a debate.

Each card has three current event topics printed on it. A student takes one of the pieces from the bowl and then decides which (one) of the three topics is the most interesting. Then, either a speech, a discussion or a debate will ensue.

This lesson is really very fun for students, even if they struggle with English - the topics have been carefully selected and are especially topical for our generation.

It's even possible to make a combination of activities; a speech will often lead into a discusion which can, in turn, lead into a debate. All of these "real-life" English tasks will help students practice asking and answering questions, (doing research??) and discusing.

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

At first, students ask each other questions and/or offer hints to identify the common object of these similes. For example, the student with Worksheet A reads:

      ... as proud as...

Her partner looks at the bottom of Worksheet B to find the answer (peacock). But he does not say the answer. Instead, he reads the printed hints under the word peacock:

      A] It's a bird.
      B] It's very colorful.
      C] The student thinks of a hint. This large bird spreads out his tail feathers to attract a mate.

Eventually the partner will ask Is it a peacock?
Her partner replies: That's right. Do you know anyone who is as proud as a peacock?
She may say: An Olympic gold winner is as proud as a peacock, or
  My neighbor is as proud as a peacock, etc.

Other unfinished similes on the worksheets include:
   ... as gentle as ...
  ... as tall as ... and
   ... as hungry as ...

There are 8 common English similes on each worksheet for a total of 16. Higher-ability students will enjoy discussing the origin and / or the meaning of the similes on the worksheet. All students will enjoy using them to describe each other and themselves.

This can also be used as a comparative lesson as well. He's as brave as a lion or He's braver than a lion or superlative metaphors He's the bravest lion I know!

There are two similar lessons:
  Similes 2 (objects) (Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 06b below) -and-
  Similes 3 (non-count objects) (Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 06c below. Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is the same as above except in this case, students are working with countable objects rather than animals. As in the above lesson, students ask each other questions and/or offer hints to identify the common object of these similes. Then, students add a subject to make the simile complete.

My cousin's as straight as........an arrow.
My best friend's as cool as.........a cucumber. And
My neck is as stiff as........a board.

There are 8 common English similes on each worksheet for a total of 16.

Higher-ability students can discuss the origin and / or the meaning of the similes as well as introduce some from their own cultures and languages.

This can also be used as a comparative lesson as well; comparing two things of equal value (She's as thin as a toothpick) or of different value (She's thinner than a toothpick). And for some extra-special practice, this lesson can be used to work with superlative metaphors (She's the thinnest toothpick I know!).

There are two similar lessons. They are:

Similes 1 (Animals) (See 6a above).
Similes 2 (Non-count objects) (See 6c below).

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This lesson focuses on non-count objects of the similes; many of these have both literal and figurative meanings. Additionally, there are no articles to work with.

My niece is as sweet as........honey.

My best friend is as thick as.........fog about computers. And
Sandra's as good as........gold.
There are 8 common English similes on each worksheet for a total of 16.

Higher-ability students will enjoy discussing the origin and / or the meaning of the similes on the worksheets. All students will enjoy using them to describe each other and themselves.

This can also be used as a comparative lesson as well; comparing two things of equal value (She's as sweet as honey) or of different value (She's sweeter than honey). And, if you really want to exercise your brain, this lesson can be stretched to include superlative metaphors (She's the sweetest honey I know!).

There are two similar lessons. They are:

Similes 1 (Animals) (See 6a above).
Similes 2 (Objects) (See 6b above).

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Small Group Activity

Is this a game or a lesson? A little of both, to be honest.

In groups of four, each student creates an individual story using the three words they are given. One of the words is a noun, another is an adjective and the third is a verb. They can use the words in any order (or any verb tense) but they must use all three.

As the title of this lesson implies, the students must camouflage the three words by adding a bunch of additional nouns, adjectives and verbs to the story so that the original three words do not stand out.

After a few minutes to prepare their stories, one student tells the story while the others keep notes on the worksheet of all of the nouns, adjectives and verbs used. When the speaker finishes the story, the other three group mates try to guess the original three words.

The object of this lesson is to acquire the most points. A typical dialogue would go something like this:

Group mate #1: Is the noun pumpkin?
Storyteller: No, it isn't. (The story teller gets one point.)
Group mate #2: Is the noun autumn?
Storyteller: No, it isn't. (The story teller gets another point.)
Group mate #3: Is the noun friends?
Storyteller: No, it isn't. (The story teller gets another point.)
Group mate #1: Is the noun basket?
Storyteller: Yes, it is. (No points are given for a YES answer, but the story teller has accumulated 3 points so far for No answers.)

Students continue to ask the first storyteller to discover the original adjective and verb.

For students to do this activity, they must listen carefully to the stories and, of course, they must be able to identify nouns, adjectives and verbs. Inherent in the lesson is ample opportunity to practice spelling and build vocabulary.

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

This is a very fun, competitive yet educational activity in the form of a baseball game.

There are two teams; the "pitcher" team and the "batter" team. Drawing from a set of 39 cards from the worksheets, a "pitcher" reads a word from the card to the "batter." The "batter" tries to think of the opposite. If the answer is correct, the "batter" advances to first base. If incorrect, the batter is out and a second batter takes over.

There are several similar worksheets available. They are:

Batter Up! (Nouns - Spelling) (See 8b below).
Batter Up! (Mid - Difficulty Nouns - Spelling) (See 8c below).
Batter Up! (Tag Questions) (See 8d below).
Batter Up (Abbreviations) (See 8e below).

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

This version is similar to the Lesson #8 above but rather than pitching and batting pairs of opposite nouns, students pitch and bat simple nouns for spelling. There are 39 cards from the worksheets, a "pitcher" throws a word from the card to the "batter." The "batter" tries to spell the word. If the answer is correct, the "batter" advances to first base. If incorrect, the batter is out and a second batter takes over.

For example, Team #1 "pitches" the word:

garden

Then a player from Team #2 spells the word:

G A R D E N

If the word is spelled correctly, then the player from Team #2 goes to First Base and another batter tries to spell the next word.

All of these Batter-Up lessons are charmingly fun and active for all levels of English ability.

Adults enjoy this game as much as kids!

There are several similar worksheets available. They are:

Batter Up! (Nouns - Opposites) (See 8a above).
Batter Up! (Mid - Difficulty Nouns - Spelling) (See 8c below).
Batter Up! (Tag Questions) (See 8d below).
Batter Up (Abbreviations) (See 8e below).

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

This is a very fun, competitive yet educational activity.

There are two teams; the "pitcher" team and the "batter" team. Drawing from a set of 39 cards from the worksheets, a "pitcher" reads a word from the card to the "batter." The "batter" tries to spell the word. If the spelling is correct, the "batter" advances to first base. If incorrect, the batter is out and a second batter takes over.

There are several similar worksheets available. They are:

Batter Up! (Nouns - Opposites) (See 8a above).
Batter Up! (Nouns - Spelling) (See 8b above).
Batter Up! (Tag Questions) (See 8d below).
Batter Up (Abbreviations) (See 8e below).

Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

Students pitch statements and batters respond with appropriate Tag Questions. There are 39 cards from the worksheets, a "pitcher" throws a short statement from the card to the "batter." If the tag questions is correct, the "batter" advances to first base. If incorrect, the batter is out and a second batter takes over.

This lesson is charmingly fun and active for all levels of English ability.

For similar lessons, see:
Batter Up! (Nouns - Opposites) (See 8a above).
Batter Up! (Nouns - Spelling) (See 8b above).
Batter Up! (Mid - Difficulty Nouns - Spelling) (See 8c above).
Batter Up! (Abbreviations) (See 8e below).

Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

Note: If there are no baseball fans in class, no worries. This lesson can still be done as a more traditional quiz-style activity where teams compete against each other.

This version of Batter Up! has students pitching and batting Abbreviations. There are 39 cards from the worksheets, a "pitcher" throws an abbreviation from the card to the "batter." The "batter" tries to say what the abbreviation stands for. If the answer is correct, the "batter" advances to first base. If incorrect, the batter is out and a second batter takes over.

This lesson is charmingly fun and active for all levels of English ability.

For similar style lessons, see:
Batter Up! (Nouns - Opposites) (See 8a above).
Batter Up! (Nouns - Spelling) (See 8b above).
Batter Up! (Mid - Difficulty Nouns - Spelling) (See 8c above).
Batter Up! (Tag Questions) (See 8d above). Back to Top

Time: 35+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Do your students know the difference between a period and a comma? How to use a colon and semicolon? Do they know the name of this punctuation mark ! ? This lesson is all about punctuation, learning and using many of the more common punctuation marks.

While reading English, students often overlook or even ignore punctuation marks. But they are important, aren't they? This lesson forces students to focus on the punctuation. This helps them to acquire a more natural reading and understanding of English.

In pairs, students dictate a short passage from the radio news (with punctuation) as given on their worksheet. Their partners write the news. When finished, they trade roles and the partner now dictates while the other writes.

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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Students will be 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.

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Time: 30+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Practicing the use of phrasal verbs (two-word verbs) is the focus of this lesson. When finished, students will discover a delightful story. In pairs, students match the first and second half of common two-word verbs. But ...each student has only half of the sentence. They must listen carefully to each other and discuss whether or not the two-word verbs are appropriate to the content of the sentences.

As students match each sentence, the story begins to unfold. They will begin to giggle as Mulla and his cousin travel from house to house.

At the bottom of the worksheet is a two-word verb grid which makes this exercise much easier. Higher-level ability students could cover this grid or fold it back.

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Time: 30+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

In pairs, students give each other synonymous hints in order to identify the words on their list. Each student has half of a pair of rhyming words. For example, one student may have the word Money printed on the worksheet while the other has the word Funny. (The mystery answer is Funny Money which means counterfeit money.)

The student can not say Funny because that's the answer. Instead, hints (synonyms) are given such as laugh, joke, humor, comedy, etc., to help their partner arrive at the answer.

With the other worksheet, the partner can not say Money but might say cash, bank, dollars, coins, currency, instead. Putting the hints together, students will arrive at the answer (Funny Money) which consists of a rhyming pair of words.

Working together, students will arrive at a common English phrase which is a set of two rhyming words. There are 20 sets of Double Trouble phrases. Some of them include:

    Black Jack
    Flower Power
    Pay Day -and-
    Dream Team

All of the answers are sets of rhyming pairs of words that have a whole new meaning when together. Afterward, students may try to compose sentences with some of the Double Trouble pairs of words. Back to Top

Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Talking about one's experiences is guaranteed to get students involved. In this lesson, students in pairs ask each other Have you ever...? questions using the present perfect tense and then follow up with simple past tense questions.

A typical conversation might sound like this:

Student A: Have you ever found any money?
Student B: Yes, I have.
Student A: How much money did you find?
Student B: I found $20.00.
Student A: Where did you find it?
Student B: I found it in a parking lot.
Student A: Who were you with when you found it?
Student B: I was with my sister.
Student A: What did you do with the money?
Student B: I treated my sister to lunch.

There are six Have you ever...? questions on each worksheet. Because students are inherently interested in hearing about their partner's experiences, this lesson is a wonderful tool to get students talking.

There is another similar worksheet available:
Experiences 2 (Passive Voice) (See 13b below).

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

There are 12 more experiences for pairs of students to discuss - but these are in the passive form of Have you ever had / been (pp)... by someone? questions using the present perfect tense and then follow up the questions with simple past tense questions.

A typical conversation might sound like this:

Student A: Have you ever been bitten by a dog?
Student B: Yes, I have.
Student A: When were you bitten?
Student B: I was bitten when I was 12.
Student A: Where were you bitten?
Student B: I was bitten on my leg.
Student A: Which one?
Student B: My left leg.
Student A: What kind of dog were you bitten by?
Student B: It was a mutt.
Student A: Whose dog was it?
Student B: It was my neighbor’s dog.
Student A: Did you go to a doctor?
Student B: No, it wasn’t that serious.
Student A: What were you doing when you were bitten?
Student B: I was playing in the yard.
Student A: Did you tell your neighbor that you were bitten?
Student B: I was playing with my neighbor’s kids and they saw it happen. etc.

There are six Have you ever had / been... by someone? questions on each worksheet. Students will really enjoy discussing their experiences and asking questions about others. Discussing experiences in the passive voice is a bit more difficult than regular voice, nevertheless, this lesson is a wonderful tool to get students talking.

There is another similar worksheet available. It is:

Experiences 1 (Normal) (See 13a above).

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Time: 30+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Students learn what a limericks is, then in pairs or groups, they create their own.

There are three sample limericks on the worksheet to help students get started, and there is a place at the bottom for them to write their own.

Here's a sample limerick from the worksheet:

I'd rather have fingers than toes;

I'd rather have ears than a nose;

And as for my hair,

I'm glad it's still there;

I'll be awfully sad when it goes!

A great way for students to practice the rhythm and rhyme of English words, work with spelling, and have a lot of fun!

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Time: 20+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Can you think of four slang words that mean nose? How about these:
Snout
Schnoz
Sniffer -and-
Beak?

Can you think of three slang words that mean head? How about:
Noggin
Noodle -and-
Bean?

Body Slang is a really fun way to learn some body parts - words that are seldom found in standard textbooks.

Do your students know these: spare tire, pinky, love handles and smacker? There are 27 slangy body parts for students to guess and eventually identify.

For a similar style lesson, see:
Mrs. Blemish (See Lesson 15b below).
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Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

A hilarious information gap pair work activity to work on listening, vocabulary building and story telling.

"Mrs. Blemish" is a matching/cloze activity that deals with common but lesser known physical imperfections. Students will learn and talk about these words: dimple, wart, corn, pimple, mole, scar, hickey, blister, bruise and tattoo.

While learning and using these words, students will naturally start laughing, they've probably never seen these English words in print before. But, underneath all this fun, there's a serious English lesson at work. Students will need to identify where the items are with their partner and more importantly, they will need to relate a story about how Mrs. Blemish got the items. This lesson is fun - but it's also very conversational.

For a similar style lesson, see:

Body Slang (See Lesson 15a above).

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Time: Varies
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Group / Whole Class Activity

Shopping Spree is an outrageously fun (and funny) activity for the whole class; any age and any level of proficiency. Groups of students "role-play" their way through a city, the problem is, they are "new to town" so they don't know where any of the stores are or what any of the street names are. (All before cell phones and GPS!.) Students have to ask "people" for this information so they can find the streets and stores.

Before starting the game, groups of students decide upon five items which they want to purchase. Then, with each group taking turns (three minutes each), students direct their course through the city while the teacher role plays all of the pedestrians, store clerks, police officers, telephone operators, etc.

Eventually, students will learn the names of the streets and some of the stores. Since the teacher directs this activity, the pace can easily be adjusted for higher-ability or lower-ability students.

Bring in a little play money for practice and/or review while role playing a purchase.

Shopping Spree! comes with the Teacher's Master Map and the Students' City Map.

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Time: 50+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Some languages have a difficult time distinguishing between the English "L" and "R" sounds. This lesson concentrates on the pronunciation of these two sounds. Working in pairs, students practice pairs of words such as:

    poor and pool
    play and pray and
    light and right.

Built into this lesson is a kind of puzzle which motivates students and instantly confirms their pronunciation and listening accuracy.

Although accurate pronunciation and listening are at the core of this lesson, students will also enjoy completing the puzzle.

There are similar worksheets available for other pronunciation practice. They are:
    Chip or Cheap (See Lesson 17c below.)
    Backs or Box (See Lesson 17b below.) Back to Top

Time: 50+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

In pairs, students practice the pronunciation of the two vowel sounds backs and box.

There are dozens of paired words on the worksheets, one student reads one of the pair while the other tries to distinguish which of the two words was said.

Some of the paired words are:

packet and pocket,

stacks and stocks,

pad and pod, and

clack and clock.

Built into this lesson is a kind of puzzle which motivates students and instantly confirms their pronunciation and listening accuracy.

Although accurate pronunciation and listening are at the core of this lesson, students will also enjoy completing the puzzle.

Back to Top

Time: 50+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Distinguishing between the pronunciation of the two words chip & cheap can be difficult for some students. With this lesson, students will have a lot of fun working together to practice pairs of words such as fit & feet, ship & sheep and pitch & peach.

Inherent in this lesson is a kind of puzzle; the answers to which emerge during the lesson giving students a visual confirmation of their accuracy (or lack thereof!)

And, even though this is basically a pronunciation lesson, students will also be learning new vocabulary, following directions and drawing lines.

There are similar worksheets available for other pronunciation practice. They are:
  Cloud or Crowd? (See Lesson 17a above.)
  Backs or Box? (See Lesson 17b above.) Back to Top

Time: 30+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Group Activity

Wouldn't it be nice if all of our important decisions about the future could be solved with the roll of a die? Well, with this lesson, they can be, if only for the fun of it!

Students first write five "Should I...?" questions about their futures. For example:

Should I study English harder?
Should I begin a diet?
Should I ask ???? out on a date?

Then, in pairs, students roll a die five times to determine the answers to their partners' questions. At the bottom of the worksheet is a list of "Fortunes including:

If you plan well, this will be a good thing.
Don't listen to others, decide for yourself.
This idea is a big mistake. Forget it! -and-
This will bring you great satisfaction.

For higher ability students, this lesson serves as an ideal discussion starter. Through Q & A, students will want to confirm their good fortunes or explain why a not so good (or bad) fortune is not really in the cards.

Students will laugh, some may cry - but everyone will be involved and having fun! And who knows, some of the fortunes may actually be correct.

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Time: : 45+  
Level: : JHS~Adult  
Mode: : Pair Work Activity

This is a multi-approach lesson, fun and very useful to practice:
  • Prepositions of time (...on day, at time)
  • Grammar practice including choice of:
      future / present / past tense
  • Making sentences using the same alphabet letter i.e.,
      Cooking a Crispy Chicken with Caroline.
  • Practice with articles (a, an, the)
  • Learning a few animal proverbs

   In pairs, students give each other hints. For example, if the answer is PIG, students give their partners hints for 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. When finished with part one, they check their answers by completing the coded Animal Proverb section.

    There are similar worksheets available:
    Proverb Grid (Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 19b)
    Billboard Proverbs (Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 19c) -and-
    Money Proverbs (Lesson Collection Set #1 - Lesson 19d). Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Pairs of students will be kept busy asking and answering each other questions using pronouns and past tense irregular verbs.

This is a tremendously flexible lesson worksheet, just about any grammar pattern can be targeted.

Students ask Who, What, When, Where, Why and How questions to discover the missing letters from their worksheets. Partners create answers containing a hint as to the missing letters.

There is a built in confirmation cipher with this lesson. After all of the missing letters have been revealed, students substitute the missing letters for the numbers in the boxes and, if all of their answers are correct, two common English proverbs will emerge per worksheet.

Your students will not only be very busy for over half an hour but they'll be using real English and learning a few proverbs as well. This will give you time to monitor their progress and assist with any language problems.

Back to Top

Time: 20+
Level: HS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is a great lesson for learning proverbs - it's unique and fun. It seems that a couple of vandals have placed stickers over the first part of 12 common English proverbs. In pairs, students must listen to each other carefully into order to restore the original proverbs.

For example, Student A's vandalized proverb reads:

A bird in the hand makes waste.

(The underlined part is where the vandals have struck.) The original word was Haste, but this has been covered over with a sticker that says: A bird in the hand.

Student B has six choices from the worksheet to restore the original proverb including:

Silence

The grass

Two heads

Haste

Birds of a feather ...and

A leopard

Student B suggests which of the choices best completes the proverb ...makes waste. Then the pair of students discuss whether or not Haste makes waste is a reasonable proverb and its meaning.

When finished, students will have corrected all of the proverbs and will have had a lot of fun doing it.

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Time: 40+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is a great lesson for students to practice asking and answering each other questions using Who, What, When, Where, Why and How and pronouns. Almost any verb tense can be used as well.

But, asking the questions is only a small part of this lesson. There are four proverbs about money on the worksheets. To decipher them, students have to ask questions to decode the missing letters. Partners create answers containing hints as to the missing letters. For example, if the missing letter is an "S," and the question is: "When does Fiona usually wake up?" a typical answer would be:

On Saturdays and Sundays, She wakes up at Seven.

There is a built in confirmation cipher with this lesson. After all of the missing letters have been revealed, students substitute the missing letters for the numbers in the boxes and, if all of their answers are correct, two common English proverbs will emerge per worksheet.

Your students will not only be very busy for over half an hour but they'll be using real English and learning a few proverbs as well. This will give you time to monitor their progress and assist with any language problems.

There are three similar worksheets available called:

Animal Proverbs(See Lesson 19a above.)

Proverb Grid #1(See Lesson 19b above) -and-

Billboard Proverbs (See Lesson 19c above).

Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is an ideal lesson to get students to ask each other questions using the simple past tense. Many of them are natural discussion starters which is a wonderful way to get students conversing with each other. There are six questions on each worksheet, all of them asking When was the first time you... questions

After students answer the first question, the partner asks as many follow-up questions as possible to learn all of the details about this first time experience.

The questions will probably involve Who, What, When, Where, Why, How as well as an assortment of other questions such as: Did you...? Were you...? etc.

It's important to remind the students that this is not a race to see who can finish all of the questions the quickest. It's okay if students only do one or two of the questions and answers during one lesson. They can continue with the others during another class.

For similar style lesson, see:
The Last Time (Lesson Collection Set #1 -20b)-and-
One Time (Lesson Collection Set #1 -20c). Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Getting pairs of students completely engrossed in a discussion about past experiences is an excellent way for students to improve their English.

With this lesson, students ask each other questions using the simple past tense. There are six questions on each worksheet, all of them asking When was the last time you... questions. For example:

When was the last time you laughed a lot?
When was the last time you hugged someone?
When was the last time you had a strange dream?

After a partner answers the first question, the other partner then asks as many follow-up questions to learn as many details as possible.

The questions will probably involve Who, What, When, Where, Why, How as well as an assortment of other questions such as: Did you...? Were you...? etc.

It's important to remind the students that this is not a race to see who can finish all of the questions the quickest. It's okay if students only do one or two of the questions and answers during one lesson. They can continue with the others during another class.

For similar style lessons, see:
The First Time (Lesson Collection Set #1 -20a) -and-
One Time (Lesson Collection Set #1 -20c). Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

This is an fun lesson for students to their partner questions using the simple past tense. Many of them are natural discussion starters which is a wonderful way to get students conversing with each other. There are six questions on each worksheet, all of them asking about one time a partner did or felt something. For example:

When was one time you felt embarrassed?
When was one time you forgot to do something important?
When was one time you killed an insect?

After a partner answers the first question, the other partner then asks as many follow-up questions to learn as many details as possible.

The questions will probably involve Who, What, When, Where, Why, How as well as an assortment of other questions such as: Did you...? Were you...? etc.

It's important to remind the students that this is not a race to see who can finish all of the questions the quickest. It's okay if students only do one or two of the questions and answers during one lesson. They can continue with the others during another class.

For similar style lessons, see:
The First Time (Lesson Collection Set #1 -20a) -and-
The Last Time (Lesson Collection Set #1 -20b). Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

These Story Problem lessons are a great way for students to practice writing, spelling, vocabulary development, listening and reading skills.

Although the math problem solving isn't difficult on the first two lessons, students will learn the meaning and use of mathamatic terms including: double, triple, 1/3, 2/3, a fourth, each, per, left, added, remained and split.

Each worksheet has space for four Story Problems, two of them are printed on the sheet and two of them have lines for students to write out the Story Problems as dictated by their partners.

Although the answers are provided in the "reader's box," the partner will still need to be sure that all the facts are correct in order to answer th questions correctly.
Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

Four Story Problems for students to practice writing, vocabulary development, spelling, listening and reading skills. Of course, this isn't a math class, but students can learn the meaning and use of mathamatic terms including: double, triple, 1/3, 2/3, a fourth, each, per, left, added, remained and split .

Each worksheet has space for four Story Problems, two of them are printed on the sheet and two of them have lines for students to write out the Story Problems as dictated by their partners.

Although the answers are provided in the "reader's box," the partner will still need to listen carefully to make sure that all the information is correct so that the problem can be answered. Back to Top

Time: 40+
Level: JHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

A great pair work lesson for on-line learning. The four Story Problems on these worksheets have been specifically designed with Business English practice in mind.

Each worksheet has space for four Story Problems, two of them are printed on the sheet and two of them have lines for students to write out the Story Problems as dictated by their partners.

Although the answers are provided in the "reader's box," partners need to listen carefully in order to write all the information correctly to solve the problems. Back to Top

Time: 50+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

On the surface, this lesson may appear to be easy, but once students begin, they'll soon realize that it does have some tricky elements. The main target is to work with adverbs, but in addition to adverbs, students will be learning new vocabulary, working with the passive voice, handling subject / verb difficulties (and pronouns) and needing to identify specific occupations.


    The title of this lesson: How Was It Designed? begs for an adverb. Whatever "it" is, it could have been designed professionally, amateurishly, poorly, excellently, haphazardly . . . just about any adverb will work.


    In pairs, students need to ask their partners questions in order to discover the answers written on the worksheet. By doing this, they will also be improving their fluency. Here is how it works. One student reads a statement off the worksheet. For example: The sonata was played. This statement is followed by a question: How was it played? The partner asks questions trying to guess the answer. For example: Was it quietly played? Was it romantically played? Was it loudly played?"


    If the answer (beautifully) can not be identified, the partner needs to ask for a hint or ask for the first letter of the answer. Eventually, the partner will ask: Was it beautifully played? to which the partner replies: Yes, the sonata was beautifully played.


    First half is now complete. Students then go on to learn who it was played by. By the end of this process, the partner will ask: Was the sonata beautifully played by the pianist? with the response: Yes, the sonata was beautifully played by the pianist. Then students reverse roles and another item is read from the worksheet. Back to Top

Time: 50+
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair Work Activity

In pairs, students describe the exact coordinates of nine different geometric shapes printed on their worksheets. All of the shapes are laid out on a grid that covers the background of the worksheets.

A typical description (for drawing a hexagon) might sound like this: Draw a diagonal line from 31H to 33G. From that point, draw another diagonal line to 35H. From 35H, draw a horizontal line to 35K. Draw another diagonal line from 35K to 33L. From there, draw another diagonal line to 31K. Finally, draw a horizontal line connecting 35K and 31H.

During the course of this activity, students will learn the names of common geometric shapes as well as practice vocabulary including horizontal, vertical, diagonal, midway between, inside curve, outside curve, a little above/below, a little to the right/left of and verbs including draw, connect and place.

To accurately duplicate each geometrical shape, students have to give clear instructions and partners need to listen carefully. If a shape is drawn askew, students will automatically want to know where the fault occurred. This may lead into a brief discussion which is also an important part of this interactive lesson. Back to Top

Time: 15+ (per worksheet)
Level: SHS~Adult
Mode: Pair / Small group Activity

In pairs or small groups, students need to insert the missing words into the correct order of each famous quote. The missing words are printed above the quotation, but they are out of order.

By discussing hints such as subject / verb agreement, singular vs. plural nouns, word length, placement of adjectives, parts of speech (fish can be both a noun and a verb) and the proper use of prepositions.

There are four worksheets with five famous quotes each for a total of 20 famous quotations. The following are a few of the completed quotations that appear on the worksheets:

  Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration. Thomas Edison

  There is no great genius without some touch of madness. Aristotle

  Impossible is a word only to be found in the dictionary of fools. Napoleon

  Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game. Babe Ruth

  Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow. Helen Keller

Once a pair or group has completed the quote by inserting the words into their correct order, they can begin a discussion about the actual meaning of the quote and the person who said it. Back to Top