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WARM-UP ACTIVITIES NOT JUST

FUN AND GAMES


Thank you for downloading Warm-Up Activities Not
Just Fun and Games. I have had the privilege of
presenting this topic at several TESL conferences
including in Toronto, Florida and Malaysia.
If you are not using warm up activities now, try a few and
see how students react. I am sure that your students
will enjoy these fun activities at the beginning of your
ESL lesson.

Patrice

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Top 20 Warm-Up Activities for the ESL Classroom


What should a good language teacher do before starting a lesson? The
answer a Warm-Up activity or warmer!
What is a Warm-Up Activity?
A warm-up activity is a short (5-minute) essential teaching technique used
by language teachers. Warmers should be fun and require little preparation
by the teacher.

Why Should I use a Warm-up Activity with my Students?


There are several reasons why it is important to begin your class with a
warm-up activity. A warm up activity or warmer can help your students by

motivating them to arrive on time


getting their attention and involvement
preparing them to learn by stimulating their minds and/or bodies
before a lesson begins
boosting their energy level and concentration
making the transition from Cantonese outside the classroom to English
inside the classroom
providing a lead-in to the lesson topic

How can Warm-Up Activities Help Teachers?


Warmers can help teachers in different ways. First of all, a warm-up
activity can help you by jump-starting the class on time. Instead of waiting
for latecomers to arrive before starting your lecture, begin with a warm-up
activity for those students who are ready to get going. Secondly, warm-up
activities can create a positive learning environment in your classroom which
helps students in their learning. Finally, a warm-up activity can be a good
lead-in to introducing a new theme or topic in your lecture (e.g. by using a
quote, brainteaser, quiz). Although a warm-up activity may seem like just
fun to your students, think about the language skills they are using and
developing as well as their Key Skills (e.g. problem solving, teamwork).

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

When Should I Use a Warm-Up Activity?


Warmers are used at the beginning of a lesson (the first 5 minutes).
However, they can be great fillers when students start to lose focus or are
tired partway through a lecture. Warmers can also be a fun way to end a
class (called enders). Try ending your lectures a few minutes early to allow
students to focus and reflect on what you have said instead of gathering up
their bags and leaving the classroom. An ender can leave students feeling
good at the end of your class.

What if Students get Noisy?


Laughter is a wonderful teaching tool. Dont be afraid if students are having
fun and you hear them laughing. According to studies conducted on the
effects of laughter, research suggests that laughter1:
fosters a friendly classroom environment that facilitates learning
makes students more positive and receptive
produces chemicals in the body that relieve stress, easing tension for both
the teacher and students
improves mental and physical well-being
improves short and long-term memory

Get Students Involved


Ask students to teach the Warm-Up activities. This gives them a chance
to use English, develop their confidence, and contribute to students
learning. Remember to write down any of the activities that you would like
to use in the future.

Dr. Lee Berk, Professor of Pathology and Anatomy, Loma Linda University, USA
and Dr. Kiyotake Takahashi and colleagues, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Osaka
University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #1

SHOPPING BAG
1. Put students in groups of 8-10 depending on the class size or ability.
2. The first person in the group starts by saying Yesterday I went
shopping and I bought some CDs.
3. The next person repeats the first sentence but adds another item.
e.g. Yesterday I went shopping and I bought some CDs and a pair of
jeans. Each person in turn repeats the sentence and adds another
item. There are many variations of this game.

Warm-Up #2

MEMORY GAME
Materials: 15-20 small objects and a cloth to cover them. Use anything in
the classroom or have each student contribute an item from their
backpack/purse.
1. The teacher collects the objects. Hold up each article and have the
students name the object. Cover up the objects.
2. The students must write down as many items as they can remember.
The one who remembers the most is the winner.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #3
BRAINSTORMING GAME
Ask students to brainstorm as many words as they can think of that:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

are green (blue, red, etc.)


are animals
are Japanese words
can melt
people are afraid of (spiders, rats, heights)
that you would take on a desert island

Warm-Up #4

CREATIVE THINKING
Materials: any common objects
1. Have students brainstorm as many different uses for different
objects. (e.g. paper clip, spoon, pin, hair clip, brick)
2. Give students 3-4 minutes to come up with ideas. Remember the trick
is to think of uses for the object other than what the object is
intended for.
Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

MORE BRAINSTORMING
Have students work in pairs or small groups when brainstorming.
1. Draw a shape on the board (circle, square, triangle, etc.)
2. Have students try to think of as many objects as they can that are
the same shape.
e.g. If you draw a circle, students could brainstorm moon, sun, planets,
coins, moon cakes, CDs..)

Warm-Up #5

Never Ending Story or Chain Story


1. Have students form groups. Make sure each student group has a
piece of paper.
2. Student A begins the story by writing one sentence on the paper and
then passes it onto the next student. Student B adds another
sentence on to the story and passes it on to Student C. Have
students read out their stories.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #6
Word Change

Write a sentence on the board. Ask students to re-write the sentence by


changing only the noun, change the verb, add an adjective, etc. There are
many variations to this game. This is a good activity to get students to write
as well a good grammar review.
e.g. I went to Japan during the summer and found the people friendly.
Change the noun
I went to Thailand during the winter and found the animals friendly.

More Word Games

Give students a word. See how many other words they can make from the
original word. For example, the word teacher. You can make 30 words new
words.
tea
teach
reach
each
ear
hear

tear
eat
cheat
heat
heart
at

he
her
here
there
arch
ache

cheer
care
hare
art
tar
cart

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

cat
hat
rat
chat
ate
rate

Warm-Up #7

NEWSPAPER SCAVENGER HUNT

You can use old newspapers for this activity. With your partner, look
through the newspaper to find the following. Circle it with your highlighter
and write the page number on the worksheet.
If you dont want to copy this worksheet, or you want to make this activity
shorter, write some of the find the following on the board. As a variation,
you could ask students to find specific words or phrases in the newspaper
and circle these words.
FIND THE FOLLOWING
1.

An ad for junk food

2.

a story about a local business

3.

a story or picture about banking or money

4.

the most expensive thing in the newspaper

5.

something very cheap

6.

a person you would like to meet

7.

An advertisement for a job with special training and


skills

8.

An ad for a job that says no experience necessary

9.

A sad story

10.

A happy story

11.

An article about a new business

12.

A politician in the news

13.

An ad for something that you would buy if you won


the lottery.

14.

The name and temperature of a city you would like


to visit

15.

A story that you would like to read

PAGE NUMBER

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #8

Fold-over Stories
This is an old favorite. Give each student a sheet of blank paper. Write the
following words on the board in a vertical line: WHO, WHAT, HOW, WHERE,
WHEN, WHY. Explain that everyone will be writing a sentence story. Write
an example on the board, explain, asking for suggestions.
1. Tell them to write someone's name at the top of their paper, i.e.,
their own, a classmate's, the teacher's, a famous person that
everyone knows; fold the paper over once so no one can see it, then
pass the paper to the person on their right.

2. Write on the received paper what the subject did (suggest funny or
outrageous actions), fold it over and pass it on to the right.

3. Continue to write one line, how they did it (adverbs), fold and pass;
where-pass; when-pass; and last of all, why (because...) and pass it one
more time.

4. Have the students unfold their stories, and read them silently. Help
anyone who cannot read what the others wrote, or doesn't
understand.

5. Ask one student at a time to read "their" story aloud, or turn the
stories in for the teacher to read.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #9
FOUR-LETTER-WORDS

You will be amazed to see how many different words can be generated from
a single word!
1. The teacher writes a four-letter word on the board.
For example:
The teacher writes on the board: TIME
2. Students will take turns generating words from the first word. The idea
is to change only one letter but generate a meaningful word.
TEACHER.-TIME
STUDENT1.-DIME
3.-Any letter can be changed but only one letter at a time (but not in the
same place. Example: TEACHER.- TIME
STUDENT1.- DIME
STUDENT2.- LIME (Wrong you should change another letter)
TEACHER.- TIME
STUDENT1.- DIME
STUDENT2.- DOME
STUDENT3.- COME
STUDENT4.- CAME
STUDENT5.- CANE
Etc.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #10
CROSSWORD GAME

You can use this activity to introduce a theme, or to check how much
vocabulary students have in a particular area.
Start off with a large piece of paper for each group of students.
Give them the name of the topic/theme. Write it on the board.
Students must make up their own crosswords using only words (no clues).
For example, you could give students the word business. They write the
word on a piece of paper in any direction. Students must think of as many
words as possible that relate to the topic.

S
MARKETING
TRAVEL
E
BUSINESS

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #11
MAGIC LAMP

1. Divide students into pairs or small groups.


2. Give the following instructions You and your group have just
uncovered a magic lamp. You rub it and surprise a genie appears.
The genie states that he will grant three wishes, but you all have to
agree on the wishes.
3. Brainstorm a list of ten wishes your group would like to make.

4. Narrow the list down to only three wishes that you all agree on.
Provide reasons for your choice.

Warm-Up #12
HAIKU Poetry
Haiku is a form of unrhymed verse poetry that originated in Japan. Each
haiku consists of three lines and usually relies on comparisons and visual
images. The first and third lines have five syllables and the middle line
has seven.

The Puppy
Pick-up day is here
Our child, playful pup now home
Then the work begins

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #13

Two Truths and a Lie

1.

Write three statements on the board. Two statements are true, and
one is a lie.

2.

Students have to decide what statements are true and what


statement is false.

3.

You can also have students do this activity in small groups and write
their own truths and lies.

Warm-Up #14
Whats the Question?
1.

Write some facts on the board. Example:

Blue
Japan
2 years
Students must make up a question that answers the fact.
blue What is your favorite color? What is the color of your car?
Japan Where is your favorite place for a holiday?
2 years How long have you lived in Tai Koo Shing?
Students can do this in small groups amongst themselves.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Questions
Why Didnt you Come to my Party? (past tense review)
The teacher poses the question to the class. Each student must make up an
answer (give an excuse).

Today I am Feeling
Write this statement on the board. You can model the activity by
completing the sentence. I like to draw happy faces (or sad, tired, stressed)
on the board. Each student must complete the sentence.

Warm-Up #15

FUNNY STORY
1. Work in pairs. Take turns to describe a funny incident that has happened
to each person in the group or to someone else.
2. Dont forget to HAVE FUN!!!

Warm-Up #16
Quizzes on British English and American English
Write some BE words and AE words on the board. Have students guess
which word is BE or AE. This activity can be modified in many ways.

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #17
COUNTRIES

Can you find a COUNTRY for each letter of the alphabet?

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #18

Can you find a CITY for each letter of the alphabet?

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #19
JOBS Can you find a JOB/OCCUPATION for each letter of the alphabet?

Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

Warm-Up #20

Team Challenge

1. Your group will work together, as quickly as possible, to find the items (things) on
this list. Your group MUST speak English or your group will be disqualified (out of
the team challenge).
2. All items must be displayed (shown) on your groups table.
3. When your group has finished, shout out FINISHED.
4. The team who finishes first (and has all the correct items) will win a prize.
5. START NOW!

THE LIST
1. newspaper
2. library card
3. pencil
4. food
5. dictionary
6. gum
7. 10 cent coin
8. tissue
9. photo
10. mobile phone
11. calendar
12. memo
*The list can include any items.
Wisdom from 20 Years in the TESL Trenches Patrice Palmer (PHOTOCOPIABLE)

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