Appendix 3: Fun Warm-Ups That Require No Materials

Appendix 3: Fun Warm-ups that Require No Materials
1.   Word Association Game: This can be done with two or more people. The teacher starts by saying a word (for example, love), and the next person has to say a word that somehow associates with that word (for example, feeling). The pattern continues, and the teacher has to make sure that only the most recently said word is being used to make an association.

2.   PNI—Positive, negative, interesting. Brainstorm topics on the board—the more bizarre, the better. The teacher puts three pieces of paper—“P” “N” “I” – on the table (or on the walls) and tells the students to stand up. When the teacher’s back is to the students, the students have to walk around the table. When the teacher turns around, the students must move to the nearest paper. The teacher tosses an object to any student and randomly chooses a topic from the board. The student has to spontaneously talk about the subject for a minute, either saying something positive, negative, or interesting, depending on the paper nearest to them. Other students must ask follow-up questions. The object is tossed to at least one person in each category before moving on to the next topic.

3.   20 questions with a twist: The student in the hot seat chooses a word (could be from specific vocabulary learned in class) and provides the first letter to the class. Students ask the student in the hot seat yes/no questions, and the person in the hot seat has to guess what each student was thinking of when they asked the question. For example, if a student says, “Is it sticky?”, the hot-seat person might ask, “Were you thinking of tape? It’s not that.” If the hot-seat person guesses right, he/she gets a point. The game can be used for guessing famous people in history, verbs in any tense, etc.

4.   Word Lists: Give students a minute to write three-letter words. Compare words: students get points by writing words that no one else wrote. Then have them write 4-letter, 5-letter, 6-letter words, etc. You can make it harder by giving them a starting or ending letter. Another word list game is to have two students go to the board and write as many words as they can in a given period of time starting with the letter the teacher gives. Again, any words that the other person did not write gets points for the team.

5.   Alphabet Game: The teacher (or a student) chooses a letter in the alphabet (say, “A”). The first and second student must say a word that begins with the designated letter, but the third person must say a word that begins with the next letter of the alphabet (Bottle). Then the forth and fifth student goes back to the designated letter, and the sixth person says a word beginning with the next letter of the alphabet (Cards). This is based on a drinking game in Colombia called Pum where each person says a number, and every time the number 3 or a multiple of 3 comes, the player must say “Pum.”

6.   Animated Story: The students stand in a circle. Each person contributes to the story one line, which must begin with the last word or letter of the previous sentence. As the sentence is being said, the next student in the circle has to act out the sentence. The previous sentence must be repeated before another line is added, and gestures that correspond to each sentence must be performed. Variation: first put vocabulary words on the board and determine a gesture for each one (TPR). When those words are said in the story, that particular gesture must be used by everyone at the same time.

7.   Four-corner debate: The teacher divides the room into four corners: agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, and disagree (a more simplified version is lining up on opposites walls of the classroom: agree/disagree). The teacher makes a statement, and the students move to the corner which best depicts how they feel about the statement. Then students share their opinions and other students ask follow-up questions to stimulate conversation.

8.   STOP!: The teacher comes up with a variety of categories (more difficult, depending on the level), such as food, country, famous person, household item, and move/book title. A letter is chosen, and when the teacher says “Go,” the students try to write one word for each category that begins with the chosen letter. Once the first student finishes, he/she yells “Stop!” and everyone must put their pencils down. Words are compared, and points are given for words not written by other students.

9.   Sentence Auction: Write 15 sentences on a sheet of paper—some grammatically correct, others not (preferably errors made in class). The teacher is the auctioneer and auctions off all 15 sentences. The idea is that the students should buy the correct sentences and not the wrong ones. Correct the wrong sentences.

10.   Diagnosis: One student goes outside, and the rest of the class determines what sickness or disease the outside student has. The student comes back in, and guesses what his/her diagnosis is based on either asking questions or listening to their classmates give medical advice (“You should take some asprin,” “You can’t drink alcohol,” etc.).

11.   '''Probing for More Information: One person makes a statement, and the rest of the students ask questions until they find out as much information as possible. The statements can be personal, news-related, or even fictional.

12.   Invention Madness: Put students into small groups and tell them to (a) invent a product, and (b) create a commercial to market the product. They have to determine who their target audience is and how to convince their audience to buy their product.

13.   Spelling B: Split class into two teams. The teacher says a word. The first student from each team races to the board to write the first letter, they tag the next student who writes the next letter, and so on until the entire word is written. The team to complete the word first and spell it correctly wins a point.

14.   Superheroes: First go over superheroes and their attributes. Then have students create and name their own superhero in pairs. Then the class must decide on a situation of peril (trapped in a bank robbery or earthquake, lost in space, etc.) and the groups determine how their superhero would save the day. Finally, the superheroes and situations are shared, and everyone talks about which superhero can save the most people. This is the one who wins.

15.   The Negative Game: Draw two boxes on the board, one labeled “questions,” and the other “answers.” In the question box, write “I like…/Can I have?” In the answer box, write “No…” Two people play at a time, or the class can play in groups. The asker can ask anything that is an “I like…Can I have…?” question. For example, “I like chocolate,” and the responder says, “The chocolate is rotten.” Then the asker says, “I like computers,” and the responder says, “There are no computers.” The point is that the responder has to be creative in telling the questioner why he/she can’t have what she likes or wants.