Dandelion Wine

'A good night sleep, or a ten minute bawl, or a pint of chocolate ice cream, or all three together, is good medicine.'
Ray Bradbury - Dandelion Wine

What in your opinion is good medicine? Make a list.

What do things Dream of?

Look at this list. What do you think these things dream of?

1, a notebook
2, a streetlight
3, a frog
4, the sea
5, a computer
6, your pet / sibling
7, a wall
8, a lamp
9, a pencil case

Think of another object. What does it dream of?

Here are the efforts from my classes put into verse:

Idea From Brian Moses

Poetry at Work

I have self
Individuality

I have intelligence

Capacity

I have creativity

To transcend

I have youth

Spirit

I have space

Radical possibility

I have praise

Admiration

I have expectation

Looking forward

I have memories

Thank you

Above is a poem by me. Inspired by the poem below by Tomaz Salamun. We could ask our learners - What do you have? And tell me something about it.

Pictionary

Note to self: Don't forget the simple, classic games.

Last Christmas 2

What did you do in the holidays?
Here is an A to Z of what my students did in the holidays.
Can you guess what the verbs are?

An example: USED my phone all day

Mad Libs

PART 1

Write some ideas for the following on a bit of paper. Without looking at PART 2

a) two animals (e.g. pig and cat)
b) a food
c) a place in the town where you live
d) An object
e) Another object

PART 2

Put your words in the spaces below.

a) Do you prefer _____ or _____? (e.g. Do you prefer pigs or cats?)
b) When was the last time you ate _____?

c) What are the main problems with_____?

d) What are the positives of_____?

e) Describe a typical day for a/an _____.

Ask a partner the questions.

Last Christmas 1

What presents didn’t you receive?

Howmanyywords?

How many words are contained in each sentence.

1, Howdoyouusuallykeepintouchwithyourfriends?

2, Tellmeaboutyourfavouriteteacher.

3, Whatkindofthingsdoyoulikereading?

4, Whatareyougoingtodothisevening?

5, Doyouhelpyourparentswithjobsaroundthehouse?

6. Whatwouldyouliketostudyinthefuture?

7. Howoftendoyougotothecinema?

8. HaveyouevertravelledtoFrance?

9. Whatdidyoudolastnight?

Now answer them.

Drawing by Pelayo

Rank

Choose a number.

1, river, lake, ocean
2, chips, mashed potato, baked potato
3, cat, dog, rabbit
4, breakfast, lunch, dinner
5, England, France, Spain
6, Knife, fork, spoon
7, football, basketball, tennis
8, books, music, series

9, boat, train, bus

Can you rank the three words by one of these abstract nouns:

beauty, fear, adventure, cost, dislike, childhood, joy, anger, excitement

and explain your choices (if necessary)

Errosr

Can you find the errors in each sentenec?

1, I didn’t have any homeworks so I watched Netflix

2, My dad works like a lawyer 6 days a week
3, Since 3 days I have been trying to call you!
4, We are 6 in the group on Facebook
5, I might come to the party, it depends of my parents letting me
6, I did a mistake so I started again
7, After running to the bus stop we lost the bus
8, I’m agree with you about the best option
9, What means unhealthy?

Always, Sometimes, Never

Decide if these sentences are always, sometimes or never TRUE.

Explain your answers. 

1, I get up early on Saturdays
2, I do my English homework when we have it
3, If you add two odd numbers you get an odd number
4, The Antarctic Circle is located south of the equator
5, Cádiz province is a very hot place
6, The Olympic games take place every 4 years
7, It’s a good idea to use free software
8, Triangles have a line of symmetry
9, Water is a liquid

example

1, Sometimes True: I sometimes get up early on Saturdays because I have a basketball match. If I don't have a match I stay in bed.

News of the World

Here are some headlines:

Can you complete them with your own ideas?

1, Big risk for young people who are _____.

2, Scientists say _____ cream doesn't work.

3, Schools says plastic _____ should be banned.

4, Kids losing language skills due to _____.

5, The happiest country in the world is _____.

6, ____ are helping to save the world's oceans.

7, ____ triggers (starts) global recession.

8, EU says the minimum age to use WhatsApp is _____.

9, ______ swims under water for a record of 32 minutes.

Spoiler. Here are the original words removed:

1, obese  2, sun, 3, straws 4, emoji 5, Finland  6, sharks 7, pandemic 8, 16 9, penguin

Drawing by Hugo (Words added by me)

Comparative Categories

The word is: BUS

Now think of...

1. Something bigger than a bus:
2. Something smaller than a bus:
3. A verb that goes with bus:
4. A word that comes earlier in the dictionary than bus:
5. A longer word beginning with the same letter: 
6. A shorter word beginning with the same letter: 
7. An adjective to describe bus:
8. The opposite of that adjective:

9. Three things similar to a bus:

Now change the word and go again. To make it harder you could say all the answers have to include or start with the letter C. Or any other letter.

Where are the spaces?

OnegreyandrainymorninginTheBigApple(NewYork)inthecoldandsnowymonthofJanuaryFranachattybutgrumpytaxidriverateaverylargeandtastybreakfastasusualandthendroveherpassengersaroundandaroundthewonderfulcitythatneversleeps.

What word is missing?

Here are some answers to some questions. What word is missing?

1, I keep touch with my friends using WhatsApp.
2, My French is fun and explains things very well
3, I action or fantasy books
4, I’m going stay at home
5, Yes, I make my bed and help the kitchen.
6, I’d like to study medicine maybe be a lawyer
7, Once or twice month
8, Yes I have. I went 2018.

9, Not much. I did some homework and then Netflix with my cat

10, I like listening the radio

Remote Associates

Metaphor

The topic is WEDNESDAY.

One person writes an adjective to describe it. Another writes a noun they relate to it (or random) without looking at each others. Then you put the two together and ask why? See example below. it might take a few goes to get a good one.

Other good topics: Any Proper or Abstract Nouns - Time is a/an.. Happiness is a/an... English is a/an...

Disappearing Sentence

Read the text. 

One grey and rainy morning in The Big Apple (New York) in the cold and snowy month of January, Fran, a chatty but grumpy taxi driver, ate a very large and tasty breakfast as usual and then drove her passengers around and around the wonderful city that never sleeps.

1, Each time you have read it eliminate five words. Then read again remembering the words you eliminated. Keep going until there is no text to see but it is all in your head. Recreate the text on paper.

Or

2, Look at the text.

Eliminate words in the text so that the text still makes sense. You can eliminate one, two or a maximum of three words in a row on one turn. You receive one point for each word eliminated.

For example in the sentence: One grey and rainy morning you could eliminate 'grey and' for two points or 'grey and rainy' for three.

You may end up with just one word left.

The Alphabet

This is a useful webpage from Lingolex (screenshot below)

Ways I have used it:

Alphabet Share - Tell me something about yourself using a letter.

P - I enjoy painting. Good for getting to know.

What did you do? Use a letter as inspiration to what you did yesterday / last week.

P - I picked up my prescription.

Connect. The topic is TRANSPORT. Can you think of a related word so we can turn all the hexagons from red to yellow?

P - Pilot

Blockbusters - Use all the above as a game, which you might know as Blockbusters.

Is it better? (An A to Z)

Is it better to adopt or buy a dog?

Is it better to brush teeth before or after breakfast?

Is it better to cook with butter or oil?

Is it better to drink cold water or water at room temperature?

Is it better to eat standing up or sitting down?

Is it better to fly at night or during the day?

Is it better to go to university of find a job at 18?

Is it better to have loved and lost than to never have loved?

is it better to ignore or respond to irritating phone calls?

Is it better to jog in the morning or in the evening?

Is it better to keep your phone on or off at night?

Is it better to live in Spain or abroad?

Is it better to make your bed in the morning
or have your bed made by someone else?

Is it better to never eat junk food or occasionally eat it?

Is it better to own a home or rent a home?

Is it better to pop or leave a spot?

Is it better to quit or be fired from a job?

Is it better to roll or fold clothes when packing?

Is it better to sleep with or without a pillow?

Is it better to tuck your shirt in or not?

Is it better to use wireless earphones or not?

Is it better to vape or smoke cigarettes?

Is it better to write notes with a pen or type them up?

Is it better to xbox or to playstation?

Is it better to yawn with your mouth open or closed?

Is it better to zig zag or run straight
when running away from an alligator?

3 in a line

This approach to the game inspired by Chris Roland. So that all squares are used and language maximised it's who gets the most threes in a line. Two variations seen below.

Examples from first game: A shark can't fly or A frog hasn't got wings will get you a O or X.

Interesting Questions

Fill the gaps as you see fit and ask away til you've had enough of it.

1, How much / many ____ would fit into this room /space?

2, What three things would you do to improve this room / space?

3, How many ____ could you fit across this table / space?

4, Can you estimate how many ____ there are in your house / school / town?

5, Can you think of ten words between ____ and ____ in the dictionary?

6, If I gave you €20, what would you do with it today?

7, What things would you do if you didn't have to study / work?

8, Pick an APP on your phone. What are its pros / cons?

9, What is your favourite Google product?

10, If a ____ could talk what would it say?

Fibonacci

A Fibonacci poem is based on the Fibonacci sequence 1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21...

The first and second lines are one word, the third line is two words, the fourth three and so on. You could change words to syllables, which i think is the original way of doing it. Here is an example from my class using words. I provided the first word.

(1) rain
(1) wet
(2) water falling
(3) it's quite cold
(5) I feel like a penguin
(8) I can jump in a very big puddle
(13) my mother: PUT ON 13 COATS! my father: TAKE AN UMBRELLA WITH YOU!

7

Can you answer these questions in exactly 7 words?

1, How are you today?
2, What did you have for lunch?

3, What's the weather like today?

4, What do you remember from school today?
5, What did you do last night?
6, Do you like broccoli?
7, What would you do if you won 50 euros?
8, What plans do you have for this weekend?
9, What are you good at? 

Chunks

The topic is BASKETBALL

1) 
Can you use the chunks below to make sentences about it?
Example: One of the best things about basketball is the ball.

2)
Make a sentence about the future, using the chunks to help you answer.

Example: By the end of the year I hope to have won everything in basketball.

Other topics are available.

Image source: Wish I could remember.

Drawings by two different Alejandros

The More The Merrier

More from Herbert Puchta

Choose one question. In a couple of minutes how many answers can you think of?

1, What weighs more than it did half a year ago?
2, What looks different when it is cold than when it is hot?
3, What can you do at school, but not at home?
4, What can cats do that people can’t?
5, What can you use to protect yourself against the sun?

6, What’s your most creative excuse for not handing in your homework?

7, What would you never eat with salt?
8, What stays hot all winter?
9, What are things money can’t buy?

Guess The Year

What is something you like / dislike about the following companies?

What year do you think they were founded?

(Year founded may be open to debate)

(sources: Wikipedia And Steven McGuire Aceia conference 2010)

Baloney

Can you spot the nonsense in each sentence?

1, Always wash a banana before you eat it.

2, They watched the show on the radio.

3, It’s starting to rain. Let’s take a towel along.

4, I used a dictionary to check the meaning of the traffic signs.

5, Spain is further away from France than from Germany.

6, She’s very fit. She never does any sport.

7, We’re both thirsty. Let’s stop playing for a moment and eat some biscuits.

8, She eats a lot of ice cream, even in winter. She just loves hot stuff.

9, It was so cold that people were not allowed to water their gardens or wash their cars.

For this idea and more check out Herbert Puchta.

Wednesday

Can you make a sentence using the letters of a day of the week? or any word?

Words Within Words

From Byrdseed where you can find a list of answers and more great activities.
Artwork by Sandra