Before doing a workout, weightlifting, or any other form of sport, you always warm up. You stretch your muscles and get started for your session. The same principle applies to learning languages. Similarly, failing to start a lesson with a warm-up doesn’t give students time to exercise their brains and start thinking about the topic.
Lesson warm-ups are important for helping students move into a learning frame of mind where they can effectively focus, participate, and learn. Warm-up activities help create a positive atmosphere for learning. However, with each lesson, the teacher may run out of ideas for warm-up activities. In this article, we will show you possible warm-up games/activities for all ages, suitable for both online and in-class learning.
Fortune Cookie
This website is ideal for starting your ESL lessons on a reflective note. This activity uses an online fortune cookie generator, offering students a fun way to explore future predictions, set intentions, or simply ponder meaningful messages.
For example, a fortune like “Great opportunities lie ahead” could lead to a brief conversation about their personal goals or what they hope to achieve during the lesson. While it may seem like a simple task, these fortune cookie messages can inspire creativity and broaden students’ perspectives.
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Fact or Fiction
Fact or Fiction is an engaging warm-up for ESL lessons. The teacher prepares simple true and false statements, such as “A cat can fly” or “The sun rises in the west”.
The yes or no wheel is spun to select a statement, which a student reads aloud, decides if it’s true or false, and explains their answer. For example, if the statement is «An apple is a vegetable,” the student might say, “No, an apple is a fruit because it grows on trees”. If needed, the teacher or classmates can correct or expand on the answer.
This activity reinforces vocabulary, grammar, and critical thinking while keeping students engaged with the unpredictability of the wheel. It’s adaptable to any topic, such as animals or food, making it a fun, flexible start to any lesson.
Contexto
In this captivating warm-up activity, you need to find the secret word with unlimited guesses. In this game, students work together to guess a secret word with unlimited attempts. Each guessed word receives a ranking based on how closely it relates to the secret word.
The activity uses an AI algorithm that has analyzed thousands of texts to calculate word similarity within different contexts. For instance, if the secret word is “dog”, related guesses like “animal” or “pet” might rank higher than unrelated words like “chair”.
Students take turns making guesses, paying close attention to the rankings of previous attempts to refine their next choices. This not only revises vocabulary but also boosts creative thinking as students analyze the relationships between words and consider their meanings in various contexts. The cooperative nature of the game makes it both interactive and enjoyable, ensuring an energetic start to the lesson.
Story Builder
This warm-up can spark imaginative storytelling among students. The teacher prepares the wheel by adding student names alongside simple story prompts such as “One day I found a…” or “Suddenly, the door opened and…” to get the narrative rolling.
To begin, the teacher spins the wheel of names to select the first student, who starts the story based on the prompt. The wheel is then spun again to choose the next student, who continues the tale, building on what was previously said. This pattern continues until everyone has contributed or the story reaches a natural conclusion.
This warmer is perfect for promoting creativity and helping students practice narrative language in a supportive and enjoyable way. As students add their unique ideas, they’re encouraged to think quickly, use new vocabulary, and collaborate with their classmates to create a cohesive story. The unpredictability of the wheel keeps the game exciting, making it an excellent warm-up for in-class lessons.
Word Web
Begin by writing a central topic on the board, such as “Sports” or “Food”, and circle it. To guide students, you can start with subtopics, like “Outdoor sports” or “Fruits”, drawing connections to the central topic.
For a collaborative twist, divide the class into teams and assign each group a different colored marker. Each team selects one writer who will represent them at the board. When you shout “Go!” the writers race to add as many related words as possible to the web, while their teammates call out ideas. Only the designated writer can stand at the board, so clear communication is essential.
When time is up, review the web together. Erase unrelated or repeated words, cross off duplicates, and count each team’s valid contributions to determine the winner. This high-energy activity is perfect for building vocabulary around a specific theme while encouraging creativity and teamwork.
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