HOW CAN WE START OUR LESSON?

   Now, I really want to focus on how to start an English lesson. For this, there are some techniques and funny activities that are called " warm - up activities ". 

   You know that we, teachers, should try to engage our pupils from the very beginning of the lesson and we can do this with the help of warm - up activities. In this post, I want to talk about some enjoyable activities that you can apply at the beginning of your lesson. Let's have a look at all those warm - up activities and their benefits firstly! :)

= ) What are the benefits of warm - up activities?

1. They increase the pupils' participation in your class.
2. They attract your students' attention.
3. They help your students feel comfy and relaxed.
4. They activate your students' " prior knowledge ".
5. All these warm - up activities make your students ready for the new material.

   As you see above, the benefits of warm - up activities are unavoidable and they shouldn't be ignored by us. In this case, knowing the features of warm - up activities is also important. Let's have a look at the features of them then!

1. They need to be " interesting ". ( Your warm - up activities need to motivate your students. )
2. They need to be " short ". ( Warm - up activities should not be the main focus of your lesson. )
3. They shouldn't be too " difficult " or " confusing ". ( At the beginning of your lesson, do not make your pupils scared please! If your warm - up activities are not so difficult, your students will feel relaxed and they will be able to learn the subject in an easy way. )
4. Never forget the main purpose of your warm - up activities should " get the students ready to work in English ".

= ) WARM - UP ACTIVITY EXAMPLES

• Make as many words as you can. = ) Firstly, write a word on the board and then ask your students to make as many words from it as they can.
• Here is the answer, what's the question? = ) You write the answers to a few questions about your life on the board. For example ; you can write " pizza " on the board. Later, your students will say to you : " What is your favorite food? ". Namely, your students will be able to create questions related to your ready - made answers.
• Make the longest words! = ) Write a word vertically down the board! Later, ask your pupils to come up with the longest word that begins with each letter!
• 20 questions. = ) Choose and ask one of your students to think of something! Later, the rest of the class will try to predict the thing that selected student chose on his / her mind. At the same time, other students can ask questions to find the thing like " Is it big? Is it around us now? Is it at home? Can we eat it? etc. ". Your selected student can say only " Yes / No! " against incoming questions. 
• Guess the picture. = ) A student comes to the board and starts drawing something. The other students try to give what the picture is before the person has finished the drawing yet.
• A to Z race. = ) You can ask your students to give a suitable word beginning with each letter. In this case, you need to write all the letters in the alphabet on the board. You can give your students a theme like " animals " and they can give a suitable animal word that starts with each letter. For example ; Ant, Bear, Cat, .......... Wolf, Yak, Zebra.       

          A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z =) 26 LETTERS

• What does your name mean? = ) Ask each student to write his / her name! Later, ask your students in order to find a suitable adjective that begins with each letter of their first name! By the way, you can let them use an English dictionary. They're free to use their coursebooks, too. For example ;

          C = Careful

          A = Amazing

          N = Natty