Sie sind auf Seite 1von 15

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our

website. Read our Privacy Policy


Accept!

• WORKSHEETS
• ARTICLES
• POSTERS
• BOOKS
• MORE
Search 17,300 wor

Warming Up
8 Great Warmers for Any ESL Level

B Y G R A H A M D I X O N 224,360 views

You walk into your classroom and find your group


Half are sleepily on their phones, and the other half are snoozing at their desk
such a group is one of the first challenges of a teacher’s working day.

Research recently showed that most of the world’s teenaged students are dan
get to sleep before 11pm, due to a combination of natural biology and the stim
but are required to be at school at 7.30 or 8am. Experiments with later scho
including better attention and focus, higher scores, and a much reduced rate of
Most teachers aren’t in a position to change their school’s schedule,
exhausted people for the first class of the day.
Most teachers aren’t in a position to change their school’s schedule, and so we a
for the first class of the day. Often, they have skipped breakfast and are low on
their computers. It’s more important than ever, therefore, to begin class with
up. The rewards are many and varied:
• Warmers bring a surge of focus and energy

• They also activate the brain’s language circuitry; students traveling alone
without having spoken a word to anyone!
• Many warmers require social interactions, obliging students to connect w
• The activity represents a signpost, beyond which L1 (the students’ first l
environment; it’s English only from here on in.
• Warmers are also a fantastic method of review.
Compounding the tiredness problem is that the teacher is often exhausted, too
and the gym and paying bills and a million other things, often eat into sleep time
6 Tips for Arriving in the Classroom Feeling Fresh:
1. Fix a time by which you know you should be heading ‘in the dire
11.15pm. If I’m still up by then, I simply begin navigating my body thro
else: once you’ve done it 40 times, it becomes second nature.
2. Turn off the screen. Research is now incontrovertible with regard to
screens. It can take an hour before the stimulated cells calm down ag
and read for a few minutes before sleep, instead of using your phone
3. Set up your morning the night before. I arrive, groggy and complai
breakfast bowl, spoon and tea mug already set out, the kettle filled an
the fridge. Doing these things in the half-asleep moments after wakin
4. Consider some morning exercise, meditation or yoga. 15 minutes
my whole day, both at school and after hours, leaving me with more e
problems, and more compassion for my fellow humans. I can’t recom
5. I use an application which provides bus times; I leave the house a
waiting at the bus stop.
6. Plan your classes in weekly arcs, so that there are fewer uncerta
decisions to be made means reduced stress and anxiety.

6 Warmer Techniques You’ll Be Using Every Day


1. 1

Vocab Circle

Start with a random student and ask for a word beginning w


proceeding through the alphabet. Choose one part of speech (n
group (sports, countries, colors, animals) and change this each time
students, I also ask for only polysyllabic answers, and if the answ
something more sophisticated. For example, I recorded this classroo

Teacher: OK, what’s next? G?


Student 1:Great!
That’s nice, but let’s go up a level. What about...
Teacher:
Gratifying?
Student 1:Or... Gargantuan
Teacher: Beautiful! Now, H?
Student 2:Happy!
Teacher: (Gestures with a raising, flat palm)
Student 2:Hilarious!
Teacher: Much better! Who’s got I?

If a student gets stuck, classmates can help, or the teacher can mak

Teacher: Next is M, right?


Student: M... erm...
How about that awesome adjective for a really big,
Teacher:
beautiful mountain... or an impressive building?
Student: M... Magnificent?
Teacher: Great job! OK, what shall we have for N?
2.2

Catch-up

Students quickly interview the people around them (in pairs, o


happened in their lives since the class last met. This is a m
encourage students to take notes, so that they don’t forget details su
or the store at which they got a great bargain. Summarizing informa
skill, so guide students away from a formulaic answer such as, “Las
had dinner, then sent an email to his father, then made dinner with hi
time expressions and perfect forms, rather than repetitive struc
homework before dinner, so afterwards, he played video games for a

3.3

Finish The Thought

Write the beginning of a sentence on the whiteboard and ask stu

o Today I’m happy about...


o Today will be awesome because...
o Today I want to learn about...
o By the time we finish today, I want to have... (learned, done, found, im
o Yesterday, I wish I had...

4.4
I Went to Market...

A classic, fun memory exercise, this circle game begins with the
and bought a (noun)”. The second student adds a noun: “I went to
flour”. The third adds another, and so on. By the end of the circle
memorized a dozen or more nouns. This is also a terrific way to pra
of flour, a kilo of rice, a bunch of flowers, a bottle of coke.

5.5

Stand Up, Breathe and Stretch

A singer friend from the Royal Opera House in London recomm


with the students standing up, stretching (reaching for the ceilin
and taking a sequence of three slow, deep breaths. Oxygenating
and performing a simple act all together seems a great way to begin

6.6

Off The Grid

One more thing I always do is to make sure the students’ cellph


simply switched off, depending on the class.Bringing focus to th
day’s work, is much easier without this distraction.
I hope you find these tips helpful, and that your m
an energetic and positive start!
P.S. If you enjoyed this article, please help spread it by clicking one of those sha
in more, you should follow our Facebook page where we share more about crea
• 393
Shares
• 371
• 16

POPULAR ARTICLES:

Creative November Lesson Ideas


10 December Themed Language Learning Activities

10 Ways to Give Thanks This November


RELATED CATEGORIES
• Teaching Ideas
GET THE ENTIRE BUSYTEACHER LIBRARY:
Save hours of lesson preparation time with the Entire BusyTea
BusyTeacher: all 80 of our PDF e-books. That's 4,036 pages
activities and tips that you can start using today. 30-day money
Learn more
by Taboola
Sponsored Links

You May Like


O segredo para comprar na Americanas que as pessoas não sabemCuponomia

Método simples para reduzir conta de luz vira febre em LondrinaEconomizar Energia

Poliglota de 22 anos ensina inglês em 8 semanas e vira febre na internetMétodo Ing


Popular articles like this

10 Methods for Being Alive and Alert for Those Early Classes

6,736
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE
‘Here, Teacher!’
5 Fresh Ways to Take Attendance

68,909
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE
How to Teach the Present Simple Tense

610,269
PRESENT SIMPLE
Sit, Snack or Snooze? Getting the Best from Your Break Times

7,371
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE
7 Engaging Activities to Learn (and Remember!) Your Students’ Nam

73,950
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE
ESL Teachers Ask
What Can I Do if I'm Bored of Teaching?

26,706
CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND DISCIPLINE
BusyTeacher.org

• Copyright 2007-2018 ©
• About
• Submit a worksheet
• Log in
• Terms
• Privacy
• Contact us
• Mobile version

• 393
Shares



371

16

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen