28893 back to school activities

Biographical deductions

Sentence star

Write on board some words and numbers
(your age, children’s names, favourite
number, favourite band/song, your birth
place etc.) Tell the students that they are
all related to you and that they should ask
you yes/no questions in order to find out
the connection. Encourage them to ask as
many questions as they can think of and
try to engage all of them.

Ask your students to draw a five-point
star and finish the following sentences.

This activity helps to break the ice and to
create a good relationship with your students.
Besides it is a good diagnostic tool – you can
check your students’ oral fluency and
grammatical accuracy
(question forms).
Ask them to do a list of their own and ask
each other questions in pairs.

I’ve got…
I am…

I can…

I have never…

I will always…

Predicting similarities

Five things about me

Ask your students to complete the
sentences about their partner and
themselves.

Ask your students to complete the
sentences.

1. We are both __________________.
2. We both have ________________.
3. We both like _________________.
4. When we were younger we both enjoyed
_________________.
5. Next year both of us will probably
________________.
Then ask them to compare their
sentences and see how similar they are.
Good for students to get to know each
other.

1. At the weekends I _____________
____________.
2. My favourite part of the day is ___

_________________.
3. I’ve never ___________________.
4. When I was little ______________.
5. I listen to music when __________
____________.
When they have completed the sentences
ask them to move around the class and try
to find someone who has similar ideas.