Boosting your students’ interest!
When planning a lesson I particularly think about how I want to start and finish it.
A good beginning can set the tone of the lesson and get students alert and relaxed .Involving students from the first minute of a class can be a challenge.
And a good end leaves the students with a good taste for the coming class.
The first activity in the class is often described as a warmer.
Warmers ‘Aims
· Review language from the previous classes
· Introduce topics, ideas and language items
· Raise the energy in the class in the best possible way
· Engage students’ interest
· Foster cooperation and team spirit
Typical qualities of a warmers
· They need to be quick ( ideally 5-10 min )
· They need to be topical
· They need to be fun
· They need to be interactive (pairs , small groups )
· They need to be competitive
· They get students think in English
· They recycle/revise vocabulary
· Get students speaking-noisy
· Raise energy level
Some kind of warmers is: riddles, jokes, games etc.
Coolers are activities that are given at the end of the lesson. They are a great lesson cap and can really help to sum up what students have learned during the lesson. Repetition is the key to learning after all.
Coolers ‘ Aims
· To sum up the lesson
· Keep students focused
· Calm down over-excited students
Typical qualities of coolers
· Short (mark the end of the lesson )
· Topical
· Fun ( doesn’t necessarily have to mean loud )
If you have very enthusiastic students you need a way to calm them down so you can end the lesson well.
Coolers are great activity to get your students seated calm and quiet at the same time keep them focused on using the language.
Some kinds of coolers are: anagrams, crosswords, odd one out etc.
Can you share any warmer or cooler that has been effective in your classes?
Nice summary of warmers….my favorite is “what would you do if?” Google that with ESL and you should get something
Thank you , Josh .
My favorite cooler is “anagram” as well as Tic-Tac-Toe and Vocabulary Tennis. However what I generally do in my classes is what follows:
At the end of the class, I ask them to think of something interesting that might have happened to them or their friends/or even something they might have read. I assign a topic which in most of the cases reflects what we are already going through or will next class. This serves as a cooler but at the same time as a warmer as next class they have to share this story with their classmates. For example yesterday I was teaching Unit 4 , Interchange 3.(“What a story”). As the class was coming to an end and we were still talking about the best way how we can get the latest news, I asked them to think of the strangest news they have ever heard and share it with their class mates. Only one student had the chance to share the news as the class ended. Thus, I assigned it as a homework: “Next class everyone has to tell the strangest news ever”. I’m looking forward to listening to the news tomorrow. It will definitely be a good warmer!
Interesting Diana , thank you !