Paulina's Traditional ESL Easter Egg Hunt

An egg hunt is an activity celebrated around Easter time (different countries celebrate it on different days). In this activity, children look for hidden coloured eggs or, nowadays, chocolate eggs.

This activity is an ESL adaptation, in which children get to practise English, have fun and win a sweet prize!

What do you need?

• a colouring page with Easter eggs (+/- 100 eggs, although it will depend on your game) - ask your students to colour them and cut them out for you.
• (+/- pins - you will need one pin for each "egg") 
• a board with numbers (in my case 1-100)
• a list of secret words
• a list of questions/mini tasks for your students
• a die
• some counters, although these can be improvised
• a prize for the winners.

How much time do you need?

• On average, the game takes between 45-75 minutes. It depends a lot on the number of kids that play (almost unlimited) and their level of competitiveness.

How do you play?

• Prepare the questions and tasks appropriate for your students' level and age (There is a link below to the activities I prepared for my students A1-B2).
• Prepare a list of secret words. I have used words from the FCE word formation exam.
• Write numbers 1-100 on eggs and on the reverse write a secret word. Place the eggs on the walls. Depending on your students, you may want to hide them or make them more difficult to reach - it's up to you!
• When students arrive, divide them into small groups and explain the rules to them (Don't move the eggs, steal the eggs or take them off the wall) and demo how to play the game.

• You may need to add or change your rules according to your workplace policy (No running, no shouting, etc).
• Students roll a die and move around the board. When they land on a number, e.g. 5, they have to go and find the egg number 5. When students find the egg, they need to check the secret word and memorise it (without removing the egg from the wall if possible). They come back to the teacher and tell them the secret word (for B1-B2 levels I actually ask them to spell the word). If the word is correct (check with your secret word list), the teacher asks them a question or gives them the task. When the question has been answered or the task done, students can roll the die and the procedure repeats until students get to the final number (100 in my case).

Here's the link to all the materials

For more teaching ideas go to http://polishyourenglishwithpau.edublogs.org/

Spooky Use of English Practice

Here are some Halloween Use of English activities I prepared for my FCE students. My students always ask for some Halloween related activities, but we can always do fun stuff. I hope that thanks to these activities I will kill two birds with one stone - they will learn something more about Halloween and we will practise Use of English for the FCE exam :).

Part 1 Multiple-choice cloze

For questions 1–8, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

Halloween: Where It All Began

In Ireland, 1) _____ Halloween originated, the day is still celebrated much as it is in the United States. In rural areas, bonfires are lit as they were in the days of the Celts, and all over the country, children 2) _____ dressed up in costumes and spend the evening “trick-or-treating” in their neighborhoods. After trick-or-treating, most people attend parties with neighbors and friends. At the parties, many games are played, including “snap-apple,” a game in which an apple on a string is tied 3) _____ a doorframe or tree and players attempt to bite the hanging apple. 4) _____ addition to bobbing for apples, parents often arrange treasure hunts, with candy or pastries as the “treasure.” The Irish also play a card 5) _____ where cards are laid face 6) _____ on a table with candy or coins underneath them. When a child chooses a card, he receives whatever prize is found below it.

A traditional food eaten on Halloween is barnbrack, a kind of fruitcake that can be bought in stores or 7) _____ at home. A muslin-wrapped treat is baked inside the cake that, it is said, can foretell the eater’s future. If a ring is found, it means that the person will soon be wed; a piece of straw means that a prosperous year is on its 8) _____. Children are also known to play tricks on their neighbors, such as “knock-a-dolly,” a prank in which children knock on the doors of their neighbors, but run away before the door is opened.

1.	a	when	b	whose	c	where	d	that
2.	a	make	b	set	c	take	d	get
3.	a	to	b	with	c	up	d	along
4.	a	In	b	On	c	With	d	No
5.	a	trick	b	play	c	game	d	toy
6.	a	up	b	down	c	back	d	off
7.	a	cooked	b	fried	c	boiled	d	baked
8.	a	way	b	road	c	path	d	street

Part 2 Open cloze

For questions 1–8, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap. Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.

The Legend of “Stingy Jack”

1)______ October, carved pumpkins peer out from porches and doorsteps in the United States and other parts of the world. Gourd-like orange fruits inscribed with ghoulish faces and illuminated 2) _____ candles are a sure sign of the Halloween season. The practice of decorating “jack-o’-lanterns”—the name comes from an Irish folktale about a man named Stingy Jack—originated in Ireland, 3) _____ large turnips and potatoes served as an early canvas. Irish immigrants brought the tradition to America, home of the pumpkin, and it became an integral part of Halloween festivities.

People have been making jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween 4) _____ centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed “Stingy Jack.” According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn’t want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself 5) _____ a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to 6) _____ the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, 7) _____ the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree’s bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack 8) _____ to bother him for ten more years.

Part 3 Word formation

For questions 1–8, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same line. Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.

The Legend of “Stingy Jack” (continued) Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an 1) _____ figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, 2) _____ not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a 3) _____ coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this 4) _____ figure as “Jack of the Lantern,” and then, 5) _____ “Jack O’Lantern.” In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving 6) _____ faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to 7) _____ away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. 8) _____ from these countries brought the jack o’lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack-o’-lanterns.

SAVOUR WILL BURN GHOST SIMPLE SCARE FRIGHT MIGRATE

Part 4 Transformations

For questions 1–6, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and five words, including the word given. Write the missing words in CAPITAL LETTERS.

1. Due to bad weather, Ana Belén had to postpone the Halloween Party.

OFF

The Halloween party had ______________________________ of bad weather.

2. When Paulina was a little girl, she always wore princess dresses.

AS

Paulina used ______________________________ princess when she was little.

3. Fran said, “This is the scariest Halloween Party I have ever attended!”

BEEN

Fran said that it was the scariest Halloween Party ______________________________.

4. Not every child got candies at the Halloween Party.

ENOUGH

There ______________________________ all the children at the Halloween Party.

5. Michael says he liked last year’s Halloween Party more.

AS

According to Michael, this year’s Halloween party ______________________________ the previous one.

6. The Halloween Party was attended by more than 120 students!

IN

More than 120 students ______________________________ Halloween Party.

Texts adapted from: https://www.history.com/

Here's the link to the activities and the answer key

For more teaching ideas go to http://polishyourenglishwithpau.edublogs.org/

Practise your Use of English with Songs

Have you ever struggled to prepare an entertaining activity for your teen students to prepare them for the Reading and Use of English part of the exam?

I certainly have and it has taken me some time to come up with something they really loved: SONGS!

My students always ask for song based activities or simply songs. My (students') favourite website is www.lyricstraining.com, we use it at the end of almost every lesson. It's a great activity to have at hand but it only practises listening for specific informationa and might not always be suitable at my students' level.

This is how I decided to adpapt the lyrics available at LyricsTraining to create use of English activities for my students. Here are come examples and link.

Budapest - George Ezra

My house in Budapest

My (1) _____ treasure chest                                                                      HIDE

(2) _____ grand piano                                                                                  GOLD

My (3) _____ Castillo                                                                                    BEAUTY

You, you, I'd leave it all

My acres of a land

I have achieved

It may be hard for you to stop and (4) _____                                    BELIEF

But for you, you, I'd leave it all

(Oh) for you, you, I'd leave it all

Give me one good (5) _____                                                                      REASONABLE

Why I should never make a change

Baby, if you hold me then all of this will go away

My many (6) _____                                                                                       ART

The list (7) _____ on                                                                                     GO

If you just say the words I'll up and run

(Oh) to you, you, I'd leave it all

(Oh) to you, you, I'd leave it all

Give me one good (5) _____                                                                      REASONABLE

Why I should never make a change

Baby, if you hold me then all of this will go away

Give me one good (5) _____                                                                      REASONABLE

Why I should never make a change

Baby, if you hold me then all of this will go away

My friends and family they

Don't understand

They fear they'd (8) _____ so much                                                      LOST

 If, you took my hand

But for you, you, I'd (8) _____ it all                                                       LOST

 (Oh) for you, you, I'd (8)_____ it all                                                     LOST

Give me one good (5) _____                                                                      REASONABLE

Why I should never make a change

Baby, if you hold me then all of this will go away

Give me one good (5) _____                                                                      REASONABLE

Why I should never make a change

Baby, if you hold me then all of this will go away

My house in Budapest

My (1) _____ treasure chest                                                                      HIDE

(2) _____ grand piano                                                                                  GOLD

My (3) _____ Castillo                                                                                    BEAUTY

You, you, I'd leave it all

(Oh) for you, you, I'd leave it all

Link to more song-based activities

Students first do the use of English task and then they listen to the song to check their answers!

Do I have to tell you they loved them?

They absolutely did!

For more teaching ideas go to http://polishyourenglishwithpau.edublogs.org/

Christmas songs - FCE practice

Part 2: Open cloze – Shake up Christmas

Shake up the happiness

Wake 1) ___ the happiness

Shake up the happiness

It's Christmas time

There was a story that I 2) ___ told

And I want to tell the world before I 3) ___ too old

And don't remember it, so let's December it

And reassemble it, oh yeah

4) ___ upon a time in a town like this

A little girl made a great big wish

5) ___ fill the world full of happiness

And be on Santa's magic list

Shake it up, shake up the happiness

Wake it up, Wake 1) ___ the happiness

Come on all, it's Christmas time

At the same time miles away

A little boy made a wish that day

That the world 6) ___ be okay

And Santa Clause would hear him say

I got dreams and I got love

I got my feet 7) ___ the ground and family above

Can you send some happiness with my best

To the rest of the people of east and the west

And maybe every once in a while

You give my grandma a reason to smile

'Tis the season to smile

It's cold but we'll be freezing 8) ___ style

And let me meet a girl one day

That wants to spread some love this way

We can let our souls run free

And she can open some happiness with me

Shake it up…

I know you're out there

I hear your reindeer

I see the snow where

Your boots have been

I'm gonna show them

So they will know then

Then love will grow and

They believe again

Part 3: Word formation – Sleigh Ride

Just hear those sleigh bells 1) ___ Ring-ting-tingling, too Come on, it's 2) ___ weather for a sleigh ride Together with you 3) ___ the snow is falling And friends are calling, "Yoo-hoo!" Come on, it's lovely weather for a sleigh ride Together with you Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap, let's go Let's look at the show We're riding in a 4) ___ of snow Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap, it's grand Just holding your hand We're gliding along with a song of a 5) ___ fairyland Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy-cozy are we We're 6) ___ up together Like two birds of a feather would be Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two Come on, it's 2) ___ weather for a sleigh ride Together with you There's a birthday party at the home of Farmer Gray It'll be the perfect 7) ___ of a perfect day We'll be singing the songs we love to sing Without a single stop At the 8) ___ while we watch the chestnuts pop Oh pop pop There's a happy 9) ___ nothing in the world can buy When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie It'll nearly be like a picture print by Currier and Ives These 10) ___ things are the things we remember All through our lives! Just hear those sleigh bells jingling… Our cheeks are nice and rosy and comfy-cozy are we We're 6) ___ up together Like two birds of a feather would be Let's take that road before us and sing a chorus or two Come on, it's 2) ___ weather for a sleigh ride Together with you Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap, go Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap, now Sleigh ride, sleigh ride Giddy-yap, giddy-yap, giddy-yap, let's take a Sleigh ride, sleigh ride All right girls sing Let's take a sleigh ride now Come on

JINGLE LOVE SIDE WONDER WINTER SNUGGLE LOVE (2) END FIRE FEEL WONDER SNUGGLE (6) LOVE (2)

_________________________________________________________________________________
Download the worksheets here (*docx)

Error hunt

While doing my CELTA course, I learnt to add PACS (Post-Activity Correction Stage) to every lesson I plan. However, everyone who does it will admit that sometimes it's challenging to notice and write down any mistakes, and sometimes, as in case of this writing assessment I did with my students, there are so many mistakes to analyse that you need far more time than a couple of minutes you'd normally dedicate to the PACS stage.

Personally, I think I sometimes neglect my students' mistakes, don't get me wrong. I use different correction techniques, such as reformulations, instant and post-activity corrections but I feel like there's much more I could do to actually make my students learn from their mistakes.

Therefore, last week I started brainstorming while correcting my students' FCE writings (it was one of those moments when you could do anything else but correcting and marking - we've all been there). And I came up with the idea of an ERROR HUNT game for my students. It was quite easy, but a little bit time consuming, to prepare and what's crucial my "guinea pigs" hugely enjoyed it.

How to prepare an ERROR HUNT game

You'll need:

1. A list of your student's mistakes.
2. Post-its.
3. Pins.
4. Answer sheets for your students.
5. A sheet with error codes you've used while correcting writings. I used this one from British Council - I added P for punctuation mistakes, ESP for Spanglish or Spanish and X for extra words.

How to go about it:

1. Write the errors on post-its, don't forget to write the error code on the post-it (you can write it right above the mistake - I didn't want to make it too easy for my students).
2. Pin/stick the post-its in your classroom, hall, wherever your students will be able to access during the activity.
3. Divide your students into groups of 3-4.
4. Set a time limit.
5. Give each group of students an answer sheet and explain how to use the error code to decode/find mistakes.
6. Students get one point for correcting each mistake.
7. After correcting 5 mistakes students can come and check it with the teacher. If their corrections are OK they can steal the post-its so that other teams can't score the point for that "mistake" (Plus you'll have fewer/no post-its to collect after the lesson).
8. Allow students to error hunt until they've corrected all the mistakes or until the time's over.

Feedback  

Go through the mistakes with all the students. The best way to do it is by preparing a PowerPoint presentation with ready error corrections.

What I would change or improve

It was the first time I prepared this activity so I didn't really know what to expect from my students. As I had hoped, they were absolutely into the activity and they got quite a number of mistakes corrected. However, I wish I had assigned more time or had not prepared as many mistakes. I dedicated 40 minutes to the game and only 5 minutes to the feedback. There was not enough time for my students to correct all the mistakes and go through them all.