7 five-minute warm-up activities

Category: Teaching

1. Word chains
First, T divides the class into boys and girls. Then, T writes a word on the board and asks Ss to take it in turns to add/say a word starting with the last letter of the previous word. Once a word has been given, it cannot be repeated. T asks Ss to stand up when they participate. Only the Ss who are seated can participate. If a S cannot give a word, the game stops and T counts the number of words given. The winners are who have more words in 3 rounds. 
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Example:
sky - yellow - water - red - dinner – rain – night – take – egg – get – travel
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2. Odd-one-out
T writes words in groups of four on the board. In each group, include an odd-one-out word which is different from the others. Then, T asks Ss to tell which one is the odd-one-out in each group and explain why.

Here are some groups of words:

1. father – sister – friend – grandmother
2. peach – potato – cherry – apple
3. banana – peach – apple – tomato
4. donkey – dragon -  cat – dog
5. rabbit – dog – fox – cat
6. tiger – wolf – cow - eagle
7. sugar – river – pencil – bottle
8. camera – fax-machine - computer – television
9. anger – fear – love – disappointment
10. table – chair – fridge – stool
11. bookshelf – table – mirror – chair
12. female – boy – woman – girl
13. shoe – boot – glove – sandal
14. pork – rice – chicken – beef
15. eye – star – level – radar
16. respiratory – intestine – digestive – nervous
17. rectangle – square – triangle – cuboid
18. whale – fish – snake – crocodile

Possible answers:

1. friend – not family member
2. potato – not a fruit
3. banana – shape
4. cat – beings c / dragon - mythological
5. fox – not a pet
6. cow – herbivore / eagle – has wings
7. sugar – uncountable noun
8. camera – doesn’t need electricity / television – 4 syllables
9. love – positive
10. fridge – the others have legs
11. mirror – the others are made of wood
12. boy – different gender
13. glove – worn on hands
14. rice – not a meat
15. star – not a palindrome (word that reads the same backward as forward)
16. intestine – not a body system
17. cuboid – 3-dimensional figure
18. whale – doesn’t lay eggs

3. All the words you know
T helps Ss to brainstorm a list of words about a topic. T writes on the board one by one of the words.
Next, T challenges Ss to remember all the words by erasing them one by one. Each time, T erases a word invites Ss to reconstruct the list of words together orally from the beginning to the end of it. Eight or ten words is quite enough for the game at the beginning. 
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Here are some word lists:
Colors: white, black, blue, yellow, red, green, brown, purple, gray, orange, pink, cherry, fuchsia, cyan, beige, magenta, turquoise, violet, silver, gold, bronze, navy, olive, aquamarine, coral, khaki, mint, etc.
Adjectives: good, new, first, last, long, great, high, little, old, big, small, large, next, young, false, important, bad, easy, weak, early, expensive, cheap, full, empty, hard, late, low, other, strong, true, whole, best, right, free, special, clear, single, wrong, private, public, hot, cold, dead, happy, etc.
Feelings and emotions: happy, angry, sad, surprised, excited, interested, curious, anxious, upset, depressed, bored, confused, furious, bad, afraid, scared, worried, quiet, love, brave, confident, nervous, disgusting, shy, unhappy, frustrated,  reliable, sympathetic, interested, kind, great, lucky, overjoyed, thankful, glad, miserable, optimistic, calm, pleased, inspired,  enthusiastic, annoyed, aggressive, disappointed, guilty, fatigued, dull, anxious, frightened, cowardly, rejected, etc.
Body parts: head, back, shoulder, waist, chest, abdomen, hip, foot, face, eye, eyebrow, eyelid, eyelash, nose, mouth, chin, cheek, hair, ear, lips, teeth, tooth, tongue, throat, neck, hand, finger, nail, thumb, wrist, arm, forearm, palm, upper arm, elbow, armpit, leg, knee, thigh, shin, calf, ankle, heel, toe, etc.
Clothing: shirt, polo shirt, blouse, turtleneck, pants, jeans, skirt, dress, shorts, sweater, overalls, uniform, jacket, coat, blazer, suit, vest, tie, gown, pajamas, bathrobe, bra, underwear, socks, etc.

4. Word finder
T writes on the board a list of letters and T invites Ss to form as many words as possible in 2 minutes.

For example, using these words: T-I-S-O-V-E-L-T
7 Letters: violets & toilets.
6 Letters: olives, soviet, violet, titles & toilet.
5 Letters: loves, olive, solve, stove, volts, votes, stole & title.
4 Letters: evil, live, love, vest, vets, vile, volt, vote, isle, lets, lies, list, lite, lose, lost, lots, oils, site, slot, soil, sole, test, ties & tile.
3 Letters: vet, its, let, lie, lit, lot, oil, set, sit, tie, tit & toe.
2 Letters: is, it, so & to.
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You can use this word finder: ​https://word.tips/

5. Unscramble the letters
T writes a sentence on the board and asks Ss to unscramble the letters of each word to figure out the sentence.

For example:

1. hse si ym steb dfneri
2. hewre rea oyu romf?
3. uyo velo gineta clahoteco
4. ni seca fo frei seu satris
5. tawh idd yuo od tals nedkewe?
6. cone puno a mite, rethe reew rethe tlelit gisp

Answers:

1. She is my best friend
2. Where are you from?
3. You love eating chocolate
4. In case of fire use stairs
5. What did you do last weekend?
6. Once upon a time, there were three little pigs

6. Big strips of paper
T chooses a complex sentence and writes each word on strips of papers, big enough to see the words from a distance. T randomly picks Ss and gives them one strip of paper per S. Then, T invites Ss to take it in turns to come to the front of the class and stand facing the class showing their word card. T encourages Ss to make up a sentence. Ss can move further along or further back in the sentence.

Here some sentences:

1. I like spaghetti for dinner.
2. The black cat is jumping on the table.
3. If you want to speak to me, then learn English.
4. We visited the zoo before it closed.
5. I wash my hands before I ate breakfast.
6. When she was younger, she believed in fairy tales.
7. Polar bears are in danger of becoming extinct.
8. When people tell you what to do, it is annoying.
9. The football match was cancelled, because it was raining.
10. Trixie wanted to go for walk even though it was getting dark.

7. Anagrams
T writes a word or words and asks Ss to rearrange the letters to make other words.

1. Change there into a number = three
2. Change tea into a verb = eat
3. Change melon into another fruit = lemon
4. Change god into an animal = dog
5. Change cheater into a job = teacher
6. Change are into a body part = ear
7. Change flow into an animal = wolf
8. Change raptor into a talkative animal = parrot
9. Change break into a job = baker
10. Change danger into a place where you grow flowers = garden

Leave your comments and let me know what warm-up activities you use in your class. I look forward to reading your ideas.