Teens

Document written by Pascale DAstous, BA (ESL Education), teacher at SOS-tudes Outaouais

The goal at this level is to help students understand various grammatical notions and to give
them an opportunity to express themselves in their second language.

Grammatical content
Verb tenses (s. present, present progressive, s. past, future)
Affirmative and negative sentences
Questions and question words
Articles (A/An/The)
Comparative and superlative
Prepositions of place
Describing things and people
Everyday vocabulary

Possible games

Cattergories: Put the following categories on the board: animals, food, places, and colours.
Give the students a letter. They have to find a word that starts with that letter for each
category.
5 Words Against the Clock: The group is split into two or more teams. One member of
one team comes to the front of the class. That student has a card with 5 words on it. The
student has one minute to give clues so his/her teammates can guess all 5 words. Then, the
next team sends a student in the front to do the same with a different card. The winning
team is the team that guesses the most words.
Board games
Guess Who?
Info-gap/find the differences: Students work in pairs. One student has picture A. The other
has picture B. Both pictures are the same except for a certain number of differences. The
students have to find these differences by asking each other questions (e.g. Do you have
a cat? Is it in front of the chair?)
Sentences game: Prepare three set of cards (nouns, adjectives, verbs). Can be played in
pairs or small groups. The first student picks one card in the category of their choice and
uses the word in a sentence. If the sentence is correct, they can keep the card. The next
student picks a card and has to use the word in a sentence, but if he can also use the card
of the other student in that same sentence he gets that card as well. At the end of the game
the student with the most cards wins.
Which Story Isnt True? (also known as 2 Truths and a Lie with pictures): In one
version of this game, three students stand in front of the class. Each student has a picture
in their hands. One of the students has a blank picture. That student is the only one who
can lie. Each student describes their picture; they can give as much or as little detail as
they want, but if they dont have the blank picture they have to tell the truth. Once they
have given their descriptions, the rest of the class gets to ask questions to try to figure out
who has the blank picture and is therefore lying.
Paper Fold: Students draw what you tell them to (e.g. Draw a cat under a table.) Then, if
they are strong enough, you can have them write sentences that describe their pictures.

**Possible sources for games and activities
Gold Mine by Melvin S. Shantz (Editions Tango)
Bogglesworld website ESL Teacher Resources, Job Boards, and Worksheets
Daves ESL Cafe website www.eslcafe.com

Blueprint of a class
-Questions or word games on the board
-Conversation with the students about school, their week, their weekend, their interests, etc. This
can vary in length or depth depending on the students level.
-Grammar
-Games that use the vocabulary and notions they have seen here or at school

Example of an eight-week course plan

Class 1
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-Pick a card; tell me about yourself (others can help by asking questions)
-Review of to be and to have (present/past/future)
Possible activities: translations, writing sentences, written exercises
-Games: Conversation board game, Cattergories, etc.

Class 2
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-S. present (affirmative, negative, questions): translations, sentence writing, using flashcards to
make sentences, written exercises
-Games of your choice: info-gap activity, Guess Who?, etc.


Class 3
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-Present progressive: sentence writing, flashcards, written exercises, etc.
-Games of your choice

Class 4
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-S. past and future: translations, sentence writing, exercises, etc.
-Games of your choice

Class 5
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-Verb Tic-Tac-Toe: Put verbs and tenses in the squares of a tic-tac-toe game. Split the group in
two. They have to make a correct sentence to put their X or O in the square.
-Review prepositions of place
-Game of your choice

Class 6
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-Verb Tic-Tac-Toe
-Paper Fold using prepositions. The students write sentences to describe the pictures afterwards.
-Games of your choice

Class 7
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-Sentences game or Verb Tic-Tac-Toe
-Exercise: Turn sentences into questions
-Game of your choice

Class 8
-Word games or questions on the board
-Conversation
-Verb Tic-Tac-Toe or other grammar activity
-Games of your choice