LET’S DRAW A MONSTER! Games and Activities to Energise the Language Classroom for Junior High School
LET’S DRAW A MONSTER!
Energising Language Classroom Activities for Junior High School: A Teacher’s Guide
Junior high school students often find language classes challenging, but as a language teacher, you have the power to transform these challenges into engaging learning experiences. Classroom activities are the key to achieving this transformation. These activities not only make learning enjoyable but also foster a deeper understanding of the language, leading to improved fluency and proficiency. In this blog post, we will explore a diverse range of innovative and interactive language classroom activities designed specifically for junior high school students. Whether you’re looking to enhance vocabulary retention, boost conversational skills, or make grammar lessons more enjoyable, this guide will provide you with a rich array of strategies to create a dynamic and effective learning environment for your students. Let’s embark on this journey to energize your language classroom and inspire your students to become passionate language learners.
LET’S DRAW A MONSTER!
Target Group: 1st year
Difficulty Level: Fundamentals
Activity Objective: To practice writing simple sentences using third person pronouns (he/ she/ it) with various verbs. Also review body parts, plurals and numbers
LET’S DRAW A MONSTER! – Procedure
- Review body parts and check they remember the plural forms.
- Tell the students they are going to be drawing a monster and introducing it.
- Show them an example monster, introduce it, and check they understand what the sentences mean. For example: This is Alex. He is 14 years old. He has 4 eyes, 5 ears, 2 legs, 10 arms and 1
nose. He likes apples and oranges. He does not like carrots. He plays the piano and soccer. - Hand out the worksheet and explain that they will draw their monsters at the same time. After you announce a body part, they have 30 seconds to draw as many (or as few) of the body part on their
monster template as they wish. - Draw and announce the different body parts out a hat, and have them draw their monsters, one body part at a time. Continue until you run out of body parts.
- Explain they need to introduce their monster. They can make up all the information except for the number of body parts they have drawn. Encourage them to be creative.
- Walk around and help the students
Materials and Preparation
- Large sheet of paper with a pre-drawn monster on it. This is to be used as an example of what they will be drawing. Use the same body outline as the one on the worksheet.
- A4 sheets of paper (with magnets on the back) with various body parts drawn on them. This is used to review the body parts.
- Small strips of paper with various body parts written on them. This is placed in hat or small container and drawn out at random for the students to draw their monsters
- Worksheet with monster template (outline of a body and head), and space (with lines) for writing a description of their monster.
- Timer to keep track of time, especially when drawing the monsters.
Suggestions and Advice
- To save time, make word cards (with magnets on the back) of body parts, and write a sample introduction of your monster on a sheet of paper with magnets on the back (instead of writing it on the blackboard during class).
- To make the drawing part more fun, you could cut out the shapes of different body parts on cardboard instead of just using pieces of paper with the body parts written on it.
•Some students will want to draw masterpieces but that is not the goal of the lesson so be sure to enforce a time limit per body part or for drawing the whole monster. To make it more fun, allow them to draw accessories, hair, clothing etc. if they have spare time. - To involve the students more, get them to draw out the body part cards and announce it to the class.
Energising Language Classroom Activities for Junior High School
In the world of language teaching, fostering a love for learning and effective communication is our ultimate goal. By implementing these engaging classroom activities for junior high school students, you are not only enhancing their language skills but also creating an environment where curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm thrive. As we wrap up our exploration of these energizing language activities, remember that your role as a teacher is invaluable, and your dedication to making language learning exciting and impactful is what sets the stage for your students’ future success.
So, continue to innovate, adapt, and personalize these activities to suit the unique needs and interests of your students. Watch as their confidence soars, their vocabulary expands, and their ability to communicate fluently grows. With your guidance and these engaging activities in your teaching toolbox, you are well on your way to inspiring a new generation of confident and capable language learners. The journey to language proficiency may be challenging, but with your passion and these activities, it is always an exciting one.
Happy teaching!
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