warm-ups

A warm-up is a brief activity conducted at the beginning of class with a lot of repetition and choral response. It is an in-place activity, //not a game.// There is no evaluation, no testing, nor grading so there will be no apprehension or hesitation to participate. A warm-up is usually a brief (5 - 10 minutes maximum) review and practice of something they have already learned, but it can be a simple short presentation of a few new vocabulary words, not a grammar lesson or conversation session. The teacher uses some sort of visual aid to present the material to be reviewed or learned. This focuses the students’ attention and gets them involved. If vocabulary or a grammar concept is practiced or presented, the warm-up //should end with the students using the words or structure in meaningful, natural context, not just repeating isolated words//.

Warm-ups can be a great way to present and practice oddities, or special ways of saying things that do not fit into main topics and categories or are too simple to merit a full lesson.

Warm-ups can be very motivating if you conduct them with enthusiasm and use a variety of visual aids. Make them fun and the students will enjoy them. Fill in what is typically dead space or "down time" with learning time.


 * Examples:**

The teacher reviews **numbers** with the students, using flash cards or the chalkboard. Then to get them out of the rote sequence, the teacher has them do math problems or asks questions that require a number in the response such as: How many windows are there in the room? How many brothers do you have? How old are you?
 * Numbers**

Using a map, the teacher teaches or reviews the **nationalities** of people from different countries. Then using pictures of well-known Arabs, the students are asked //Where is from?//
 * Culture**

Review the days of the week with flash cards. Set the visual aids in a row along the chalkboard, writing a number over each, you call out a number and they call out the day of the week, or you call out the day and they call out the number, and so on. Point to days on a calendar and review one more time. Then asks questions. //What days do you go to school? What days do you play sports? What day do you get up late? When do you go to the store? etc.//
 * Vocab - days of the week**

Hold up a classroom object. Say the word and have the students repeat. Do this 2 or 3 time and then add a new object. Teach 3 - 5 words and then cycle back to through them. Check for understanding, pronunciation and retention by using " __ lightning strikes __ " or another technique. Repeat the process with 3 - 5 new words. Have extra classroom objects handy to use as you teach and and practice. Have students respond to questions that require the use of a classroom object.
 * Vocab - Classroom objects**

Pronunciation practice can be brief enough for warm-ups and can be very effective. Make a stack of cards, one for each student. List sample words that include the problem sound you want to practice. Create a short 2 person dialog (4-8 sentences) that uses the targeted sound frequently. Practice the sample words as a class. Then seat the students in pairs, each with the practice card. They decide who is "A" and "B" and read the conversation, focusing on the sound of the letters.The student not talking listens to the one talking and makes corrects him or her if the pronunciation is not correct. After a couple of repetitions, announce that they are to change roles and repeat the process. Prepare these cards beforehand, and you can have an instant stockpile of warm-ups that you can use several days in succession or for an impromptu warm-up. After a few weeks, you can cycle through the stacks again if they need it.
 * Pronunciation**

• You may have to divide topics into more than one day to keep it within the 5-8 minutes you should spend on the warm-up. • Have visual aids ready before the activity. • Prepare image flash cards for vocabulary words. You can get them from an "image" search on the Internet. We suggest that you search in Arabic-speaking country domains and type the word in Arabic so you get culturally authentic pictures. • To avoid printing costs select images for words you want to teach and put them on a transparency, in a slide presentation, or a document you can project • For reading practice, divide a story into short segments, and prepare a handout for each segment. Have students read the story one segment at a time. • Don't spend too much time on a topic, remember it is a warm-up. You can carry it over for several days.
 * Tips**


 * Possible Warm-ups**

Following is a list of ideas for different types of warm-ups that could be used in a first year class. (Often the lesson you are working with will give you some ideas for warm-ups, such as titles, parts of the body, school subjects, etc. Or you just might wish to review something they learned several weeks ago, but have forgotten.)

Types of transportation - Pictures/transparencies/toys of train, bus, plane... Days of the week - Calendar, chalkboard, pictures of activities... Emotions, feelings - Pictures/flash cards Daily activities, routine - Pictures, agendas, schedules Actions/verbs - List of actions, teacher pantomimes Weather expressions - Visuals, weather reports Parts of the body - Picture, doll, dummy, actual student Months (birthdays, activities...) - Calendar, pictures Sports - Pictures of sports and famous personalities Greetings (I say loud, you say soft...) - Pictures of morning, afternoon, evening.. Clothing (Going to Alaska, Hawaii...) - Articles of clothing, pictures, use studs. Colors - Color chart, crayons, colored obj., students' clothing Animals, birds - Pictures, stuffed animals, toys Household objects (sofa, bed... ) - Pictures or toys Occupations, professions - Pictures, hats and clothing Fruits - Pictures, real or plastic fruit Rooms in house (bath, bedroom...) - Pictures, toy house School subjects (math, P.E, biology….)- Schedule on board, textbooks for each subject, etc. Family relationships (cousin, uncle...) - Family tree, pictures Meals and times (breakfast, lunch...) - Pictures, clock Musical instruments - Pictures, toys, actual instruments Opposites (hot/cold, up/down) - Pictures (I say white, you say black activity) Names of public buildings - Pictures (post office, city hall, library), city maps
 * Vocabulary**

Negating (I say yes, you say no..) - List of sentences Negative words (never, nothing, etc.) - Large cards with neg. words, quest. list Idiomatic expressions - Pictures of actions Substitution drills - Drill cue cards Completion drills - Drill cue cards Combination drills - Drill cue cards Transformation drills - Drill cue card "Split-second translation" - Sentence lists Noun to pronoun drill - Flash cards, objects
 * Grammar**

Forming numbers - Number sets, transparency of numbers Math with numbers: add, subtract, - Chalkboard, flash cards, number board divide, multiply, count by threes, etc Review an old dialog - Dialog visuals Restaurant expressions - Menu, table, utensils Poems - Cue cards, transp. with lines omitted Coping card practice - Coping Card, situations, phrases Time of day - Clock Time of activities, events - Clock, transp. of activities, events Learn/review poem, proverbs, etc. 11. Chalkboard, pictures, chart Proverbs or sayings - Visuals, list of proverbs Names of letters (alphabet) - Flash cards with letters of alphabet Number add-on (Start with nbr. call on student who adds a number, call on other student who adds another number, etc. 7, 72, 726, 7263, 72631, etc.)
 * Misc.**

Consonant sounds - Transp. with words, pictures, practice cards Vowel sounds - Transp. with words, pictures, practice cards Tongue twisters - Transp. or posters with twisters
 * Pronunciation**

Road signs - Pictures of signs Names of countries - Map Names of capitals of countries, cities, -- Map, etc. in target language Types of stores (market, clothes, shoes..) - Pictures, or objects Money (diff. names from dif. count.) - Coins, bills, chart of monetary units of different countries Vacation spots (beach, mountains, -- Pictures, posters, maps Geography -- Pictures and maps Famous artists -- Transp., slides Flags of countries -- Pictures, flags Gestures they should know -- Pictures of actions, concepts, situations
 * Culture**

Read (tell) story -- Big story book, pictures Act out fairy tale -- Props, pictures, story book Play audio/video -- audio/video clips, pictures Current events -- Newspaper, mag., pictures TPR activities -- Vocab. lists Songs -- Transp, or handout with blanks
 * Listening Comprehension**