What Do You Do?

What do you do, when the year's almost done, when the thermometer is pushing 40, when the kids have returned all their textbooks to the school library, and they want to be in English class, just about as much as you do (which isn't very much by now) but there are still a few more lessons left, and you can't get into the video room? Well, here are your answers- contributions sent in by colleagues from the ETNI list within a couple of hours after I posted my query. Well done, you guys!

Here's a game that has brought to life even the most bored and apathetic pupils:
Eretz Ir Chai Tsomeach!
I make up cards with different categories depending on the ages and interests of the pupils, and bring in the little cubes from Scrabble with the different letters of the alphabet. I break them up into small groups, call out a category, call out a letter and the first group to raise their hand and answer correctly gets the point. That's it! Very simple, and the pupils love it, even Yud and Yud Aleph. Make sure you have prizes for the winning group. I'm looking forward to more ideas.
~ Maxine Tsvaigrach

A Spelling Bee, using vocabulary learned over the year, with prizes.
~Adele

BINGO! It goes over in almost every group, boys and girls, from 4th on up, and you can do it with verbs, adjectives, nouns, vocabulary from a particular unit... I hand out BINGO sheets, graphs that have been divided into 25 squares, and list the words to be used on the board. The kids have to prepare their own boards, scrambling the words as they wish (of course, there are more than 25 possibilities), and then, depending on how energetic I am, I either pick the words out of a hat, or just choose them from the blackboard at my own discretion. Of course, you have to remember to bring prizes...
~ The Rappeport Family

1) Football I invested in an American football. For classes that can read I spend about one class teaching them the vocabulary and rules (hovering the ball above their heads as a continual enticement); they then take a quiz at the next class and then for the next two classes we play. If it's a class of non-reader, likuey hamida kids we go straight to the migrash and I give them the English orally on the field.
INSTRUCTIONS:
American Football The Players The Offence:
1. Hiker—He "hikes" the ball to the quarterback.
2. Quarterback – He throws the ball or runs with it.
3. Receiver – He tries to catch (to 'receive') the ball that the quarterback throws.
4. Fullback – He blocks the fullbacks of the defense and tries to keep them away from his quarterback.
You can have many receivers and halfbacks. The Defense:
1. Fullbacks – They try to "tackle" ( for us this means "touch") the quarterback.
2. Halfbacks—They try to follow the receivers and "intercept" the ball.
If someone intercepts the ball he can run with it and try to make a "touchdown" Terms and Rules
1. Touchdown – This is the same as a "goal". It is worth six points
2. Passing the ball – This means throwing the ball.
3. Hiking the ball – This terms refers to the way the hiker passes the ball between his legs to the quarterback.
4. Line of scrimmage – This is the imaginary line which marks where the ball was when it was stopped. Nobody can cross the line of scrimage until the ball is hiked!
5. Offsides – When someone from the defense crosses the line of scrimmage before the ball is hiked. This is a penalty –º??of five yards.
6. Tackling – This is how the defense stops the offence. For us it means putting two hands on the back of the person with the ball.
7. Downs – The defense has four chances or 'downs' to make a touchdown. Then they must "kick-off" the ball to the other side.
8. Field goal – When the kicker kicks the goal between the posts his teams gets three points. The Object of the Game The offense tries to make a touchdown or a field goal. The defense tries to stop them.
Vocabulary
1. The defense 8. The Receiver
2. The offence 9. The goal post a goal
3. To throw 10. To tackle to touch
4. To hike 11. touchdown
5. To catch 12. Line of scrimmage
6. To block 13. To cross
7. The Quarterback 14. Offsides
15. Downs 16. To pass the ball 17. Fullback
18. A guard
19. to intercept 20. interception
* What follows is a Bingo list for weak classes who can't deal with the vocab and rules.
American Football Vocabulary
1. The defense 8. The Receiver
2. The offence 9. A goal post
3. To throw 10a. To tackle 10b. to touch
4. To hike 11. touchdown
5. To catch 12. Line of scrimmage
6. To block 13. To cross
7. The Quarterback 14. Offsides
15. Downs 16. To pass the ball
17. Fullback 18. A guard

Football Quiz
True or False
1. The quarterback hikes the ball
2. The fullback blocks.
3. The halfback tries to intercept the ball.
4. A touchdown is worth five points.
5. Each team has four downs to make a touchdown.
6. The ball stops wherever the man carrying the ball is "touched" or "tackled".
7. It's OK to cross the line of scrimmage before the ball is hiked.
8. The receiver tried to catch the ball.
9. The quarterback can, if he wants, run with the ball.
10. Football is a calm sport. B. Define

1. to cross 6. The defence
2. to catch 7. The offence
3. to pass 8. offsides
4. to block 9. A guard
5. to intercept 10. To hike the ball

2) French in a Day
This might sound crazy, but I put together a 'French In a Day" lesson. I believe that this is legit because I'm developing their sensitivity to foreign language, and in many cases building up their confidence to learn other languages. My lesson consists of the numbers and two dialogues (with English translations). Again, I'd be glad to send this to you. I also teach them French songs and, when they lose energy for the French, English and American folk songs.

3) Teach songs

-"If all the seas were of ink, and all the ponds planted with reeds, if the sky and the earth were parchments, and if all human beings practiced the art of writing--they would not exhaust the Torah...just as the Torah itself would not be diminished any more than is the sea by the water removed by a paint brush dipped into it." - pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer
~ Hyatt

Here's one easy and fun idea. Everyone can participate and they might even show that they learned a little something about one another over the year....Ready?
It's called true/false. If you've already worn out this idea to death, you can probably attest to its efficacy.
You put 4 statements up on the board about yourself - 2 true, 2 false.
Then you make the rounds and count up the votes - which ones are true and which aren't.
Like: I'm dying to try bungee.
I'm a vegetarian.
I'm going to Florida in the summer.
My favourite movie is "Forrest Gump".
The pupils guess for you, and then you confess - for me it's the first two, but that's today. Tomorrow, might change my mind.
Then you get kids who're willing to put themselves on the line. They can do the writing - or pick a writer. Then the kids vote. and so it goes. Got yer kinesthetics. Got yer visuals. Got yer perennial liars. etc. And they're listening and talking.
Have fun.
~Judi Haggai.
(Please send more easy ones. I don't want to play football!!!)

I used a word search program that I got originally from Marion Ben Ami, and I put into it the names of all the pupils in the class, first and last names, twice or more if I had pupils with the same name. I gave out the sheet without any explanations - meaning I explained what had to be done - look for the words written below - but I didn't say what the subject was. When the pupils discovered they were their names they were looking for they got very excited - I dare to use the adjective. The noise was minimal and only connected to the subject as there were whoops of joy when pupils found their own names. I used it on Grades 7 and 8 but, of course, it's not an exercise you can use more than once in each class.
~Lita Arkin

What I do is collect riddles. Have the students form groups or three teams. The trick is to read out the riddle in class, in English. 2 teams compete and the third is the referee. They have 5 minutes (or how ever long you think they need) to figure out the answer and to ANSWER IT IN UNDERSTANDABLE ENGLISH. The referee team judges whether they understood the answer or not.
Rotate the referee team. Like it?
~ Renee

I used to take the cards from Trivia Pursuit and pick out the questions I thought some could answer. I typed these out under the different categories. I would add some more up-to-date questions under Entertainment, Sport, etc. The class would be divided into 2 teams where each side got two points if they answered correctly when it was their "go" . If no one knew the answer, and if the other side answered, 1 point was received. They could choose which subject each time and I believe it greatly improved their general knowledge which always helps for reading and knowing more about the world.
Good luck
~Devorah

In 10th and 11th grades, I often use limericks. I bring in several examples, the more ridiculous the better, and then I get them to make up their own in groups. Sometimes I help them a bit to find a rhyme, or change the rhythm, but they always enjoy listening to each other's final version. It's all in English, it's a creative challenge, it's relevant to them, because their limericks are class-orientated, and I don't even need the competition element, because the pride they feel when they read out their own successful limericks is more than enough.
Here are some examples of limericks:

There was a young lady of Ryde,
Who ate some green apples and died.
The apples fermented
Inside the lamented,
And made cider inside her inside.

There was a young lady of Niger,
Who smiled as she rode on a tiger.
The end of the ride
Saw the lady inside
And the smile on the face of the tiger.

An epicure dining at Crewe
Found quite a large mouse in his stew.
Said the waiter: "Don't shout
Or wave it about
Or the rest will be wanting one too."

There was a young bard of Japan
Who wrote verses that no-one could scan.
When told it was so,
He replied: "Yes, I know,
But I always try to get as many words into the last line as I possibly can."

There was a young man of the Bees
Who got stung on his hand by a wasp.
When asked: "Does it hurt?"
He replied: "No, it doesn't,
But I'm glad that it wasn't a hornet.

That should be enough to get them started on their own. Hope it helps.
~Liz Olivestone

Here's one for the younger end, though I suppose older ones could write something more sophisticated like a ransom note: Save up old English magazines. Give the kids the magazines and a piece of blank paper. They have to write their names or a sentence using letters they cut out from the magazines. It usually takes ages as they start looking at adverts which of course is great exposure to English!!
~Rachel (1) Telegrams
Pre-Prepare yourself a sheet of paper with about 10 lists each of 7 random letters. Divide class into groups of 4-6 (although it works just as well with less numbers for small classes. Each group appoints a scribe and a runner. Call out your first group of 7 letters which the scribe writes vertically on a sheet of paper. The group then has, say, three minutes in which to make up a meaningful (but possibly pretty silly!) "telegram" consisting of 7 words, each word beginning with the letter you've called out. A signature should be included (see below). The runner brings it to the teacher. Keep score by perhaps giving each group a number or a name. Continue for as many sets/ groups of letters you have prepared or add more if desired. Maybe increase/decrease the number of letters. Prizes for winning team? Up to you!
Example:
T rain
A rrives
S even
F ifteen
P lease
M eet
O ded

(2) Kim's Game
Bring a piece of cloth or tea-towel with you to class plus some smallish objects. Prepare a tray or your desk top with 30 objects which can be from those you've brought it and/or from your handbag! Keys, notebook, 10 shekel coin, piece of (unopened!) chewing gum, comb, compact, Buy & Bonus Card, sellotape, apple, chalk, pen, pencil, wallet, ID Card, store receipt, audio tape . . . . . . . come on - you can think of things. Give the class 5 minutes to study the objects BUT NO WRITING DOWN. When you say Go! Cover the objects (completely) with the tea-towel and students return to seats and write down as many things as they can remember in 10 minutes. Let them swap papers with a friend for marking. Up to you how strict you want to be about spelling/accuracy. A good English student can remember 25 out of 30 objects. (3) Another no-prep (possibly old, tried and tested but still popular) activity . . . . "I went to the shops" 1st student : "I went to the shops and bought a kilo of apples 2nd student: "I went to the shops and bought a kilo of apples and some toothpaste 3rd student: "I went to the shops and bought a kilo of apples, some toothpaste and some Bamba" etc, etc, etc.
OR - everything bought must begin with a nominated letter or even a nominated color (very hard)
~Josie

Bring in a song with lyrics that are easy to hear and that YOU LIKE!
Write the first word of each line on the board in a column.
Get the kids to copy the column/s of words.
Play the cassette and get them to fill in the missing words.
Play the song as many times as you need to/can stand to/want to...
By the end of the lesson they will have heard the song umpteen times and will know the lyrics off by heart.
(I usually start helping them and fill in odd lines here and there time I play the song).
A good listening comprehension exercise that the kids enjoy and gives them a chance to practice and then check their spelling. (I've done it very successfully with "Tie a yellow ribbon" among others).
~judiavi@netvision

ACTIVITIES THAT NEED INTERNET ACCESS

I put a list of informational items on the board and they had to surf the Internet to get them. They worked in pairs and the pair that finished the list first won. It was a tremendous success. It was also a very valuable lesson because they got hands on practice in doing research. They had to figure out how to search for the information (going from the general to the specific) and how to sort through site descriptions to find the most relevant. [I was surprised to discover that although this was an excellent class with top students, they were overwhelmingly ignorant of basic library skills (how to search for info)]. When they found an answer, they copied and pasted the relevant bits into a Word document.

Here's the list I used (off the top of my head at the time):
1. Find the name and some background info on a female pirate.
2. Find a black American poet and one of his/her poems.
3. Find a picture of Superman (they got to practice saving graphic images).
4. Find Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
5. Find the capital of New Mexico.
6. Find the animals and years of the Chinese horoscope.
7. Find Maria Carey's astrological sign.
~ Debbie Samuels-Peretz

I have a book called Lessons With Laughter--terrible jokes and "find the error" exercises for end of the year (or beginning). I also have been sitting by MTV with video on waiting for a song I want to use. I may ask them to bring in songs too. One class went into www.hpfun.com and kids sent me postcards from their "vacation" or where they think I should go on mine! (I have a hotmail-type account at www.email.com for just such exercises because it is an easy address to remember and then if they bother me, I don't mind since it isn't my main email address!) Also go see Renee Wahl's list of sites in you latest ETAI jounal!
~Gail Shuster-Bouskila