Activity 21 - This is Me

As teachers we know how good it is to share and exchange ideas with workmates. The post today was inspired by one of those moments! The idea belongs to my colleague Maria Cristina and I added a little flavor to it based on an idea suggested by blog visitor Denise Özdeniz. Thank you ladies!

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with images stored in the photo library

Number of devices needed: one per student
App: Pic Collage (iOS and Android)
Price: free

Instructions: 

Explain that the purpose of this warmer is to get students to know a bit more about each other by having very informal conversations about meaningful things to them. Ask them to select some of their pictures in their mobile devices. Reinforce that they should pick pictures that they feel comfortable showing to everyone and that, in a way, reveal a bit more about who they are, what they like to do, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, etc. Sit them in small groups and let them show their pictures and talk freely about them. As a follow-up, invite some volunteers to show some pictures and talk about them or invite classmates to report interesting things they have learned about each other.

Tip: You can ask students to select their images and use the app Pic Collage to put all the images together in only one. 

Sources: Maria Cristina and Denise Özdeniz

Activity 20- Things in Common

Here is another speaking activity that requires zero preparation and a lot of critical thinking!

Level: intermediate/advanced

Language skill: speaking
Device needed: any device with images stored in the photo library

Number of devices needed: one per student

Instructions:

Pair up students and explain that for this activity they are going to be using the images from their photo library. They should randomly pick out any image from their device`s photo library (an object, a place, food, people, a situation, etc) and share them with their partner. Then, they should discuss what their chosen images have in common. Set up a time limit (2 minutes, for example) and check out what pairs were able to come up with. Have students do it a few times with different partners so that they can use different images and explore different ideas.

Tip: If you wish, you can turn it into a competition to see who can come up with more similarities faster. 

Source: Vinicius Lemos

Picture credits: Flickr (Loony Libberswick)