Board Game

(Can be used and formatted for any level)

Vocab:
The words will change depending on what their vocab is for that week.
But the cards will either have a vocab word, in which case, they’d have
to give me a definition of it in their own words, or it could have a
definition on the card, and the student would have to respond with the
word. Or, the card could have the word on it, and the student would
have to use the word correctly in a sentence.
Grammar:
Make cards that have to do with the grammar we’re learning at the
moment. Have the cards have multiple choice questions such as:
She will _______my breakfast this morning
a. cooks
b. cooked
c. cooking
d. cook

We ______ for our trip to the beach.

a. pack
b. packing
c. packed
d. packs
What time does he _____ dinner usually?
a. eats
b. eat
c. eaten
d. ate
e. eating
Writing:
On each card put a few words and then have them write a sentence on
the board properly using those words and correct grammar.
-future, job, unless
-dangerous, car, road
-fruit, party, dice
Listening/Reading:
Have a short reading passage on the card, which the other team will
read to the team who’s turn it is, along with a question following about
the passage.
Susan likes to eat apples. She likes to eat big red apples. She
likes to wear a blue hat. She wears a big blue hat on her head.
She wears a hat and eats an apple. She drinks some water from
a white cup. Susan drinks water and eats apples. She doesn’t cut
the apple with a knife. A knife is sharp. She just eats the apple.
 She holds the apple in her hand. She bites into the apple with
her teeth. She licks her lips. She drinks more water. She wipes
her mouth with her hand.
**What type of apples does Susan like to eat? Answer: Red
Speaking:
Have cards with prompts on them with things such as “If I had a
million dollars…” or questions they have to answer like, “Tell me
about your favorite vacation”.
Culture:
Have sentence scrambles that have to do with American holidays that
they have to unscramble.
-presents get Christmas give we and at.
-trick children or at Halloween treat.
-pilgrims at Thanksgiving celebrate we coming of the

STORY-A CHRISTMAS CAROL

(Intermediate to Upper intermediate)
Link to the story: http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/cgi-
bin/carol/hmt/carol.pdf? (I also have the text version of this story at
home, in the case that the link disappears or doesn’t work.)

VOCABULARY
Write in the part of speech, come up with one or two synonyms
and antonyms, then write your own sentence using the word
correctly.
1 .Abyss ( )-bottomless hole, vast expanse or depth.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
2. Affable ( )-friendly, courteous, amiable.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
3. Beguile ( ): to deceive, to mislead.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
4. Boisterous ( ): rowdy and rough.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
5. Caustic ( ): Sarcastic or biting.
Synonyms:
 Antonyms:
Sentence:
6. Desolate ( ): Deserted; without inhabitants; barren.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
7. Disdain ( ): Intense dislike.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
8. Elicit ( ): To bring about a response.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
9. Flaunt ( ): To show off or display.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
10. Hideous ( ): very ugly; offensive or shocking.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
11. Loathe ( ): to detest.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
12. Morose ( ): Being sullen or gloomy.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
13. Penitent ( ): Showing remorse.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
14. Protrusion ( ): something sticking out.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:
15. Revere ( ): to honor or regard with respect.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
Sentence:

GRAMMAR-PREPOSITIONS
Fill in the blank with the correct preposition
 • time: after, at, before, during, past, since, till, to, until, upon
• location: about, above, across, after, against, along, among,
around, at, behind, below, beneath, beside, between, beyond,
by, down, from, in, inside, into, on, onto, out, outside, over,
through, to, toward, under, underneath, up, upon.
• possession: by, of, to, with.
• other: despite, except, for, like, off, throughout.

1. He was ________ his stool in a jiffy; driving away ______his pen, as if

he were
trying to overtake nine o'clock.

2. As to you, nephew, I wonder why you don't go ______ Parliament.

You talk enough nonsense.

3. And, ______ that, you can pop______ to Parthegill's and tell Ephrahaim
Parthegill you've come ______ the seventeen shillings and sixpence
he's owed me since Michelmas. And tell him I shall have a constable
______ there if he doesn't pay up at once.

4. If I could work my will, every idiot who goes______ with 'Merry

Christmas' on his lips'd be boiled ______his own pudding, and buried
_____ a stake of holly ______his
heart.

5. I wear the chain I forged ______ life. I made it link ______link, and
yard______ yard; ______ my own free will.

6. Bear but a touch _____ my hand ______ your heart, and you shall be
upheld _____more than this. Come! Follow me!

7. It is required ________ every man that the spirit within him should
walk abroad ________ his fellowmen, and travel far and wide, to
witness what it cannot share, but might have shared ______ earth, and
turned ______happiness.

8. He's been ______ church ______ Tiny Tim. They'll be ______ directly.

9. And that bleak building ______ there?

10. Belle, have I changed ________ you?

11. It's light pours _______ the homes _______ rich and poor alike.

12. At last he came. His hat was off, _______ he opened the door; his
comforter
too. He was _______ his stool _______ a jiffy; driving away with his pen,
as if he were
trying _______ overtake nine o'clock.

Reading:
Read the story as a class. Have everyone in the class take turns
reading it.
Writing:
Write about a favorite holiday from your own culture.
answering.
Listening
The students will be required to answer the following questions to
make sure they were listening while the story was being read.
1. List three things in part one that prove the setting of the story is
England, 1843.

2. List three characters in the story and their relationship with

Scrooge.

3. Explain how Scrooge's lifestyle is inconsistent with his wealth.

4. Who is Marley? What is Marley's relationship to Scrooge?

5. Using complete sentences, carefully describe the appearances of

each spirit.

6. What physical change took place in the spirit of Christmas Present

from his when he first appears in the story to when he leaves?

7.The spirit of Christmas present and Scrooge visit Bob Cratchit's

home. Using complete sentences and specific details, describe the
home, the children, and the dinner.

8. Why is the spirit of Christmas present a stranger to Scrooge?

9. Which spirit was the most frightening to Scrooge? Why?

10. Which spirit had the greatest effect on Scrooge? Why?

11. Scrooge says, "I am not the man I was." Why does he mean? What
causes the change?

12. Explain why the visions of the future would convince Scrooge to
alter his life.

13. How does Scrooge show he is sincere about his promise to keep
Christmas all year?
14. Predict what Scrooge's future life will be like.

Speaking:
Split them up into groups and assign them a portion of the play to
remake and act out themselves. They will not be able to read off of
scripts but I’ll just give them enough time to be able to come up with
their own version and then they’ll have to sort of talk as they go.

Some ideas for parts of the play that they could reinvent:
• Ghost of Christmas Past
• Ghost of Christmas Present
• Ghost of Christmas Future
• Beginning of story in Scrooge’s business
• End of the play when he realizes he hasn’t missed Christmas
day.
What I meant by reinvent is, put in their own words and put their own
twist on the story. They could make it a more modern version, or
make it so the ghost takes him to a different place, they can be
creative as they’d like. They wouldn’t be allowed to write up scripts,
so I’d be grading them on how well they were speaking, taking into
consideration that they are being put sort of on the spot.
Culture:
Bring in a short story from your own culture. Then I’ll have them get in
groups, and share them with their groups and talk about the themes
behind them and why those are important in their culture. Go to this
website (http://www.santas.net/aroundtheworld.htm) and see and talk
about the Christmas traditions of the countries where my students are
from.
PICTURES
( intermediate and higher levels)
This activity is centered around culture and traditions. The pictures
represent traditions I have in my own family and also a cultural aspect
as they show a number of cultural things about America.
Culture: If able, have each student bring 3 pictures that show or
depict their cultural traditions, or traditions they have just in their
families. If it isn’t possible to bring in pictures like that, have them
bring in something from home that represents the same.
Writing: Write a paragraph about what their pictures represent and
how even though they are living in America (if teaching in the U.S.)
they plan on keeping these cultural or familial traditions alive.
Speaking: Divide the class into groups and have them each research
the culture and traditions of a specific country. Then have them give a
presentation what they learned. Each student in the group will be
required to participate and talk about an aspect of the country.
Listening: I will talk about each of my three pictures shown above,
explaining what they are, and the traditions that my family has. Along
with that, I’ll give the students a worksheet with questions that they
have to answer about what I’m talking about.
Picture 1
1. Does my family use a fake Christmas tree or a real one?
2. About how tall is our Christmas tree each year?
3. Where do most of our Christmas ornaments come from?
4. What is one thing we do every Christmas eve?
Picture 2
1. Who is in the picture with me?
2. What is the thanksgiving tradition pictured?
3. Why do I love that tradition so much?
4. Where is this race run each year?
5. What is my favorite part of running in this race?
Picture 3
1. What is it that my family tries to do each year?
2. What are some places that we’ve been backpacking in the past?
3. Have we ever seen any bears?
4. Why does my family no longer do this tradition?
Reading: Have the students read this article on culture shock.
Culture Shock
Kalvero Oberg was one of the first writers to identify five
distinct stages of culture shock. He found that all human
beings experience the same feelings when they travel to or
live in a different country or culture. He found that culture
shock is almost like a disease: it has a cause, symptoms, and a
cure.
Whenever someone travels overseas they are like "a fish
out of water." Like the fish, they have been swimming in their
own culture all their lives. A fish doesn't know what water is.
Likewise, we often do not think too much about the culture we
are raised in. Our culture helps to shape our identity. Many of
the cues of interpersonal communication (body language,
words, facial expressions, tone of voice, idioms, slang) are
different in different cultures. One of the reasons that we feel
like a fish out of water when we enter a new culture, is that we
do not know all of the cues that are used in the new culture.
Psychologists tell us that there are five distinct phases
(or stages) of culture shock. It is important to understand that
culture shock happens to all people who travel abroad, but
some people have much stronger reactions than others.
During the first few days of a person's stay in a new
country, everything usually goes fairly smoothly. The
newcomer is excited about being in a new place where there
are new sights and sounds, new smells and tastes. The
newcomer may have some problems, but usually accepts them
as just part of the newness. They may find themselves staying
in hotels or be with a homestay family that is excited to meet
the foreign stranger. The newcomer may find that "the red
carpet" has been rolled out and they may be taken to
restaurants, movies and tours of the sights. The new
acquaintances may want to take the newcomer out to many
places and "show them off." This first stage of culture shock is
called the "honeymoon phase."
Unfortunately, this honeymoon phase often comes to an
end fairly soon. The newcomer has to deal with transportation
problems (buses that don't come on time), shopping problems
(can't buy favorite foods) or communication problems (just
what does "Chill out, dude." mean?). It may start to seem like
people no longer care about your problems. They may help,
but they don't seem to understand your concern over what
they see as small problems. You might even start to think that
the people in the host country don't like foreigners.
 This may lead to the second stage of culture shock,
known as the "rejection phase." The newcomer may begin to
feel aggressive and start to complain about the host
culture/country. However, it is important to recognize that
these feelings are real and can become serious. This phase is a
kind of crisis in the 'disease' of culture shock. It is called the
"rejection" phase because it is at this point that the newcomer
starts to reject the host country, complaining about and
noticing only the bad things that bother them. At this stage
the newcomer either gets stronger and stays, or gets weaker
and goes home (physically, or only mentally).
If you don't survive stage two successfully, you may find
yourself moving into stage three: the "regression phase." The
word "regression" means moving backward, and in this phase
of culture shock, you spend much of your time speaking your
own language, watching videos from your home country,
eating food from home. You may also notice that you are
moving around campus or around town with a group of
students who speak your own language. You may spend most
of this time complaining about the host country/culture
Also in the regression phase, you may only remember the
good things about your home country. Your homeland may
suddenly seem marvelously wonderful; all the difficulties that
you had there are forgotten and you may find yourself
wondering why you ever left (hint: you left to learn English!).
You may now only remember your home country as a
wonderful place in which nothing ever went wrong for you. Of
course, this is not true, but an illusion created by your culture
shock 'disease.'
If you survive the third stage successfully (or miss it
completely) you will move into the fourth stage of culture
shock called the "recovery phase" or the "at-ease-at-last
phase." In this stage you become more comfortable with the
language and you also feel more comfortable with the customs
of the host country. You can now move around without a
feeling of anxiety. You still have problems with some of the
social cues and you may still not understand everything people
say (especially idioms). However, you are now 90% adjusted to
the new culture and you start to realize that no country is that
much better than another - it is just different lifestyles and
different ways to deal with the problems of life.
With this complete adjustment, you accept the food,
drinks, habits and customs of the host country, and you may
even find yourself preferring some things in the host country
to things at home. You have now understood that there are
different ways to live your life and that no way is really better
than another, just different. Finally you have become
comfortable in the new place.
It is important to remember that not everyone
experiences all the phases of culture shock. It is also important
to know that you can experience all of them at different times:
you might experience the regression phase before the
rejection phase, etc. You might even experience the regression
phase on Monday, the at ease phase on Tuesday, the
honeymoon phase on Wednesday, and the rejection phase
again on Thursday. "What will Friday be like?"
Much later, you may find yourself returning to your
homeland and - guess what? - you may find yourself entering
the fifth phase of culture shock. This is called "reverse culture
shock" or "return culture shock" and occurs when you return
home. You have been away for a long time, becoming
comfortable with the habits and customs of a new lifestyle and
you may find that you are no longer completely comfortable in
your home country. Many things may have changed while you
were away and - surprise! surprise! - it may take a little while
to become at ease with the cues and signs and symbols of your
home culture.

Grammar:
Have the students write 3 short paragraphs. One about an experience
they’ve had in the past, whether it be a trip they’ve taken and
experience culture shock or a tradition they use to have. Another
paragraph about a tradition they do now and the last about a tradition
or cultural experience they’d like to have in the future. This will help
them practice their past, present and future tenses of verbs.

Vocabulary: Answer the questions by circling the correct

vocabulary word.

1. stage 6. cure 11. cue

2. culture 7. identity 12. idiom

3. shock 8. honeymoon 13. slang

4. disease 9. phase 14. newcomer

5. symptoms 10. reaction 15. adjust

1. Which of the following words means something that suprises

or upsets you?
 a. cue b. culture c. shock d. cure

2. This word refers to the history, language, art and food of a

particular nation or people.

a. disease b. identity c. culture d. phase

3. You can use this verb to talk about changing the channel or
volume on your tv, changing the way you sit in your chair, or
becoming more comfortable in a new culture.

a. adjust b. phase c. symptom d. phase

4. Which of the following words means a signal or sign for you

to do something?

a. newcomer b. cue c. reaction d. adjust

5. If somebody arrives in a new country, that person is a

foreigner; however, there is a friendlier, a
better word we can use to describe someone from another
country. What is it?

a. culture b. honeymoon c. symptom d. newcomer