On the first lesson after a long break, like Christmas holidays, it is customary to spend some time talking about what the students have done during their break. This, however, can be time-consuming and sometimes even boring. Turn this typical activity into a fun and constructive way to practise speaking about Christmas holidays and New Year's Resolutions.
Split your class into two groups, A and B.
Give Group A 10 New Year’s Resolutions (handout) and ask them to choose any 6 of them at random.
Split Group B in pairs and ask them to discuss their New Year’s Resolutions. For each pair assign two students from Group A to listen to their conversations. If any of the two students hears the 6 resolutions he/she has chosen, he/she can shout BINGO and be the winner.
Point out that it is not necessary for the student to say the exact phrase. For example, instead of saying ‘I’m planning to work out more.’, the student might say ‘I am planning to go to the gym more often’.
Repeat the above activity by asking Group B to choose from a list of 10 things, 6 that the students from Group A might have done during the holidays (handout).
Later ask Group A to discuss in pairs how they spent their Christmas holidays.
Assign students from Group B to listen to their conversations and say BINGO after hearing the 6 things they have chosen .
Once again point out that it is OK if they don’t use the exact phrases .For example, instead of saying ‘I splashed out on Christmas presents.’, the student might say ‘I spent lots of money on presents.’
Once they finish, ask them to discuss the meaning of the phrasal verbs and come up with a synonym or definition.
Later give them a list of synonyms (handout) and ask them to check if they have come up with similar ones. Finally, ask them to match the synonyms with the phrasal verbs in the previous handouts.
For further practice, ask the students to discuss the same topics by using the phrasal verbs this time. For example, those who discussed about their Christmas holidays, they can discuss about their resolutions and those who discussed about their resolutions, they can discuss about their Christmas holidays.
Download all three handouts below.