This is a great activity for teaching idioms or learning dialogues.  I use this racing game with my intermediate and advanced level students and it never fails to generate a lot of excitement in the classroom.  I’ve also used it for basic questions and answers with my advanced beginners.  Example:  What’s your name?  My name is…. 

Note:  This game is for review purposes.  I use it at the end of a class for review or as a warm-up activity for the next class. 

I’m going to use idioms to demonstrate properly.

1.  Prepare a list of idioms and phrases. 

Examples:

If I don’t pass my English exam, I’ll be in hot water with my parents.

When they stepped out this evening, she was dressed to the nines.

2.  Cut each sentence in half.  Place one half of each sentence in a basket. 

3.  Divide the class into groups of three and number each student from 1 to 3.   

4.  Line the students up in numerical order.  Number #1′s should be at the head of the line with the rest of the team members lined up behind them.

5.  #1 students leave the classroom.  The teacher gives them the first part of the sentence outside the classroom.  Ask them to go back into the classroom and line up again in front of their team. 

6.  #1′s must tell #2′s the first part of the sentence. 

7.  #2′s run to the basket at the front of the classroom and find the other half of the sentence.

8.  #2′s tell #3′s the full sentence. 

9.  #3 students run to the blackboard and say the full sentence OR write it on the whiteboard.  The first team to say or write it correctly gets a point for their team. 

NOTE: #3 students should be the brightest students in your class, since they are required to say or write the whole sentence.  I usually use my younger students for the first part of the game.

If you have a large class, you can use teams of four.  Add an additional step to the game by asking #4′s to find the sentence in their student book OR #3′s can say the full sentence and #4′s must write it.