This document provides examples of good teaching practices and activities teachers can use in the classroom. It discusses briefly assessing students through varied testing methods, giving specific feedback, asking different types of questions, and motivating students. Several "hook" activities are then described in detail, including Autograph Bingo, the First Impressions Game, a Photo Scavenger Hunt, and Bigger and Better - all of which are meant to engage students and get them interacting with each other in a low-pressure environment to practice language skills. The overall document promotes creating a sense of community in the classroom, finding ways for authentic learning, and varying activities to keep students interested.

1. Good Teaching
By William Sastoque
First of all, I would like to discuss briefly why this workshop is called Good
Teaching. I do not wantto be misunderstood because I know well how fine
teachers differ as their characters and styles differ. Idiosyncrasy is a virtue to the
extent that successful teaching rests on character - and I believe it heavily rests
there. By describing a generalized view of good teaching, I may unintentionally
signal to you an intolerance of idiosyncrasy. I do not wish to do so.
I am also concerned that I may give the impression that I think teaching per se is
important. Of course, it isn't; what is only important is what the students learn.
I do want to say that brilliant teaching, in my view, at its heart reflects
scholarship, personal integrity and the ability to communicate with our students.
There are everyday things some teachers do automatically and acts which may
appear trivial in themselves, but which, when added to the hundreds of similar
acts, create a standard and a style from which people can learn.
For example, here are some apparent insignificant things:
√ knowing student's names, and calling them by name
√ remembering something that had earlier worried a student, and asking about it
("Is your mother recovering from her operation?")
√ never being late to class or cutting it for some personal convenience
√ returning papers to students as soon as possible
√ perceiving the results of a class as "My students know XYZ," rather than "I
covered XYZ in class" - and knowing the difference between the two
√ always expect a bit more of a student than he expects of him/herself
√ accentuate the positive; be careful always to praise good work. No one learns
anything faster than when he feels he is successful
√ be friends with students, but not buddies; the obligations of the latter
relationship limit one's freedom to teach well

2. √ never give up on a student, or categorize or 'brand' him permanently
There other general acts that can help novice and experienced teachers to make
their lives less painful. Here is what Good Teaching (in my humble opinion) is
about:
Helping students to learn
Provide as many practice opportunities as possible.
Find ways for students to engage in authentic learning.
Make students aware of how they learn best.
Build a sense of community in the classroom.
Assessing students
Use a variety of testing methods.
Test skills other than memory.
Ask students to participate actively by submiting test questions.
Giving feedback
Be specific about why something was good or not up to standard.
Guide students on the specific steps they can take to do something better.
Use rubrics to explicitly describe the performance characteristics of your
students’ work.
Use different kinds of feedback (formal – informal – direct – formative).
Asking questions
Use different questioning techniques.
Assign numbers to students at random and use the numbers to ask
questions.
Ask students to repeat the question paraphrasing it before answering it.
Accept collaborative behavior from students if they do not know the
answer.

3. Motivating students
Ensure opportunities for students’ success.
Ask students to analyze what makes their classes more or less interesting.
Reward success.
Use comment cards to encourage participation.
Vary your classes by using a ―hook‖ activity everyday.
Some of my favorite “hook” Activities
A ―hook‖ activity in my opinion is that single activity you planned for your class
that combines the right amount of students’ involvement, language practice and
the pressure-free environment students need to practice the language.
Autograph Bingo
Summary: Autograph Bingo is an activity that asks people to mingle and find
people that match interesting facts listed on a bingo card. The activity is a
variation of the traditional ―Find someone who‖ that is useful in that it causes
players to discover interesting and humorous facts about each other.
Ages: teens and up. Recommended # of people: Larger groups of 24+ people.
Messiness Factor: No problem. Materials required: bingo cards prepared in
advance and writing utensils. Recommended Setting: Indoors.
The game
Autograph Bingo is a fun way to help both new acquaintances and old friends
discover facts about each other. The goal of this icebreaker game is to mingle and
obtain the signatures of people who have the facts listed on their bingo card. Just
as regular bingo rules, once a player successfully obtains a full row (5 in a row) on
his or her Bingo sheet, whether obtained horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, he
or she shouts ―BINGO!‖
Setup
Prepare a table with 5 rows and 5 columns (5×5), with interesting facts inside the
boxes. These facts can include humorous or bizarre things. For example you can
use facts such as:
Speaks more than two languages

4. Enjoys walking in thunderstorms
Likes anchovies
Has been to Alaska
Has gone skydiving before
Has more than three sisters
Has gone without a shower for more than three days
Try to be as creative as you can. Like traditional bingo, you can mark the center
square as a ―Free Space‖. After you are finished preparing the table, print out
enough copies.
Instructions for How to Do it
Pass out pens and the bingo cards to each player. Explain the game along with
the following rule: each person you talk to may only sign your sheet once (so that
people can interact with as many people as possible). When everyone is ready, say
―Go!‖ and begin the game!Once a player shouts ―Bingo!‖ everyone returns to the
center and the person must introduce the people who signed his or her sheet. If
desired, you can ask each person to explain their fact.
First Impressions Game
Summary: An activity in which people write their first impressions of each other
on a large paper taped to their backs.
Ages: teens and up. Recommended number of people: At least 10. Works with
very large groups and meetings. Messiness factor: No mess at all. Materials
required: A large piece of paper or posterboard for each participant,
pens/markers, masking tape. Recommended Setting: Indoors or outdoors.
The game
Instructions: This is a fun activity that involves writing your first impression of
someone you meet. If some people already know each other, that’s fine too —
people can simply write some nice, encouraging words or adjectives to describe
each other. This works well as an icebreaker for meetings, when there are new
people present, or when people don’t know each other well.
To set up First Impressions, pass out the large sheets of paper and writing
utensils. Have each person write their name on the top of a sheet of paper. Tape
each person’s sheet to their back so that they can’t see it. Instruct everyone to
mingle with each other and to talk. Tell everyone to say hello and to introduce

5. each other for a few moments. After a minute or so, ask each person to write an
adjective (their ―first impression‖ of the person they just spoke with) on each
other’s papers. Then have each person continue mingling with new people,
repeating the process. After 10-20 minutes (depending on how large your group
is and how long you want this activity to run), each person should have several
adjectives and descriptive words listed on their backs. Go around the room and
introduce each other, reading the words written on your neighbor’s paper. This
should be pretty humorous, and if people did this activity correctly, there should
be lots of kind things said about each other.
Important note: instruct everyone to write nice (or encouraging) words ONLY!
Do not allow any mean, rude, or critical words to be written. For example, one
can write words such as ―beautiful smile,‖ ―great sense of humor,‖ ―smart and
witty personality,‖ ―gifted listener,‖ etc.
Photo Scavenger Hunt
Summary: A team-based scavenger hunt with a twist — bringing back photos of
interesting places and things.
Ages: teens and up. Recommended number of people: Teams of about 4
people. Messiness Factor: Be prepared to walk around. Materials Required: a
digital camera for each team. Recommended Setting: Outdoors.
The game
Instructions: Prepare a list of about ten interesting places, things, and
circumstances that can be captured using a camera. You could list, for example:
A group photo with someone famous
The most relaxing place you can find
The biggest tree
A group photo with someone dressed in a tuxedo
A photo with a yellow car
A fast food worker
A human pyramid of at least seven people
The funniest thing you can find
And so on. Be creative. Divide the group into teams of about four
people. Make sure each team has at least one functioning camera.

6. Set a time limit for the groups (e.g. 30 minutes or so). Instruct the teams to find
as many things on the list as they can and take a picture with all the group
members in the photo. When time expires, have all members reconvene and
present their photos along with the checklist. Award one point for each
successful photo item and bonus points for extra creativity or effort.
This activity is good for building team chemistry and for creating funny
memories. Be sure to provide adequate supervision if there are young
participants. Have fun, and always keep safety first!
Bigger and Better
Summary: A teambuilding activity in which teams are given a small object (e.g.
paperclips) and must keep trading and upgrading their objects to get the biggest,
best objects possible until the time limit expires. The objects are judged for size,
value, and creativity.
Ages: 14 and up. Recommended # of people: teams of 2-10 people. Messiness
factor: Light. Materials: Paper clips or other small objects. Recommended
Setting: Outdoors.
The game
Instructions: How is it possible to turn a paper clip into a guitar, laundry
machine, bicycle, or other huge objects like a yacht? Split the teams into groups
of two to ten, depending on the size of your overall group. Distribute paper clips
(or some other small object) to each group. Clearly indicate the time limit for
this activity (e.g. 30-40 minutes), and let them go off to trade. The goal is to
come back with the biggest, best, most creative object after a series of trading
and upgrading. When the time expires, everyone reconvenes at a predefined
location for the show-and-tell and judging process.
Judges choose the best items on various criteria: size, value, creativity, and overall
best. This game has benefits of having team members work together and think
creatively on how to upgrade their items. Camaraderie is gained through this fun
process - enjoy!
Never Have I Ever
Summary: An icebreaker in which players sit in a circle and take turns saying
interesting things they have never done. Each player starts with ten fingers. Each

7. time someone says something that you’ve done, you drop a finger. The goal is to
be the last player remaining.
Ages: teens and up. Recommended # of people: 10-20. Messiness factor: No
Sweat. Materials Required: None. Recommended Setting: Indoors.
The game
Instructions: Tell everyone to sit in a circle. Each player holds out all ten of their
fingers and places them on the floor. One by one, each person announces
something that they have never done; for example, they say, ―Never have I ever
been to Canada.‖ For each statement, all the other players remove a finger if they
have done that statement. So, if three other people have been to Canada before,
those three people must put down a finger, leaving them with nine fingers. The
goal is to stay in the game the longest (to have fingers remaining). Thus, it is a
good strategy to say statements that most people have done, but you haven’t.
This can be humorous (e.g. ―Never have I ever skipped a class in school‖ or
―Never have I ever soiled my pants.‖) The game provides a good way to find out
unique experiences and facts about people.