Are you a fan of Taboo®? Then YOU DON’T SAY! is the game for you. And it can be played in two different ways. If your students are confident and articulate, have them play YOU DON’T SAY! like traditional Taboo®. If, however, you have students who are uncomfortable speaking in public, turn the rules upside down. Tell them to use some or all of the words beneath the green and red banner in their descriptions! This topsy-turvy approach encourages and empowers everyone to participate. You won’t believe what a positive game-changer it is. This package includes 36 Christmas-themed cards and a template for students to make their own YOU DON’T SAY! deck. Merry Christmas!

Here are 12 more rebus puzzles for students who enjoyed the free rebus “A little Christmas Rebus to decipher! (The Little Drummer Boy)”: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/another-little-christmas-rebus-to-decipher-6454697 Thanks to their texting skills, today’s kids “get” the principle behind rebus puzzles intuitively. The “Twelve Christmas Rebus Puzzles” start with simple thematic phrases like “baking gingerbread cookies” and builds to a 3-page invitation to students to make their own rebus. The invitation is, of course, in rebus format! An activity tailored for the run-up to the holidays.

I’m reposting this old file because it’s Roald Dahl’s centenary and because “The Landlady” is an exceptionally well written, suspenseful and eerie short story that cries out to be explored at Hallowe’en by both middle and high school students. (It is not to be missed if “foreshadowing” and “appearance versus reality” figure in your curriculum.) I’ve summarized The Landlady and stirred the pieces in my cauldron. After your class has read the story, your students should be able to reconstitute the summary as a small group, co-operative activity.

A tiny Christmas cracker of an activity for the weeks before the holidays. Challenge your students to decipher the lyric, “I played my drum for Him, parumpapapum”! Merry Christmas, everyone! If you’d like some more Christmas rebus puzzles, have a look at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/twelve-christmas-rebus-puzzles-11176843

This Easter “How Touching” puzzle is a bit like Boggle. This is a five-minute filler for English teachers. I’ve included mini B & W puzzle grids for teachers who are trying to cut back on photocopy costs.

This set of twelve illustrated bingo cards - I know, I know, I should have made thirteen - is designed for language arts and ESL students. One of the two tiny bonuses is a DIY bingo card that disguises writing and spelling practice as a game. Here is the vocabulary featured on these cards: afraid bat black cat broom candles cauldron cemetery costume creepy excitement goosebumps haunted house incantation jack o’lantern little monsters magic potion makeup mask moonlight night owl party phantom prank pumpkin scarecrow scream skeleton spiderweb to cast a spell trick or treat vampire witch wizard

In this co-operative review activity, students who have studied THE TEMPEST match the texts on the edges of sixteen triangles to reconstitute the following quotes: Good wombs have borne bad sons. (Act 1, Scene 2) Hell is empty and all the devils are here. (Act 1, Scene 2) You taught me language, and my profit on't is, I know how to curse. (Act 1, Scene 2) But this swift business I must uneasy make, lest too light winning make the prize light. (Act 1, Scene 2) The wills above be done but I would fain die a dry death. (Act 1, Scene 1) I’ll rack thee with old cramps, fill all thy bones with aches. (Act 1, Scene 2) My library was dukedom large enough. (Act 1, Scene 2) There's nothing ill can dwell in such a temple. (Act 1, Scene 2) Misery acquaints a man with strange bed-fellows. (Act 2, Scene 2) It was mine art, when I arrived and heard thee, that made gape the pine and let thee out. (Act 1, Scene 2) We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep. (Act 4, Scene 1) How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world, that has such people in’t! (Act 5, Scene 1) The strongest oaths are straw to the fire i' the blood. (Act 4, Scene 1) He that dies pays all debts. ( Act 3, Scene 2) Now I will believe that there are unicorns. ( Act 3, Scene 3) What have we here? A man or a fish?  (Act 2, Scene 2)

In this co-operative review activity, students who have studied ROMEO AND JULIET are asked to match the text on the edges of sixteen triangles to reconstitute the following quotes: Wherefore art thou Romeo? Deny thy father and refuse thy name. A plague o’ both your houses. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Parting is such sweet sorrow. Young baggage, disobedient wretch! I tell thee what: get thee to church o' Thursday, or never after look me in the face. For, by your leaves, you shall not stay alone till Holy Church incorporate two in one. A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life… Ask for me tomorrow and you shall find me a grave man. Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast. Your lady mother is coming to your chamber: the day is broke; be wary… O true apothecary, thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die. Tempt not a desperate man My only love sprung from my only hate! Do you bite your thumb at us, sir? O happy dagger, this is thy sheath. There rust and let me die. For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.

In this co-operative review activity, students who have studied TWELFTH NIGHT match the texts on the edges of sixteen triangles to reconstitute the following quotes: Oh Time, thou must untangle this, not I. It is too hard a knot for me t'untie! She did commend my yellow stockings of late, she did praise my leg, being cross-gartered. O, had I but followed the arts! Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage. If music be the food of love, play on. Dost thou think, because thou art virtuous, there shall be no more cakes and ale? Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ‘em. This fellow is wise enough to play the fool and to do that well craves a kind of wit. Love sought is good, but giv'n unsought is better. If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction. This youth that you see here I snatch'd one half out of the jaws of death. Or I am mad, or else this is a dream. I'll be revenged on the whole pack of you. Better a witty fool than a foolish wit. Foolery, sir, does walk about the orb like the sun, it shines everywhere. One face, one voice, one habit, and two persons, a natural perspective that is and is not!

In this co-operative review activity, students who have studied the Scottish play are asked to match the text on the edges of 16 triangles to reconstitute the following quotes: -But screw your courage to the sticking place . . . -Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it. -Let not light see my black and deep desires. -False face must hide what the false heart doth know. -There’s daggers in men’s smiles. -The attempt and not the deed confounds us. -Present fears are less than horrible imaginings. -Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble. -Give sorrow words. -Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more. -Look like th' innocent flower, but be the serpent under ’t. -Out, damned spot! -What’s done cannot be undone. -The instruments of darkness tell us truths . . . -By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. -Fair is foul, and foul is fair. All nauseatingly fawning feedback gratefully accepted.

In this co-operative review activity, students who have studied Hamlet are asked to match the text on the edges of sixteen triangles to reconstitute the following quotes: - This above all: to thine own self be true. - There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. - Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t. - To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream . . . - There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy. - Brevity is the soul of wit. - I must be cruel only to be kind; thus bad begins, and worse remains behind - Get thee to a nunnery. - The lady doth protest too much, methinks. - O that this too too solid flesh would melt … - Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! - When sorrows come, they come not single spies but in battalions. - Madness in great ones must not unwatched go. - One may smile and smile and be a villain - Happy in that we are not overhappy; on Fortune's cap we are not the very button. - Neither a borrower nor a lender be: for loan oft loses both itself and friend.

Originally designed as a Modern Language tool, this virtual scavenger hunt encourages even students who are usually reluctant to participate in class to jump right in and to speak in full sentences. You’ll experience the phenomenon of an entire class listening “actively” because no one wants to waste a guess choosing a square from which the gift has already been claimed. After the oral treasure hunt, assign a handful of co-ordinates for an instant written assignment that will reinforce verb conjugations and vocabulary acquisition. “Where are my Valentine’s gifts?” has been designed to review virtually any tense. I have appended answer keys for four of them: the present, the simple past, the simple future and the conditional perfect.

YOU DON’T SAY! is a themed variation of Taboo® that can be played in two very different ways. If your students are confident and articulate, they can play YOU DON’T SAY! following traditional Taboo® rules. If, however, you have students who are uncomfortable giving clues, turn the rules upside down. Tell them to use some or all of the words beneath the pink and white banner in their descriptions! This topsy-turvy approach encourages and empowers everyone to participate. You won’t believe what a positive game-changer it is. This file includes 40 “Valentine” cards about friendship, relationships and love. I’ve also appended a template for students to make their own YOU DON’T SAY! deck.

If you are a fan of Taboo®, YOU DON’T SAY! might just be the game for you. It can be played in two very different ways. If your students are confident and articulate, have them play YOU DON’T SAY! like traditional Taboo®. If, however, you have students who are uncomfortable speaking in public, turn the rules upside down. Tell them to use some or all of the words beneath the orange and black banner in their descriptions! This topsy-turvy approach encourages and empowers everyone to participate. You won’t believe what a positive game-changer it is. This file includes 32 Hallowe’en-themed cards and a template for students to make their own YOU DON’T SAY! deck.

Designed to help beginners master their ”clothes” vocabulary, this game is for independent work and study buddy activity. Once players have finished matching each vocabulary card with its corresponding picture card, they flip over all the pairs to check their own work. Matching icons on the back of flipped pairs confirm that the task has been well done. Icons that don’t match tell players that it’s time to try again. This file includes two 28-card decks. To get an idea of "GET THE PICTURE?” cards work, download the free resource, “GET THE PICTURE? (multiplication game)” at: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/taming-the-6-times-tables-without-tears-get-the-picture-multiplication-game-11309613

In this small-group activity, Fate (the dice) will determine which Christmas character or icon your students will describe. A relaxed way to encourage students to use their best descriptive skills. If you'd like to extend the lesson to written work, just assign any dice coordinates (ie: •• x •••• or •••• x •) To see if “Express Yourself! (Christmas)” is right for your students, download the free resource, “Express Yourself! (Clothing): https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/express-yourself-clothing-11459227 I've included PDF and PPT formats.

Originally designed for Modern Language classes, “Where are my Christmas gifts?” is a virtual scavenger hunt that encourages even reluctant students to participate enthusiastically in class. It works well as a full class and as a small group activity. You’ll be astonished to experience the phenomenon of an entire class listening “actively” because no one wants to waste a guess choosing a square from which the gift has already been claimed. After the oral treasure hunt, you can create an instant written assignment by assigning a handful of co-ordinates. I’ve included answer keys for the present and the future tenses but “Where are my Christmas gifts?” works well for almost all verb tenses. Please note that there are two versions of the game to accommodate those who know that the name of the one and only jolly old elf is “Father Christmas” . . . or “Santa Claus”. If you’d like more resources on this theme, just type “Christmas” into the search window of my shop: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/shop/Carlav

This is a co-operative activity designed for readers who have studied The Little Prince in English. Students are asked to match the text on the edges of the 11 triangles to answer and complete the following Q and A and quotes from the text. I have included a second version of the puzzle based on a freer translation of the original work. What does the narrator of The Little Prince do for a living? • He’s a pilot. When one wishes to play the wit, • he sometimes wanders a little from the truth. According to the fox, it is only with the heart that one can see rightly; • what is essential is invisible to the eye. But I have made him my friend, and now he is… • unique in all the world. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this: • (illustration of a hat) You become responsible, forever, for • what you tame If you tame me, then… we shall need each other. Who helps the Little Prince return to his planet? The snake A Turkish astronomer had presented his discovery to the International Astronomical Congress. • But he was in Turkish costume so nobody would believe what he said. Draw me… • a sheep! How did the Little Prince leave his planet? • With the help of a flock of wild birds.