Swimming with Sharks – Modifiable Board Game

This week’s Spotlight lesson is Swimming with Sharks! Having a blank board game like this one is very useful for teachers—there are so many ways it can be modified.

This game is an adaptation of Snakes & Ladders, a game that progresses by rolling a dice and trying to be the first to reach the end. Nets allow students to skip some spaces, while red squares knock students back several spaces. Because this board is blank, teachers can modify it to suit whatever language target students are studying!

Modification examples (more…)

Valentine’s Day Game for Young Learners – Practicing Gerunds


Are you looking for a fun, yet educational, game to play with your English learners on Valentine’s Day? Here’s a Valentine’s-inspired activity for practicing gerunds!

How to Play “Love, Like, Live Without, Loathe”

1) Review
Review the differences between “love” and “like” and review how to use these before a gerund:

  • I like eating chocolate.
  • I like eating peanut butter.
  • I love mixing chocolate and peanut butter.

2) Introduce Vocabulary
Teach your students two more words and expressions: to be able to “live without” (to not need or to not like a lot), and to “loathe” (to really dislike).

  • I can live without vegetables.
  • I loathe broccoli. (more…)