The Freeze Game, For Teaching Past Continuous - ESL Games and Activities - e

The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous - ESL Games and Activities - eslHQ
User Name User Name Password ✔ Remember Me? Log in

View today's posts
Lost Password? | Join eslHQ.com, it's FREE!
H ome W or ks h eets M a ke a Worksheet Flashcard s Gam e s Forums Jobs Articles L ink s Forms TEFL Course Review
Ads by Google Early Reading Games Teaching English Fun Games Activities ESL Activities English Class Games Extras Help
More Resources
TESOL TEFL Course Teach English in Abroad Best TEFL course & Best Price Certificatetefl.com
Lesson Plans
Train to Teach English The ICAL TESL/TEFL Cert online Train & teach around the world icalweb.com
Phonics Books
English Grammar Checker In any application: Word, Outlook.. Write Perfect Texts. Free Download! www.gingerso Short Readers
Grammar Activities
News Videos for Teachers Free news videos, lesson plans, and transcripts for your students. Newsy.missouri.edu
TESOL TEFL Course Teach English in Abroad Best TEFL course & Best Price Certificatetefl.com
Train to Teach English The ICAL TESL/TEFL Cert online Train & teach around the world icalweb.com
ESL Forums > ESL Games and Activities > The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous
Grammar Checker - WhiteSmoke
is an innovative writing solution,
with a spelling and grammar
Page 1 of 2 1 2 > checker to catch mistakes, and a
style checker to enhance your
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes writing.
May 6th, 2005, 01:19 pm #1 (permalink)
Join Date: Jan 8th, 2005

Posts: 243
little sage
eslHQ Addict
Spoken English Online (4)

The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous
ESL Games & Activities (3)
Free printable games and
Ads by Google ESL Lessons ESL Games ESL Speaking ESL Teaching Adults conversational activities
An ELT Notebook (3)

I can't remember which book I learned this from, but it was a great success in my class of 11-12 year olds. Methodology, practical activities
and lots more.
Purpose: to review the past continuous ie. "They were playing basketball".
University Ranking (1)
Find out the latest United States
Preparation: Either have cards with action words ready, or use your text book to point to the actions they Colleges and Universities ranking.
have studied in their book.
Online College (1)
Earn your bachelor or associate
Method: degrees with one of top online
1) Divide the class into two teams. college
2) Create a space where one team can sit in chairs together and the other team can stand up without tables
in the way.
3) Have one team sit down and close their eyes, or face the wall. Find the Best TEFL, TESL,
4) Monitor that eye closed/no peeking rule, perhaps deduct points for peeking. TESOL & CELTA Certification
5) Show the other team an action verb like "playing basketball". Courses - User Submitted
6) That team silently acts out the action until you say FREEZE. Ratings & Reviews for Online,
7) When you say FREEZE every member of the team freezes their current action and holds it. Distance & Abroad TEFL
8) Team one can now open their eyes and see the frozen actors. Courses.
9) Each student from the seated team takes a guess at to what Team 2 was doing. "Was she playing tennis?
" HINT: Guessing should be fairly swift, poor team one is patiently frozen, remember. MIS Degree
10) A successful guess gives them one point.
eLearners.com
11) After all students guess once, point or no point, play proceeds to the next team.
12) Game ends at teacher's discretion. top online universities
Term papers
TIPS: To get the game going at a good pace, use simple sentences like "She was eating". Once the kids are ESL Kids Materials Order Now
into it, increase the level of difficulty by adding objects (not physical objects, silly) to the sentences. ex. "She $29
was eating spaghetti". Search for a local English
__________________ tutor
Support animal rescue in South Korea.
www.Animal RescueKorea.org
News Videos for Teachers Free news videos, lesson plans, and transcripts for your students. Newsy.missouri.edu
International Teacher? Lesson Plans, downloads, videos - Free In Collins Emails! CollinsEducation.com/International
Train to Teach English The ICAL TESL/TEFL Cert online Train & teach around the world icalweb.com Similar Threads Replies
The SLAM Game (OR my
http://www.eslhq.com/forums/esl-forums/esl-games-activities/freeze-game-teaching-past-continuous-165/[07.12.2010 13:41:30]
25
favorite game ever!!!)
Last edited by little sage : May 6th, 2005 at 01:24 pm. Reason: needed colour
Advertise on eslHQ
Jan 26th, 2006, 09:28 am #2 (permalink)

Manuela Location: Athens, Greece
eslHQ Enthusiast Posts: 46
Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous
This game sounds excellent. I'll definitely try it out tomorrow.
Jan 26th, 2006, 04:52 pm #3 (permalink)
Join Date: Mar 27th, 2005

mesmark Location: Japan
eslHQ superstar! Posts: 1,605
That's great! Thanks.
I have some students who have been studying the past tense for about a year and have alrady covered some
irregular verbs. I was trying to think of some way to start using be verbs and this will work out perfectly.
Thanks again.
Mark
__________________
flashcards | worksheets | certificate templates | stickers | printable cards | phonics worksheets | calendars

Posts: 243
little sage
eslHQ Addict
Yeah, the freeze game is really fun. It reminds me of "Frozen Tag" and also "Statues", did you ever play
those when you were a kid?
Anyway, I'd like to hear if either of you ,Mark or Manuela, think of any innovations when you play. I think the
point-making system could be refined.
Thanks,
Karen
__________________
Feb 3rd, 2006, 09:43 am #5 (permalink)

Schools were closed in Athens for five days due to snowfall so I couldn't try outyour game sooner. Anyway it
worked OK. I started by sticking 16 flashcards with actions (read, argue, play the piano, fish etc) on the
board. I quickly went through them and asked them what each of the persons in the card was doing, using
the present continuous tense. Then I collected the cards and asked students to remember what the person in
the first card was doing, what the person in the second card was doing and so on. I encouraged them to use
the past continuous, after quickly explaining how it is formed. I only had 2 cards exemplifying the plural form
of the tense: "They were arguing" "They were eating".
Then I played the FREEZE game. I followed your instructions but instead of showing students the actions I
showed them a flashcard. So there was no peeking problem since only one group could see the flashcard the
others could only see its backside even if they peeked. It worked fine.
The following class I brought to class a broken plastic spoon, a soft rubberball
and the flashcards. I wrote on the board
"Who broke the spoon? You broke it!"
"It wasn't me. I was cooking."
I gave each of the students a flashcard(I used Mesmarks wonderful cards and they enjoyed holding one) and
told them to prepare defending themselves. Then I threw the rubberball to one of them and said accusingly:
You broke it" The student answered giving as an alibi the action on the card.
I collected the flashcard that had been used so it was easy for the students to pick out a person who hadn't
had a turn, to whom they should throw the ball. They enjoyed the drill and started acting out their roles as
accuser and blameless accused. THey also wanted to know who had broken the spoon. So when they had all
given their excuses I let them accuse me and I admitted I had done it. I really enjoyed my lesson, some of
the students sounded so convincing.
Couldn't we maybe collect in this thread other games and activities used to practise past
continuous/progressive?
Apr 25th, 2006, 08:31 am #6 (permalink)
Join Date: Apr 7th, 2006

Location: Turkiye
selenozkan Age: 26
eslHQ Member Posts: 1
A very creative game and seems to create chance for 'teachable moments'...
So, thanks a lot!!!

Posts: 243
little sage
eslHQ Addict
Quote:
Quote Manuela
Then I played the FREEZE game. I followed your instructions but instead of showing students the
actions I showed them a flashcard. So there was no peeking problem since only one group could see
the flashcard the others could only see its backside even if they peeked. It worked fine.
Eegad. I don't know how I missed your response, but now it's almost 3 months later... I'm so sorry!!!!
I think I play the freeze game differently. I make one team close their eyes while the other teams is miming,
then I say FREEZE and the members of the acting group stop and hold the pose, then Team B opens their
eyes, looks at the other team who is no longer moving, they are frozen, and they guess what they had been
doing. Guessing is a little wilder then if they had watched the action being acted.
Wow, a long sentence to explain but it doesn't really matter. Both ways could work, I just wanted to clarify
my original meaning.
I love your broken spoon game. Ah, that sounds like so much fun. I think I might do a version of that to
review P.C. with my uni kids after exam week (I'll leave my rubber ball at home and maybe take in my
broken watch instead).
So sorry to have not replied...
Karen
__________________
Apr 25th, 2006, 09:52 pm #8 (permalink)
Join Date: Mar 27th, 2005

mesmark Location: Japan
eslHQ superstar! Posts: 1,605
Quote:
Quote little sage

3) Have one team sit down and close their eyes, or face the wall.
I totally missed step 3 the first time I read through this. It makes so much more sense now. I'm glad this
was dug up again.
__________________
flashcards | worksheets | certificate templates | stickers | printable cards | phonics worksheets | calendars

Hi Karen.
Nice to see (read you back! I played it the way you do, I said FREEZE and then let the students turn
around. I just didn't have to pay close attention to their peeping or not since I let the other group see a
flashcard.
The rubber ball sounds silly I know. However, it is a very successful tool in getting each and every student to
say something during class. For some reason which I can't explain (i have never been a fan of ball games)
students seem to enjoy catching the ball and saying whatever they are supposed to practise saying. I have a
collection of small balls, one looking like a hedgehog, one a funny little smiling face (five cms in diameter),
another one that opens up and becomes 5 times its original size when you throw it. I find that the moment
you
ask a question and throw the ball an electic current goes through the class and everybody is eager to take a
turn. With my 8-10 year olds I do this at the beginning of each class to revise things we have learnt to say
so far.eg. "Where do you live?" . The first student answers and throws the ball to a student of his choice and
repeats the question. When I think they have had enough practice with that I clap my hands and I get the
ball back and start a new question thread.
The rubber ball can very well be replaced by a a crumpled piece of paper.
Happy teaching.
Manuela

nshubin Location: belarus
I really like the game and I 'll use it, but doesn't it drill "They have been doing smth", rather than "They were
doing smth"? My students are so picky!

From what I know the present perfect continuous has two meanings:
1. An action that started in the past which is still continuing at the moment
e.g. It's 12 o'clock. They have been sleeping for 15 hours. Should I wake them up?
2. When an action has stopped but its results are obvious.
e.g. He's exhausted because he's been working in the garden.
Look the streets are wet. It has been raining.
Past Continuous we use when we know exactly the moment when something was happening in the past.
e.g. What were you doing yesterday at noon?
Time can be established by the occurence of another action.
What were you doing when the phone rang.
In the FREEZE game time is implied. i.e. What were they doing when I said FREEZE?I don't think that any
of the uses of the present perfect continuous applies here.
Only if you consider that the positions of the players are obvioius results of what they had been doing. But is
a frozen position an obvioius result of an action? I wonder.
Do you still feel that the game practises the PPC? If you do , you have found a perfect game to practise that!

Posts: 243
little sage
eslHQ Addict
Hi,
I think it could be used to teach the Past Perfect Continuous, because there are some (weird) present results,
and because the time the action stopped is so close to the present.
I can imagine, say, me washing the floors and my husband walking in. When he walks in, I stop washing the
floor, I pause.
He could say:
1) What were you (just) doing? PC
2) What have you been doing? PPC
or, if the cloth is still in my hand and I'm obviously not done the action:
3) What are you doing? PrC
I think, though I'm no expert, all three would be correct but show slightly different perceptions about the
situation: 1) the action is finished, had duration, was interrupted 2) gee, the room is clean now / why is she
holding a dirty cloth? 3) the action is not finished
If your (very perceptive) students are really picky, then make a sign saying "Yesterday at 4:00" and have the
acting students stand by that when they mime the actions. Then PC usage is more clear.
Hope this helps,

Karen
__________________

nshubin Location: belarus
dear Karen and Manuela<

thanks a lot, I can see the difference now. Today I have done "the Freeze game' So much fun and laughter!
But in the beginning I emphasized that they needed to guess what the group was doing just at the very
moment I said FREEZE. And that helped me explain that the moment can be expressed via another action in
past simple. So, the game did great! Besides, to my little ones I offered something similar, but only one of
them was guessing. All the others mimed the word I had written on the board. It was so great! Children (age
6-7) were encouraged both to read and recall the word without using its Russian equivalent( I used the
verbs, the animals, and feelings).
Thanks a lot to all of you!
Jan 3rd, 2007, 09:41 am #14 (permalink)
Join Date: Dec 17th, 2006

Posts: 9
smy2brazil
eslHQ Member
I did a game with teenagers and with adults, that I called "Crime." I wrote the question on the board:
"Where were you and what were you doing last night at 10:30 pm?" (which is practically a tongue twister for
Brazilians, because they don't use the letters "w" and "y" in Portuguese.)
I passed out cards from a regular deck, but only one king and on joker. The joker was the criminal and the
king, the detective. The detective had to ask the question to different students to try to discover the
criminal. Each of the students who had a plain card (innocent students) had to create an alibi.
"I was at home with my parents, watching TV"

"I was having dinner at a restaurant"
"I was taking a shower at home"
The criminal had to give an alibi that didn't match.
"I was playing soccer at the bakery"

"I was waiting in line at the bank" (which would be closed at that hour)
I liked your games a lot.
Jan 3rd, 2007, 01:44 pm #15 (permalink)
Join Date: Oct 8th, 2006

susan53 Location: Milan
Sue Posts: 708
Super game - I shall use it!

__________________
An ELT Notebook
The DELTA Course
May 14th, 2007, 02:13 am #16 (permalink)
Join Date: Sep 26th, 2006

Location: Hokkaido, Japan
the Obscure Age: 30
Posts: 20
android
Hey Karen,
Thanks for the activity. I used it with my second year middle school students, and they seemed to have a lot
of fun with it. I had them milk cows, sumo wrestle and eat hamsters and they came up with some pretty
creative ways to portray the actions. And they got the point of the continuous. Yay! So thanks for posting the
game.
the o
__________________
death is the only way to avoid gum recession...
Oct 7th, 2007, 12:13 pm #17 (permalink)
Join Date: Oct 7th, 2007

miss primary Posts: 1
eslHQ Member
hi
thanks for the exciting game me and my friend like it and we will use it while presenting our micro teaching
for the past continuous in the college

Location: Salvador
Siemens Age: 25
Really really good and I am pretty sure that my students will be thrilled with this activity. I just need to read
your instructions again and print them if possible. lol.

Posts: 243
little sage
eslHQ Addict
Wow, it's been so long since I've posted this game!!! I taught the textbook where it's from more often, and
now do recall where it's from: Let's Go 4, unit 4 or 5. If anyone wants to look up the original version of
directions, check the Let's Go teacher's manual. Their supplemental games are really good.
Amazon.com: Let's Go 4: Student Book (Let's Go): Books: K. Frazier,R. Nakata,B. Hoskins,S. Wilkinson
__________________
Feb 27th, 2008, 09:09 pm #20 (permalink)
Join Date: Feb 24th, 2008

Hime_Neko Posts: 5
eslHQ Member
Quote:
Quote smy2brazil
I did a game with teenagers and with adults, that I called "Crime." I wrote the question on the board:
"Where were you and what were you doing last night at 10:30 pm?" (which is practically a tongue
twister for Brazilians, because they don't use the letters "w" and "y" in Portuguese.)
Hello.
Thx for this game... and as fast as I read it I came up with a little variaton of it...
Instead of teaching Past Continuous, it could be used to teach Past Simple just changing the question to
"Where were you and what did you do last night?"
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 2 (0 members and 2 guests)
Posting Rules
You may not post new threads

You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On
Similar Threads Replies

The SLAM Game (OR my favorite game ever!!!) 25
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:41 am.
All materials from this website are for classroom-use only. Digital redistribution of materials, in part or in whole, is strictly forbidden!
Advertise - Contact Us - Archive - Top
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.8

Copyright ©2000 - 2010, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.0.0

The Freeze Game, For Teaching Past Continuous - ESL Games and Activities - e

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Descrizione originale:

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

The Freeze Game, For Teaching Past Continuous - ESL Games and Activities - e

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous - ESL Games and Activities - eslHQ

User Name User Name Password ✔ Remember Me? Log in

May 6th, 2005, 01:19 pm #1 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 8th, 2005

Spoken English Online (4)

An ELT Notebook (3)

Jan 26th, 2006, 09:28 am #2 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 26th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

This game sounds excellent. I'll definitely try it out tomorrow.

Jan 26th, 2006, 04:52 pm #3 (permalink)

Join Date: Mar 27th, 2005

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

That's great! Thanks.

Jan 26th, 2006, 07:29 pm #4 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 8th, 2005

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

Feb 3rd, 2006, 09:43 am #5 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 26th, 2006

Manuela Location: Athens, Greece

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

Apr 25th, 2006, 08:31 am #6 (permalink)

Join Date: Apr 7th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

Apr 25th, 2006, 10:28 am #7 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 8th, 2005

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

So sorry to have not replied...

Apr 25th, 2006, 09:52 pm #8 (permalink)

Join Date: Mar 27th, 2005

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

Quote little sage

Apr 26th, 2006, 02:46 am #9 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 26th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

May 6th, 2006, 12:27 pm #10 (permalink)

Join Date: Apr 25th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

May 6th, 2006, 02:21 pm #11 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 26th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

May 6th, 2006, 06:50 pm #12 (permalink)

Join Date: Jan 8th, 2005

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

2) What have you been doing? PPC

3) What are you doing? PrC

Hope this helps,

May 10th, 2006, 12:37 pm #13 (permalink)

Join Date: Apr 25th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

dear Karen and Manuela<

Jan 3rd, 2007, 09:41 am #14 (permalink)

Join Date: Dec 17th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

"I was at home with my parents, watching TV"

The criminal had to give an alibi that didn't match.

"I was playing soccer at the bakery"

I liked your games a lot.

Jan 3rd, 2007, 01:44 pm #15 (permalink)

Join Date: Oct 8th, 2006

Re: The Freeze Game, for teaching past continuous

Super game - I shall use it!

May 14th, 2007, 02:13 am #16 (permalink)