This activity is an effective way of involving students directly in the story and also of presenting and practising new items of vocabulary.

Procedure

  • Prepare a short narrative, perhaps 15-20 sentences, that includes lots of actions. If possible, give the story a context with a powerful atmosphere, e.g. a haunted house. 
  • Ask the students to stand up. Their task is to mime or act out the story as you read it. 
  • An example might be: 'Anna woke up with a start. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Then she looked at her watch. She yawned again and slowly got out of bed. She tiptoed across the room to the door and listened for a while….'. You might find it useful to act out the story yourself along with the students in order to help them to understand all the vocabulary, but on a second reading they could do it themselves. 

Tip: After acting out the story, the students can brainstorm the key words and reformulate the story.

Topics