These warmers use stories, or anecdotes, to warm up a class to a topic.

Teacher anecdote

Tell the students a little anecdote about something related to the topic. This anecdote should be based on a true story and you should rehearse it at least once before. See the Teachers' anecdote section of onestopenglish for ideas if you are stuck.

Guided visualization

Ask the students to sit as comfortably as possible and tell them to close their eyes and imagine a scene in their mind. Ask them to think of all the details that they can 'see' in their scene. When you having finished setting the scene for them, ask them to turn to a partner and describe what they were imagining. Here is an example for a visualization on the theme of going back to school.

Imagine you are a child and it is your first day of school after the holidays.

  • Where are you?
  • Imagine that you are walking up to the classroom door.
  • Are you nervous?
  • Are you with some friends?
  • What are you wearing?
  • What does the classroom look like?
  • Who is your teacher?
  • How do you feel about the teacher?

Topics