When teaching students how to justify their opinions effectively in English, it’s essential to make the process both structured and engaging. One of the best ways to achieve this is by using cards with promts. It provides students with ideas and gives them the opportunity tu use grammar in conversations (not fill in exercises from the coursebooks). Here’s how my big setup works and why it’s an excellent tool for language learners:
What Do I Have?
I’ve created 150 cards, divided into three sets, to help students practice and improve their speaking skills.
Set 1: Finish the Sentences - Relatives
Set 2: Finish teh sentences - Conditionals
Set 3: Finish the sentences - Future
- These cards contain incomplete sentences that students must complete and justify.
- Examples:
- "An ambitious person is someone who..."
- "If I won the lottery, I would..."
- "By this time next year, I will have..."
Students must think critically and creatively to finish the sentences and then explain their reasoning.
To add variety and excitement, I use three spinning circles:
- Circle 1: Decides how long students need to talk (5, 10, or 15 seconds).
- Circle 2: Indicates how many arguments they need to provide (1, 2, or 3).
- Circle 3: Includes transition expressions to use ("what’s more," "not only that," or "another reason is") to ensure fluency and cohesion.
Mix-and-Match Activities
These cards contain a variety of prompts that require students to combine relative clauses, conditionals, and future tenses in their responses.
- Examples:
- "I will feel successful if... because..."
- "I would visit more places if I could..."
- "By the time I turn 30, I will have..."
Why Is This a Great Exercise?
Encourages Fluency and Confidence
Students must think on their feet to complete sentences, structure their responses, and justify their ideas. The spinning circles add an element of unpredictability that mirrors real-life conversations.Reinforces Grammar in Context
Combining relative clauses, conditionals, and future tenses helps students see these structures as tools for communication rather than isolated rules.Promotes Creative Thinking
The open-ended nature of the prompts encourages students to express themselves imaginatively, drawing on personal experiences or hypothetical scenarios.Interactive and Fun
The spinning circles gamify the activity, turning grammar practice into an engaging challenge.Customizable and Reusable
With 150 cards and spinning options, you can tailor the activity to different levels and themes, ensuring it stays fresh and versatile.
Creative Ideas to Use These Materials
Team Challenge
Divide students into small groups. Each group takes turns spinning the circles and picking a card. The group must work together to craft a response, with one member presenting their answer. Points can be awarded for creativity and grammar accuracy.Timed Relay
Students form a line. One spins the circles, completes the sentence, and justifies it. The next person picks up where the first left off, building on the idea with a new argument.Debate Style
Use the cards to create controversial or thought-provoking prompts. After a student completes and justifies a sentence, another student argues the opposite perspective.Speed Dating Practice
Arrange students in pairs. Each pair spins the circles and picks a card, then speaks for the assigned time before moving to the next partner.Hot Seat Game
One student sits in the “hot seat” and must complete sentences and justify them rapidly based on cards drawn by classmates.Classroom Survey
After completing their sentences, students survey classmates to gather different opinions or justifications, encouraging active listening and interaction.
Conclusion
This combination of cards and spinning circles transforms traditional grammar exercises into an engaging and dynamic learning experience. Students not only practice essential structures like relative clauses, conditionals, and future tenses but also develop fluency, creativity, and confidence. The endless ways to use these materials ensure that every session feels new and exciting, fostering a love for language learning while building critical communication skills.
The BIG SET can be yours for 40zl.
