Objectives of The first class meeting:
The first class meeting should serve at least two basic purposes:
o To clarify all reasonable questions students might have relative to the course objectives, as well 
as your expectations for their performance in class.o Consider a "Homework" voluntary-mandatory office hour. The assignment is simply to 
make an appointment with you at a convenient time, find your office and visit you there before 
the next class or two. This gets students to your office, breaks the ice with a short one-on-one 
interaction, and makes it much more likely that the students will come back for help when they 
need it.
o Establish a culture of feedback. Let students know you are interested in how they 
experience the course and in any suggestions they have. Let them know you will do formal 
early course evaluations, but that they should feel free to give you constructive feedback, even 
anonymously. You might not adopt every suggestion they have but you will listen and consider 
them. This starts to create a partnership in learning. 6. Collect baseline data on students' knowledge and motivation
This objective stems directly from the second overarching goal for the first day of class. Collect data about baseline knowledge. This can take several forms:
o Check that students have taken relevant courses in a sequence. o Give students an ungraded pretest that assesses knowledge and skills necessary for the 
course. o Also rely on students' self-reports about how confident they feel about particular knowledge 
and their ability to apply it.
More information on several forms of pre-assessment. Get a sense of students' motivation in the course. Collect data about:
o why students are taking your course
o what they expect to get out of it, and
o what challenges they anticipate
Decide what to do about different/inadequate prior knowledge. Depending on how many 
students are lacking certain knowledge or skills, you might choose to:
o tell them they cannot take the course
o tell them how they can bridge the gap on their own
o decide to devote one or two classes to a review of important foundational material
o defer that to a review session 
7. Whet students' appetites for course content
Some instructors simply hand out the syllabus and dismiss class figuring that the enrollment has 
not yet stabilized and it does not make sense to cover material. While there is truth to that argument, 
the first day of class is a great chance to stimulate interest about the course and to activate relevant 
prior knowledge students have about the material. Here are some suggestions for activities that 
orient students to the content:
o Directed reading-thinking activity. o Lyons et al. (2003, p. 87) suggest the following exercise:
1. On your own, list everything you can think of that might be in a book entitled [your 
textbook, or the name of the course if you don't have a textbook]. 2. Get with a partner, share your ideas, and then put the ideas you both generated for step 1 
into categories. 3. Give each category a name. 4. Get with another pair and together combine your ideas. Then arrange the categories as a 
table of contents for this book and write it on the chart paper each group has been given. This activity gets students talking to each other, makes them realize they bring relevant knowledge 
to bear, and it makes them think about a possible overarching structure for that knowledge. If that 
structure is appropriate, you can capitalize on that, otherwise this exercise will expose some of 
the misconceptions students possess, giving you a chance to correct them. The activity typically 
takes about half an hour. Collect data from the students about issues related to course content. This exercise 
gives you knowledge about the students and is relevant in social science courses that involve 
research. A statistics instructor always collects data on the first day and uses the survey and the 
students' responses to illustrate points about survey sampling. o Have students generate hypothesis about a typical problem in your course. This 
exercise can be used to foreshadow different positions and camps in your discipline. When 
appropriate, you can push the students to think about how they would test their hypotheses, 
getting deeper into methods of inquiry appropriate for the discipline. o Connect course content to current events. Bring in newspaper or magazine clips that relate 
to your course. Whenever you can connect your field to current events, or pop culture, or student 
interests, you demonstrate relevance, which increases student motivation. o Common sense inventory. Nilson (2003) describes a "Common Sense Inventory" where 
students need to determine whether 15 statements related to the course content are true or false 
(e.g., in a social psychology course, "Suicide is more likely among women than men," or "Over 
half of all marriages occur between persons who live within 20 blocks of each other").They were as follows:
o Breaking the monotony of learning:
About this one, Dornyei (2001) highlights the importance of the "motivational flow" when talking 
about the general rhythm and sequence of events in class and suggests starting it with a warmer, 
which can be a short stimulating game to set the tone. o Making the tasks more interesting:
The author claims that humans are able to produce concentrated effort if they want to. Generating 
this interest involves a set of characteristics. Most of them can be adaptable; thus, they become 
challenging for students since they have interesting content, novelty, and intriguing, exotic, fantasy 
and personal elements; they stimulate competition and humor. Increasing the involvement of the students: 
It is important to make students active participants .the following tasks require mental or bodily 
involvement of each participant and creating specific rules and personalized assignments for everybody
Diagram 1 shows some of the principles that a teacher must consider when preparing a warm up 
activity. It emerged as a result of our reflections upon our conceptual framework and the 
implementation process we designed. The principles contained in this diagram make us realize that 
warm up activities are not only processes to begin the class, but tools that help us catch students' 
attention. If you start with an exciting and interesting activity you can be sure the other steps can 
be developed easily. This warm up must also be short because it is like a preparation for the other 
class stages. That is why it has to be related with the topic and centered in communicative aspects 
which could involve activities that emphasize the practice of different skills. In addition, a warm 
up must be prepared taking into account the students' learning styles. According to Cardenas 
(2001), "students learn best when they can address knowledge in ways that they trust.Possible words 
include: bear,bare,piece,peace,not,knot,here,hear,witch,which,flower,flour,would,wood,be,bee,h
eal,heel,soul,sole,air,heir,break,brake,mist,missed,read,red,board,bored,buy,bye,pair,pear,male,
mail,jeans,genes,not,knot,where,wear,so,sew,sow
Mastermind (AKA Bulls & Cows, Jotto, Wordle)
Based on the code-breaking board game where players have to deduce the order of 4 coloured pegs 
which the other player had hidden behind a plastic guard.In particular, make sure to highlight the learning objectives, the alignment with the assessments 
- including the grading criteria - and the instructional strategies, the course policies, and the 
rationale for the structure and the policies, and the reasons for choosing the textbook or other 
reading materials.The use of warming up activities 
implies features as the ones previously described in order to get students' attention, to make them 
interested in what is going on, to focus on language items and to increase learners' expectations 
by consciously arranging the conditions in a way that they put the learner in a more positive or 
optimistic mood.Here are some examples: apple, peach, banana, tomato - a banana doesn't have seeds strawberry, 
branch, bowling ball, boat, iceberg - bowling balls don't float window, river, envelope, client, 
oregano - client doesn't begin and end with the same letter comb, champagne, knife, plum - the 
word plum doesn't contain any silent letters Note: There can be more than one correct answer.Rows signify a more formal environment, while 
circles or u-shapes imply a more informal atmosphere, with more expectations of student 
participation.You might want to provide information about the following categories:
o caps on enrollment and waitlists
o drop-add dates
o rules about course sections
o safety procedures
o other relevant administrative or logistic procedures
While this may seem like a lot of information to consider for one class, remember that the first day 
of class sets the tone for the entire course.A warm up to prepare students for a period of concentration may involve 
physical movement with activities that keep them active by standing up, walking, jumping, 
matching pictures with sentences or vocabulary, drawing or writing personal experiences or 
stories, and singing or listening to familiar songs and chants.Assessment: Some assessment activities like games, tasks or projects let students carry out the 
activity while the teacher is circulating in the classroom monitoring their use of the language, to 
examine students' progress and achievement.They will 
learn best through doing, rather than reflecting" . Additionally, Winters (as cited in Cardenas, 2001) suggested that incorporating the "play"element 
adds meaning to the issue of applying learning styles.The students must guess 
whose weekend is being describe
Provocative statements
Write a provocative statement on the board and then put students into small groups to discuss their 
opinion of it. For example, some drugs should be legalised, Facebook should be banned, Breaking 
Bad is overrated, one child is enough, organic food is a waste of money, etc.Clothing affects several kinds of judgments people make, including but not 
limited to, credibility, likability, dominance, kindness, and empathy .Consequently, learning must be stimulating and enjoyable 
through breaking what might cause monotony in this process and strengthening what makes tasks 
more interesting, as well as what increases students' involvement.For example:
o Jobs where you have to wear a uniform
o English football clubs
o Sports that are played with a ball
o Foods that contain egg
o Animals that lay eggs
o Three letter parts of the body - eye, arm, leg, hip, ear, toe jaw, rib, lip, gum
Two truths and a lie
An ESL classroom staple.When you've 
finished, invite the students (alone or in pairs) to come up with their own rules and let them run 
Word Association
This must be one of the oldest ESL warm-up activities, but sometimes the simplest ideas turn out 
to be surprisingly effective and word games don't get any simpler than word association.You could start it off with relatively mundane stems such as Yesterday I went ..., 
If I won ..., I have never or something more imaginative like, A wolf howled, the rocket landed ..., 
Princess Martha kissed ... Write the story on the board and elicit corrections as you go along.Put them on the board (as below) and give students five to ten minutes to figure out what 
the missing stem is.
________paste
________ ache
________brush
Here are some more examples:
doorbell, doorman, doorstep |o Consider a quiz on the syllabus.To reinforce the point that understanding expectations is 
crucial for success in the course some professors require students to take a quiz on the 
syllabus and get all answers right before they go on with the course content.For 
example: ?teemotekiltsomuoydluowohw
Hangman
This popular filler can also be a great way to start a lesson with beginner learners who are still 
unsure of the alphabet.Two statements should 
be true and one false, for example: I used to be an air steward I can ride a unicycle My favourite 
food is sushi Now invite students to discuss in pairs which statement they think is the lie.Draw a Tic Tac Toe grid on the board and in each 
space write a topic that you think some of your students might be interested in or have some 
knowledge of. Play the game with two teams, to claim their X or O, a team member must attempt 
to talk about the topic in the chosen square for 45 to 60 seconds (depending on their level) without 
pausing or repetition.Cleary laying out expectations starts to orient 
students toward the kind of effort, learning, performance and classroom behaviors you expect from 
them, and it helps them use their time productively.o Icebreakers raise the energy levels and get students comfortable so that they will be 
ready to focus on the material, especially if you want to foster a collaborative environment 
where students will have to work in groups or dialogue with each other.o Provitera McGlynn (2001) provide a variety of social icebreakers some of which can be 
tailored to course content.For instance, in a psychology course on myths about human behavior, the 
instructor starts with a brainstorming of myths about student behaviors in dorms.Warming up activities can foster motivation and this is, in turn, an essential component when 
planning warming up activities.Warming up and Attention
Warm up activities are designed to attract students' attention, to help them put aside distracting 
thoughts, and to get them ready to focus individually and as groups on whatever activities that 
follow.For the purpose of our study, it was 
the activity used to encourage students' involvement and permeate the development of the whole 
lesson, so we avoided looking at them as isolated activities.Useful Strategies when Implementing Warming up Activities For the purpose of our project, we 
considered some specific aspects related to warm up activities which we thought could make 
students' learning more stimulating.Possible topics for your Tic Tac Toe board might include Sport, Breakfast, 
Smartphones, Family, Movies, Cats, Rock Music, Soap Operas, Chocolate, etc.Write these words on the board randomly, not in straight lines or columns 
but higgledy-piggledy and at jaunty angles.These considerations are likely to be particularly relevant for young instructors 
who are concerned about establishing themselves as authoritative.In addition to the categories above, students are likely trying to determine whether you are a 
harsh or easy grader, and how flexible you will be with deadlines.ESL and EFL Warm-up Activities :
Warm-up activities are essential in the English classroom.The Place of Warm up in the English Lesson When preparing lesson plans for our EFL classes, we 
must include at least the following parts so that warming up activities can play a clear and 
meaningful role in our teaching.Kay (1995) describes the stages of a lesson plan in the following 
way: 
Warm up: "It is an effective way to help the students begin to think in English and to review 
previously introduced material. Different types of warm ups help provide variety and interest in 
the lesson" (p. vi).In this initial stage, we conduct activities to present the new language by providing 
a context for each situation.The activities must provide opportunities to work on a particular skill or to work 
integrated skill exercises.The following are the principles of warming up activities:
No-preparation ESL Warm-up Activities
Here is a list of warm-up activities you can use which don't require any preparation.Set a five-minute time limit and in groups have students think up and write down as many facts as 
they can about bananas (or cats, Belgium, David Beckham, etc.).As a warmer, have students brainstorm words connected to a theme, for example, the seaside, 
London, marketing, etc.headline, headcount, headlight, headset, headhunter |waterfall, waterbed, waterproof, waterfront, 
watercolour |These two basic purposes expand into a set of eight concrete objectives:
1.Orchestrate first impressions
First impressions can be long-lasting, and they are usually based on a thin slice of behavior.More formal attire 
communicates expertise and confidence, less formal attire communicates approachability.Greeting the students as they enter the classroom 
communicates approachability.Franticly arriving right on time or even late communicates 
disorganization, and so on.
2.Introduce yourself effectively
Your introduction should be succinct, but make sure to cover certain key areas.In particular, it is not helpful to say you've 
never taught the course before, or that it is your least favorite course to teach, or to disclose any 
irrelevant personal information that can undermine you in the eyes of your students.Clarify learning objectives and your expectations
This is probably the most important objective.o Explain your expectations for student behavior (if they are not included in the syllabus) 
Communicate your commitment to the students' learning experience.Inexperienced instructors sometimes make the mistake of lecturing at the students for a few weeks, 
then try to have a discussion when the first big unit of the course is finished, only to be surprised 
at the lack of student participation.This works particularly well 
in courses where students bring in a lot of misconceptions (e.g., Introductory Physics).Students often come to class tired or 
with other things on their minds, so it's good to ease them into a class rather than immediately 
hitting them with a demanding grammar or vocabulary task.With a good warmer you can put your 
students into English mode - attentive, interested and ready to participate.Motivation and Warm up Activities :
First of all, it is necessary to consider the relation between motivation and warm up activities for 
it is the desired goal to enrich the learning of the subject matter, in our case, language learning.According to Dornyei (2001), teachers need to try and actively 
generate positive students' attitudes toward learning.He also claims that the key issue in 
generating interest is to widen the student's appetite; that is, to arouse the students' curiosity and 
attention and to create an attractive image for the class so that they will get more involved with it 
and a better learning process will take place.We could say a warming up activity is a motivating starting point that will lead students 
to become animated to work efficiently in the language class.These kinds of activities might also 
be called zealous, enthusiastic or suggestive activities.Practice: It involves a wide variety of tasks that ensure the practice of 
the target language.Use longish seed words such as apologise, dictionary or September.Waterfall Industrious Nausea Terrified Empty Retailer
What does your name mean?Using a dictionary, google or any other resource, students find and write down an appropriate 
adjective that begins with each letter of their first name.For 
example: Flirtatious, Relaxed, Extrovert, Desirable
Mixed-up question
It's always good to start the class with a question.For 
example: tahw si ruyo seealirt rommey?backpack, 
backseat, backfire |etc.3.4.5.8.