In the Animal House ESL activity, the whole class pretends to be a certain animal on command, which is lots of fun for younger kids.
Setup
One student stands at the front. The rest of the class stands up and faces them.
Activity
- The student at the front shouts out an animal. You could also require a prefix like I can see… and/or the plural of the animal.
- The rest of the class has to move around the room acting like that animal.
- Repeat this three to five times, then change the student at the front. You could choose using random numbers, or by selecting the best actor (obviously select a different student every time!).
- Repeat the process for different students at the front.
Optionally, you could include an element similar to Simon Says. In this case any student who acts like the wrong animal comes to the front.
Target Language
The Animal House ESL activity is a short, simple activity for young kids. Be aware that things might get a little loud/crazy! Ask students to act silently if you want to reduce noise.
It’s great for reviewing animals vocabulary, and you can check students’ understanding by seeing who acts correctly. As mentioned above, you can also use it to practise plurals of animals; get the students to say I can see fish/monkeys/sheep etc., instead of just the animal.
Got a picture or video of this activity in action? How about snapping one next time you use it? We'd love to showcase your submissions- find out more here.