Jazz up Your Lesson

Let’s travel with our students in time! The time-machine is fully at our disposal and it is going to take us anywhere we want. Here is a set of great warming-up activities for such topics as “Time”, “Traveling”, “Dreams”, “Predictions” as well as “Prices”, “Money Matters”, “Business”, etc.

Game 1:
“Cheap or Expensive?”

Material needed: sheets of paper; pens; good predictability (!)

How to play:
The teacher gives his or her students the following quiz of 7 questions. Every question contains a certain year and a piece of information about some product with its price. The task is to say whether this price is high or low for that specific year.

QUIZ:
1. Year 1952.
You are offered a Baby Ruth Candy bar for 25 cents.
High or Low?

2. Year 1987.
Compact disc of Madonna’s “True Blue” for $2.75.
High or Low?

3. Year 1982.
A sport fan offers to sell you a complete set of the year’s baseball cards. All 792 cards can be bought for $13.65.
High or Low?

4. Year 1961.
A genuine wallet-size colour photo of rock and TV star Ricky Nelson for just 25 cents.
High or Low?

5. Year 1959.
A four-blade scout pocket knife featuring steel blades to open cans and bottles, to punch holes, screws for 75 cents.
High or Low?

6. Year 1949.
You can purchase a copy of a music magazine for 65 cents.
High or Low?

7. Year 1976.
Around the World Cruise aboard the Queen Elizabeth II. You are going to travel in the most luxurious manner possible, roomed in the best suite available. Cruise in the grandest style will be $52,000.
High or Low?

After the students make their predictions tell the correct answer (high or low) and ask the students to guess the real price for that specific product at that time. Then see who has got more correct answers than others. Give him a “Certificate of the Best Businessman of All Times” =)

Key:
1. High. Normal price would be 5-7 cents.
2. Low. Normal price would be $14.98.
3. Low. Normal price would be $20.
4. High. Normal price would be 10 cents.
5. Low. Normal price would be $1.50.
6. High. Normal price would be 25 cents.
7. Low. Normal price would be $62,000 (this is a price per person in double occupancy, but there were cheaper rooms too).

Game 2:
“Third Millenium”

Divide your students in pairs or groups of 3–4 people and give them a task: “In 5 minutes invent 3 things that humanity will invent in the year 3000.”
(hint: it may be some new technical device, medicine, clothes, food, breed of animal, organization, extend the physical ability of a human being, etc.)
In 5 minutes they should be ready to present the 3 inventions to their classmates.
Put all the invented things on the chalkboard and after everybody has talked, encourage your students to vote for only one thing that they really want to see in the year 3000 (or sooner) Give a small symbolic prize to the person whose invention scores the highest.

Variation:
Change the groups and let the students do just the same but imagining 3 things that will disappear in the year 3000.