Classroom Instructions- Imperative Mix and Match

Classroom instructions imperative mix and match

 

Instructions for teachers

There are three versions of this activity. The first one is given on one page to save paper and photocopying. The second is on cards to make it more flexible and to make matching up a more physical activity. However, the mix or match activity is usually best if done as a whole book, with each page cut into flaps which are turned separately to make good and bad matches. This makes it similar to the many mix and match books in which the reader makes people, monsters, etc with odd matches of head, body and legs, or something like the classic book Do You Like Ketchup on Your Cornflakes?

There are also a few possible activities, but the best is usually to get one student to make a wrong, funny or crazy match and then for one or more other students to make it more correct/ sensible while keeping as many parts the same as they can. All the options have at least one sensible match and at least one silly match. Especially if students just add or take away “Don’t” each time, you could insist that they do that and then try to make a sensible sentence of the same kind as the original sentence, e.g. change “Write on the ball” to “Don’t write on the ball” and then to “Write on the board”.

To make a book, you need to staple the pages together on one side, perhaps after adding a cover, and then cut along the dotted lines. You could also add suitable pictures to some or all flaps, but doing it without pictures means that students will have to concentrate more on the meaning of the words.

After reading, students could draw suitable pictures on their own copy of the book. Another option is for each student to draw one picture of their favourite silly combination, instead of drawing pictures for every page. They could also draw or act out the good and/ or silly combinations as you go along.

They could also make their own versions of this mix and match activity, perhaps keeping the same starters but changing the other columns/ cards/ flaps.

 

Single page version

Make combinations of words from the different columns below, see if your partner accepts them, and if not see if they can make the combinations better.

-   don’t

cut draw on kick knock on listen to look at move open pick up push slap touch turn turn off turn over wash write on

your bag the ball the board the button your chair the door the flashcard your hands the page the paper the picture your smartphone the snake’s cage the sun your teacher the computer the window

 

 

Cards version

Make combinations of words from the different kinds of cards below, see if your partner accepts them, and if not see if they can make the combinations better.

don’t

 

 

cut	your bag
draw on	the ball
kick	the board
knock on	the button
listen to	your chair
look at	the door
move	the flashcard
open	your hands
pick up	the page
push	the paper
slap	the picture
touch	your smartphone
turn	the snake’s cage
turn off	the sun
turn over	your teacher
wash	the computer
write on	the window

Book version 

 

-

 

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cut

 

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your bag

 

 

 

don’t

 

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draw on

 

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the ball

 

 

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

kick

 

-------------------------------

 

the board

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

knock on

 

-------------------------------

 

the button

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

listen to

 

-------------------------------

 

your chair

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

look at

 

-------------------------------

 

the door

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

move

 

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the flashcard

 

 

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

open

 

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your hands

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

pick up

 

-------------------------------

 

the page

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

push

 

-------------------------------

 

the paper

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

slap

 

-------------------------------

 

the picture

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

touch

 

-------------------------------

 

your smartphone

 

 

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

turn

 

-------------------------------

 

the snake’s cage

 

 

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

turn off

 

-------------------------------

 

the sun

 

 

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

turn over

 

-------------------------------

 

your teacher

 

 

 

don’t

 

-------------------------------

 

wash

 

-------------------------------

 

the teacher’s computer

 

 

 

-

 

-------------------------------

 

write on

 

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the window