Monthly Archives: September 2026

Confession Time: I’m Useless With Names (So I Invented a Game That Reviews Vocab and Grammar Too)

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Okay, I’ll confess: we’re in the first days of the new course and I, the teacher, cannot for the life of me remember half my students’ names. Does this happen to you too? That moment when you point at someone and go “hey… you, yes, you, the one in the blue hoodie” because the name has completely vanished from your brain. A classic September moment. Well, and in my case, February moment, too.

So I started turning it over in my head (because yes, I have that habit of mine of turning any everyday problem into a classroom activity, it’s a blessing and a curse in equal measure) and I came up with something that kills two birds with one stone: we learn names AND we review grammar and vocabulary. Yay! Because why settle for one thing when you can have both, right?

And guess how I’m going to run it? Exactly how I like it: mixing tech and old-school tradition. Not fully digital, not fully analogue, a bit of both. But hey!!! You don’t like tech. It can all be done in the traditional way.

VOCABULARY ACROSTIC DUEL

Objective: learning students’ names and revising grammar and vocabulary.

Setting it up

  • A WordCloud. Split the class into two teams and create two word clouds, one per team, with the names of their members. You can do this by hand on the board or you can bring in the tech like I do (because for this bit, I admit I’m a little lazy) and use Wooclap to generate the cloud on the spot. Well, two clouds, one per team,
  • A buzzer. Some noise? Yes! Each team needs a buzzer within reach. A real buzzer, one of those that goes “ding!” and gives the whole thing that game-show feel that hooks everyone instantly.
How to play

(click on the image)

  1. Pick a student’s name at random from either word cloud (it doesn’t matter which team they’re on).
  2. Assign a challenge or if you use my wheel above, spin the wheel: for example, each letter has to be a past tense verb, or a descriptive adjective. You’ve got total freedom here to adapt it to whatever grammar point you’re working on.

An example with the name LUCAS and past tense verbs

  • L – Learned
  • U – Understood
  • C – Called
  • A – Asked
  • S – Saw

3.  Within each team, students can work solo, in pairs, or in groups of three, whatever       they prefer.

4. As soon as someone finishes the acrostic, they hit the buzzer.Let’s say it is a student from Team A.  If it’s correct, their team wins the round and  crosses out a name from Team B’s  cloud,  and picks the next name plus the next grammar or lexical category.

NOTE: If the student from Team A makes a mistake, then the other team wins (Team B) wins and crosses out a name from Team A’s cloud

And so, round after round, and without even realizing it, they’re repeating names over and over while working on structure and vocabulary. By the end of the class, I promise even I’ll have picked up a few more names.

Two No-Prep Icebreakers: Personal Stars and Funny Cartoons

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I still had sand between my toes and here I am, already planning the first day of class. How did that happen SO fast? One minute you’re lying on the beach not thinking about anything, and the next, bam! September is staring you.

But let’s look on the bright side: starting means new faces, renewed energy, and that special “fresh start” buzz I love so much.

So today I thought I’d share my plan for day one:

  1. MY PERSONAL STAR: a no-prep icebreaker to get everyone talking
  2. CARTOONS: followed by some cartoons I love using to squeeze out even more conversation once the ice is broken.

Sound good? Let’s get into it!

Icebreaker 1: Personal Star

This one takes no prep, and students always love a bit of gossip about their new teacher!

Here’s how it works: draw a star on the board and write six pieces of information about yourself inside it. Mine looks like this: black, London, December 9th, Homer, English, meat.

Tell your students the star is full of clues about you, and their job is to guess what’s behind each word by asking questions. If they’re a bit lost, give them an example: “My favourite colour is black. What question do you need to ask to find that out?” Let them work it out — “What’s your favourite colour?” — and cross the word off the star. Keep going until the whole star is solved.

Their Turn Now

Put students in pairs and get them to draw their own personal star with six pieces of information about themselves inside. They take turns asking each other questions to uncover what’s hiding in their partner’s star.

When everyone’s done, bring the group back together and have each student introduce their partner, sharing what they found out. Instant mingling, instant speaking practice, and everyone leaves knowing a little more about the person sitting next to them.

Icebreaker 2: Conversations around some of my favourite back-to-school cartoons.

Once the ice is well and truly broken, I like to move on to something a bit more visual and that’s where these back-to-school cartoons come in — they’re perfect for warming up vocabulary and getting students talking a bit more, without it feeling like “work.”

Here are six cartoons with some questions each, mixing some better suited for adults and others that’ll hook teenagers more. Grab whichever fits your group best!

CARTOON 1:We don’t all follow you on Instagram, Kayla

Questions for adults:

  1. What’s funny about this cartoon?
  2. Do you think social media has changed the way young people communicate?
  3. What are the pros and cons of kids using social media?
  4. Do you follow any of younger relatives on social media?
  5. How is “sharing your summer” different today compared to when you were a kid?

Questions for teenagers:

  1. What does the little girl expect the teacher to already know?
  2. Do you post about your summer on social media? Which apps do you use?
  3. Have you ever assumed someone already knew something because you posted it online?
  4. What’s one thing you did this summer that you’d want to tell the class about?
  5. Do you think it’s weird when teachers follow students on social media? Why or why not?
CARTOON 2: He teaches second grade

Questions for adults:

  1. Why do you think a 27-year-old teacher would feel the same way as a little kid on the first day?
  2. What usually causes that back-to-school dread for teachers — is it the students, the workload, or something else?
  3. What’s your own trick for getting motivated when you really don’t feel like going to work?

Questions for teenagers:

  1. Have you ever refused to go to school? What happened?
  2. Do you think teachers get nervous on the first day too, just like students?
  3. What year do you think would be hardest to teach, and why?
CARTOON 3: Everything but homework cutbacks

Questions for adults:

  1. Do you think schools in your area have enough resources? Why or why not?
  2. If you could cut one thing from your child’s school day, what would it be — and why?
  3. What’s something schools spend money on that you think is unnecessary?
  4. How has education changed since you were a student?

Questions for teenagers:

  1. Do you ever feel like you get too much homework? Give an example.
  2. If your school had less money, what would you miss the most — sports, clubs, or something else?
  3. What’s the worst homework you’ve ever had to do?
  4. Would you rather have more homework or a longer school day? Why?

Have a nice back-to-school day!!!