[DarylM]

It sounds just like my school - a boys middle school with up to 34 students in each class. Fortunately the Principal who wanted silent, book-based lessons has now left, but last week I was told of a schedule change - specifically 'teach this class NOW and make sure it's a quiet lesson because it's next door to an exam'. Typical.

By a stroke of luck a colleague had given me a lesson idea the week before - it worked a treat and I'm sure it could be adapted in many ways. This is it:

Each student has a sheet of paper and a coloured pen. Ask them to draw a line down the right hand side - a quarter to a third of the paper and right their name at the top of here. Then tell them that they have to listen very carefully and do only as you tell them. Tell them to draw a head (ONLY A HEAD) then pass the paper to the person on their right. (I have classes sit in groups of six). Then draw eyes, pass the paper etc. Carry on till you have a full drawing and tell them to find their original paper with their name on.

You can then asks students to label the picture (a list - eyes, mouth etc might help) Tell them 'this is your new best friend' and you want to know all about them; Name, age, where are they from (again, a list on the board may help) and they should write this in the margin they made. Then you can ask individual students to stand at the front and show the class their 'new best friend' and describe him (by folding over the 'margin' they can read their description while showing the class the picture.

Though there was lots of muted giggling in my classes, they were pretty hushed waiting for the next instruction, not wanting to mess it up for the person who they passed their paper to. I'm thinking of adapting the same thing using maybe a house and teaching prepositions (there is something scary under the bed, there is something ugly next to the TV), or even using writing rather than drawing.

I love my big noisy classes on most days and agree that whipping them up to the point where they are falling over each other to speak is the best way. Then again there are definitely occassions where quiet is preferable! I hope this helps, and thanks Kisito for the links - a few more to add to my collection.