Biographical deductions Sentence star Write on board some words and numbers (your age, children’s names, favourite number, favourite band/song, your birth place etc.) Tell the students that they are all related to you and that they should ask you yes/no questions in order to find out the connection Encourage them to ask as many questions as they can think of and try to engage all of them Ask your students to draw a five-point star and finish the following sentences This activity helps to break the ice and to create a good relationship with your students Besides it is a good diagnostic tool – you can check your students’ oral fluency and grammatical accuracy (question forms) Ask them to a list of their own and ask each other questions in pairs I’ve got… I am… I can… I have never… I will always… Predicting similarities Five things about me Ask your students to complete the sentences about their partner and themselves Ask your students to complete the sentences We are both We both have We both like _ When we were younger we both enjoyed _ Next year both of us will probably Then ask them to compare their sentences and see how similar they are Good for students to get to know each other At the weekends I _ My favourite part of the day is _ _ I’ve never _ When I was little I listen to music when When they have completed the sentences ask them to move around the class and try to find someone who has similar ideas