TEFL:Conditionals with Cartoons! How I mesmerize 11 year olds!

Find out how to teach 1st, 2nd & 3rd Conditional using evergreen Cartoons. Transform your Grammar Class into a talkative cheerful group and you'll never grow up!

#1 What kind of cartoons?

You can choose any cartoons for this activity 

 as long as the are no dialogues. I had my best days with Minions and the Pink Panther.

The point is that the absence of talking gives students a carte blanche to state numerous hypotheses and work on the conditionals unintentionally. 

Look at these examples:  

" If he killed Snow White, he would feel guilty." 
"She wouldn't have slept if she hadn't bitten the apple"

"If she eats the cake, she will grow."
"If she hadn't eaten the cake, this wouldn't have happened."

"If the witch got hungry, she'd eat her house."

"If the children gulp the candy, they'll get caught."

#2 And...action!! How to?

• Organize your students in three groups and hand out some blank papers and pens. Present the cartoon to the class and press pause every now and then instructing the students to do as follows:

Group one writes down If-sentences about: 

What happens in each scene. For example:

If he walks, he will fall off the edge. (1st Conditional)

Group two writes down If-sentences about: 

What will happen in the next scene. For example: 

If he fell off the edge, he would step on that balk. (2nd Conditional)

Group two writes down If-sentences about: 

What could have happened differently. For example:

If he hadn't gotten up there, he wouldn't have fallen.
(3rd Conditional)

#4 Now do the talking

The right time to do the talking about the usage of each type, the right formation and further details is obviously after the activity. Yes, even for the EFL classroom. 

The sample sentence writen on the board for each group is most of the times enough for kids to copy the grammar of so the mistakes shouldn't be that many... 

• Teach some Grammar and 
• Let the teams correct their own mistakes working together. 
• Then assign a type of conditional for each group to present to the class.
• Sum up
  

#5 Go through the experience  

Allow students some time to give their feedback and talk about how the lesson was. Did you hit the spot?  Sometimes the most unexpected statements come up!