For a quick vocabulary practice, name a letter of the alphabet or a color and have the students list as many objects they can see in the room that begin with that letter of color. After one or two minutes, have the students compare their lists. Newspapers Newspapers are a great source for review of many different skills. For review of a grammar skill, hand out papers and have the student search for five or ten examples. For practice with skimming and scanning, have them search for a name and tell what they did.
Newspapers are consumable and can be adapted to many different needs.
The sheer shock will wake them up and get them communicating. For listening and note taking practice, play the hourly news summary from National Public Radio to the class. Listen two times. For the second listening, have them add any details they may have gotten. Good for advanced high-school, adult ed. or college students.