Use this when the textbook or workbook has a list of sentences that the students have worked on. If you do this before a class-wide speaking activity, it's a good warm-up to check their understanding of the items. If you do it afterwards, it's a good follow-up to review all of the items.

• I like spicy food.
• I have been to California.
• I can ski well.

This can also be used early in the school year as an ice-breaker.

On the board, use the Captur Board Magnets or write A: and B: to display the options:

True (This is true about me.)

False (This is not true about me.)

As you read out each sentence, students will use their Captur paddles to show you their answers. If you want, you can write down the approximate vote ratio to share with the students later on.We've found that when students are giving an answer about themselves, they tend to pay attention to the meaning of what they're voting on.

If you are using sentences from your textbook, you can challenge their listening by mixing up the order of the book's sentences. Also, tell them that you are going to include some extra sentences just "for fun."

Ensure Truthful Answers

If you include some extra sentences that are either universally true or universally false, you will have a 50/50 chance of detecting random answers. For example, if you say, "I am human", you should see a sea of  (True). If you say, "I like eating paper cups", the classroom should be filled with responses of   (False).

Teacher: I like eating paper cups!

All students: 

Alternative Board Text

You could put more natural replies on the board. For example,

 Really? Me too!

 Oh, not me.

These replies make it easier to follow up the teacher-fronted activity with pairwork. Put the students into pairs or small groups of three, and have them talk about themselves, their likes and dislikes. If your students seem to require more structure, you could ask them to choose sentences from a list that are true about themselves, and ask them to modify the ones that aren't. The two short, natural replies up on the board give the other student some support for their replies. When I do this, I usually let the students talk for a few minutes, and then I move them around so that everyone has a new partner.