ESL Activities - Odd-One-Out This simple activity practises vocabulary and to some extent
speaking. Make a list of four or five words, all but one of which have
something in common. Ask the students to find the "odd-one-out". Don't be surprised if they come up with some surprising answers.
Just ask them to justify their choice. You may well find it logical. Take, for
example: The answer could be dragon (because it is the only
mythical creature) or cat (because all the other words start with
"d"). Ideally, the students should phrase their justification in a
form such as: - I think the odd-one-out is dragon because it is a
mythical creature and all the others are real creatures.
Here are some suggested words. You can easily find more. And one
good exercise is to ask your students to create some lists (along with valid
justifications). | Words | Some possible answers | | dog, cat, donkey, dragon | cat - begins c
dragon -
mythological | | banana, tomato, peach, apple, pear |
banana - shape | | Thailand, Singapore, Tokyo, England,
Vietnam | Tokyo - city, not
country
England - not in Asia | | car, aeroplane, truck, bus, train | aeroplane - flies
truck - not
for passengers
train - guided by rails | | camera, computer, television, telephone,
fax-machine | camera - doesn't need
electricity
television - 4 syllables | | love, hatred, fear, greed, anger | love - positive
greed - not
an emotion | | hotel, motel, town-house, condominium,
classroom | condominium - 5
syllables
classroom - not for residence | | water, bottle, shop, pencil, river |
water - uncountable noun | | branch, strawberry, anvil, iceberg,
boat | anvil - doesn't float in water | |
