Idiom of the day – They’re a match made in heaven

Valentine’s Day Action Game

Celebrate Saint Valentine’s Day in the classroom with our fun action game for English students!

Why not follow us on Facebook and let us know how it goes? 

How to do it:

1. Clear a big empty space in the middle of the classroom.
2. All SS (students) stand in the space.
3. Designate three corners of the space: TRUE, FALSE, UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN means that we do not know the answer: it could be true or false, e.g. “Saint Valentine was terrible at maths”.
4. T (teacher) or a student reads out a statement from the list below. SS run to the corner which represents their chosen answer: TRUE, FALSE, or UNKNOWN.
5. The person reading gives the answer. If SS are correct, they go back to the middle. If they are wrong they have to sit down.
6. The game continues, with the group in the middle getting smaller,  until there is a winner, or you run out of questions, in which case all the remaining SS are winners.
7. If there is a winner after, say, a handful of statements, you could start a new game with the remaining statements.

TIP: you could give a sweet Valentine’s Day treat to the winning student(s)!

1. Saint Valentine lived in Rome under Emperor Claudius, who banned young people from getting married.
2. He had green eyes.
3. In general, teachers receive the most Valentine’s Day cards.
4. He was killed on 18th February 269.
5. He had black curly hair.
6. He is celebrated on 14th February every year.
7. He always had three eggs for breakfast.
8. Every year, more than 1 million heart shaped boxes of chocolates are sold in the USA alone.
9. He lived in the fourth century AD.
10. He enjoyed classical music.
11. There are fourteen churches in England dedicated to him.
12. He is the Patron Saint of happy marriages – and also beekeepers.
13. His favourite colour was red.
14. He tried to stop Christian couples getting married in secret.
15. He had a housekeeper called Martha.
16. He helped persecuted Christians in Rome.
17. He performed a miracle when his judge’s foster-daughter was healed of blindness.
18. More than 9 million people buy a special gift for their pet to show them they are loved on Valentine’s Day.
19. February 14th was officially named as St Valentine’s Day in 1537 by Queen Elizabeth I.
20. Valentine’s Day is a special day dedicated to getting married.

Valentine’s Day is the day when you can show your true feelings to the one you love.

Answers:

1. True.
2. Unknown.
3. True.
4. False. He was killed on 14th February 269.
5. Unknown.
6. True.
7. Unknown.
8. False. It is more than 36 million boxes.
9. False. He lived in the third century AD.
10. Unknown.
11. False. There are no churches in England dedicated to him.
12. True.
13. Unknown.
14. False. He helped Christian couples to get married in secret.
15. Unknown.
16. True.
17. True.
18. True.
19. False. It was officially named by King Henry VIII.
20. False. It is a special day dedicated to love and romance.

Further reading:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine
http://www1.cbn.com/st-valentine-real-story
https://www.1800flowers.com/blog/flower-facts/valentines-day-fun-facts-2017/
https://www.womansday.com/relationships/a4702/10-fun-valentines-day-facts-103385/
https://www.idealhome.co.uk/news/valentines-day-facts-194345

Images: https://pixabay.com