A Fun ESL Lesson with Balloon Animals

I got some balloons and an air pump for Christmas to create animal balloons.

Creating balloon animals is a fun way to review basic English vocabulary in a number of topics: colors, body parts, and animals. Of course, with the ability to create more animals and objects from the balloons, the vocabulary options increase. I’ll go over my routine to show you one kind of review.

I lay out a deflated balloon of each color on a desk. I lift each balloon and ask the students to identify the color. I then ask one of the students what color he/she wants. Let’s say the student chooses blue. I’ll then inflate the blue balloon.

I’ll then create a balloon animal/object. Let’s say I create a dog. As I create the dog, I point out the body parts. Below is the head and ears.

I’ll then point out the front legs. I will point at my ears and then the balloon dog’s ears and likewise the dog’s legs and my legs to get across the point and repeat the vocabulary.

We finally then get the finished product, and I give the balloon animal to the student who chose the color.

I will have a similar routine for other balloon animals/objects. Below is a balloon sword that can easily be created. Sometimes a balloon may pop, but that just adds to the fun. The pop usually creates a surprise for everyone and laughter all around.

There are numerous balloon creations that can be made, but do not let all of the possibilities and the temptation to wait until you are a balloon master to try out the balloons with your class. You can learn how to create a balloon dog and balloon sword(s) in a short time frame. So jump into class with this fun activity to learn basic ESL vocabulary. It will certainly add some levity and a change of pace.