The first conditional is a grammatical structure for talking about what is possible in the present or future. The structure typically contains a phrase beginning with "if" that conditions the possibility, for example, "If you eat quickly, your stomach will hurt." Teach your students to use the first conditional with a variety of oral or speaking activities that will engage and entertain. In all cases, the more students practice using the first conditional, the better the students will become at it.

First Conditional Bingo
This activity works well for students in grades four through eight. Assemble a variety of sentence endings, such as, "I will miss the bus" or "I will get an A." Give each student a card containing a different combination of six of these. Make sure each card is unique. If you have trouble making your own card, the cards can be downloaded from MacMillanEnglish.com. Put cards with the accompanying sentence beginnings, for example, "If I sleep in" or "If I study hard." Randomly select a sentence beginning and read it out. Students must cross off the appropriate sentence ending if it appears on the card. A student yells "Bingo" when his card is full. Have the student read all six full sentences out loud to verify his victory.

First Conditional Improv
Drama games can make learning grammar entertaining. This drama activity is appropriate for grades one to six. Ask one student to come to the front of the room. Read out an "if" clause, such as "If you don't wear a coat...." Have the student act out an ending to the sentence. The rest of the class must guess the sentence ending. Allow her to come up with something conventional, such as "you will catch a cold," or something silly, such as "you will be blown away by the wind." Have the student who guesses correctly come to the front and act out the next phrase.

First Conditional Phone Conversation
This activity works best for students in grades one to three. Bring two telephones into the classroom. Ask for a student volunteer. Pick up one phone and fake a ringing sound. Have the student "answer" the phone. Ask the student what he would like to do today. He might say something like, "I would like to watch a movie." Give the student a condition, like, "Well, we can watch a movie if the class finishes all of its work." Have the student repeat the full sentence into the phone: "If the class finishes all of its work, we can watch a movie." Have another student come up and repeat the exercise.

First Conditional 20 Questions
This activity works for any grade level at the elementary level. Stand at the front of the room. Tell students you are a person or object. Have students ask questions in the first conditional to find out who or what you are. The students can ask such questions as, "If I shake you, will you rattle?" or "If you walk down the street, will people ask you for your autograph?" Allow the first student to correctly guess who are what you are to lead the next round.