Sentence Race
Level: Any Level
A good game for large classes and for reviewing vocabulary lessons. 1. Prepare a list of review vocabulary words. 2. Write each word on two small pieces of paper. That means writing the word twice, once on each paper. 3. Organize the pieces like bundles, 2 bundles, 2 sets of identical words. 4. Divide the class into 2 teams. get them to make creative team names. 5. Distribute each list of words to both teams. every student on each team should have a paper. Both teams have the same words. 6. When you call a word, 2 students should stand up, one from each team. The students must then run to the blackboard and race to write a sentence using their word.
The winner is the one with a correct and clearly written sentence.
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This is always a hit with kids. For more advanced students, use tougher words.
Bang Bang - A Vocabulary Game
Level: Easy
Divide the group into two teams. Explain that they are cowboys and they are involved in a duel. One student from each team comes to the front. Get them to pretend to draw their pistols. Say "how do you say..." and a word in their mother tongue. The first child to give the answer and then "bang bang", pretending to shoot his opponent is the winner. He remains standing and the other one sits down. I give 1 point for the right answer and 5 extra points if they manage to "kill" 4 opponents in a row.
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Editor's Note: Instead of saying the word in the students' mother tongue, it would be possible to use a picture or to say a definition ("What do you call the large gray animal with a long nose?")
Chain Spelling (Shiri-tori)
Level: Easy to Medium
The teacher gives a word and asks a student to spell it, and then a second student should say a word beginning with the last letter of the word given. The game continues until someone makes a mistake, that is, to pronounce the word incorrectly, misspell it or come up with a word that has been said already, then he/she is out. The last one remaining in the game is the winner.
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This game can be made difficult by limiting the words to a certain category, e.g.. food, tools, or nouns, verbs, etc.
Toilet Paper Icebreaker
Level: Any Level
This activity is used as a "getting to know you", icebreaker on the first day of class. 1. Teacher takes the toilet paper roll and takes several squares of toilet paper, then hands the roll of toilet paper to a student. The teacher tells the student to take some, more than three. 2. After everybody in the class has some paper, we count the squares we have, then we have to tell that many things about ourselves, in English.
This activity works well with substitute teachers also.
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The toilet paper is such an attention getter.
Pictionary (Game 1) - revamp - Charades (Game 2)
Level: Any Level
Write out series of categories like professions (doctor, bus driver, etc.), animals, foods, actions (fishing, haircut, etc.) then divide the class into groups of 2. One student draws and the other guesses. Next turn, the guesser draws and drawer guesses. This game works best with the arbitrary stop watch (30 seconds). This is designed for one lesson.
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Then for another day take the same categories (or create new ones) and play the same game except students, this time, act it out (no speaking or noises).
Beep Game
Level: Easy to Medium
Choose around 10 volunteers to come and stand in a line at the front of the classroom. The first student in line must begin counting from 1, and each student in turn calls out the next number. However, every 4th number must be replaced by the word "beep" (or buzz etc.). Following a "beep" the next student in line must call out the next number, and not the number that has been replaced. For example, 1, 2, 3, beep, 5, 6, 7, beep, 9 etc.
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If a student hesitates too much or makes a mistake he/she must sit down, so eventually only one student remains. Whenever a student sits down, begin from 1 again. See how far you can get!
Taboo
Level: Medium to Difficult
This game is a simplified version of the board game "Taboo".
Before class, create several index cards. On each card write one word in a large font with a circle around it, and underneath write 2-4 related words in a smaller font. The goal is for students to get their teammates to guess the circled word. They can say anything they like to try to make them guess, except for the words written on the card.
Divide the class into groups of two, and write each group on the board to keep track of points. Place a desk in the front of the room facing the class, so that someone sitting it has their back to the board and can't read it. Place another desk in front of it, so the teammates are facing eachother.
Pick a team to go first, and have them choose a card. Have the teammates decide who will guess and who will talk. The guesser sits with their back to the board. On the board, making sure the guesser can't see, write the circled word as well as the other taboo words. The talker then has to try to make their partner guess the circled word without saying it, or any of the other words. After they guess it have another group come up. When all the groups have gone, do it again and have the teammates switch roles.
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My students really enjoy this game, so much so that they often give the guesser clues even when it is not their team! It's a great way for students to practice forming sentences, and it forces them to use words and structures they might otherwise not use.
Counting Liar Game
Level: Any Level
This game is similar to the Alphabet Liar game except it deals with numbers and adding the "S" sound at the end of plural nouns , all you need is a deck of cards.
Divide the students into groups of 4 to 6. Deal all the cards from the deck to the students. The player who has the 2 of Spades begins. This player puts down his 2 of spades and any other 2 he has in his hand FACE DOWN in a pile and procedes to say "one 2" or "two 2'ssss" then next player procedes to put down his 3, then 4, then 5 etc...
Let's say the player doesn't have the card he is supposed to put down, for example a 3, the player must try to "lie" or fool the other players into thinking he has the card so he can play... if other students have any doubt they shout "liar" if the player was lying he then pick up the pile at the center of the table. If the player who is accused of lying was telling the truth it is the player who accused him who must pick up the pile in the center.
All players MUST put down a card when it is their turn, even if they do not have the required card. The game is over when one of the players has no more cards.
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I use this game to help practice the "s" sound at the end of plural nouns cause most students have a tendancy to say "there are 2 dog" rather than "there are 2 dogssssss" this game really helps the message get through. ***For better explanations see the alphabet liar game.***
Fold-over Stories
Level: Any Level
This is an old favorite. Give each student a sheet of blank paper. Write the following words on the board in a vertical line: WHO, WHAT, HOW, WHERE, WHEN, WHY. Explain that everyone will be writing a sentence story. Write an example on the board, explain, asking for suggestions. 1. Tell them to write someone's name at the top of their paper, i.e., their own, a classmate's, the teacher's, a famous person that everyone knows; fold the paper over once so no one can see it, then pass the paper to the person on their right. 2. Write on the received paper what the subject did (suggest funny or outrageous actions), fold it over and pass it on to the right. 3. Continue to write one line, how they did it (adverbs), fold and pass; where-pass; when-pass; and last of all, why (because...) and pass it one more time. 4. Have the students unfold their stories, and read them silently. Help anyone who cannot read what the others wrote, or doesn't understand. 5. -------------------------------------------------
Ask one student at a time to read "their" story aloud, or turn the stories in for the teacher to read. Funny!
Descriptions
Level: Medium * Write down names of every student in your class on pieces of paper. * Give the names to students. Try to make two students describe each other. * Ask them to describe the person whose name is on the paper. * After they finish, give the description to the person who is described. He/she has to find any writing mistakes on the paper. * -------------------------------------------------
Students work in pairs to correct the two papers.
Extreme Situations
Level: Medium to Difficult
The point of this activity is to make difficult questions involving choosing a course of action in extreme situations. Usually This situations will involve feelings, prejudices, ethics,,etc.
Examples 1:
You are on a deserted island. There is a motor boat and you are the only one who knows how to drive it. It is up to you to decide which people of the following people you are going to take with you in the boat. There is space for only you and 3 more people.
Here they are: * a prostitute * a drug addict * a dying old man * a doctor convicted of malpractice * a child pornographer * a convicted criminal * (Note: You should adjust the list to suit the students in your class. Delete some if you find them offensive. Add others that you think would generate good discussion.)
Example 2:
You find a wallet with $50,000 and the ID of its owner. That money is exactly the amount of money you need to cover the expenses of a delicate operation for your daughter. She needs that operation to survive. What would you do with the money?
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And you can create new extreme questions to challenge students to speak.
Spelling Review
Level: Medium
This activity will make students review spelling in a funny way. You can create similar spellings as the following ones:
I.1.2.C.U = I want to see you
R.U.O.K? = Are you O.k?
I´s T = Iced tea
I.C.Q = I seek you
I.O.U. = I owe you
E.Z. = Easy
B.Z. = Busy
I.1.T = I want tea
I.8 = I ate
U.2 = You two/ you too.
Y? = Why?
C.U.$$$.9 = See you at nine
2E.Z.4U = Too easy for you
R.U.D.Z? = Are you dizzy?
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stand
------ = I understand
I
Making Words from Letters in a Long Word
Level: Medium to Difficult
This game is a good activity for learning new words and for reviving some word knoweledge and for giving a teacher time to prepare other tasks for students.
The class is to be divided into 2-3- teams. Give each team a dictionary and write on the board a long word. Students should compose different words from the letters of this word. After some time, the teams give their words. the team that has the most correct words wins.
For example:
R E T R I B U T I O N return tribute iron notion note tone rib tube bruit tent tribe bur button rent burin nob bite burr run route tire tore bent bet bonnet rub nib net nub bin nut bit rube ruin rob rot unit union unite tier tie tin tint tone toe brute burn brunt butt butter riot tot tenet tenure terrier retro bone boot born bout totter tote tour bore
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Then you can ask them to learn these words
Question and Answer Game Activity
Level: Any Level
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Usually students answer comprehension questions after a reading. Why not have students create their own comprehension questions? I have and it works well, especially if this activity is turned into a game. I do this by having students in small groups work together to write questions about the text. Only questions which can be answered by the text are allowed. Opinion questions are not allowed. After groups finish writing their questions, they ask their questions to another group which must answer within a specified amount of time (the teacher decides the time according the class level). If the answer is correct and given within the time period, the answering team receives a point. If the answer is incorrect or not found within the time period, the questioning group receives a point, but they must inform the other group of the answer. Each group takes turns asking and answering questions.
Word Jumble Race
This is a great game to encourage team work and bring a sense of competition to the classroom. No matter how old we are, we all love a good competition and this game works wonders with all age groups. It is perfect for practicing tenses, word order, reading & writing skills and grammar. * Why use it? Grammar; Word Order; Spelling; Writing Skills * Who it's best for: Adaptable to all levels/ages
How to play:
This game requires some planning before the lesson. * Write out a number of sentences, using different colors for each sentence. I suggest having 3-5 sentences for each team. * Cut up the sentences so you have a handful of words. * Put each sentence into hats, cups or any objects you can find, keeping each separate. * Split your class into teams of 2, 3, or 4. You can have as many teams as you want but remember to have enough sentences to go around. * Teams must now put their sentences in the correct order. * -------------------------------------------------
The winning team is the first team to have all sentences correctly ordered.