Games and Drills for Young Learners
These are a compilation of games and drills aimed towards young students in a classroom setting. These simple games will spice up the classroom to inspire children to learn English while having a great time. Thanks to Professor Kyle Macnoogle for contributing these great ideas!
Alphabet Shout Out
Randomly choose an alphabet flashcard and award a point to the first student who shouts out a word beginning with that letter.
Alphabet Writing Relay
Divide and line up the students into two teams. Divide the board into two halves and have one student from each team run to the board, write 'Aa', then run to the back of the line. The next student writes 'Bb', etc. The first team to finish wins.
Alphabet Erase relay
As 'Alphabet Writing Relay', but this time, write the alphabet on each half of the board and have each team race to erase the letters in order.
Alphabet Sculptures
Have a student come to the front of the class and make a letter of the alphabet with their body. Whatever team guesses correctly is awarded points.
Alphabet Soup
Give each student an alphabet flashcard and have them skip around the room to the 'ABC Song'. Stop the tape at random and have the students rush to line up in order, e.g. A-K.
Alphabet Touch
Call out letters and have the students find and touch them in the classroom, on posters, etc.
Alphabet Wave
Give each student a few ordered alphabet flashcards and play the 'ABC Song'. Have the students hold up the cards that correspond to the letters they hear in the song, or just call out random letters and have them raise them in the air and repeat.
Animal Crackers
Take a big dice and assign an animal to each number. Have the students roll the dice and act like the animal!
The Ball
Throw the ball to a student and ask that student a question. The student answers and throws the ball to another student asking the same question. E.g. "Can you...?", "Yes, I can. / No, I can't." "Do you like...?", "Yes, I do. / No, I don't."
Ball Toss: Lay out flashcards face down up the floor. Students toss the sticky ball onto a card and if they can do it, they must identify the flashcard it lands on. If it's first day of study, you can call a card for them to shoot for.
Balloon Toss
Have the students stand in a circle. Toss a balloon to one student and elicit vocabulary or a structure from that student. They must be able to tap the balloon in the air without missing the vocabulary or structure E.g. S1: "My name's Miki. What's your name?" (tap) "My name's Hiro. What's your name?" (tap).
Basic Flashcard Fun
The teacher simply holds up a flash card and elicits the answer from the students. This can be done in teams with points awarded for correct answers.
Basketball: Students take a shot at the trash can/box/etc. First show a flashcard to Student 1. If he/she answers correctly then he/she can have a shot at the basket. If the Student gets the ball in the basket then he/she wins 2 points. If the Student hits the basket without going inside then he/she wins 1 point. The person who gets the most points is the winner. This can also be played in teams.
Basketball Card Line-Up: This game is like the basketball game but more educational. You need a basket far away. Students must choose which card they shoot from. The closest card is one point, 2 points for the second card etc.
Battleship: Age: 4+, Level: All levels, Target: Vocabulary, Phrases, Listening and Conversation. Make a grid. The size of the grid depends on the number of students and the time limits of the class. Basically the students pick a grid reference, as " A1" or “ B7”and then you reveal the card. Points can be given for the student that can complete the task of the card. If the student that chose the card cannot, allow the other team to attempt for points. If all students can not complete the task, obviously, that should be taught again for a minute.
Beat The Clock
Time the students as they race to put alphabet letters, days of the week, or month flashcards in order. Have them try again to see if they can beat their fastest time.
Bingo
Bingo can be used with any topic. Blank Bingo sheets can be used, and students can write or draw randomly in the boxes. The winner is the first student to cross out all the numbers/letters etc. on the sheet.
Blind Monkey
Line up the flashcards along the blackboard. Place a magnet or something that can be used as a button at the end of the flashcards. Students must read the words and then push the “magic button” which will transform the teacher into a “blind monkey”. The teacher must then pretend to be a monkey with his/her eyes closed and try and catch the student. The student must avoid the teacher, pick up a ball placed on the other side of the classroom, hit the teacher with it and run back to their seat.
Blindfold Conversation
Arrange the class in a circle and choose one student to stand in the circle with a blindfold on. Spin the student and tell him/her to point. Tell the student to guess the name of the student he/she is pointing at by talking to him/her. E.g. "Hello. How are you? Do you like...?"
Bluff
The object of the game is to be the first student to get rid of all his/her cards. Divide the students into small groups and deal flashcards to each student. Player 1 chooses a card from his/her hand and throws it face down on the table saying, for example, "I have (a cat)". Player 1 may be telling the truth or bluffing. If player 2 has a 'cat' in his/her hand then there's a good chance player 1 is bluffing. Player 2 should say "No, you don't". If player 1 was bluffing, player 2 gives player 1 a penalty card from his/her hand. If player 1 was telling the truth then he/she gives player 2 a penalty card from his/her hand. Continue until one student is out of cards.
The Bomb
Pass a ball, object or a flash card around a circle of students. When the timer rings, the student holding the ball must answer a question, make a sentence or say a word.
Car Race
Arrange the flash cards in a long line with starting and finishing points. Give each student a counter. The first student throws the dice and moves. The student must say the word on the flashcard he/she lands on. If the student makes a mistake, he/she goes back to his/her original place. Add colored paper between cards to represent 'Take Another Turn', and assign a crash number e.g. #4 on the dice which means the student must return to the beginning.
Card Toss
Teacher calls a card and then throws all the flashcards up in the air, and the student who finds the one called gets points.
Catch The Fruit
Toss a piece of plastic fruit to a student and ask, "What is it?" Elicit and prompt the correct vocabulary. Gesture the student to throw it back to you and repeat with different fruits and students. For a variation see 'The Ball'.
Charades
Divide and line up the class into two teams. The first student from each team comes to the front. The teacher whispers a word or shows a flashcard to the two students and they act it out. The first team to call out the correct word gets a point. E.g. sleeping, eating, playing soccer...
Chair/Table Throw
Have students stand behind a line and throw a set number of blocks onto a table or chair. A point for every one that stays on. A variation can be to have a player from each team compete at the same time, with different colored blocks and still award points for every block, but this way they can try and knock off the other teams blocks.
Chase the Ace
Students sit in a circle. You’ll need a deck of cards and three counters for every person (magnets, paperclips, etc) and the dealer deals one card to every student. Kings are high and aces are low. The person to the left of the dealer looks at their card and chooses to “stand” (keep their card) or “change”. If they choose “change” they lay their card face down and pass it to the player on the left. That player must give them their card in exchange. Then the next player does the same and it continues until it gets back to the dealer. If the dealer decides to change, they put their card at the bottom of the deck and take the top card. Then all students flip their cards and the person(s) with the lowest card must throw away a counter.
Chorus Game
Have the kids line up next to one another. Have the students repeat the line again and again. Tell them if you raise your hand, they must get louder the higher your hand goes, or quieter the lower your hand goes. You can also play high and low.
Clusters
Play any music and have the students walk, skip, jump, hop, etc around the room randomly. Stop the music and call out a number between 1-8. The students must quickly get together in a group or groups of that number, and the odd students must sit out until the next round.
Colors and Blocks
Using the color grid on the floor, call on a student to stand up and give them 5 blocks. If they can throw a block onto a color intersection, they are awarded a point. If they can throw a block onto an intersection of the same colors (ie. red-red intersection) they can receive 2 points. For younger children you can just award points if they land a red block anywhere on a red line as well.
Commando
The teacher is the commando and gives commands to the class and/or individual students. This is a great energy burner as well as review of actions colors, numbers or anything else you can throw in. E.g. "Jump 10 times", "Touch your (body part)", "Touch (classroom object", "Turn around", "Stand up / Sit down".
Concentration / Memory
Have the students sit in a circle. Spread out the flashcards (2 sets) face down. Students take turns flipping over two cards and saying the vocabulary. If the flashcards are a match, the student keeps the cards. If they are different, they remain face down. The student or team with the most pairs is the winner.
Conversation Relay
Line up the students in two teams and have the last student in each team tap the shoulder of the student in front and have a conversation E.g. "What's you name?", "How are you?". The student answering then starts the same conversation with the student in front, and so on. When the conversation reaches the front, the student at the front must run to the back and continue the procedure. The first team to get all the students back in their original positions wins.
Crazy Train
Students line up behind the teacher in a choo choo train line. Give commands such as "faster", "slower", "turn left", and "stop". Then Have all student turn around, so the teacher is last in line but still making commands. (More Difficult)
Cross the River: Place flashcards on the floor in a winding manner. Each represents a stepping stone in the river, as students must say word/phrase/question/etc in order to step on it and cross the river!
Curling
Using the color grid on the floor, have one student from each team stand up and give each one 5 blocks. They must take turns throwing their blocks towards the center point of the grid. Students can try and knock away their opponents blocks so they can get closer. Whatever student has the block closest to the center is the winner.
Dance Of The Ostriches
Pair up students and attach a flashcard to their backs. The object of the game is to look at the other student's flash card and yell out the word before they see yours.
Darts: You need magnetic darts. Place flashcards on the board and number them. Ask, "What's picture number 3?". If the student answers correctly then he/she may throw a dart onto the flashcard for points. You can also draw a multi-colored dartboard on the blackboard which the kids may find more interesting.
Draw It Relay
Divide the students into two teams. Whisper a flashcard to the first member of both teams and have them run to the board and draw the word as fast as possible. Award points to the fastest team.
Drill Sergeant
Have the kids line up next to one another. When you point to a student, they must begin repeating target phrase again and again, non-stop. Then point to another student, and another until everyone is speaking. Then walk up and down the line (in the fashion of a drill sergeant) and listen to them speaking, helping correct those who are saying it wrong. Then you can point, tap on the head, or throw a soft ball at the ones who are correctly speaking and they can sit down. Let those who are having problems stay up longer for more practice.
Drum Circle
Give the class a topic (e.g. food, clothes, animals, things in a kitchen) and ask them to stand up, in a circle if possible. Clap out a beat and say, one, two, three, followed by a topic-related word. After the next three beats, the next student in the circle gives a word related to the topic, and so it continues. Anyone who can't think of a word or repeats a word already said has to sit down and it's the next person's turn. The winner is the last one standing.
Duck Duck Goose
Students sit in a circle and the teacher starts by walking around the outside of the circle tapping the students on the head saying "duck". When the teacher says "goose" the student whose head was touched must jump up and chase the teacher round the circle. The teacher must sit down in the student's spot before being tagged. If tagged, the teacher must continue tapping heads. If not, the student walks around the circle touching heads. It might be easier to use vocabulary like "cat, cat, dog" or similar, or even "duck, duck, dog" to practice awareness of 'u' vs 'o' and 'g' vs 'ck' sounds.
Duck-hunt
One student stands behind a chair at one side of the classroom while the teacher flies around like a duck on the other. The student tries to throw a ball at the teacher to “kill” the duck.
Easy or Hard: You need at least 20 cards to play which you divide into 2 piles face down:
An Easy and a Hard pile. Give each team 50 points from beginning. Pick a student and ask if they would like an easy or a hard card, also ask how many points they would like to risk on knowing the answer: Easy 1-5 and Hard 5-10.
Fashion Show
Have each student stand up one at a time and elicit from the class what he or she is wearing.
Fast as Rabbits: The teacher puts some flashcards on the board. Then a pair of students go to the board facing the flashcards. The teacher says words (from the flashcards) and the 2 children must touch the correct flashcard as fast as they can. The winner is who touches more flashcards first. This can also work as a race from their seats.
Find It
The teacher holds up a letter flashcard. The students must search around the room to find either a corresponding object/picture that begins with that letter or find that same letter written somewhere in the room. The purpose of this game is letter recognition. It can be played as a relay race with two teams racing to find the letters first.
First letter
Give the students various picture flashcards. Go through the ABC's and instruct students to hold up the flashcards that begin with that letter.
Flash Card Act Out
Choose one or more students to come to the front. Show a flash card or whisper a word, and have the students act it out. Reward the first student to guess the correct answer. This can be used with many subjects (e.g. sports, actions, verbs, animals, etc.)
Flash Card Walk
Arrange the flashcards in a big circle. Play some music while the students walk around the circle. When the music stops, call out a flashcard, and the student standing next to the flashcard wins.
Follow The Leader
Students line up behind the teacher and follow the teacher's actions. Use as a review for identifying and chorusing classroom objects or acting out actions. Give the students a chance to lead.
Four Corners: The teacher hangs a flashcard (4 in total) in all 4 corners of the room. One Student is chosen to stand in the middle with his/her eyes closed and counts to ten while the other students scramble to one of the four corners. At the count of ten, the Student in the middle shouts "STOP" and picks one corner by naming it's corresponding flashcard. The students in that corner are "out" and must sit down. Continue game until only one student remains; he/she is then "it" (the counter in middle).
Go Fish
Have students choose two flashcards each. Have the students hold the flashcards face up but not to show anyone. Choose a student and ask "Do you have a cat?" If the answer is yes, they have to give you the flash card. Have each student ask other students questions. A student with no cards is out.
Grab
Use colored blocks. Spread out the Lego and call out "(Five!)". The students should take five blocks, join them together to make a pattern and hold them up. Next say "two blue, one yellow" and other combinations to 5.
Grab It Relay / Race to Touch
Lay the flashcards on the floor at one end of the room, and have the students line up in teams at the other end of the room. Call out a flashcard and have the first person in each team race to grab the card. Those students then go to the back and the next students race to grab the next flashcard the teacher calls.
Grid Jump
Using the color grid on the floor, have students try and jump from one corner to the corner diagonally opposite. Award points to whichever student jumps the furthest.
Guess who?
Choose one student to come up to the front of the class. Give them a piece of paper with everyone’s name on it. The teacher secretly chooses a student (or you can write that students name on the board behind the standing student so the entire class can play). The standing student must ask questions such as “Is it a boy?” or “Is he/she wearing a blue coat?” until they can guess who the person is. For extra fun and to save time, you can limit the amount of questions allowed.
Guessing Question Game: This is good practice for asking simple questions. The teacher hides any flash card behind his/her back and the Students try to guess what the object is by asking questions: "Is it a dog?", "Is it a ball?", "Is it a book?", etc. until they guess the flashcard.
Hangman
Use review words from past lessons. The teacher chooses a word and writes the appropriate number of spaces on the board. Students guess a letter one by one. If the student guesses correctly, write that letter in the space and give the student another turn. If they guess incorrectly, start drawing a hanging man and have the next student guess a letter. Let the first student to guess the word take the teacher's place. You may prefer to draw a hanging spider (Spiderman?) instead.
Hint Animal Game: As a review of animals flashcards, the teacher holds some cards without showing any to the Students. Then the the teacher tells the kids that they are going to receive 3 hints, so they need to listen carefully. For example: 1. I am yellow. 2. I have long hair. 3. I am strong. Who am I? Students guess what animal you are by raising their hands and replying “You're a ___”. Award points to whoever guesses correctly first. You can adjust the hint difficulty based on levels.
Horse Race
This game is really fun for students but can be a time–eater so make sure you manage it well and play quickly. Put the four Aces vertically along the left hand side of the board and 8-10 cards (face down) horizontally along the top. The four Aces are the horses, and you can either name them yourself or have the students name them. Then each team can decide which horse will win the race and bet with their points (so make sure they have some first). Then the race begins (and it works better if you can be a good race announcer). You flip a card from the remaining deck and move the horse of that suit forward under the first horizontal card. Once all 4 horses have reached the first horizontal card, flip it and the horse of that suit goes back one space. Continue until one horse reaches the finish line. If a team chose the winning horse, pay them 2x the points they bet.
Hot Potato
Set the timer for 10 seconds. Have students pass the flashcard around in a circle. When the timer goes off, the student holding the flashcard must say the vocabulary / structure.
I Spy
The teacher says "I spy with my little eye something beginning with G". Students try to guess the object (E.g. garbage can). Use classroom objects and with younger students use colors rather than letters e.g. "I spy with my little eye something (red)."
I've Got It
Have students sit in a circle. Give each student a flashcard or item. Ask "What is it?" and elicit the vocabulary. Call out the vocabulary and have the students stand up and say the flash card. Repeat until all the students are standing, then continue until all the students are sitting. Go at a fast pace so the students are sitting and standing rapidly.
Individual Student Rewards – Planets
Draw a planet on the board for every student, and 5-10 structures on each one (if you have many students you can pair 2 students together per planet). If a student is doing well in the class, you can allow them a roll of the dice. Whatever number they roll, they can decide to ‘either take that many structures off another student’s planet, or rebuild their own if they are missing any. The maximum a student can take from another planet at one time is 2 structures, but if they roll a 6 they can divide that between planets in any way. Student with the most structures at the end wins.
Jar-head
Place a jar on a table or chair on one side of the classroom. The student must try to hit the jar off the table/chair using a ball. For a variation I use 2 balls of different sizes and a large stuffed dice. I ask a student the target grammar or vocabulary and they can throw the small ball for a point card. If they miss, they can again do the grammar or vocabulary for a chance to throw the bigger ball to get 5 points for their team. If they miss again, they can try once more with the big dice for 2 points.
Jump On It: Spread out flashcards on the floor and have the Students stand at one end of the room. Shout out a card and the Students have to find the card and jump on it. The first Student to do this wins a point. Variation: Make 2 teams for a relay race. The first 2 Students try and jump on the flashcard first to win a point for their team.
Jumping The Line
Put a piece of tape across the middle of the floor or draw an imaginary line dividing the room. Designate one side as 'true' and the other side as 'false'. Line up the students on the line, hold up a flashcard and say a word. If the students think you said the word that matches the flashcard, they should jump to the 'true' side, otherwise they should jump to the 'false' side. Students who make a mistake should sit out until the next round.
Keep the Order:
Best played with review words as different categories are better. Every group has one card from each category, including the teacher. The teacher calls out one of his cards and then another, and students must match his order with their own cards based on category. For example, if you use the following 5 categories: animals, food, clothes, school supplies and colors then the teacher would call out his flashcards in a random order and if #1 is LION the students must think “Oh it's an animal” and order their cards with their animal first, and then so on.
King of the Hill
Line up some chairs side by side. The first one is a single chair, the second is 2 chairs piled up, then 3 and then 4. Choose a student to sit in the first chair. Another student comes up and asks the question of the day and then they play Rock,Paper, Scissor. If the student standing up wins, they take the place of the student sitting down. If not, the sitting student moves up to the double chair. If someone can make it to the top chair they get a point for every round they are there.
Kings
This is played the same way as the drinking game. Take a deck of cards and assign each card a specific activity. Students read the words or use the grammar and can pick a card to play the game.
Let's Pick up!
Spread colored blocks on the floor and call a color for a team to pick up. Continue until all the colors have been called. Best time wins points.
Letter To Word Match
Give each student an alphabet flashcard, and spread alphabet picture cards randomly around the room. Play and sing the 'ABC Song'. When finished, have the students match their alphabet card to an alphabet picture card and say the letter and vocabulary. Change cards and repeat.
Lightning Flashcards:
The teacher stands at the front of class with flashcards. Students form two teams standing in a line. Two Students go first and face away from the Teacher, the teacher says 1.2.3. what is it? The Students quickly turn around and the first Student to call out the correct answer wins a point for their team (good for review of vocab).
Listen and Order
Put the students into pairs and give them number cards (1-10). Call out numbers (out of order) and have the students put their cards in that order. When finished, have the students chant the numbers in the order you gave them.
Long Jump
Good quick game for younger children. Have students stand at one end of the line and say the first word, then jump to the second and repeat until they reach the end. Once they reach the last card they can turn around and long jump (two-footed jump) and however many cards they jump they can get that many points. Make sure they can say the word they land on.
Lord of the Rings
Sit one student on a high chair in the classroom. This student is the king. In front of him put 2-4 students who are the hobbits. Another student can stand up, ask any question to each hobbit one by one. If the hobbit cannot answer they must go sit down. If they can, the two then play Rock, Paper, Scissor, and the loser sits down. Should the student beat the hobbit, they move on to the next one. Once all hobbits are down, the student battles the king in the same way. The winner is the king for the next round and gets points.
Loudly/Softly
Used with flashcards and young children. Explain to the students that if you hold the card up high and say the word, they must repeat loudly, if you hold it low they must repeat quietly, and if you hold the card at chest level, they must remain silent. Award points to winning teams.
One variation can be high-pitched voice/low-pitched voice.
Magic Finger
Print a letter of the alphabet on the board. Instruct the students to stand and face the board. Raise your 'magic finger' and trace the letter in the air. Be silly and use other parts of your body to trace the letter, e.g. elbow, foot, nose, tongue.
Make A Sentence
Put the students into teams and lay out a selection of flashcards or items. One student from each team chooses a vocabulary item and uses it correctly in a sentence. Give each student ten seconds on the timer. Reduce the time in the second and third round. As the item is named, the teacher puts it away and gives the team a point. Write the points on the whiteboard.
Map Game
Use a world map and elicit "Where are you from?", "Where do you live?", "Where do people speak Spanish?", "Where's China?", and any other questions you can think of. Also show and tell the students about where you are from.
Memory Buzz
Have the students sit in a circle and start building a sentence. Student 1 says "In the classroom, I see a clock", student 2 says "In the classroom, I see a clock and a map", student 3 says "In the classroom I see a clock, a map and a chair" etc. For a variation, see 'Question Chain'.
Memory Master
Have the students sit in a circle. Designate one student to be the Memory Master. Arrange the flashcards face up in the center. Each student chooses a flashcard and says the word. They cannot touch the flashcards. After everyone has chosen, the Memory Master must hand the correct flash cards to each student.
Memory Tray
Bring in a tray of various review or new objects. Elicit the names of the objects and give the students a minute to memorize what's on the tray. Take the tray away and see how many objects can be remembered. Older students should write a list of objects. The student who remembers the most objects gets a point. Can be done with flashcards.
Money Shot
Ask a student the target grammar and have the students all repeat. Then blindfold one student and give them 1-3 soft or plush balls. Play some music or sing while the other students dance around the classroom. Stop the music or shout “stop!” and then all the dancing students must freeze in their exact position. The blindfolded student can then try to throw the ball in any direction they want. If they hit a student, they can get a point.
Murder!
This game can be played by all ages, especially elementary school students. You will need two colored magnets, chalk and a dice.
Draw a big circle on the board and divide it into twelve segments so it looks like a huge pizza. Now draw a ghost in one segment (like a Pacman ghost) and repeat this seven times so you have a ghost in eight different random segments. Now draw two spiders in two different segments and then finally draw two crosses in the remaining two segments.
Divide the class into two teams and place one colored magnet on the left hand side of the circle (team one) and the other magnet on the right hand side (team two). Give each team ten lives. Do this by writing TEAM 1 and underneath it draw ten dashes, do the same for TEAM 2. The object of the game is for each team to try and eliminate the other by killing off their lives.
Ask Team 1 a question, if they get it correct then they can throw the dice. Move their corresponding magnet clockwise around the pizza. If they land on a Ghost then they can erase one life from the opposing team. If they land on a Spider they themselves lose a life and if they land on a cross then they gain a life. Now Team 2 have their turn and this continues until one team loses all ten lives the winner is the team left with lives.
Musical Chairs
Line up the chairs and place a flashcard on each one. Play some music and have the students walk, skip, jump around the chairs. When the music stops, the students should sit down on a chair and shout out their flash cards. For more excitement remove a chair while the music is playing and make the chair-less student sit out until the next round.
Musical Flashcards: Students walk around some flashcards in a circle as some music is playing. When the music stops the Teacher shouts out a flashcard and the Students must race to step on that card. The first student to step on it keeps the card (1 point) and the game continues.
Name Six
Pick a category and give the students 10 – 20 seconds to name six things of that categories.
Object Toss
Select three soft objects. Assign object#1 the question "Do you want some milk?", assign object#2 the response "Yes, I do." And object#3, "No, I don't". Toss each object to a student and have them use the appropriate phrase. Then they toss the objects to different students.
On My Back
Line up the students in two teams and have them face the front. Show an alphabet flashcard to the student at the back of each line and have them use their finger to draw the letter on the back of the student in front. The next student draws on the next student and so on. The student at the front of each line then writes the letter on the board.
Oral Tennis
Good for reviewing opposites: one team says a word and the other team says the opposite, or regular verb and past tense verb. For example, if one team says “Beautiful” then the other team has to say “ugly” and so on. Award points as you would in tennis and the first team to win the match get points.
Pass It
Have the students sit in a circle. The teacher holds up a flashcard or object (e.g. ball, pen, eraser, etc.), says the word and passes it to the next student. That student holds up the card/object and says the vocabulary and passes it on. After a couple of rounds start the flash cards/objects going in the opposite direction. Also try a speed round.
Pass The Secret
Have the students sit in a circle. Show them that they have to whisper to the person next to them. Start the secret by whispering it to the student next to you, e.g. "It's Windy." Have the students pass the secret around the circle. The last student says the secret out loud. Compare how close it is to the original secret. If necessary, write the original secret on the board.
Pictionary
Have a student come up to the front and show him/her a flashcard. That student should draw it on the board. The first student to guess the picture gets a point. This can also be played in teams.
Pseudo Basketball
Set up 4 chairs in a circle. Have students either throw or bounce a ball into the middle of the circle. Points for goals.
Quarters
Have two students stand up and either give them 3 blocks or 3 coins. Students must throw the blocks towards the wall and whichever student is the closest to the wall wins points.
Question Chain
Have the students sit in a circle. The teachers starts by asking the student on the right a question. That student must answer the question and ask the next student the same question. Go round the class then change the question. For a variation, see 'The Bomb'.
Quick Peek
Cover a flashcard and quickly show it so the students get just a quick peek. Reward the student who can guess it correctly.
Quick Pick-Up
After the students have read the cards or used the grammar properly, toss all the blocks in the air and give the students 10-20 seconds to try and pick them all up. If you want to play a second or third time, lower the time limit each time.
Quick Pick-Up Competition
The same as above but only one student from each team competes. They can only use one hand and you see who can pick up the most and put it in their team’s bucket before the time runs out.
Run And Get It
Divide the class into two teams and have them stand in two lines facing each other. Assign each team member a number from one to four. Place a few flashcards in the middle of the two teams. Call a number and a flashcard, e.g. "Student three - rabbit". The students assigned that number must run into the center and touch the flashcard and shout "rabbit". The member who touched and called first can take the flashcard to their side.
Shark Attack
Write a short dialog and maybe two questions and answers on the board... drill the class on both question and answer then have a pair stand and read the dialogue... this gives the class time to practice and hear it again... then draw a sharks head like the poster from Jaws showing it swimming up to get the girl at the top... then erase the dialogue... choose a couple of victims and get them to do the dialogue... errors are punished by the victims names being written on the board and then an arrow drawn showing them going in the sharks mouth... have also done a variation with a crocodile and octopus. Usually played with a boy and girl doing the dialogue as it gets very competitive if you keep a score of boys v girls.
Ship In The Fog
Make an obstacle course, put a blindfold on a student and have the other students verbally help him or her through the course. For example: Take 2 steps, turn left, one small step, etc.
Shiri Tori
This is a popular Japanese game. Have everyone sit in a circle. The teacher says a word and each student must add a word that begins with the last letter of the word just spoken e.g. apple-egg-girl-lion-neck-etc.
Shoot The Basket
This can be done in teams or individually. Ask a student a question and if the student answers correctly then he/she gets a shot at the basket. Variations include rolling a ball between 'posts', throwing a ball to knock a stuffed animal off a box, bouncing a ball into a bucket, etc. Award points.
Shopping
Use plastic fruits, vegetables or corresponding flashcards. Gather the students around you and let them ask for what they want using a dialogue such as: "What do you you want?", "An apple, please.", "Here you are.", "Thank you.", "You're welcome." Then the teacher calls back the objects from the students, "Apple, please". Then the students put the fruit back into the basket.
Simon Says
Play Simon Says as a review using "touch" body parts, classroom objects, etc., or with actions. E.g. "Simon says touch your toes" = Students touch their toes. "Touch your eyes" = Students don't move. When a student makes a mistake, he/she must sit out until the next round.
Slam
Have the students sit in a circle with their hands on their heads. Spread the flashcards face up in the middle. The teacher calls out a flash card and the students race to touch it. The first student to touch it gets to keep the flashcard. In the case of a tie, have the students 'Rock, Scissors, Paper'.
Sleeping Monster
The teacher sits in a chair at the front of the class and lays the flashcards around the floor. He/she then pretends to be sleeping in the chair with hands resting palms upward. The teacher calls out a card and the student must quietly pick up the card, walk toward the teacher and place the card on their hands. Once the card touches the teachers hand, they wake up and chase the student back to their chair.
Slow Motion
Put a flashcard in a bag or behind something. Pull it out very slowly showing only the top part of the picture at a time. Reward the first student who can guess it correctly.
Spelling Bee
This can be done with the whole class or in two teams. The first player on team one is given a word to spell orally. The teacher writes the letters on the board as they are spelled out loud. If correct, the team gets a point. If you do a class competition, line the students up and give them words one by one. When they make a mistake they must sit down. The last student standing is the winner.
Spelling Game
Put a name or word on the board and have teams or individuals make as many words as possible from those letters, e.g. Brad Pitt = bat, rat, bad, at, etc.
Spin The Bottle
Use the bottle to ask each student questions. The teacher spins the bottle and asks the student it points to a question. First ask basic warm-up questions and then move on to target structures or review structures.
Step Up!
Have a student come to the blackboard. They must roll the dice and take that many steps or jumps back to their seat… no more and no less.
Team Shout
Used with flashcards and young children. Since the class should always be divided into two teams, explain to the class that if you hold the card high in the air, everyone repeats the word; if you hold at your chest, everyone stays silent; if you hold to the right, the team on the right only repeats and vice-versa for holding it on the left. If someone makes a mistake, award points to the other team.
Ten
Students stand in a circle and chorus counting from 1-10. Instruct the students to each call out one, two or three of the numbers in numerical order. The student who calls out 'ten' must sit down. Continue until only one student is standing. That student wins the game. E.g. "one, two", "three, four, five", "six", "seven, eight, nine", "ten (sits down)", "one"..... Try playing it backwards as an extra challenge.
Tongue Twisters
Use these tongue twisters with older students. They work well as an extension activity for pronunciation.
1) She sells seashells by the seashore.
2) Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
3) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
4) How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Topic Tag
Give a topic, e.g. fruit. The students must run around the room trying to avoid the teacher's tag. If the student is tagged, he/she has five seconds to name a fruit. If no fruit can be named or the fruit has already been said, that student should sit out until the next round.
Touch
Order the students to touch various objects around the classroom e.g. "Touch your book", "Touch something red".
Troll
A student stands one end of the classroom with the flashcards on the floor around them. The Teacher calls a card and another student must try and steal the card from the troll without getting caught and give it to the teacher. If you have a big enough area, you can play a variation of this game where if the student gets caught trying to steal the card, they to then become a troll and the next student has to avoid both trolls.
Twister
Using the color grid on the floor and your own imagination (no spinner needed), have two kids play twister by calling out “right hand on red and blue” and they must both put their right hand on an intersection of red and blue tape. Award points to the student who doesn't fall down, or to both teams if game begins to run too long.
Vocab with Rock, Scissors, Paper
Lay the flashcards in a straight line on the floor. Assign two teams and have them line up at each end of the flashcard line. When you say 'Go' the first member from each team starts to walk from their end of the line, straddling the flashcards, reading the vocabulary out loud as they walk. When the two students meet they have to Rock, Scissors, Paper, the losing student goes to the back of his/her line and the winning student continues along the flashcard line. The second student from the losing team starts walking and reading the vocabulary until the two students meet and Rock, Scissors, Paper, and so on. Give points for reaching the opposite end of the line.
What’s in the box?
This is a good game when learning feeling words such as hard, soft, smooth, rough, etc. Take a medium-sized box, preferable one that has a top. Cut a hole in the top and replace it on the box. Then take an object - something that they'd be at least somewhat familiar with - and place it in the box. Pencils, erasers, balls, etc. Have a student come up to the front of the class and put their hand in the box. They have to describe the object to the class by TOUCH alone, while everyone else guesses what it is.
What's Missing?
Scatter 8-10 flashcards face up on the table or words on the board. Give the students a minute to look at them, then have them close their eyes and take away one flashcard. Tell the students to open their eyes and ask, "What's missing?". Reward the student that guesses correctly. For older kids you can make them write the word on the board for extra points.
What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?
Have the students line up against the back wall. The teacher should stand with his/her back turned to the class. The students must ask the teacher "What time is it, Mr. Wolf (or teacher's name if easier)?". The teacher answers with a random time, e.g. "It's four o'clock" - the students take four steps toward the teacher. The students should move the corresponding number of steps. If the teacher says "It's lunch time!", the students must run to safety at the back wall. The teacher chases the students and if tagged, the student must sit out until the next round.
Who's Got What?
Have the students sit in a circle and secretly pass a few objects or flashcards from hand to hand under the table or behind their backs. Say, "Stop", and ask "Who has the (apple)?" The students should point to who they think has the (apple) and say "He/She does." The first student to guess correctly should be rewarded.
The Wind is Blowing
A great game for all kids ages 6+, as long as they're producing full sentences, in a group of maybe 8-15 people. It is best played outside or in an area with a lot of space. Have the students make a spacious circle with you in the middle (there should be maybe a meter between each student). Each student needs to leave one item at there feet to mark a fixed spot in the circle (a shoe, a pencil case, a backpack, a rock... something they don't mind possibly getting stepped on). You start the game by making a statement that will correspond to some or all of the students. If it corresponds to them, they have to leave their spot and find a different one. So, for a food unit, you can use a beginner command structure: "Move if... you like bananas," or "Move if... you don't like onions," an intermediate structure: "You have to move if... you like bacon on your pizza," or an advanced structure: "The wind is blowing for everybody that..." (The command structures can be used with lots of different verbs and themes e.g. "have" for family members, "are wearing" for clothes, "want" for Christmas presents) Once you make the command, you have to run to take an abandoned spot, and one student will be left in the middle. For younger kids, its fun to chant "_______'s in the middle, ________'s in the middle!" in a sing-songy voice. That person is then in charge, and has to make a sentence using the same structure that you used. The game goes on for as long as you want, cycling through lots of students and putting them on the spot to make sentences using relevant vocab.
Winner Says M
A variation on the activity 'Ten'. Write a big 'M' on the board and have the students take turns reciting the alphabet, saying one or two letters each. The student who says "M" is the winner. E.g. "A", "BC", "DE", "F", "G", "HI", "J", "KL", "M" (winner)! Variations: Numbers 1-21 (winner says 21), Days of the week (winner says Sunday), Months of the year (winner says December).
Word Darts
Write all the words on the board (or if you are using flashcards, secure them to the board with magnets. Call a student to read the words aloud and then choose a word for them to hit with a magnetic dart. Award points if they succeed.
Randomly choose an alphabet flashcard and award a point to the first student who shouts out a word beginning with that letter.
Alphabet Writing Relay
Divide and line up the students into two teams. Divide the board into two halves and have one student from each team run to the board, write 'Aa', then run to the back of the line. The next student writes 'Bb', etc. The first team to finish wins.
Alphabet Erase relay
As 'Alphabet Writing Relay', but this time, write the alphabet on each half of the board and have each team race to erase the letters in order.
Alphabet Sculptures
Have a student come to the front of the class and make a letter of the alphabet with their body. Whatever team guesses correctly is awarded points.
Alphabet Soup
Give each student an alphabet flashcard and have them skip around the room to the 'ABC Song'. Stop the tape at random and have the students rush to line up in order, e.g. A-K.
Alphabet Touch
Call out letters and have the students find and touch them in the classroom, on posters, etc.
Alphabet Wave
Give each student a few ordered alphabet flashcards and play the 'ABC Song'. Have the students hold up the cards that correspond to the letters they hear in the song, or just call out random letters and have them raise them in the air and repeat.
Animal Crackers
Take a big dice and assign an animal to each number. Have the students roll the dice and act like the animal!
The Ball
Throw the ball to a student and ask that student a question. The student answers and throws the ball to another student asking the same question. E.g. "Can you...?", "Yes, I can. / No, I can't." "Do you like...?", "Yes, I do. / No, I don't."
Ball Toss: Lay out flashcards face down up the floor. Students toss the sticky ball onto a card and if they can do it, they must identify the flashcard it lands on. If it's first day of study, you can call a card for them to shoot for.
Balloon Toss
Have the students stand in a circle. Toss a balloon to one student and elicit vocabulary or a structure from that student. They must be able to tap the balloon in the air without missing the vocabulary or structure E.g. S1: "My name's Miki. What's your name?" (tap) "My name's Hiro. What's your name?" (tap).
Basic Flashcard Fun
The teacher simply holds up a flash card and elicits the answer from the students. This can be done in teams with points awarded for correct answers.
Basketball: Students take a shot at the trash can/box/etc. First show a flashcard to Student 1. If he/she answers correctly then he/she can have a shot at the basket. If the Student gets the ball in the basket then he/she wins 2 points. If the Student hits the basket without going inside then he/she wins 1 point. The person who gets the most points is the winner. This can also be played in teams.
Basketball Card Line-Up: This game is like the basketball game but more educational. You need a basket far away. Students must choose which card they shoot from. The closest card is one point, 2 points for the second card etc.
Battleship: Age: 4+, Level: All levels, Target: Vocabulary, Phrases, Listening and Conversation. Make a grid. The size of the grid depends on the number of students and the time limits of the class. Basically the students pick a grid reference, as " A1" or “ B7”and then you reveal the card. Points can be given for the student that can complete the task of the card. If the student that chose the card cannot, allow the other team to attempt for points. If all students can not complete the task, obviously, that should be taught again for a minute.
Beat The Clock
Time the students as they race to put alphabet letters, days of the week, or month flashcards in order. Have them try again to see if they can beat their fastest time.
Bingo
Bingo can be used with any topic. Blank Bingo sheets can be used, and students can write or draw randomly in the boxes. The winner is the first student to cross out all the numbers/letters etc. on the sheet.
Blind Monkey
Line up the flashcards along the blackboard. Place a magnet or something that can be used as a button at the end of the flashcards. Students must read the words and then push the “magic button” which will transform the teacher into a “blind monkey”. The teacher must then pretend to be a monkey with his/her eyes closed and try and catch the student. The student must avoid the teacher, pick up a ball placed on the other side of the classroom, hit the teacher with it and run back to their seat.
Blindfold Conversation
Arrange the class in a circle and choose one student to stand in the circle with a blindfold on. Spin the student and tell him/her to point. Tell the student to guess the name of the student he/she is pointing at by talking to him/her. E.g. "Hello. How are you? Do you like...?"
Bluff
The object of the game is to be the first student to get rid of all his/her cards. Divide the students into small groups and deal flashcards to each student. Player 1 chooses a card from his/her hand and throws it face down on the table saying, for example, "I have (a cat)". Player 1 may be telling the truth or bluffing. If player 2 has a 'cat' in his/her hand then there's a good chance player 1 is bluffing. Player 2 should say "No, you don't". If player 1 was bluffing, player 2 gives player 1 a penalty card from his/her hand. If player 1 was telling the truth then he/she gives player 2 a penalty card from his/her hand. Continue until one student is out of cards.
The Bomb
Pass a ball, object or a flash card around a circle of students. When the timer rings, the student holding the ball must answer a question, make a sentence or say a word.
Car Race
Arrange the flash cards in a long line with starting and finishing points. Give each student a counter. The first student throws the dice and moves. The student must say the word on the flashcard he/she lands on. If the student makes a mistake, he/she goes back to his/her original place. Add colored paper between cards to represent 'Take Another Turn', and assign a crash number e.g. #4 on the dice which means the student must return to the beginning.
Card Toss
Teacher calls a card and then throws all the flashcards up in the air, and the student who finds the one called gets points.
Catch The Fruit
Toss a piece of plastic fruit to a student and ask, "What is it?" Elicit and prompt the correct vocabulary. Gesture the student to throw it back to you and repeat with different fruits and students. For a variation see 'The Ball'.
Charades
Divide and line up the class into two teams. The first student from each team comes to the front. The teacher whispers a word or shows a flashcard to the two students and they act it out. The first team to call out the correct word gets a point. E.g. sleeping, eating, playing soccer...
Chair/Table Throw
Have students stand behind a line and throw a set number of blocks onto a table or chair. A point for every one that stays on. A variation can be to have a player from each team compete at the same time, with different colored blocks and still award points for every block, but this way they can try and knock off the other teams blocks.
Chase the Ace
Students sit in a circle. You’ll need a deck of cards and three counters for every person (magnets, paperclips, etc) and the dealer deals one card to every student. Kings are high and aces are low. The person to the left of the dealer looks at their card and chooses to “stand” (keep their card) or “change”. If they choose “change” they lay their card face down and pass it to the player on the left. That player must give them their card in exchange. Then the next player does the same and it continues until it gets back to the dealer. If the dealer decides to change, they put their card at the bottom of the deck and take the top card. Then all students flip their cards and the person(s) with the lowest card must throw away a counter.
Chorus Game
Have the kids line up next to one another. Have the students repeat the line again and again. Tell them if you raise your hand, they must get louder the higher your hand goes, or quieter the lower your hand goes. You can also play high and low.
Clusters
Play any music and have the students walk, skip, jump, hop, etc around the room randomly. Stop the music and call out a number between 1-8. The students must quickly get together in a group or groups of that number, and the odd students must sit out until the next round.
Colors and Blocks
Using the color grid on the floor, call on a student to stand up and give them 5 blocks. If they can throw a block onto a color intersection, they are awarded a point. If they can throw a block onto an intersection of the same colors (ie. red-red intersection) they can receive 2 points. For younger children you can just award points if they land a red block anywhere on a red line as well.
Commando
The teacher is the commando and gives commands to the class and/or individual students. This is a great energy burner as well as review of actions colors, numbers or anything else you can throw in. E.g. "Jump 10 times", "Touch your (body part)", "Touch (classroom object", "Turn around", "Stand up / Sit down".
Concentration / Memory
Have the students sit in a circle. Spread out the flashcards (2 sets) face down. Students take turns flipping over two cards and saying the vocabulary. If the flashcards are a match, the student keeps the cards. If they are different, they remain face down. The student or team with the most pairs is the winner.
Conversation Relay
Line up the students in two teams and have the last student in each team tap the shoulder of the student in front and have a conversation E.g. "What's you name?", "How are you?". The student answering then starts the same conversation with the student in front, and so on. When the conversation reaches the front, the student at the front must run to the back and continue the procedure. The first team to get all the students back in their original positions wins.
Crazy Train
Students line up behind the teacher in a choo choo train line. Give commands such as "faster", "slower", "turn left", and "stop". Then Have all student turn around, so the teacher is last in line but still making commands. (More Difficult)
Cross the River: Place flashcards on the floor in a winding manner. Each represents a stepping stone in the river, as students must say word/phrase/question/etc in order to step on it and cross the river!
Curling
Using the color grid on the floor, have one student from each team stand up and give each one 5 blocks. They must take turns throwing their blocks towards the center point of the grid. Students can try and knock away their opponents blocks so they can get closer. Whatever student has the block closest to the center is the winner.
Dance Of The Ostriches
Pair up students and attach a flashcard to their backs. The object of the game is to look at the other student's flash card and yell out the word before they see yours.
Darts: You need magnetic darts. Place flashcards on the board and number them. Ask, "What's picture number 3?". If the student answers correctly then he/she may throw a dart onto the flashcard for points. You can also draw a multi-colored dartboard on the blackboard which the kids may find more interesting.
Draw It Relay
Divide the students into two teams. Whisper a flashcard to the first member of both teams and have them run to the board and draw the word as fast as possible. Award points to the fastest team.
Drill Sergeant
Have the kids line up next to one another. When you point to a student, they must begin repeating target phrase again and again, non-stop. Then point to another student, and another until everyone is speaking. Then walk up and down the line (in the fashion of a drill sergeant) and listen to them speaking, helping correct those who are saying it wrong. Then you can point, tap on the head, or throw a soft ball at the ones who are correctly speaking and they can sit down. Let those who are having problems stay up longer for more practice.
Drum Circle
Give the class a topic (e.g. food, clothes, animals, things in a kitchen) and ask them to stand up, in a circle if possible. Clap out a beat and say, one, two, three, followed by a topic-related word. After the next three beats, the next student in the circle gives a word related to the topic, and so it continues. Anyone who can't think of a word or repeats a word already said has to sit down and it's the next person's turn. The winner is the last one standing.
Duck Duck Goose
Students sit in a circle and the teacher starts by walking around the outside of the circle tapping the students on the head saying "duck". When the teacher says "goose" the student whose head was touched must jump up and chase the teacher round the circle. The teacher must sit down in the student's spot before being tagged. If tagged, the teacher must continue tapping heads. If not, the student walks around the circle touching heads. It might be easier to use vocabulary like "cat, cat, dog" or similar, or even "duck, duck, dog" to practice awareness of 'u' vs 'o' and 'g' vs 'ck' sounds.
Duck-hunt
One student stands behind a chair at one side of the classroom while the teacher flies around like a duck on the other. The student tries to throw a ball at the teacher to “kill” the duck.
Easy or Hard: You need at least 20 cards to play which you divide into 2 piles face down:
An Easy and a Hard pile. Give each team 50 points from beginning. Pick a student and ask if they would like an easy or a hard card, also ask how many points they would like to risk on knowing the answer: Easy 1-5 and Hard 5-10.
Fashion Show
Have each student stand up one at a time and elicit from the class what he or she is wearing.
Fast as Rabbits: The teacher puts some flashcards on the board. Then a pair of students go to the board facing the flashcards. The teacher says words (from the flashcards) and the 2 children must touch the correct flashcard as fast as they can. The winner is who touches more flashcards first. This can also work as a race from their seats.
Find It
The teacher holds up a letter flashcard. The students must search around the room to find either a corresponding object/picture that begins with that letter or find that same letter written somewhere in the room. The purpose of this game is letter recognition. It can be played as a relay race with two teams racing to find the letters first.
First letter
Give the students various picture flashcards. Go through the ABC's and instruct students to hold up the flashcards that begin with that letter.
Flash Card Act Out
Choose one or more students to come to the front. Show a flash card or whisper a word, and have the students act it out. Reward the first student to guess the correct answer. This can be used with many subjects (e.g. sports, actions, verbs, animals, etc.)
Flash Card Walk
Arrange the flashcards in a big circle. Play some music while the students walk around the circle. When the music stops, call out a flashcard, and the student standing next to the flashcard wins.
Follow The Leader
Students line up behind the teacher and follow the teacher's actions. Use as a review for identifying and chorusing classroom objects or acting out actions. Give the students a chance to lead.
Four Corners: The teacher hangs a flashcard (4 in total) in all 4 corners of the room. One Student is chosen to stand in the middle with his/her eyes closed and counts to ten while the other students scramble to one of the four corners. At the count of ten, the Student in the middle shouts "STOP" and picks one corner by naming it's corresponding flashcard. The students in that corner are "out" and must sit down. Continue game until only one student remains; he/she is then "it" (the counter in middle).
Go Fish
Have students choose two flashcards each. Have the students hold the flashcards face up but not to show anyone. Choose a student and ask "Do you have a cat?" If the answer is yes, they have to give you the flash card. Have each student ask other students questions. A student with no cards is out.
Grab
Use colored blocks. Spread out the Lego and call out "(Five!)". The students should take five blocks, join them together to make a pattern and hold them up. Next say "two blue, one yellow" and other combinations to 5.
Grab It Relay / Race to Touch
Lay the flashcards on the floor at one end of the room, and have the students line up in teams at the other end of the room. Call out a flashcard and have the first person in each team race to grab the card. Those students then go to the back and the next students race to grab the next flashcard the teacher calls.
Grid Jump
Using the color grid on the floor, have students try and jump from one corner to the corner diagonally opposite. Award points to whichever student jumps the furthest.
Guess who?
Choose one student to come up to the front of the class. Give them a piece of paper with everyone’s name on it. The teacher secretly chooses a student (or you can write that students name on the board behind the standing student so the entire class can play). The standing student must ask questions such as “Is it a boy?” or “Is he/she wearing a blue coat?” until they can guess who the person is. For extra fun and to save time, you can limit the amount of questions allowed.
Guessing Question Game: This is good practice for asking simple questions. The teacher hides any flash card behind his/her back and the Students try to guess what the object is by asking questions: "Is it a dog?", "Is it a ball?", "Is it a book?", etc. until they guess the flashcard.
Hangman
Use review words from past lessons. The teacher chooses a word and writes the appropriate number of spaces on the board. Students guess a letter one by one. If the student guesses correctly, write that letter in the space and give the student another turn. If they guess incorrectly, start drawing a hanging man and have the next student guess a letter. Let the first student to guess the word take the teacher's place. You may prefer to draw a hanging spider (Spiderman?) instead.
Hint Animal Game: As a review of animals flashcards, the teacher holds some cards without showing any to the Students. Then the the teacher tells the kids that they are going to receive 3 hints, so they need to listen carefully. For example: 1. I am yellow. 2. I have long hair. 3. I am strong. Who am I? Students guess what animal you are by raising their hands and replying “You're a ___”. Award points to whoever guesses correctly first. You can adjust the hint difficulty based on levels.
Horse Race
This game is really fun for students but can be a time–eater so make sure you manage it well and play quickly. Put the four Aces vertically along the left hand side of the board and 8-10 cards (face down) horizontally along the top. The four Aces are the horses, and you can either name them yourself or have the students name them. Then each team can decide which horse will win the race and bet with their points (so make sure they have some first). Then the race begins (and it works better if you can be a good race announcer). You flip a card from the remaining deck and move the horse of that suit forward under the first horizontal card. Once all 4 horses have reached the first horizontal card, flip it and the horse of that suit goes back one space. Continue until one horse reaches the finish line. If a team chose the winning horse, pay them 2x the points they bet.
Hot Potato
Set the timer for 10 seconds. Have students pass the flashcard around in a circle. When the timer goes off, the student holding the flashcard must say the vocabulary / structure.
I Spy
The teacher says "I spy with my little eye something beginning with G". Students try to guess the object (E.g. garbage can). Use classroom objects and with younger students use colors rather than letters e.g. "I spy with my little eye something (red)."
I've Got It
Have students sit in a circle. Give each student a flashcard or item. Ask "What is it?" and elicit the vocabulary. Call out the vocabulary and have the students stand up and say the flash card. Repeat until all the students are standing, then continue until all the students are sitting. Go at a fast pace so the students are sitting and standing rapidly.
Individual Student Rewards – Planets
Draw a planet on the board for every student, and 5-10 structures on each one (if you have many students you can pair 2 students together per planet). If a student is doing well in the class, you can allow them a roll of the dice. Whatever number they roll, they can decide to ‘either take that many structures off another student’s planet, or rebuild their own if they are missing any. The maximum a student can take from another planet at one time is 2 structures, but if they roll a 6 they can divide that between planets in any way. Student with the most structures at the end wins.
Jar-head
Place a jar on a table or chair on one side of the classroom. The student must try to hit the jar off the table/chair using a ball. For a variation I use 2 balls of different sizes and a large stuffed dice. I ask a student the target grammar or vocabulary and they can throw the small ball for a point card. If they miss, they can again do the grammar or vocabulary for a chance to throw the bigger ball to get 5 points for their team. If they miss again, they can try once more with the big dice for 2 points.
Jump On It: Spread out flashcards on the floor and have the Students stand at one end of the room. Shout out a card and the Students have to find the card and jump on it. The first Student to do this wins a point. Variation: Make 2 teams for a relay race. The first 2 Students try and jump on the flashcard first to win a point for their team.
Jumping The Line
Put a piece of tape across the middle of the floor or draw an imaginary line dividing the room. Designate one side as 'true' and the other side as 'false'. Line up the students on the line, hold up a flashcard and say a word. If the students think you said the word that matches the flashcard, they should jump to the 'true' side, otherwise they should jump to the 'false' side. Students who make a mistake should sit out until the next round.
Keep the Order:
Best played with review words as different categories are better. Every group has one card from each category, including the teacher. The teacher calls out one of his cards and then another, and students must match his order with their own cards based on category. For example, if you use the following 5 categories: animals, food, clothes, school supplies and colors then the teacher would call out his flashcards in a random order and if #1 is LION the students must think “Oh it's an animal” and order their cards with their animal first, and then so on.
King of the Hill
Line up some chairs side by side. The first one is a single chair, the second is 2 chairs piled up, then 3 and then 4. Choose a student to sit in the first chair. Another student comes up and asks the question of the day and then they play Rock,Paper, Scissor. If the student standing up wins, they take the place of the student sitting down. If not, the sitting student moves up to the double chair. If someone can make it to the top chair they get a point for every round they are there.
Kings
This is played the same way as the drinking game. Take a deck of cards and assign each card a specific activity. Students read the words or use the grammar and can pick a card to play the game.
- rock, paper, scissors, 2 – for you (one point), 3 – other team (one point), 4 – touch the floor, 5 – make a rhyme and so on.
Let's Pick up!
Spread colored blocks on the floor and call a color for a team to pick up. Continue until all the colors have been called. Best time wins points.
Letter To Word Match
Give each student an alphabet flashcard, and spread alphabet picture cards randomly around the room. Play and sing the 'ABC Song'. When finished, have the students match their alphabet card to an alphabet picture card and say the letter and vocabulary. Change cards and repeat.
Lightning Flashcards:
The teacher stands at the front of class with flashcards. Students form two teams standing in a line. Two Students go first and face away from the Teacher, the teacher says 1.2.3. what is it? The Students quickly turn around and the first Student to call out the correct answer wins a point for their team (good for review of vocab).
Listen and Order
Put the students into pairs and give them number cards (1-10). Call out numbers (out of order) and have the students put their cards in that order. When finished, have the students chant the numbers in the order you gave them.
Long Jump
Good quick game for younger children. Have students stand at one end of the line and say the first word, then jump to the second and repeat until they reach the end. Once they reach the last card they can turn around and long jump (two-footed jump) and however many cards they jump they can get that many points. Make sure they can say the word they land on.
Lord of the Rings
Sit one student on a high chair in the classroom. This student is the king. In front of him put 2-4 students who are the hobbits. Another student can stand up, ask any question to each hobbit one by one. If the hobbit cannot answer they must go sit down. If they can, the two then play Rock, Paper, Scissor, and the loser sits down. Should the student beat the hobbit, they move on to the next one. Once all hobbits are down, the student battles the king in the same way. The winner is the king for the next round and gets points.
Loudly/Softly
Used with flashcards and young children. Explain to the students that if you hold the card up high and say the word, they must repeat loudly, if you hold it low they must repeat quietly, and if you hold the card at chest level, they must remain silent. Award points to winning teams.
One variation can be high-pitched voice/low-pitched voice.
Magic Finger
Print a letter of the alphabet on the board. Instruct the students to stand and face the board. Raise your 'magic finger' and trace the letter in the air. Be silly and use other parts of your body to trace the letter, e.g. elbow, foot, nose, tongue.
Make A Sentence
Put the students into teams and lay out a selection of flashcards or items. One student from each team chooses a vocabulary item and uses it correctly in a sentence. Give each student ten seconds on the timer. Reduce the time in the second and third round. As the item is named, the teacher puts it away and gives the team a point. Write the points on the whiteboard.
Map Game
Use a world map and elicit "Where are you from?", "Where do you live?", "Where do people speak Spanish?", "Where's China?", and any other questions you can think of. Also show and tell the students about where you are from.
Memory Buzz
Have the students sit in a circle and start building a sentence. Student 1 says "In the classroom, I see a clock", student 2 says "In the classroom, I see a clock and a map", student 3 says "In the classroom I see a clock, a map and a chair" etc. For a variation, see 'Question Chain'.
Memory Master
Have the students sit in a circle. Designate one student to be the Memory Master. Arrange the flashcards face up in the center. Each student chooses a flashcard and says the word. They cannot touch the flashcards. After everyone has chosen, the Memory Master must hand the correct flash cards to each student.
Memory Tray
Bring in a tray of various review or new objects. Elicit the names of the objects and give the students a minute to memorize what's on the tray. Take the tray away and see how many objects can be remembered. Older students should write a list of objects. The student who remembers the most objects gets a point. Can be done with flashcards.
Money Shot
Ask a student the target grammar and have the students all repeat. Then blindfold one student and give them 1-3 soft or plush balls. Play some music or sing while the other students dance around the classroom. Stop the music or shout “stop!” and then all the dancing students must freeze in their exact position. The blindfolded student can then try to throw the ball in any direction they want. If they hit a student, they can get a point.
Murder!
This game can be played by all ages, especially elementary school students. You will need two colored magnets, chalk and a dice.
Draw a big circle on the board and divide it into twelve segments so it looks like a huge pizza. Now draw a ghost in one segment (like a Pacman ghost) and repeat this seven times so you have a ghost in eight different random segments. Now draw two spiders in two different segments and then finally draw two crosses in the remaining two segments.
Divide the class into two teams and place one colored magnet on the left hand side of the circle (team one) and the other magnet on the right hand side (team two). Give each team ten lives. Do this by writing TEAM 1 and underneath it draw ten dashes, do the same for TEAM 2. The object of the game is for each team to try and eliminate the other by killing off their lives.
Ask Team 1 a question, if they get it correct then they can throw the dice. Move their corresponding magnet clockwise around the pizza. If they land on a Ghost then they can erase one life from the opposing team. If they land on a Spider they themselves lose a life and if they land on a cross then they gain a life. Now Team 2 have their turn and this continues until one team loses all ten lives the winner is the team left with lives.
Musical Chairs
Line up the chairs and place a flashcard on each one. Play some music and have the students walk, skip, jump around the chairs. When the music stops, the students should sit down on a chair and shout out their flash cards. For more excitement remove a chair while the music is playing and make the chair-less student sit out until the next round.
Musical Flashcards: Students walk around some flashcards in a circle as some music is playing. When the music stops the Teacher shouts out a flashcard and the Students must race to step on that card. The first student to step on it keeps the card (1 point) and the game continues.
Name Six
Pick a category and give the students 10 – 20 seconds to name six things of that categories.
Object Toss
Select three soft objects. Assign object#1 the question "Do you want some milk?", assign object#2 the response "Yes, I do." And object#3, "No, I don't". Toss each object to a student and have them use the appropriate phrase. Then they toss the objects to different students.
On My Back
Line up the students in two teams and have them face the front. Show an alphabet flashcard to the student at the back of each line and have them use their finger to draw the letter on the back of the student in front. The next student draws on the next student and so on. The student at the front of each line then writes the letter on the board.
Oral Tennis
Good for reviewing opposites: one team says a word and the other team says the opposite, or regular verb and past tense verb. For example, if one team says “Beautiful” then the other team has to say “ugly” and so on. Award points as you would in tennis and the first team to win the match get points.
Pass It
Have the students sit in a circle. The teacher holds up a flashcard or object (e.g. ball, pen, eraser, etc.), says the word and passes it to the next student. That student holds up the card/object and says the vocabulary and passes it on. After a couple of rounds start the flash cards/objects going in the opposite direction. Also try a speed round.
Pass The Secret
Have the students sit in a circle. Show them that they have to whisper to the person next to them. Start the secret by whispering it to the student next to you, e.g. "It's Windy." Have the students pass the secret around the circle. The last student says the secret out loud. Compare how close it is to the original secret. If necessary, write the original secret on the board.
Pictionary
Have a student come up to the front and show him/her a flashcard. That student should draw it on the board. The first student to guess the picture gets a point. This can also be played in teams.
Pseudo Basketball
Set up 4 chairs in a circle. Have students either throw or bounce a ball into the middle of the circle. Points for goals.
Quarters
Have two students stand up and either give them 3 blocks or 3 coins. Students must throw the blocks towards the wall and whichever student is the closest to the wall wins points.
Question Chain
Have the students sit in a circle. The teachers starts by asking the student on the right a question. That student must answer the question and ask the next student the same question. Go round the class then change the question. For a variation, see 'The Bomb'.
Quick Peek
Cover a flashcard and quickly show it so the students get just a quick peek. Reward the student who can guess it correctly.
Quick Pick-Up
After the students have read the cards or used the grammar properly, toss all the blocks in the air and give the students 10-20 seconds to try and pick them all up. If you want to play a second or third time, lower the time limit each time.
Quick Pick-Up Competition
The same as above but only one student from each team competes. They can only use one hand and you see who can pick up the most and put it in their team’s bucket before the time runs out.
Run And Get It
Divide the class into two teams and have them stand in two lines facing each other. Assign each team member a number from one to four. Place a few flashcards in the middle of the two teams. Call a number and a flashcard, e.g. "Student three - rabbit". The students assigned that number must run into the center and touch the flashcard and shout "rabbit". The member who touched and called first can take the flashcard to their side.
Shark Attack
Write a short dialog and maybe two questions and answers on the board... drill the class on both question and answer then have a pair stand and read the dialogue... this gives the class time to practice and hear it again... then draw a sharks head like the poster from Jaws showing it swimming up to get the girl at the top... then erase the dialogue... choose a couple of victims and get them to do the dialogue... errors are punished by the victims names being written on the board and then an arrow drawn showing them going in the sharks mouth... have also done a variation with a crocodile and octopus. Usually played with a boy and girl doing the dialogue as it gets very competitive if you keep a score of boys v girls.
Ship In The Fog
Make an obstacle course, put a blindfold on a student and have the other students verbally help him or her through the course. For example: Take 2 steps, turn left, one small step, etc.
Shiri Tori
This is a popular Japanese game. Have everyone sit in a circle. The teacher says a word and each student must add a word that begins with the last letter of the word just spoken e.g. apple-egg-girl-lion-neck-etc.
Shoot The Basket
This can be done in teams or individually. Ask a student a question and if the student answers correctly then he/she gets a shot at the basket. Variations include rolling a ball between 'posts', throwing a ball to knock a stuffed animal off a box, bouncing a ball into a bucket, etc. Award points.
Shopping
Use plastic fruits, vegetables or corresponding flashcards. Gather the students around you and let them ask for what they want using a dialogue such as: "What do you you want?", "An apple, please.", "Here you are.", "Thank you.", "You're welcome." Then the teacher calls back the objects from the students, "Apple, please". Then the students put the fruit back into the basket.
Simon Says
Play Simon Says as a review using "touch" body parts, classroom objects, etc., or with actions. E.g. "Simon says touch your toes" = Students touch their toes. "Touch your eyes" = Students don't move. When a student makes a mistake, he/she must sit out until the next round.
Slam
Have the students sit in a circle with their hands on their heads. Spread the flashcards face up in the middle. The teacher calls out a flash card and the students race to touch it. The first student to touch it gets to keep the flashcard. In the case of a tie, have the students 'Rock, Scissors, Paper'.
Sleeping Monster
The teacher sits in a chair at the front of the class and lays the flashcards around the floor. He/she then pretends to be sleeping in the chair with hands resting palms upward. The teacher calls out a card and the student must quietly pick up the card, walk toward the teacher and place the card on their hands. Once the card touches the teachers hand, they wake up and chase the student back to their chair.
Slow Motion
Put a flashcard in a bag or behind something. Pull it out very slowly showing only the top part of the picture at a time. Reward the first student who can guess it correctly.
Spelling Bee
This can be done with the whole class or in two teams. The first player on team one is given a word to spell orally. The teacher writes the letters on the board as they are spelled out loud. If correct, the team gets a point. If you do a class competition, line the students up and give them words one by one. When they make a mistake they must sit down. The last student standing is the winner.
Spelling Game
Put a name or word on the board and have teams or individuals make as many words as possible from those letters, e.g. Brad Pitt = bat, rat, bad, at, etc.
Spin The Bottle
Use the bottle to ask each student questions. The teacher spins the bottle and asks the student it points to a question. First ask basic warm-up questions and then move on to target structures or review structures.
Step Up!
Have a student come to the blackboard. They must roll the dice and take that many steps or jumps back to their seat… no more and no less.
Team Shout
Used with flashcards and young children. Since the class should always be divided into two teams, explain to the class that if you hold the card high in the air, everyone repeats the word; if you hold at your chest, everyone stays silent; if you hold to the right, the team on the right only repeats and vice-versa for holding it on the left. If someone makes a mistake, award points to the other team.
Ten
Students stand in a circle and chorus counting from 1-10. Instruct the students to each call out one, two or three of the numbers in numerical order. The student who calls out 'ten' must sit down. Continue until only one student is standing. That student wins the game. E.g. "one, two", "three, four, five", "six", "seven, eight, nine", "ten (sits down)", "one"..... Try playing it backwards as an extra challenge.
Tongue Twisters
Use these tongue twisters with older students. They work well as an extension activity for pronunciation.
1) She sells seashells by the seashore.
2) Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
3) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.
4) How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
Topic Tag
Give a topic, e.g. fruit. The students must run around the room trying to avoid the teacher's tag. If the student is tagged, he/she has five seconds to name a fruit. If no fruit can be named or the fruit has already been said, that student should sit out until the next round.
Touch
Order the students to touch various objects around the classroom e.g. "Touch your book", "Touch something red".
Troll
A student stands one end of the classroom with the flashcards on the floor around them. The Teacher calls a card and another student must try and steal the card from the troll without getting caught and give it to the teacher. If you have a big enough area, you can play a variation of this game where if the student gets caught trying to steal the card, they to then become a troll and the next student has to avoid both trolls.
Twister
Using the color grid on the floor and your own imagination (no spinner needed), have two kids play twister by calling out “right hand on red and blue” and they must both put their right hand on an intersection of red and blue tape. Award points to the student who doesn't fall down, or to both teams if game begins to run too long.
Vocab with Rock, Scissors, Paper
Lay the flashcards in a straight line on the floor. Assign two teams and have them line up at each end of the flashcard line. When you say 'Go' the first member from each team starts to walk from their end of the line, straddling the flashcards, reading the vocabulary out loud as they walk. When the two students meet they have to Rock, Scissors, Paper, the losing student goes to the back of his/her line and the winning student continues along the flashcard line. The second student from the losing team starts walking and reading the vocabulary until the two students meet and Rock, Scissors, Paper, and so on. Give points for reaching the opposite end of the line.
What’s in the box?
This is a good game when learning feeling words such as hard, soft, smooth, rough, etc. Take a medium-sized box, preferable one that has a top. Cut a hole in the top and replace it on the box. Then take an object - something that they'd be at least somewhat familiar with - and place it in the box. Pencils, erasers, balls, etc. Have a student come up to the front of the class and put their hand in the box. They have to describe the object to the class by TOUCH alone, while everyone else guesses what it is.
What's Missing?
Scatter 8-10 flashcards face up on the table or words on the board. Give the students a minute to look at them, then have them close their eyes and take away one flashcard. Tell the students to open their eyes and ask, "What's missing?". Reward the student that guesses correctly. For older kids you can make them write the word on the board for extra points.
What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?
Have the students line up against the back wall. The teacher should stand with his/her back turned to the class. The students must ask the teacher "What time is it, Mr. Wolf (or teacher's name if easier)?". The teacher answers with a random time, e.g. "It's four o'clock" - the students take four steps toward the teacher. The students should move the corresponding number of steps. If the teacher says "It's lunch time!", the students must run to safety at the back wall. The teacher chases the students and if tagged, the student must sit out until the next round.
Who's Got What?
Have the students sit in a circle and secretly pass a few objects or flashcards from hand to hand under the table or behind their backs. Say, "Stop", and ask "Who has the (apple)?" The students should point to who they think has the (apple) and say "He/She does." The first student to guess correctly should be rewarded.
The Wind is Blowing
A great game for all kids ages 6+, as long as they're producing full sentences, in a group of maybe 8-15 people. It is best played outside or in an area with a lot of space. Have the students make a spacious circle with you in the middle (there should be maybe a meter between each student). Each student needs to leave one item at there feet to mark a fixed spot in the circle (a shoe, a pencil case, a backpack, a rock... something they don't mind possibly getting stepped on). You start the game by making a statement that will correspond to some or all of the students. If it corresponds to them, they have to leave their spot and find a different one. So, for a food unit, you can use a beginner command structure: "Move if... you like bananas," or "Move if... you don't like onions," an intermediate structure: "You have to move if... you like bacon on your pizza," or an advanced structure: "The wind is blowing for everybody that..." (The command structures can be used with lots of different verbs and themes e.g. "have" for family members, "are wearing" for clothes, "want" for Christmas presents) Once you make the command, you have to run to take an abandoned spot, and one student will be left in the middle. For younger kids, its fun to chant "_______'s in the middle, ________'s in the middle!" in a sing-songy voice. That person is then in charge, and has to make a sentence using the same structure that you used. The game goes on for as long as you want, cycling through lots of students and putting them on the spot to make sentences using relevant vocab.
Winner Says M
A variation on the activity 'Ten'. Write a big 'M' on the board and have the students take turns reciting the alphabet, saying one or two letters each. The student who says "M" is the winner. E.g. "A", "BC", "DE", "F", "G", "HI", "J", "KL", "M" (winner)! Variations: Numbers 1-21 (winner says 21), Days of the week (winner says Sunday), Months of the year (winner says December).
Word Darts
Write all the words on the board (or if you are using flashcards, secure them to the board with magnets. Call a student to read the words aloud and then choose a word for them to hit with a magnetic dart. Award points if they succeed.