HOW'S YOUR VOCABULARY?

Make sure each student has a pencil and paper before beginning this game.

When the class is ready, write one letter of the alphabet on the board, and have students write down all the words they can think of that begin with that letter.

No more than one minute should be allowed for students to write.

When the minute is over, call “Time” and have students count their words.

The one with the most words wins, that is if the words are spelled correctly. 

The winner has the right to choose one of his classmates to answer a question related to the subject you want to review.

Continue like that using a different letter after each round.

Variation:

If you have a group that’s larger than 15 students, it’s better to work with small teams.

Each team should have a ‘secretary’ whose job is to write everybody’s ideas.

For all students to participate equally, it’s important that after each round a different student has a chance to be the ‘secretary’.
You can also use these alphabet cards.  Follow the link to download: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByOoC3qmzW-PRGpfeDA2VnlfcDA

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I LIKE MY FRIEND

The rules of this game are simple. The first player begins by saying, “I like my friend with an A because her name is Alice and she is amazing” or, if referring to a man, “... because his name is Albert and he is amazing.” 

The second player continues by saying, “I like my friend with a B because her/his name is Barbara/Bob and she/he is brave.”

If a student takes too long to come up with a description, he becomes ‘it’ and is asked questions related to the subject you’re teaching.

If this game turns out to be too challenging for your students’ level, for the first round it would be a good idea to write a list of names and adjectives on the board, although not in alphabetical order. The second time around, erase the board and go in different order so that the student who had A or D or W the first time will have a different letter.

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COLOR CALL

This is quick reaction game. It is especially good with young people who get restless and need to release energy from time to time.

The players stand in a circle.

One player has the bean bag.

He throws it randomly to another player in the circle, at the same time calling out a color.

The second player must catch the bean bag and, upon catching it, call out the name of something that is that color.

He, in turn, tosses the bean bag to the next player, shouting out the name of a different color.

The game proceeds as follows:

Player 1: Blue! (Throwing the object to another player)

Player 2: Sky! (Throwing the object to the third player) Green!

Player 3: Grass! (tosses the object to another player) RED!

Player 4: Tomato!

Colors may be repeated but the answers should be different. If one player gives sky for blue, then the next blue should be a different object of that color, such as, water.

For each error, a student receives a point against him. He also gets a point against him if he hesitates too long in answering.

A player is asked three questions related to the subject you’re teaching when he has three points against him.

Whenever you wish to end the game, the player with the fewest (or no) points against him wins.

Variation:

In a large class this could be a team game.

The class could be divided into two teams which are lined up, facing each other.

Rather than tossing the bean bag at random, the players would throw it to the person opposite, going down the line then starting back towards the front again.

The team with the fewest errors at the end wins.

These cards can be given to students to keep track of their points.  Follow this link to print them: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByOoC3qmzW-PWWE2TnE5cTBlQms

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WHAT'S YOUR HOBBY?

This is a fast-moving alphabet game. Each student is given two or three minutes, no more, to make up a hobby. It can be as ridiculous as he pleases but the first word must begin with the initial of his first name, and the second word with the initial of his last name.

Introduce the game by asking, “What´s your hobby?” Each student will reply, in turn, “My name is __________ and my hobby is __________ .”

Example:

T: What´s your hobby?

S1: My name is Mary Miller and my hobby is making money.

S2: My name is David Hendricks and my hobby is digging holes.

S3: My name is Billy Smith and my hobby is building skyscrapers.

S4: My name is Tom Brown and my hobby is toasting bread.

Once all the students have had a chance to participate, you can test their memory skills by asking them if they can recall the hobbies of some of their classmates: “What’s David’s hobby?”

The first student to answer correctly is safe and has the ‘right’ to choose three of his classmates to come to the front.

The ‘chosen ones’ have to answer questions you ask related to the subject you’re teaching.

Variation: Give students the names of famous people (living or dead), or let them choose their own, and ask what their hobbies are. The students respond using the name and initials of the famous person.

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KEY WORD

In this game the class is divided into two teams and two students are selected to represent each team. These four players go to the front of the room and sit in previously arranged chairs; one member of each team facing the board, the other two players facing the class.

As the game begins the teacher, or a student assistant who does not belong to either team, hold up a card with a word printed on it. The entire class and the two players facing the board can see the word, but the two students facing the class cannot see it. 

The object of the game is for the player who sees the word to give one word clues to his partner, so that the partner may try and guess the word; the teams alternate back and forth after each attempt to guess the word. The proceeds as follows:

(Teacher or student assistant holds up the word shoe.)

Yellow Team - S1: (seeing the word) foot

Yellow Team - S2: walk

Green Team - S1: (seeing the word) wear

Green Team - S2: stocking

Yellow Team - S1: Leather

Yellow Team - S2: shoe (wins the round)

Each team has five opportunities to guess the word.

The team that guesses the word gets one point. 

The students that don’t get a point for their team are asked a question related to the subject you’re teaching before moving on to the next round with new players and a new word.

If none of them can discover what the word is after five tries, other two students are selected to represent their teams in a new round.

The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner. 

If you don't have time to make your own cards, you might find these ones useful. Follow this link to download or print for free: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByOoC3qmzW-PVEw4Z1VBX2RadVE

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ALPHABET ID

Each student, in turn, gives imaginary information about him/herself following this format.

• My name is ____.
• My wife´s/husband´s name is ____.
• We live in_____.
• And we sell ___.

The first student must fill in the blanks orally, by providing words that begin with the letter A. The second student uses the letter B, the third student the letter C, and so on around the room. Such letters as Q, X and Z, may be eliminated from the game.

Examples:

My name is Anna.

My husband´s name is Andrew.

We live in Atlanta.

And we sell apples.

My name is Bill.

My wife´s name is Barbara.

We live in Boston.

And we sell beans.

Variation:

If you want to practice something other than vocabulary, you can set a time limit (let’s say 10 seconds) to complete the information.  If a student fails to do so, he becomes ‘it’ and is asked a question related to the subject you want students to practice.

To make it less predictable, you can ask each student to take a flashcard with a letter just before participating and use it to give the information.

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YOU'LL NEVER GUESS!

On small cards write a brief description of some objects for students to guess.

Objects may be confined to a specific subject category, such as animals, food, or clothing.  You can also use a specific area, such as a classroom, bedroom, or schoolyard.

There should be four sentences in the description, beginning with the less obvious details and moving toward those that make it easier for the others to guess.

Read one description at a time.

Students may call out their answers as quickly as they think they know what the object is.

A student receives four points if he guesses correctly after hearing the first sentence, three points after hearing the second sentence, two after the third and only one after the fourth sentence.

At the end of the game the student with the most points is the winner.

Example:  Here's a set of cards you can use to practice vocabulary related to farm animals.  Follow this link to download for free:  https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByOoC3qmzW-PbWV5aFVLeEpydTQ

Variation:

This game can be used to practice any subject you’re teaching:  history, geography, science, etc.  Instead of describing objects, you can describe characters, countries, events, etc.

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OBSERVE AND REMEMBER

Before class, gather a wide selection of small, easily identifiable objects, such as a pencil, eraser, pen, wristwatch, teaspoon, notebook, keys, ruler, buttons, or whatever seems appropriate to the language level of the class.

Place these objects on a desk or table at the front of the room.

Ask the students to come forward and look at the objects for a given length of time (no more than two minutes), and then have them return to their seats.

Instruct the students to take out their pencil and paper and write, in English, the names of as many objects as they can remember. At this point cover the articles with a cloth or large piece of paper, thereby removing them from view.

Allow approximately five minutes for the students to recall and write down the names of things they have observed.

The number of items on the table, as well as the items themselves, should be appropriate to the language level of the class.

Hold up each individual item and have the students identify them in turn. The student with the most names, correctly spelled, wins.

Variation:

If you want to practice something other than vocabulary, you can give the winner a set of 5 questions related to the subject you want to work with.  He has the ‘right’ to choose who will answer the questions.

You can play this game for several rounds using fewer objects and different sets of questions.

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I PACKED MY BAG FOR ALASKA

I PACKED MY BACK FOR ALASKA

Begin the game by modeling the example sentence. “I packed my bag for Alaska and in my bag I put an apple.” 

The first student then repeats the model sentence and adds the name of the object that begins with the letter B. For example “I packed my bag for Alaska and in my bag I put and apple and a book.” 

The game is continued around the classroom with each student in turn repeating what has been said before and adding the name of a new object which begins with the next letter of the alphabet. 

Students should be encouraged to use their imaginations as the more ridiculous the objects, the more fun the game. 

To make this game more challenging to advanced classes, you might ask the students to provide an adjective before each object, such as, a beautiful book, a clean coat, a dirty dress, etc.

If you have a large group of students, you can divide them into smaller groups.  This will give students the opportunity to participate more often.

If you want to practice something other than vocabulary, you can set a time limit:  If a student takes longer than 5 seconds to add a word or makes a mistake in repeating the objects that have already been said, he can be asked a question related to the subject you're teaching.

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