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 'A', then run to the back of the line. The next student writes 'B', 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
Divide the students into teams and call out a letter of the alphabet. Award a point to the first team that can form the letter with their bodies.
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.
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. \I do. / No, I don't.\
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: \
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.
Beat The Clock
Time the students as they race to put alphabet, 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 of draw randomly in the boxes. The winner is the first student to cross out all the numbers/letters etc. on the sheet.
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. \ 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 group 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, \2 has a 'cat' in his/her hand then there's a good chance player 1 is bluffing. Player 2 should say \don't\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.
Catch The Fruit
Toss a piece of plastic fruit to a student and ask, \is it?\Elicit and prompt the correct vocabulary. Gesture the student to throw it back to you and repeat with different fruit 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...
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.
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. \times\
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 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. \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 \\
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.
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.
Duck Duck Goose
Students sit in a circle and the teacher starts by walking round the outside of the circle tapping the students on the head saying \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 \duck, dog\
Fashion Show
Have each student stand up one at a time and elicit from the class what he or she is wearing.
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. Gestures
Use western gestures in your class. Expressions Hello Goodbye It's cold It's hot No! Come here Me! OK Shhhh Stop Stand up Sit down Go Fish
Have students choose two flashcards each. Have the students hold the flashcards face up but not to show
Gestures wave wave
put arms around shoulders fan your face with hands shake your head \move your index finger Touch your chest make the OK sign
index finger in front of mouth hand up, palm out raise hand slightly, palm up lower hand slightly, palm down
I don't know pull shoulders and hands up
anyone. Choose a student and ask \card. Have each student ask other students questions. A student with no cards is out. Grab
Use Lego. Spread out the Lego and call out \together to make a pattern and hold them up. Next say \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. 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 wrongly, 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.
Hot Potato
Play like 'Pass It' using a time limit for added motivation. Set the timer for 10 seconds. When the timer goes off, the student holding the flashcard must say the vocabulary / structure. I Spy
The teacher says \garbage can). Use classroom objects and with younger students use colors rather than letters e.g. \with my little eye something (red).\
I've Got It
Have students sit in a circle. Give each student a flashcard or item. Ask \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. Jeopardy
Make a jeopardy grid on the white board as follows: 10 20 30 40
Fruit
Sports
Animals Body
_______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______