Games Book

Kedah, February 2003
LANGUAGE GAMES FOR THE YOUNG

LEARNERS CLASSROOM
Developed and written by

Raymond Kerr DELC for Padang Terap/Pendang
and Hugh Mallin DELC for Baling/Sik, Kedah
Malaysian Schools CfBT English Language Project Team
Contents
Games Topics
Page number
Action Games
3 - 27
Alphabet Games
28 - 41
Animal Games
42 45
Body Games
46 49
Clothes Games
50 52
Colour Games
53 55
Food Games
56 58
Family Games
59 62
Gesture Games
63 65
Whiteboard Games
66 85
Counting Games
86 95
Singing and Command Games
96 100
Emotion Games
101 104
Greetings Games
105 108
Games with Objects
109 113
Preposition Games
114 118
Sense Games
119 121
Weather Games
122 125
Where Games
126 128
Appendix
1. Choosing the starting player/team
2. Alternatives to keeping scores
2
129 130
130 131
ACTION GAMES
1. TOUCH
SUMMARY
Games don't get any easier than this. Students race to touch one
flashcard from a row on the board..
SETUP
Line up a set of flashcards on the board, or lay them on the floor
at the front of the classroom. Divide the class into teams or play
rounds one student against another.
PLAY
Call two students up to play. Line them up against the wall
opposite the flashcards. Make sure there is a clear running space
for the students. Now, say the name of one of the flashcards and
then shout "Go!" The two students race to touch the correct
flashcard. The first student to do so is the winner.
This game has endless variations. For example:
a) The students can crawl, hop, carry an egg on a spoon, or a
balloon between their knees as they move toward the flashcards.
b) The students can point to the correct flashcard, point and
identify the flashcard, or even point and make a sentence using
the flashcard.
c) The flashcards can be on the board, on the floor, in a bag or
box, upside down, or in the four corners of the classroom.
USES
1. Play with any set of flashcards. This is a simple, yet fun way to
introduce new vocabulary.
3
2. FOUR CORNERS (Version 1)
SUMMARY
There are flashcards in all four corners of the classroom. Don't get
stuck standing near the wrong word when the teacher stops
counting to ten, or you'll be out.
SETUP
Place one flashcard in each of the four corners of the classroom.
Push the desks aside to give the children ample space to move
around.
PLAY
The 4 corners game has two versions, an A and a B. Version A, in
turn has two styles of its own.
Style 1. Close your eyes and count to ten. The students run to the
four corners of the room. When you finish counting say "Stop!"
Any student still in the middle of the floor must quickly find a
corner. Now, call out one of the flashcards. Any student standing in
the same corner as that flashcard is "out" and must return to his
or her seat.
Note: if you are playing with very young children don't ask them
to sit down. In either case, however, ask all the students in the
corner to identify the flashcard or use it in a sentence.
Style 2. Count to ten with your eyes closed. Say "Stop!" However,
instead of calling out a flashcard, point to one of the corners (with
your eyes still closed). The students in that corner are "out", or "it"
and must identify the flashcard or use it in a sentence.
USES
1. To teach or review vocabulary, help the students to make
sentences or answer questions. This game is a staple for many
teachers' young children classes.
3. FOUR CORNERS (2)
SUMMARY
Similar to 4 corners (A) except that all the students start by
crowding together into one corner. When the teacher calls out a
flashcard everyone must rush to that corner. The last student to
reach the card is out.
SETUP
Place one flashcard in each of the four corners of the classroom.
Again, make sure the students have enough space to run freely
between the corners. Don't play this version of the game with
more than 5-6 students at one time, however.
PLAY
Get all the players to crowd into one corner. Now call out one of
the flashcards in another corner. The students all dash over to that
corner. The last player to reach the flashcard is out.
Note: you can also play this game with just two students at a
time. We recommended this for big or aggressive classes that push
too much. For fun, call out the flashcard in the corner that the
students are already standing in. See who runs without thinking.

USES:
1. Play with any flashcard vocabulary.
4. TEACHER SAYS
SUMMARY
This is just the ESL/EFL name for Simon Says. Everyone, do as I'm
doing, but only if I first say, "Teacher Says."
SETUP
Get the class to stand up in front of you.
PLAY
Demonstrate to the class that they must follow your directions
(run, touch your nose, stand up, sit down, etc.) but only if you
preface the command with "Teacher says." Anyone who follows a
command that was not prefaced with "Teacher says" must sit
down.
USES:
1. To practise command language.
2. Training student's listening comprehension.
3. This game is especially good for reviewing vocabulary like body
parts and action words (run, touch your nose, touch your toes,
eat, walk, swim, etc.).
5. TURN
SUMMARY
You're holding a flashcard. In front of you stand two students with
their backs turned. You give the command to "Turn around!" Who
can identify the flashcard first?
SETUP
Get two students to stand in front of you with their backs turned.
Hold a flashcard in your hand or place it on the board.
PLAY
Like the game "Run and Touch," this is an extremely simple game
to play, and full of variations.
A) The students turn and simply identify the flashcard.
B) The students are asked to make a sentence with the flashcard,
or answer a question. For example, you ask, "What do I like to
eat?" In your hand there is a banana flashcard. When the students
turn they must answer "You like to eat bananas!"
C) The students stand back to back. They are given each a
flashcard to hold (face forward) in front of their chest. When they
turn they must identify their opponents flashcard.
USES
1) When teaching any flashcard vocabulary or simple sentence
patterns.
6. RUN PAST ME
SUMMARY
The students dash from one wall to another. Can they get past you? If they
can't they must answer a question.
SETUP
Line your students up against one wall in the classroom. There should be a clear
running space across the floor to the opposite wall.
PLAY
When the students are lined up and ready shout "Go!" The students make a run
for the opposite wall. You try to catch one or two as they rush by. Any student
you do catch must answer a question before being released.
Note: this game is best played with very young children who are slow at
running. To catch a student you need only tap them on the shoulder, arm, or
head.
USES
1. To practice the answers to simple questions (What's your name? How old are
you? What do you like to eat? What animal can fly? Etc.).
7. YES/NO
SUMMARY
One ball is a "yes" ball. One ball is a "no" ball. Students are asked yes/no type
questions ("Can elephants fly? Is a banana yellow?") and then the teacher
throws both balls. The children race to pick up the appropriate ball.
SETUP
You need two different colored balls. Demonstrate that one ball is a "yes" ball,
and the other a "no" ball. Make sure the students have a clear space in which to
chase after the balls.
PLAY
Call two students to the front. Ask a yes/no type question. For example, "Are
elephants little?" Throw the two balls. The two students should chase after the
"no" ball, since elephants are not little. The first student to pick up the ball and
bring it back to you is the winner.
Repeat with other students. Ask other yes/no type questions. You may play this
game simply for listening practice or for listening/speaking practice (in which
case the students must answer the yes/no type question out loud).
USES
1. Wonderful for testing listening comprehension in a fun way.
2. For teaching or reviewing yes/no type questions: "Can you eat a house? Is it
hot today? It is Monday today? Is a mouse bigger than a rhino? Does an
elephant like peanuts?"
8. ZIG ZAG
SUMMARY
Each student has a flashcard behind his or her back. Who can eye the other's
card without revealing his or her own?
SETUP
Call two students to the front and, without the opposing player seeing the
picture, place a flashcard face up on the back of each student. Help the students
to position their arms behind them so the cards stay in place. If you can find
clothes-pegs, use them to peg the flashcards to the back of the children's
shirts.
PLAY
When the cards are fastened to the back of the students' clothes say, "Go!" The
students now try to discover and identify what flashcard is behind the back of
their opponent, (without of course revealing their own flashcard). This game can
be quite hilarious to watch as the students zig and zag, and bob and dance
about. Be careful, though as occasionally two students will bang heads.
USES
1. Mostly for fun
10
9. ROLL & JUMP
SUMMARY
The students sit in a circle. They are all numbered from 1-6. There are
flashcards on the floor. You call out "bear" and roll the dice. It's a four. The two
(or three) students numbered "four" jump out of their seats and touch the bear
flashcard.
SETUP
Arrange the students in a circle. Place a number of flashcards on the floor in the
middle. Now, number all the students from 1-6. You should have at least two
students named after each number. If you only have six or so students then
number them 1-3 and fix your dice so that it only can roll 1-3 also. Divide the
class into two teams if you want to.
PLAY
Call out one of the flashcards on the floor. For example: bear. Roll the dice. Let's
say it is a two. The students that you numbered "2" jump up and touch the
"bear" flashcard. The first student to touch the flashcard and identify it (or use it
in a sentence) wins.
The great fun of this game is that the students never know when they will be
next to play. It all depends on the luck of the dice. This uncertainty keeps the
entire class excited and attentive round after round.
USES
1. To teach or review any vocabulary.
2. Practice sentence making.
3. Practice numbers.
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10. DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE
SUMMARY
Yes, it's the old children's classic. We'll show you how to use it to teach more
than the words "duck" and "goose."
SETUP
The children all sit in a circle on the floor, except for one who is chosen to
stand.
PLAY
The standing child walks around the circle touching the other students on the
head. With each touch he says, "Duck." Finally, at the student's discretion, he
says "goose" over the head of one student. This "goose" child must then stand.
Now there are two students standing. One child runs to the left around the circle
and the other to the right. Both children race to return to the spot where the
"goose" child was previously sitting. The first child back to that spot gets to sit
down. The child left standing now must walk around the circle tapping the
students on the head and saying "duck, duck, duck, etc.." Again, at some point,
this student must label someone a "goose." Again, a race ensues to circle the
group and claim the empty seat.
To make this game more useful for the ESL/EFL classroom, simply replace the
words "duck" and "goose" with some vocabulary you have recently taught. For
example, the students could say "mother, mother, mother, father!". Or they
could say "car, car, car, car, bicycle!" Any two words can be used.
USES
1. To review any vocabulary.
2. Some fun.
12
11. HOT POTATO
SUMMARY
Students sit in a circle passing round a ball or a soft toy. After a count of seven
the passing stops and the child left holding the ball is "it."
SETUP
Get your class to sit in a circle on the floor. If you have a very large class divide
it into two circles. Give a ball, teddy bear, or soft toy, to one child in each circle.
PLAY
Get the students to say the "Hot Potato" chant with you. It goes:
One potato, two potato, three potato, four.
Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more.
While you are saying this the students pass the ball round the circle. On the
word "more" the passing stops. The student who has the ball in his or her hands
is "it" and must stand and answer a question, identify a flashcard, etc. Some
teachers send the children out of the circle to sit down when they are "it." We
don't recommend this for young children classes.
USES
1. To teach or review any vocabulary or sentence patterns
13
12. MUSICAL CHAIRS (Version A)
SUMMARY
The children run around in a circle while music plays in the background. When
the music stops they rush to sit down. The only problem is there is one less
chair than students. Who will be left standing?
SETUP
Arrange the class chairs in a big circle like in the picture above. Take away one
chair so that there is one less chair than students. Arrange the students inside
the circle of chairs.
PLAY
Start to play some lively music. Get the children to dance around inside the
circle of chairs. Don't let children stand still by one chair waiting for the music to
stop. Without warning stop the music. Shout, "Sit down! Sit down!" The children
will then sit down, except for the one who can't find a chair. Ask that child to
identify a flashcard, make a sentence, or answer a question. Get the class to
repeat the word or sentence so the student doesn't feel isolated.
Note: don't play this game with children under 4 as they are often upset by
being left without a seat. Musical Chairs ( Version B) is a safer version to play
with this younger age group.
USES
1. To teach or review any vocabulary or sentence patterns.
2. To practice command language (Sit down. Line up. Make a circle.).
14
13. MUSICAL CHAIRS (Version B)
SUMMARY
Similar to Musical Chairs (Version A) except that in this version the students are
circling a pile of flashcards like in the picture above. Again, there is one less
flashcard than players. Whose hand won't find a card to touch?
SETUP
Arrange a set of flashcards on the floor like in the picture above. Get a number
of students (one less than there are flashcards) to come up and make a circle
around the flashcards.
PLAY
Start the music. The students hold hands and dance around the flashcard. When
the music stops the students sit down and touch one of the flashcards. The
student without a flashcard to touch is out.
Now take away one of the flashcards. Ask the class to identify the flashcard
before you put it away. Now, repeat the above steps. Again, one student will be
left without a card to touch. Send that student out. Repeat the above steps until
you have one card left and two students. The winner of this round is the
champion.
Note:
1) This game works best with small groups. If you have a large class consider
playing several games of musical chairs and then inviting the champion of each
set for a final match.
2) Let the student who is "out" in each round ask the other students to identify
(or make a sentence with) the flashcard they are touching. The student can also
choose which flashcard to take away. In this way, he or she won't feel so
disappointed to have lost the round.
USES
1. To teach or review play with any vocabulary flashcards.
15
14. SPIN THE BOTTLE
SUMMARY
There's no kissing in this game! Just spin the bottle and hope it doesn't point at
you or you'll have to answer a question.
SET UP
Get the students into a circle. Place a large plastic or glass bottle in the centre.
PLAY
Ask one student to give the bottle a spin. When the bottle stops it should be
pointing toward one of the students. Ask that student a question and then get
him or her to spin the bottle again. End the game before the class tires of it.
USES
1. To teach or review any vocabulary or sentence patterns
15. SLOWPOKE
SUMMARY
You have to be quick to answer the teacher's question or your classmate will
knock you on the head with a long balloon.
16

SETUP
No special set up. Give a long balloon to one of the students.
PLAY
Ask an easy question:
What do you like to eat?
Where do you live?
How old are you?
Now, call out the name of one of the students. The child with the soft bat runs
over to that student and tries to tap (make sure it is a tap and not a knock or a
whap or a boff) him or her on the head before they can answer the question. If
the batter student succeeds in taping the other student before he or she can
answer then the batter must give the bat to the other student. This child then
becomes the new batter. If the child succeeds in answering the question then he
or she must ask the question herself ("What do you like to eat?") and then call
out another student's name. The batter must run to that student's desk, and
again try to tap this new student's head before the question can be answered.
Note: if your class if too young to ask the question back quickly enough, then
let them just answer and shout out a classmate's name. You can repeat the
question while the batter is running.
USES
1. To review simple questions and sentence patterns
2. For fun: this is a fast-paced game
17
16. READ MY LIPS
SUMMARY
The teacher mouths simple words or sentences without making a sound. Can
the students guess what he is trying to say just by watching his mouth move?
SET UP
No special set-up is required. Just stand in front of the class where everyone
can clearly see your mouth.
PLAY
Mouth a word that the students already know (for example: bird, nose, hello).
Ask the students, "What is it?" Someone should hazard a guess. Hand out
stickers for correct guesses.
USES
1. To review any vocabulary or simple phrases.
2. To get kids' attention back when they are distracted.
17. WHISPER
SUMMARY
18

Two teams whisper a word, or phrase, all the way down their lines. Which team
will be the first to finish and run up to touch the correct flashcard on the board?
SETUP
Divide the class in two. Make two teams line up in front of you. Place several
flashcards (or write numbers or letters) on the board.
PLAY
When the students are lined up in front of you, whisper the name of one of the
flashcards on the board (or the letter or number) in the ear of the first person in
each team line. On "Go!" these students whisper the word in the ear of the
person behind or beside them. These students then whisper the word in the
student's ear behind them, and so on, all the way down the line. When the last
person in each line has heard the word he or she must run to the board and
touch the correct flashcard. The winner of course is the first student to touch
the correct card.
To play the next round, make the winner and loser of the first round come to
the front of the line (in other words, be the first student to whisper the new
word). Let the loser choose the next word (or number/letter) to be whispered.
There are many variations to this game.
1) The students can crawl, slither, or hop to the flashcards.
2) You can ask the last two students to do something silly after they have said
the word. Fun ideas include: pop a balloon with their feet; blow up a balloon
and tie it; carry an orange on a spoon across the classroom without dropping it.
3) If you are playing with numbers or letter you can ask the last student to run
up to the board and write the number or letter.
Note: Listen that the students are saying the words correctly down the line. If
they are not, stop the relay and start over with another word.
USES
1. To review or teach any vocabulary or simple phrases.
19
18. QUICK DRAW
SUMMARY
Similar to Whisper and Touch, except that in this game the last students in the
line must run to the board and reproduce a simple cartoon drawing (see the
illustration above). You won't believe how the students will interpret what they
see.
SETUP
Draw a simple cartoon picture in the middle of the board. Now divide the class
into two teams. You can line the teams up in front of you or let them remain in
their seats. Give the last student in each team a marker.
PLAY
Ask the first student in each team a question. On "Go!" these students answer
the question and then turn and ask the same question to the next student on
their team. This continues until the last student in each team has answered the
question. Then, the last student on each team rushes to the board and tries to
draw a likeness of your picture. The first student to finish, or the one who draws
the best likeness wins that round for his or her team.
If the loser wants to, he or she can draw the picture for the next round of play.
Make sure that the winner and loser of each round move to the front of the line
(so that they are the first to answer the question).
USES
1. To teach or review questions and answers.
2. To give students practice asking and answering questions.
20
19. LINE UP
SUMMARY
Two lines of students stand before you. You fire off questions or show flashcards
to the first student in each line. The winner sits down while the loser goes to the
back of the line (to play again).
SETUP
Get the class to form two parallel lines like in the picture above. Stand at the
head of the two lines.
PLAY
Ask a question, or show a flashcard to the first two students. The winner of this
round gets to sit down. The loser goes to the back of the line. He or she will
then have another go at answering a question when they get to the front of the
line again. When one team's players are all sitting down they have won the
game.
Note: this game is quite competitive. Play at your discretion.
USES
1. To review any vocabulary or sentence patterns.
21
20. BUMP HIM OFF
SUMMARY
You're not the mafia but more like a sumo wrestler working backwards. Two
students stand back to back on a sheet of newspaper or a towel. Who can knock
the other off first?
SETUP
Place a sheet of newspaper or a towel on the floor.
PLAY
Call two students up to stand back to back on the newspaper. Ask them both a
question (and have them answer), and then say "Go!" The students use their
hips and bottom (no hands or shoulders) to push or bump their opponent off the
sheet of paper. The first one off the newspaper loses. Let the loser chose the
next two players.
USES
1. To teach or review any vocabulary or sentence pattern.
22
21. THE BAD CARD
SUMMARY
You've got a stack of flashcards in your hand and you're turning them over, one
by one. The students shout out the flashcard vocabulary. Suddenly, they all
jump up, turn around, and sit back down. Why? They saw the "bad" card.
SETUP
Get the students to sit on the floor in front of you (on chairs if possible). Make
sure they have enough room to stand up and turn-around without bumping into
each other. Take any stack of flashcards the students are familiar with, and hold
them in your hands. Demonstrate that one flashcard is the "bad card" ( a shark,
or bear, or bee is a good choice). When the students see this card they are to
stand up, turn around, and then sit back down.
PLAY
Start turning the flashcards over, one by one. Encourage the students to shout
out the name of the picture on each card. When you turn over the "bad card"
the students shout, "Ahh!" or, "Bad card!" and stand, turn around, and then sit
back down. The last student to sit down loses. A fun "punishment" is to ask the
student to roll the dice and then run that number of lengths of the classroom.
Little ones love doing this. Some students even purposively sit down slowly so
that they can be the one to run.
USES
2. Excellent to get the energy back into a group of students.
23
22. WHERE'S THE SHARK?
SUMMARY
There are four flashcards on the floor and four students are standing on those
flashcards. Suddenly, the students turn over the cards. One student chases the
others around the class, snapping at them like a hungry fish. Why? Because he
has found the shark under his flashcard.
SETUP
Place four or five flashcards on the floor. Under one card, place a smaller picture
of a shark (don't let the students see where you put the shark).
PLAY
Now call four or five students up and ask them to choose one card each to stand
on. Ask the students to identify their flashcard or make a sentence with it. On
"Go!" the students turn over their cards. The student who finds a shark under
his flashcard gets to chase the other students back to their seats. He or she
pretends to be a shark and snaps and bites at the others. Don't let the students
use their mouths. Instead they open and close their arms like a giant mouth.
Note: if you don't want to let your children be so active, place the flashcards on
a table instead of on the floor. Get the students, one at a time, to point to a
flashcard, make a sentence, and then turn over the card. If a student finds a
shark under her card she gets to circle the table pretending to bite (again with
arms or hands opening like a mouth) the other students..
USES
1. Great fun for little children.
24
23. THE DISCREET DECK
SUMMARY
You've got a stack of flashcards in your hands, but they are covered by a piece
of paper so that the students can't see what they are. Slowly, you raise one
flashcard over the top of the piece of paper. Can the students guess what it is
without seeing the entire flashcard?
SETUP
Take a stack of flashcards that the students are familiar with, and cover them
with a piece of paper. Stand so that the entire class can see you clearly.
PLAY
The fun is in the suspense. Slowly lift the first flashcard up so that just the top
is showing over the paper. Ask the students, "What is it?" Some may hazard a
guess. If anyone is right give him or her the card. If no one can guess raise the
card a little higher. It's rare that you need to show the entire card before a
student can guess correctly. When you have handed out all the cards reward the
students who have some in their hands. Ask the students who didn't get any
flashcards to collect them from the others.
USES
1. An excellent flashcard review game.
25
24. CHARADES
SUMMARY
Everyone knows this game. You stand in front of the group and mime a word or
phrase. Whoever guesses right gets to replace you.
SETUP
No special set-up required.
PLAY
Stand in front of the class and mime a word. Let's say the word is "elephant".
Swing your arm like a trunk and walk about like you are a huge creature.
Someone will doubtlessly shout out "elephant." When this happens invite the
child to the front to act out his/her own word. Young children often can't think of
anything on their own so have a stack of flashcards ready. Show the child one
card (don't let the rest of the class see). The child then acts out the word. If you
have a large class let two or more students mime together.
You can also ask the students to mime a phrase. For example: "The big
elephant is hungry." First the student makes himself big, then he acts like an
elephant, and lastly pats his stomach to indicate that he is hungry.
Note: it helps if you play charades with only one topic at a time. For example:
animals, or occupations, or people, or descriptions.
USES
1. To review vocabulary and simple phrases.
26
25. JIGSAW
SUMMARY
You've cut up flashcards into jigsaw puzzles. Two or more teams compete to
reassemble their flashcard jigsaw and then run to tell you what the flashcard
is.
SETUP
Cut up several flashcards (one for each team) in the shape of a jigsaw puzzle.
Make the pieces large if your students are very young, slightly smaller if they
are older. Hand out one jigsaw to each team. Divide the class into teams of
three or four players.
PLAY
On "Go!" the teams race to put their jigsaw together. When their pieces are in
place they call you over and then identify the flashcard. For the next round ask
the teams to take apart their jigsaws and swap them with another team.
USES
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ALPHABET GAMES
1. LETTER TURN-OVER
SUMMARY
All the letters are face up on the floor. Call out "dog" and the students turn over
the "D" card. Call out "monkey" and the students turn over the "M" card.
SETUP
You need alphabet cards that have pictures on one side and letters on the other.
If you are using the CHILDREN ONLY ESL-EFL alphabet cards, fold the papers in
half. The letter will then appear on the top half and the picture the bottom. Lay
the cards on the floor or on a table with either all the pictures face up, or all the
letters.
PLAY
Let's say all the alphabet pictures are face up. You want the students then to
match letters with the initial sound of each picture. Ask a student to find the
letter "A". Remind the child that A makes an "ah" sound. The student finds the
"apple" picture and turns it over.
Now ask another student to find the letter B. Again, the student must look for the
picture that starts with a "buh" sound, in this case the "bird" picture. When all the
pictures have been turned over, and the letters are now facing up, ask students to
find the pictures. For example: if you say, find the "cat", the student must sound
the initial phoneme of Cat, "kuh", and then look for the letter C. When the child
finds the C card, he or she turns it over to reveal the cat.
You can play this game one student at a time, or as a competition between pairs
of students. Call out a letter or picture and let 2 students race to turn over the
correct card.
USES
1. To teach or review the letters of the alphabet.

2. Simple phonetic practise.
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2. WHERE'S THE TIGER?
SUMMARY
Turn around everyone. Okay turn back. Where is the tiger? On the C. Correct.
SET UP
Place alphabet flashcards on the board (or just write the alphabet out in rows).
Prepare a small picture of a tiger, and a magnet (to keep the picture on the
board).
PLAY
Ask the class (or just two students) to turn around . Place the tiger on one of the
letters. On "Where is the tiger?" the students turn around and look at the board.
The first student to say which letter the tiger is on, and to make a word starting
with that letter, wins. Repeat with other students and letters.
USES
1. To teach letter recognition.
3. THREE CUPS
SUMMARY
Your students will be ready for a little street gambling after this game. Hide a
letter under 1 of 3 cups. Mix up the cup order quickly and then see who can
guess where the letter is now.
SET UP
You need three small cups. Write down the letters of the alphabet on pieces of
paper and keep them handy nearby.
PLAY
29

Line up the cups in a row. Put one letter under one of the three cups (or you can
put different letters under all three cups). Show the students the letter and the
cup. Now shuffle the cups around quickly. The idea is to do this so quickly that
the students can't follow the letter cup, and therefore don't know in which
position it has ended.
When you stop moving the cups ask one student "Where is the (a, b, t, y, etc.)?"
Reward the student if he or she guesses the correct cup, and can also say a word
starting with that letter. Repeat with other letters and students.
USES
4. MESSAGE IN A BALLOON
SUMMARY
Fun for little ones. Good for class demonstrations. The letters of the alphabet are
written on pieces of paper, and then are stuffed into balloons. Students pop the
balloons, find the paper, and then say the name of the letter on the paper, and a
word also starting with that letter.
SET UP
Write the letters of the alphabet on small pieces of paper. Stuff these papers into
balloons. Blow and tie up the balloons.
PLAY
You can play this game singly or in pairs. Call up a student(s) and give him a
balloon. On "Go!" the student tries to pop the balloon. Note: You must instruct
students on the proper methods to pop a balloon. They may step or sit on them,
but may not bite them, or use their hands to squeeze the balloon in front of them
(it may pop and go into their eye or mouth).
Once the student succeeds in popping the balloon, he or she must then find the
piece of paper that was inside (sometimes it flies away), open it, read the letter,
and then say a word that begins with that letter. Repeat with other students and
other balloons.
USES

30
5. MARKER RUN
SUMMARY
All the letters of the alphabet are written on the board. A student starts at one
end with a marker and (with eyes closed) runs to the other side, dragging the
marker across the board. Which letters did he run through with the marker line?
SET UP
Write all the letters of the alphabet on the board (you may write some letters
more than once).

PLAY
Call one student up to the board. Give him a marker and ask him to stand on one
side of the board. Now get the student to close his eyes (perhaps use a blindfold)
and walk to the other side, dragging his marker across the board as he goes.
When the student reaches the other side of the board get him to open his eyes
and look back. Ask him which letters he ran the marker through. Erase those
letters and call another student up to play. Keep going until all the letters have
been erased.
Note:
a) You should help the students to walk so they don't bump into anything. Also, if
the students are under 5 you may have to help them hold the marker so it makes
a firm line across the board.
b) You can play this game on a large piece of paper, instead of on the board, if
you are teaching only a few students.
USES
31
6. TWISTER
SUMMARY
Just like the old game. Children twist their bodies to touch (with hands and feet)
the letters you call out. Your little ones will love getting wrapped up.
SETUP
Place alphabet flashcards on the floor. Sixteen at a time is good as this allows
four children to play in one round.
Note: If you are worried about your cards getting dirty or destroyed laminate
them, or cover them with plastic or cellophane.
PLAY
Call one student to the front. Say a letter. The student stands on or touches that
letter on the floor. Call out another letter. Again, the student must touch this
letter with a free hand or foot. Call out two more letters. Once more, the
student must place a free hand or foot on these letters.
After the first student is in place, call up another student. Repeat the steps
above. You should now have two students somewhat twisted together on the
floor (like in the picture above). Repeat the above steps with 2 more students.
Everyone should be laughing now as they struggle to stay in position. Ask the
four students to sit down and play twister with four new children.
Note: Choose letters as you like. They shouldn't be so far apart that the student
can't reach them with all four limbs, but neither should they be so close that the
next student can reach over or under the other's body. It is not much fun for the
students if they are simply crouched down beside each other on the floor.
USES
1. For fun.
32
7. THE LAST LETTER
SUMMARY
You can call out one or two letters at a time. Just don't be the one to say the
circled letter or you'll lose.
SETUP
Write the alphabet on the board. Circle one letter. Divide the class into two
teams.
PLAY
Explain and demonstrate to the class that they can say one or two letters at a
time. For example: the first player says "a", the second "b, c", the third "d", the
fourth "e", the fifth "f, g", and so on. The team that says the letter that was
circled before the game started, loses that round. To play again, erase the first
circle and make a new one around another letter.
USES
1. Practice saying the letters of the alphabet.
33
8. CONCENTRATION
SUMMARY
Choose a square and see the letter hidden in it. Is it a capital letter? Yes, then
find the matching small letter in another square. Easy? Yes, if you can
remember where you saw that small letter before.
SETUP
Draw the above left grid on the board and the above right grid in your notebook
(this is your KEY). Divide the class into two teams. Explain and demonstrate
that in the squares are letters of the alphabet. Some are capital, some are
small. Players choose two squares and try to match the capital and small
letters.
PLAY
Ask the first player to name a square. Let's say it is B4. Consult your key and
then write the letter "D" in that square. The student should know that she now
has to choose the square with the small letter "d" to score a point. But let's say
she chooses C1. This square has capital letter "C" in it. The student has not
made a match. The letters in both squares are erased.
Now it is the opposing team's turn. Let's say the player chooses the square with
the small letter "c" in it. If that student was paying attention last round he will
then choose C1 (capital letter "C" is in this square) for the match. The team
with the most matches when all the squares have been filled is the winner.
USES
1. Capital and small letter recognition.
34
9. LETTER BINGO
SUMMARY
It's Bingo but with letters. Make sure you have some prizes ready for the
winners.
SETUP
You can make your own Bingo cards. Use a blank sheet of paper and draw a grid
like in the picture above. Photocopy one for each student. Don't forget the
happy face in the middle.
Now, get the students to fill in the squares with the letters of the alphabet, in a
random order. In this way everyone's card will be different.
Note: You may need to help some students with their letter writing, or even fill
in all the cards yourself.
PLAY
Choose the type of Bingo that will win the first round (for example: a straight
line in any direction; an X; two straight, parallel lines; all the outside squares,
etc.) As the Bingo master you can call out letters randomly, draw them from a
hat, or choose one student each time to call out a letter. Write the letters on the
board and get everyone to make an X on the appropriate square. Keep going
until someone has a Bingo (as defined at the start of the game). Hand out
prizes and then play another game. You should be able to play 3 or 4 rounds of
Bingo with one card.
USES
1. For fun.
35
10. WOODEN LETTERS
SUMMARY
You write a letter on the board. A student puts his hand under a blanket and
feels around for the matching wooden letter.
SETUP
You need wooden (carved) letters. Ideally you will have both capital and small
letters. Place the letters on a table and cover with a blanket or tea towel.
PLAY
Write a letter on the board or show a letter flashcard. Repeat the letter and
matching word. Now call a student up to find the letter under the blanket. The
student may not lift the blanket or take out any letter until he or she thinks it is
the correct one.
Note: Don't put more than 10 letters under the blanket at a time or you will
have to wait a long time for the students to find the correct letter.
USES
1. Letter recognition.
36
11. TASTY LETTERS
SUMMARY
It's educational and tastes great. Students write letters in trays of Jello powder.
SETUP
Prepare trays, or small plates for the students. Sprinkle a thin layer of Jello
powder on each tray. Give one tray to each student.
PLAY
Write a letter on the board. Ask the students to write the letter in the air with
you. Now, ask the students to lick their index fingers, and then write the letter
on their tray of Jello. Check all the students' letters to make sure they have
been written correctly and then allow the students to lick their fingers again.
Mmm. Writing never tasted so good. Keep writing letters until the Jello trays are
empty.
Note: You can use shaving foam, or sand, in place of Jello. Of course, don't let
your students lick their fingers afterwards.
USES
1. Letter writing practice.
37
12. BODY SCRIPT LIGHT
SUMMARY
Writing letters in the air with a finger can get tedious. It's more fun to write with
a bottom, a head, a stomach, or even a friend's finger.
SETUP
Write the letters of the alphabet on the board. Ask the class to stand up in front
of you.
PLAY
Choose a letter to practice writing. Trace the letter in the air with your finger.
Ask the students to repeat with their own fingers. Now choose another body
part to trace the letter in the air with. Don't worry if the students can't make a
perfect A with their heads. This part of the activity is just to break the
monotony.
Repeat the above steps with other letters.
USES
1. For fun.
38
13. GUESS?
SUMMARY
What's that you're writing on that student's back? Is it the letter A? No, it's the
letter C.
SETUP
No set up required.
PLAY
1) Call up one student. Trace any letter on the student's back. Can the student
guess what the letter is? Offer a small reward if he or she can. If your students
are learning to write the alphabet they can also trace letters on each other's
backs.
2) To turn this into a contest, write several letters on the board. Trace (or get
another student to trace) one of the letters on the backs of three students. On
"Go!" the three students race to touch the letter they think has been traced on
their back.
USES
1. Letter writing practice.
39
14. BODY SCRIPT BOLD
SUMMARY
You'd better be strong for this game. Students tell you a letter and you help to
arrange them on the floor in the shape of that letter.
SETUP
No set up required.
PLAY
Divide the class into groups of 6-8 students. Ask the first group what letter
they want to be. Let's say they choose the letter "E". (Tell the students to
whisper as they don't want the other groups to know what letter they are going
to make). Get the students to lie on the floor and arrange themselves to look
like the letter "E". (Of course you will have to help them.) Ask the other student
groups what letter they think the group on the floor is trying to make. The first
group to guess correctly gets to make the next letter.
USES
1. For fun.
40
15. INVISIBLE LETTERS
SUMMARY
Write invisible letters on sheets of paper. Hold up a paper. Ask the students to
guess what the letter is. Hold the paper under a candle and reveal the letter to
all.
SETUP
Prepare a set of invisible ink alphabet cards. Invisible ink can be made with
lemon juice. Squeeze a lemon into a cup and use your finger, or a cotton swab,
to write the letter on the paper. Voila! You have an invisible letter written on
that page.
PLAY
Bring the invisible letter papers to class. Take out a sheet and show it to the
class. Tell the students that there is a letter written on the sheet. Turn the paper
around and pretend to look for the letter. Ask the students if they can see a
letter. When they say no, take out a candle. Light the candle. Hold the paper
about 6 inches above the candle flame. Move the paper over the flame until the
ink begins to show. When you can read the letter hold it up and show your
students. They will be impressed.
Now, take another sheet and ask the students what letter they think is written
on this paper (give them a choice of 3 or 4 letters). Repeat the above steps
with the candle.
Note: Have a bucket of water handy in case the paper lights on fire. Stand a far
enough distance from the students to ensure their safety.
USES
1. For fun.
41
ANIMAL GAMES
1. WAKE UP DOGGY!
SUMMARY
You're a dog. Sleep like a dog. Now snore like a dog. Now wake up like a dog.
SET UP
Show the class a picture of a dog. Tell the kids that they are dogs. Ask them to
bark and wag their "tails".
PLAY
Get the students to lie on the floor. Tell them to sleep like dogs. The students
should make cute little barking noises like a little dog snoring. If they don't
understand, demonstrate for the students.
Now ask the students to wake up like a dog. They can get up slowly and yawn
and sound a little bark. Now ask the students to eat breakfast like a dog, run
like a dog, and so on. Use any action words the kids have learned. Finally, get
the students to lie down again and sleep like a dog.
Repeat with other animals.
USES
1. Review animals.
2. Review action words.
3. Listening comprehension practice.
42
2. LOOK OUT!
SUMMARY
There's a tiger under the blanket. Who is his next victim? Look out! It could be
you!
SET UP
Get the children to sit in a circle on their chairs like in the picture above. Take a
blanket and place it in the middle of the students. Get everyone to hold onto the
blanket and keep it raised above the floor. Now throw a stuffed animal (a tiger,
lion, elephant, dog, bear) under the blanket. Tell the students to be careful the
animal doesn't eat them.
PLAY
The students shake the blanket and start singing a short song or counting to
ten. You go around the circle tapping the students on the shoulder. On the count
of ten, or when the song is finished, the student whose shoulder was just
tapped must shout "Oh no! The tiger is eating me (or some such thing)!" The
student then slides under the blanket as if the tiger is pulling him under. Note
that you will probably have to demonstrate this part by taking out the teddy
tiger and pretending to eat the student. Motion for the child to get under the
blanket.
Now, repeat the song or the counting, and again, when it is finished, let another
student shout and slide under the blanket. Repeat one or two more times and
then get all the students under the blanket to come back up and sit down.
Repeat all of the above with another animal under the blanket.
Note: Don't let too many kids sit under the blanket at one time or you will have
problems.
USES
43

1. To teach or review animals.
2. For fun.
3. COW AT THE BEACH
SUMMARY
What's a cow doing at the beach? He doesn't like it there. He can't swim. Take
him to the farm where he belongs.
SET UP
Create different animal habitats (farm, zoo, mountains, cave, forest, ocean,
beach) in the classroom. This need not cause you a lot of work. A simple
flashcard in each corner of the room can do the trick.
PLAY
Pretend you are a cow (hold up a cow flashcard). Walk over to the beach. Moo a
little and look about confused. Pretend to dip into the water. Act like you are
drowning. Shout, "I am a cow. I can't swim. I don't like the beach. I want to go
home." Ask the students, "Where is home for the cow?" They should shout, "the
farm". Walk over to the farm. Moo contentedly. Say, "I am a cow. I like the
farm." Pretend to eat some grass.
If the students are willing, ask one to come up and repeat your performance (or
role-play with a different animal). Choose the starting location. Some
possibilities are: a fish in the mountains; a bear in the ocean; a shark in a cave;
an elephant in a tree.
If your students are too shy, then you must perform alone. Use the time to ask
questions of your students, and practice their listening comprehension.
USES
1. To connect animals with their habitats.
2. Review simple patterns: I like/don't like; I can't; I want to.
44
4. GESTURE SENTENCE
SUMMARY
What's that you're gesturing? Big. Elephant. Hungry. Oh, the big elephant is
hungry.
SET UP
No set up required. Just stand in a position where everyone can see you.
PLAY
Make a gesture for "big". Make another one for "elephant". Finally make another
for "hungry". Repeat the gestures and, at the same time say, "The big elephant
is hungry." Repeat the above steps with other gesture phrases until the students
get the idea and can say the gesture sentence without your help. Reward the
students for correctly guessing what it is you are gesturing.
If you want, ask a students to stand in front of the class and make a gesture
sentence. Note that you may have to suggest a sentence to them.
Some possible gesture sentences are:
The
The
The
The
The
The
ugly pig is fat.

tall giraffe is ugly.
little mouse is running.
big bear is angry.
little rabbit is jumping.
pretty deer is running.
USES
1. To encourage students to make longer/descriptive sentences.
45
BODY GAMES
1. SHINE A LIGHT
SUMMARY
You're a gunslinger with a flashlight instead of a pistol. Turn around and shine
your light on the target's knee. Good shot!
SET UP
You'll need two flashlights for this game. If you can, dim the lights in the
classroom and close the curtains and door. Draw a human figure on the board
with all the body parts visible that you wish to teach. If you can't draw well,
don't worry. This can add to the fun. If you really can't draw at all use our body
parts flashcards.
PLAY
Call two students to the front. Give each student a flashlight. Turn the students'
backs to the board. Now get them to walk three paces and then turn around.
Shout out a body part (for example, "foot"). The students should shine their
flashlight beam on the foot of the figure on the board. Reward the faster
student, and ask the slower student to erase both feet on the board.
Repeat with other students and body parts until the figures on the board are
completely erased.
USES
1. To teach or review body parts.
46
2. BETWEEN US
SUMMARY
In pairs, the students race to the other end of the classroom. It's not as easy as
it sounds when they've got to balance a balloon between them.
SET UP
Blow up a number of balloons. Divide the class into pairs.
PLAY
Call up two pairs of students. Ask the four where they want their balloons to be
placed. For example: between their heads, shoulders, hands, knees, etc. Place
the balloons between the chosen body part. On "Go!", the students race to the
other side of the classroom. If one team drops their balloon they must stop and
put it back into place (you may help) before they can continue. The first team to
reach the other side wins.
Repeat with other students with balloons between other body parts.
USES
1. To review body parts.
47
3. BALANCE
SUMMARY
A simple, but fun activity for little ones. Balance a pencil (or ruler) on your
head. Now your nose. Now your knee.
SET UP
Hand out a pencil or ruler or eraser to every member of the class.
PLAY
Call out a body part. For example, "Nose!" The students all place their ruler (or
eraser or pencil) on their nose and try to keep it balanced there. Now call out
another body part. For example, "Toes!" The students balance the object on
their toes.
If your students are very young, the above steps are enough fun for them. If
they are older make the game more challenging. Tell the students they must
turn around (with their pencils balanced on their body part). If at any time their
pencil slides off their body part they are out and must sit down. Reward the last
student standing.
USES
1. To teach or review parts of the body.
2. To teach the preposition "on".
48
4. REAL HAIR
SUMMARY
A blindfolded student tries to guess if the object he or she is touching is a real
or false body part.
SET UP
Have ready a series of objects that can replace body parts. For example: a chair
leg (for a leg); a balloon or watermelon (for the head); a ball (for the nose); a
book (for shoulders); a cookie (for an ear); a stick (for an arm); a hard-boiled
egg (for an eye); a mop (for hair); a pillow (for the stomach); a knotted stick
(for toes); etc.
Explain to the students that these are false body parts. Demonstrate by pointing
to your nose. Say, "This is a nose." Now hold up the ball. Say, "This is a false
nose."
PLAY
Call one student to the front to be blindfolded. Hand the child an object (or a
real body part) to feel. The student must tell you what he or she is feeling. For
example, "This is hair. This is real hair." If the student can't tell what he or she
is feeling, help by asking, "Is this real or false hair?" Let one student have
several tries at feeling body parts before you choose another to be blindfolded.
USES
1. To teach or review body parts.
2. Encourage students to make sentences.
3. Teach the concept of real and false.
49
CLOTHES GAMES
1. BIG WIND BLOWS
SUMMARY
A Chinese version of musical chairs. A great way to practice clothing vocabulary.
SET UP
The children make a circle with their chairs. Take away one chair so that there is
one less chair than students.
PLAY
To start, the child without a chair says, "Big wind blows". The other students
reply "Blows what?" The first answers, "Blows.... people wearing shoes (or any
other piece of clothing)." All the children who are wearing shoes stand up and
change seats quickly; they must go sit in a new chair.
One child will be left without a chair to sit on. This child now repeats the
incantation, "Big wind blows" and is answered by the others, "Blows what?"
Once more, the student chooses some article of clothing. "Blows..... people
wearing t-shirts." Everyone wearing a t-shirt stands and switches chairs quickly.
Repeat the above steps with the new student left without a chair. Play as long as
the children keep up their interest.
USES
1. To teach clothing.
50
2. MATCH UP
SUMMARY
There is one glove, one shoe, one sock, half a t-shirt, and one leg of a pair of
pants on the floor. Can you crawl under the blanket and find the matching glove,
shoe, sock, etc.?
SET UP
Bring in a pile of cheap or old clothing. Divide everything into two (including the
shirts, pants, and t-shirts, unless you have two identical pairs of these items).
Place one item from each set under a thick, wide blanket, and the other on the
floor.
PLAY
Call one student up to play. Point to one shoe (or half a t-shirt, one sock, etc)
and ask the student to crawl under the blanket and find the other pair. If the
student returns with the correct item give him or her another try as a reward.
Repeat the above steps with other students and other items of clothing to match
up.
Note: If you use several pairs of socks/ shoes/ shirts/ etc., the game is more
fun as the students have to not only find a sock/shoe/shirt/etc., but the correct
pair to match with the one outside on the floor.
USES
1. To teach clothing and the concept of "a pair of.....".
51
3. WHOSE IS IT?
SUMMARY
An excellent game for practicing the possessive "whose". Everyone in the class
places one shoe in a pile at the front of the classroom. Can a blindfolded student
guess which shoe belongs to which student, just by feeling it?
SET UP
Ask all the class to take off one shoe and make a pile in the front of the class.
Set a chair behind the shoes and prepare a blindfold.
PLAY
Call one student to the front. Place the blindfold over the student's eyes. Now
hand him or her a shoe. The student can feel the shoe and even (if they are so
inclined) smell it. The class then shouts out "Whose is it?". The student hazards
a guess and then takes off the blindfold. Was the guess correct? The class
shouts "yes" or "no". The student then returns the shoe to its owner. Use this
opportunity to teach some manners. "Here you are." "Thank you."
Repeat with other students until the pile of shoes is gone.
Note: You can use this game to teach the names of different kinds of footwear
students wear to class: boots, running shoes, sneakers, hiking boots, sandals,
slippers.
USES
1. To teach "whose".
2. To teach the names of different kinds of footwear.
52
COLOUR GAMES
1. PAPER CHASE
SUMMARY
Who can pick up 3 red paper balls the fastest? How about two blue balls? Seven
black balls? A good way to practice both numbers and colors.
SET UP
Make 10 paper balls for each of the basic colors (red, blue, green, yellow, pink,
purple, orange, brown, white, black). That's a total of 100 balls. Now make a
pile in the middle of the floor with the paper balls. Mix up the colors.
PLAY
Call 2 students up and sit them in front of the pile. On, "Pick up four blue
balls!", the two students race to pick up four blue paper balls. The first student
to put the paper balls in your hand wins.
Repeat with other students and other color/number combinations. Let the loser
of each round call out the color/number combinations for the next round.
USES
1. To review or teach colors and numbers.
53
2. CONCEALED
SUMMARY
There are colored objects under the blanket. Who can remember where the red
(object) is?
SET UP
Bring in fruit and vegetables (of different colors and shapes), or
household/classroom objects (again of different shapes and colors), or different
colored blocks of Lego. (Assemble the Lego into different shapes, each shape
composed of the same colored pieces. For example: all blue, all red, etc..) You
will also need a thin blanket to cover everything.
PLAY
Place the colored objects on the floor, or on a table. Ask the children to look at
the arrangement carefully. Now cover everything with a blanket. Ask one
student "Where is the red (name the object)?". The student must point to the
spot where he thinks the red object is. Lift up the blanket and see if the student
was correct. Now ask another student, "Where is the blue (object)?" Again, that
student must point to where she thinks the blue object is concealed.
Reward those students who guess correctly.
USES
1. To review or teach colors.
54
3. BALLOONS
SUMMARY
Two bags filled with different colored balloons sit at the end of the classroom.
On "Go!", two students race to find a (red/yellow/blue/etc.) colored balloon.
When they find one, the students blow it up, tie it up, and then race back to
hand the balloon to you.
SET UP
Fill two bags with different colored balloons. Place them at one end of the
classroom.
PLAY
Call two students to the opposite side of the classroom. Say, "Find a red balloon.
Go!" The students race to the bags and pull out a red balloon. They blow up the
balloon, tie it up, and then race back to you. The first student back to you with
his or her balloon wins.
NOTE: If your students can't tie up a balloon they can simply hold onto the end
and then deliver the balloon to you, with the air still inside. If they can't blow up
a balloon at all, then fill your bags with already blown-up balloons. The race can
then be for the students to pop the correct colored balloon with their feet (and
only their feet).
USES
1. To teach colors.
2. For fun.
55
FOOD GAMES
1. FRUIT SALAD
SUMMARY
Your students are bananas, apples, oranges, etc. When you call out bananas (or
apples, etc.), the banana kids come up to be cut into little pieces. When you
yell, "fruit salad," all the kids crawl under the blanket and dance around like
pieces of fruit getting mixed together in a big bowl.
SET UP
Line the students up against the wall and count them by fruit, instead of
numbers. For example: banana, apple, guava, banana, apple, guava. Place a
blanket on the floor. Explain that the blanket is a big fruit bowl.
Prepare a large cutting knife out of cardboard. (See the picture above.)
PLAY
Call out the name of one type of fruit. For example: apples. All the apples walk
up to you. Pretend to cut the apple students into little pieces with your
cardboard knife. Ask the students to return to their spot against the wall.
Repeat the above steps with the other fruit. When all the fruit has been cut yell,
"Fruit salad!" The children run to the blanket and crawl under it. Let the children
act a little "crazy" for a few moments (like they are mixing up the fruit) and
then take the blanket off. Pretend to be very hungry and chase the students
around the class, or back to their seats.
Repeat the above steps. Name the students different fruit this time.
Note: Before the game explain to the students what a fruit salad is.
USES
1. To teach or review fruit.
56
2. THREE MONSTERS
SUMMARY
This game teaches students to categorize food; in this case into fruit,
vegetables, or junk food. If you lose this game you must offer a sacrifice to one
of three monsters. Better hope the monster isn't very hungry or he will want to
eat you also.
SET UP
Draw the three monsters on the board like in the picture above. Explain to the
students that each monster loves only a certain kind of food: fruit, vegetables or
junk food. If you lose the game you must present the monster with his favorite
food.
Prepare a recording of scary noises (growls, groans, screams).
PLAY
Call two students up to the front. Ask them to turn around. Hold up a food
flashcard. On "Go!" the students turn and say whether this food is a fruit,
vegetable, or junk food. For example, if you are holding an apple flashcard, the
students must say, "Apples are fruit." The loser takes the flashcard from you
and offers it to the appropriate monster to eat. Play the scary-noises recording
as the student approaches the monster. Get the students to ham up their
performance by acting scared, and nervous to approach the monster.
Repeat the above steps with other students and other food. Add new categories
if you like: meat, grains, drinks, good for you, bad for you.
USES
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1. To teach students to categorize the food they know.
3. CONCEALED
SUMMARY
There is food under the blanket. Who can point to the banana? You can? Very
good.
SET UP
Bring in real fruit, vegetables, bread, cereal, oil, (and other food) and a thin
blanket.
PLAY
Show the children 10 items of food and then place them on the floor, or on a low
table. Ask the children to look at the arrangement of the food carefully. Now
cover everything with a thin blanket. The shapes of the food must show through
the blanket. Ask one student, "Where is the apple?" The student points to the
spot where he or she thinks the apple is. Lift up the blanket and see if the
student is correct. Now ask another student, "Where is the (milk)?" Again that
student points to where he or she thinks the milk is. Reward those students who
guess correctly.
If this is too easy for your students then, without them seeing, cover 5 or 6
items with the blanket. Next, lift the blanket up for a few seconds and let the
students see what is under it. Cover everything again quickly and then ask a
student to point and name all the foods that he or she can remember. Students
have to both name the food and point to its correct location to win a prize.
An alternative is to name an item that is under the blanket and then ask a
student to reach his or her hand under the blanket and pull it out (without
looking of course).
USES
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1. To review or teach fruit, vegetables, and other food groups.
FAMILY GAMES
1. FAMILY BALLOONS
SUMMARY
The family members are all drawn on separate balloons. Which member can
stay on the wall the longest just using static electricity from the students' hair?
SET UP
Blow up 6 balloons, one for each member of the family: mother, father, brother,
sister, grandfather and grandmother.
PLAY
Call up six students. Give them each one balloon. Ask the students, "Who are
you?" They answer, "I am mother. I am father. Etc.." Now get the students to
rub the balloons in their hair and then place the balloons on the wall. The
balloons should stick to the wall (because of static electricity). While the
students wait for the balloons to fall down have them count or say the alphabet.
The student whose balloon is the last one to fall off the wall, is the winner.
Note: If the balloons won't stick to the wall (perhaps it is too humid) then tape
or tack a thin cotton sheet to the wall. Also, use balloons made from the
thinnest material you can find. They must be lightweight for this game to work
properly.
USES
1. To teach or review the family members.
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2. SNORING
SUMMARY
Who's that snoring behind the partition? Is it father? No, it's grandfather.
SET UP
Set up a partition in the front of the class, or have two students hold up a
blanket.
PLAY
Call a student up to the front. Show him or her a family member flashcard
(don't let the other students see the card). The student now goes behind the
partition and pretends to go to sleep. The student then starts to snore like the
family member on the flashcard. (Loud for grandfather. Soft for baby. Etc.) Ask
the other students, "Who is snoring?" The student who guesses correctly first,
gets to come up and be the next player to go behind the partition and snore.
USES
1. To teach family members.
2. To teach or review "Who is...?".
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3. GESTURE SENTENCE
SUMMARY
What's that you're gesturing? Tall. Brother. Hungry. Oh, the tall brother is
hungry.
SET UP
No set up required. Just stand in a position where everyone can see you.
PLAY
Gesture "my". Gesture "tall". Gesture "brother". Finally, gesture hungry". Tell
the students, "My tall brother is hungry". Repeat with other gesture phrases
until the students get the idea and can say the sentence you are gesturing
without your help. Reward the students for correctly guessing what it is you are
gesturing.
Later, ask the students to try their hands at gesture sentences. Be aware that
you will probably have to suggest a sentence for them to gesture.
Some possible gesture sentences are:
My big father is sleeping.
My happy mother is driving.
Your sad brother is reading.
Your thin sister is cooking.
My old grandfather is running.
My pretty grandmother is drawing.
Note: If your students' level is low, just make two word gestures. For example:
big mother; tall sister; happy father; etc.
USES
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1. To teach or review family members.
2. To review old action and descriptive vocabulary.
3. To help the students to make longer sentences.
4. WHO HAS A......?
SUMMARY
Three members of the family are lined up. Each one has something behind his
or her back. Can you guess who has the book?
SET UP
Line up three students. On their shirts, peg a family member flashcard. For
example: mother, father, sister. If you don't have any clothes pegs just lean the
cards against the students' legs. Give each student something to put behind
their back. For example: a book, pencil or a pen.
PLAY
Ask a seated student, "Who has a book?" The student stands, walks to the three
family members, points to one and says, "Mother has the book." Mother turns
around and shows what she has behind her back. If she has a book then the
guesser becomes the new mother. If she doesn't, then the guesser sits back
down. Call up another student. Again ask, "Who has the book?" This student
now hazards a guess. For example: "Father has a book." Father turns around.
Again, if he has a book behind his back, the guesser becomes the new father. If
father doesn't, the guesser sits back down.
Follow the above steps to keep playing. There is no end to this game so quit
before your students' interest starts to wane.
Note: At any time you can ask the three students to swap their objects.
USES
1. To teach or review family members and objects.
2. To teach or review the question "Who has .....?"
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GESTURE GAMES
1. GESTURES
SUMMARY
Gestures are very useful to help young children remember words. Descriptive
words are simple to turn into gestures.
SET UP
No special set up required. Follow the gesture diagrams above.
PLAY
Have the class stand up. Perform two gestures. For example: big and little. Say
the words as you do the gestures. Exaggerate the motions. Repeat the gestures
and ask the students to follow and repeat after you. Do this several times. Go
very fast or very slow to make the students laugh.
There are many simple games to play using gestures.
1) Make gestures and get students to say the word.
2) Say the word and get students to make the gesture.
3) Hide a student under a blanket and ask him or her to gesture a descriptive
word. Let the first student to guess the gesture switch place with the other
student.
Note: Test the students' comprehension at some point. Ask, "What is
big/little/tall/short/etc.?"
USES
1. To teach or review simple descriptive words.
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2. ON MY HEAD
SUMMARY
The teacher has a flashcard on his or her forehead. But they can't see what it is.
Like in the game 20 questions, the teacher can ask only yes/no type questions.
"Is it big?" the teacher asks. "Yes," the students answer. "Is it grey?" "Yes." Can
the teacher identify the flashcard?
SET UP
No special set up is required. Just take out a stack of flashcards and lay them on
a table beside you.
PLAY
Ask a student to come up and hand you a flashcard. Don't look at what it is.
Now, place the flashcard on your forehead, facing out (so the students can see
the picture). Start to ask yes/no type questions. "Is it (the thing on the
flashcard) big? Is it round? Is it yellow? Is it tall? Is it ugly?" Of course only use
descriptive words the students already know.
The students can answer only yes or no. Limit yourself to 10 questions before
you have to guess what the picture is on the flashcard. Hazard a guess and see
if you are correct. Then ask another student to hand you a different flashcard
and repeat the above steps until you have guessed at all the cards in the pile.
Note:
1. It is more fun for the students if you are occasionally wrong in your guesses.
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2. If your class's English is strong enough, students can try to guess the identity
of flashcards in the same way.
USES
1. To practice listening comprehension.
2. To review flashcards and descriptive words.
3. BIG HOUSE
SUMMARY
Where is the little bird? Is he in the big house, the little house, the long house,
the short house, etc.?
SET UP
Draw and cut-out a series of birdhouses like in the picture above. Draw a little
bird or use ours.
PLAY
Without the students seeing you, hide the little bird behind one of the houses.
Ask one child "Where is the little bird?" The child comes up to the board and
says "In the (long/short/big/etc.) birdhouse." The child then takes down that
birdhouse to see if the little bird is behind it. If the student's guess was correct
let him hide the little bird for the next student. If the student guessed
incorrectly, let him try again.
Note: You can play this game on the board, or, if you have a small class, on a
table.
USES
1. Teach descriptive vocabulary.
2. Can also be used to teach colors (blue house/red house) and shapes (star
house/square house).
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WHITEBOARD GAMES
1. BIRDS & WORMS
SUMMARY
Two teams compete: a bird team and a worm team. The bird team tries to land
on a worm square so they can eat the worm and win the game. The worm team
tries to land twice on the same square so they can turn into Superworm and win
by scaring away the bird.
SETUP
Draw a grid on the board like the one above: six rows across and six rows
down. Choose which team will be the bird and which the worm. (You can choose
other animals if the children don't like these.)
Note: The teacher does not need a key for this game as the positions of the
birds and worms on the board are determined by the roll of the dice.
PLAY
Choose a team and player to go first. Ask this player a question (or to make a
sentence, identify a flashcard, etc.) and then give him or her the dice. The
student rolls twice. The first roll tells you how many squares across to go, while
the second roll how many squares down. For instance, in the above picture the
teacher is pointing to a square that the worm team got by rolling a 1 and a 2.
Mark the team's position on the grid (i.e. draw a bird or worm in the appropriate
square). Now, choose a player from the opposing team. Again, ask a question
and then get the student to roll the dice twice. Mark the position on the grid.
Keep playing until one of two things happens: the bird lands on a worm square
(and eats the worm), or, the worm lands on another worm square (and turns
into Superworm).
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Note: While you are playing, exaggerate the situation between the bird and
worm. For example, when a bird lands close to a worm square pretend you are
the worm and wipe your brow and say, "Whew!" Or, pretend you are the bird
and snap at the worm.
USES
1. Play with any vocabulary or sentence patterns.
2. MOSQUITOES
SUMMARY
Two teams compete to have the least amount of mosquitoes on their side when
the game is over. Yes, the least amount! After all, who wants a lot of
mosquitoes?
SETUP
Draw a grid like the one on the left (above), on the classroom board. Draw a
grid like the one on the right in your notebook. This is your key. Both teams
start out with 100 mosquitoes a side.
Key:
Choose a square with this arrow and the mosquitoes on the left all fly to the
right.
Choose a square with this arrow and the mosquitoes on the right all fly to the
left.
This is mosquito repellent. Choose a square with it in it and all your
mosquitoes die (are erased).
[30, 20] Choose a square with a number in it and that number of mosquitoes
will be added to your team's total.
PLAY
Choose a team and player to go first. Ask the player a question (or to identify a
flashcard) and then to name a square on the grid (for example: B4, or A2).
Look at your key and fill in the appropriate amount or follow the appropriate
command. If for example, one team choose A4 then add 40 mosquitoes to their
side. If they choose E4 then make all their mosquitoes fly to the other side. The
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arrows are what make this game so exciting. You never know until the last
square is filled in, who will win by having the least amount of mosquitoes.
USES
1. Play with any vocabulary or sentence patterns (because this is a suspenseful
game you can practice more difficult or tedious patterns with it).
2. Practice letters and numbers together (B4, A3, C6, etc.).
3. THE TITANIC
SUMMARY
The Titanic is sinking. Two or more teams try to get all their people off the ship
before it goes down.
SETUP
Draw a picture like the one above on the board. You can draw as many figures
in the ship as you like (it depends how long you want to play the game). Use
fruit if you don't like the idea of playing a game where people drown. Another
alternative is to draw animals on each side (or even simple words if the students
can read) and then ask the students to name which things they want rescued.
Divide the class into two or more teams. Explain that the team which gets the
most people (or fruit or animals) off the sinking ship first, wins.
PLAY
Choose a team and player to go first. Ask this player a question (or show him a
flashcard, etc.) and then give him or her the dice to roll. The throw determines
how many people (or fruit or animals) will be rescued. To rescue erase the
figures and redraw quickly on one of the lifeboats. Now let the opposing team
roll. Again rescue as many figures as the number on the dice. Keep going until
all the people (or fruit or animals) are off the Titanic.
USES
2. Practice numbers.
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4. HAPPY OR SAD
SUMMARY
Half board game, half action game. Players move back and forth across the
classroom (to leave their team and join the other) depending on the emotion of
the Bunny in the squares they choose.
SETUP
Draw the above left grid on the board, and the above right grid in your
notebook (this is your game KEY). Divide the class into two teams. Put as much
space as you can between the teams, so that players have to walk across the
floor to join their opponents.
Note: the above grid should generate about 15 minutes of play. Make a larger or
smaller grid depending on the size, age, and attention span of your class.
PLAY
flashcard, etc.) and then ask him to choose a square. If the square has a happy
bunny behind it, that student can ask a student from the opposing team to
come over and sit with his team. If the square has a sad bunny then the student
has to go and sit with the other team. The team which has the most players on
its side when all the squares have been chosen is the winner.
Note: this game drags if it takes too long between rounds so use
vocabulary/sentence patterns that can be recited/answered quickly.
USES
1. To review any vocabulary or sentence patterns.
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5. 12/12
SUMMARY
Roll the dice and try to get as close to twelve (no higher) as you can. As in
Blackjack, in this game if you go over 12 you score a zero for that round.
SETUP
Draw a grid on the board like the one above. Explain to the students (or show
through a practice game) that each round they may roll the dice as many times
as they like, but the total score must not add up to more than 12. If the total
score of all the throws does add up to more than 12, then the team gets a zero
for that round.
Divide the class into two teams. You don't need a Key for this game. All scores
are determined by the roll of the dice.
PLAY
Choose a team and player to go first. Get this player to answer a question
(make a sentence, or identify a flashcard, etc.) and then give her the dice to
roll. Write down the number of the first throw on the first line. Ask the player to
roll again. Add this number to the first.
Now ask the player if she wants to roll again. This will (should) depend on how
high a score the player has gotten so far. If, for example, she has thrown a 6
and a 4 (10 in total) then she may not want to risk another throw which may
bring her score over 12.
However, if her two numbers add up to a very small number, for example 4 or 5,
she can and should throw the dice again. Part of the fun of this game is that it
requires students to think and strategize. If your team has an 8 is it better to
risk another roll of the dice?
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After four rounds (or more depending how many layers the grid shows) add up
the total amount on each side. The team with the highest score is the winner.
USES
1. Good when you are teaching numbers and/or addition.
2. To teach any vocabulary or sentence patterns.
6. GET THE APPLES
SUMMARY
Search the grid for apples. Gather them up. Just be careful not to get any
worms or you'll lose everything.
SETUP
Draw the above left grid on the board and the above right grid in your notebook
(this is your KEY). Divide the class into two or more teams.
To PLAY
flashcard, etc.) and then get him or her to choose a square. Reveal what is
behind that square. If it is an apple the player's team gets to add one apple to
their side. If it is a worm the player's team loses all their apples (the worm eats
them all). A plus (+) sign means the player rolls the dice and then adds that
number of apples to his side. A minus (-) sign means the player rolls the dice
and then subtracts that number of apples from his side.
As long as a player continues to find apples he or she may keep choosing other
squares. Each time, ask the student "Do you want to go or stop?". A player can
stop at any time. The team with the most apples when all the squares have
been filled, is the winner.
USES
1.
2.
to
3.
To practice addition and subtraction.

Practice listening comprehension with the command language (Do you want
go or stop?).
To teach or review any vocabulary or sentence patterns.
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7. ANIMAL PUZZLES
SUMMARY
There is a picture behind those squares. Can you guess what is it is before the
other team does?
SETUP
Draw the above left grid on the board (blank, without any part of the picture in
it) and the above right grid in your notebook (this is your KEY). Divide the class
into two or more teams.
To PLAY
flashcard, etc.) and then ask him or her to name a square (for example, B4, or
A2). Look at your key and fill in the appropriate lines of the drawing. Ask the
student if he or she can guess what the picture is. If the student can't then ask
the opposing team to choose a square. Keep going until someone can guess
what the picture represents (in this case a rabbit).
Note: for future games draw a simple picture (of an animal, vehicle, letter,
fruit, etc.) and then place grid lines over it like in the example above with the
rabbit. This is your KEY. Draw a blank grid on the board and play as above.
USES
1. Play with any vocabulary or sentence patterns (because this is a suspenseful
game you can use more difficult or tedious patterns).
2. Review old vocabulary by making it the grid picture.
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8. CONCENTRATION
SUMMARY
Choose a square and see the word or picture hidden in it. Find that word or
picture's match in another square. Easy? Yes, if you can remember where you
saw that word before.
SETUP
Draw the above left grid on the board (draw it blank) and the above right grid in
your notebook (this is your KEY). List the matching words or pictures (for
example high and low, mother and father, red and apple) beside the grid so that
the students can remember what they are trying to match. Divide the class into
two teams.
PLAY
Choose a team and player to go first. Ask this player a question (or show a
flashcard, etc.) and then get him or her to choose a square. Consult your key
and draw or write the appropriate word or picture in that square. Let's say it is
the word "tall" or a picture representing the meaning of "tall". The student
should know that she has to now choose the square with the word "small"
behind it to score a point. But let's say she chooses the square with the word
"big" in it. She has not made a match and so the words or pictures in both
squares are erased. Now it is the opposing team's turn. The student chooses the
square with the word "small" in it. If the student was paying attention last round
he will remember where he saw the word "big" and so choose that square for
the match. The team with the most matches when all the squares have been
filled is the winner.
USES
1. Excellent to review opposites (big small, tall/short); words related by
concept: winter/cold/ summer/hot); or letter-word combinations (b- boy, c-cat).
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9. HANGMAN
SUMMARY
Everyone knows this old game. We'll show you how to get a little more out of it
for your beginner classes.
SETUP
Draw a picture like the one above. Choose an easy word to spell. No need for
teams. Let everyone play for themselves.
To PLAY
The students randomly call out letters and a word that begins with that letter.
For example: A - apple; B - boat. If a letter is not in the word you have chosen
then draw one part of the hanging man's body. However, ask another student to
tell you which part of the body to draw. In this way you can involve more
students and review more than just the alphabet. This is especially useful if your
class is very young and cannot yet read. You can teach them some simple
phonics as you review or teach body parts.
USES
1. Practice saying and reading letters.
2. Practice simple phonics.
3. Review or teach parts of the body.
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10. STINKY EGGS
SUMMARY
Two teams take turns erasing stinky eggs from a pile on the board. The team
which is left with the last egg to erase loses. After all, who wants a stinky egg?
SETUP
Draw a picture, like the one above, of a pile of stinky eggs. Demonstrate that
the eggs are stinky by pointing to them and holding your nose. Say "Whew!".
Divide the class into two teams.
To PLAY
flashcard, etc.) and then ask him or her to erase one or two eggs. It is
important that the students understand they have this choice (to erase one or
two eggs). The choice can make all the difference between winning and losing.
Play until there is just one egg left. Don't ask anyone to erase this last egg (it
will only embarrass them). The team left with this last egg to erase
automatically loses.
USES
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11. THAT'S A MOUSE?
SUMMARY
The students work in pairs. One draws while the other tries to guess what the
drawing is trying to represent.
SETUP
Divide the class into pairs and hand out one sheet of paper for each team.
Demonstrate that one member of each pair draws, while the other guesses.
To PLAY
Call the drawing students up to the front. Show them a flashcard. On "Go!" the
students run back to their partners and start to draw. When one of the partners
understands what the picture is, he or she must raise their hand. After that
student has correctly identified the picture give a point to that student's team or
reward them with a sticker.
Get the students to swap positions (the drawer become the guesser and vice
versa) and play again with a different flashcard picture.
USES
1. Play with any vocabulary
2. Makes reviewing known vocabulary active and fun.
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12. THE TOPS
SUMMARY
Roll the dice and hope for a number that's on the next level. Advance to the top
and you are the winner.
SETUP
Draw two number grids like the ones above; one grid for each team. Place a
board magnet under each grid. Divide the class into two teams.
To PLAY
flashcard, etc.) and then give him the dice to roll. Let's say he rolls a 5. Look at
the first level on his team's gird. Is one of the three numbers a 5? If yes, then
move his team's magnet up to that level. Let the student roll again. Let's say he
gets a 2. Is there a 2 on the next level up from the magnet? Yes, there is. Move
t he magnet up again.
Note that the number can be any of the three on the next level. It doesn't have
to be the number directly above the magnet. Let the student roll again. Let's
say he rolls a 2. Is there a 2 on the next level? No. Give the dice to a member
of the opposing team. Keep going until one of the teams reaches the top and
wins.
USES
1. Great for practicing numbers.
2. Good for practicing "is there" type questions: "Is there a 4 (on the next
level)? Is there a 2 (on the next level)?",
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13. THE DUMPS
SUMMARY
Lose a round and your team takes one step closer to jumping into the garbage
can at the bottom ( and losing the game).
SETUP
Draw a picture like the one above on the board. Divide the class into two
teams. Start each team's "man" on the top stair.
PLAY
Call up a player from each team. Ask them both to answer a question (make a
sentence, identify a flashcard, etc.). Then, ask them to roll the dice or do
"paper, scissors, stone". The loser's team takes one step down the stairs.
Repeat the above steps with other students until one team makes that final leap
into the garbage (or volcano, or shark mouth, or pile of poo).
Note: as a team moves down the steps, draw their mascot's face showing more
and more ridiculous expressions of fear. Make his hair stand straight up, his
mouth open as wide as he can, etc. Ask the children "Are you scared?" when
their team gets close to the final step. Remember, you can always use the
structure of a game to teach language.
USES
2. Good for reviewing emotions (from happiness, to fear, to sadness, as the
teams step closer to the end).
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14. I'VE GOT TO GO!
SUMMARY
Just like the title says: you are working your way up the stairs to get to the
bathroom. Don't forget to pick up the toilet paper on the last step.
SETUP
This game is very similar to number 13 (In the Dumps) except that in this
version, you are trying to make it to the top of the stairs (to go to the
bathroom) instead of trying to avoid going down the stairs. Draw a picture like
the one above on the board. Make sure each team's "man" starts on the bottom
stair. Divide the class into two teams.
PLAY
Call up a player from each team. Ask them both to answer a question (make a
sentence, identify a flashcard, etc.). Then, ask them to roll the dice or do
"Paper, scissors, stone". The winner's team is allowed to take one step up the
stairs.
Repeat the above steps with other players. Keep going until one team makes it
to the top and gets to go to the bathroom. Don't forget to have the students
pick up various bathroom objects on the way up (a towel, soap, toilet paper).
Not only is this funny for the students but it teaches them, effortlessly, several
new words .
Note: for more fun, bring in a bag filled with real toilet paper, soap and towels.
When a team takes a step onto a stair with one of these objects on it, ask the
loser of that round to go to the bag and take out the t.p., towel or soap, and
present it to the other side.
USES
1. Play this game before a break to teach students bathroom vocabulary.
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15. WHAT'S MISSING?
SUMMARY
Check out the row of flashcards on the board. Turn around. Okay, now turn
back. Which card did the teacher take away?
SETUP
Place 6 or 7 flashcards on the board. You can use more, or less, depending on
the age and skill of your students.
PLAY
You can play this game in pairs or with the entire class. In either case ask the
players to look at the flashcards carefully. Then ask them to turn around. On
"Go!" the students turn back. Give a point or small reward to the first student to
raise his or her hand and identify which card you took down from the board.
Note: if only a pair of students are playing each round, let the loser choose
which card to take away for the next round.
USES
1. To teach or review any vocabulary.
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16. POP!
SUMMARY
Each team's mascot is holding onto six balloons. Pop all the balloons on the
other team's side, and down goes their man into the hungry mouth of the
shark.
SETUP
Draw a picture like the one above on the board. Divide the class into two
teams.
PLAY
Choose the first player from one team. Ask this player a question (or ask him to
identify a flashcard, etc.) and then give him the dice to roll. Let's say it's a 4.
Erase the number 4 balloon on the opposing team's side. Make a big popping
noise when you erase the balloon! Now let the opposing team have a turn rolling
the dice. Let's say they roll a 2. Erase the number 2 balloon on the other team's
side. Again, make a big popping noise when you erase the balloon.
As the game progresses, a student will occasionally roll the number of a balloon
that has already been popped. Don't let the student roll again. Luck plays a big
part in this game. Keep playing until all the balloons have been popped on one
side. Send the cartoon man down into the mouth of the shark. Depending on
your temperament you can make this as gruesome or as tidy as you like.
USES
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2. Good for reviewing numbers.
17. ERASE! ERASE!
SUMMARY
Students race to answer questions so that they can roll the dice and have the
numbers 1-6 erased from their team's side of the board. A fast, fun, highenergy game.
SETUP
Write the numbers 1-6 on both sides of the board like in the picture above.
Divide the class into two teams.
PLAY
Start with any question. Throw the dice to the first student to raise his or her
hand. That student now answers the question and rolls the dice. Let's say, she
gets a five. Erase the number 5 on her team's side. Now, ask another question.
Again, give the dice to the first students to raise his hand. The student answers
the question and rolls the dice. Once more, erase the number he rolls.
Meanwhile, your co-teacher (or student helper) is doing the exact same thing on
the other side (asking questions, getting the students to answer and roll the
dice, and erasing the appropriate number). The first team to have all their
numbers erased, wins.
Note: allow students only one roll at a time, even if they roll a number that has
already been erased. If you don't have a co-teacher ask one student from each
team to help you with the dice. You simply stand at the front and ask the
questions.
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USES
1. To practice simple questions (What color is an apple? How old are you?
What's your name? What do you like to eat?).
18. DARTS
SUMMARY
Just like the real game except that you use markers instead of darts (and you
don't throw the markers).
SETUP
Draw a bulls-eye like the one above on the board. Divide the class into two
teams.
PLAY
Choose the first player. Give him or her a marker. Ask this player a question (or
to identify a flashcard, etc.) and then blindfold her eyes. Spin the student
around several times. Ask the class to count with you.
Now, direct the student toward the bulls-eye. The student walks forward and
touches the marker to the board. Hopefully she makes a mark within the bullseye. (If not, get her team to shout, "Oh no!".) Give her team the appropriate
number of points. Play until everyone has had a turn and then add up the
scores. The highest score wins.
USES
2. Good for reviewing numbers and addition.
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19. GOOD MATCH
SUMMARY
Similar to concentration. Students match the items on the left with their partner
on the right. Of course you can't be certain where the matches are on the right,
unless you can remember seeing them in an earlier round..
SETUP
Draw the above left picture on the board and the above right in your notebook
(this is your KEY). Divide the class into two teams, or, play individually.
Demonstrate which words or objects match each other. Draw a little chart like
the one above.
PLAY
Call one student to the front. Ask him to draw a line that connects one picture
on the left with one box on the right. Let's say the child connects the apple with
the second square. You check your KEY and see that the second square is
brown. Place a brown flashcard over that square. Ask the student, "Is the apple
brown?" Of course it isn't. Erase the line connecting the apple and the brown
square, and take away the brown flashcard from the square.
Call another student up. That student (remembering the 2nd square is brown)
connects it with the coconut. This is a match. Give this player's team a point or,
if playing individually, give the child a sticker or some such little reward. Keep
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playing until all the pictures on the left have been matched with the squares on
the right.
Note: Possible matching vocabulary (opposites, people and clothes, occupations
and vehicles, animals and their peculiar body parts).
USES
1. Making connections between objects or concepts.
20. GUESS TEACHER
SUMMARY
It's you against the students. Can you guess which flashcard they took away
when your back was turned?
SETUP
No special set-up is required.
PLAY
Place two flashcards on the board behind you. Call one student up. Get the
student to take away one flashcard when your back is turned. Now get the rest
of the class to ask you, "Is there a (one of the two flashcards)?" You answer,
"Yes, there is," or, "No, there isn't." Turn around and see if you were right or
wrong.
Note: You may have to help your students to choose which of the flashcards
they will ask about. For example, if you placed an elephant and a tiger flashcard
on the board, ask, "How about the elephant?" The students will be prompted to
ask you, "Is there an elephant?"
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You can of course call up students and let them guess (with their backs turned),
which card is, or is not there. Make a contest out of this. See who can have the
longest winning streak.
USES
1. Great for teaching/reviewing "Is there?" type questions.
2. Use when teaching any vocabulary.
COUNTING GAMES
1. BUBBLES
SUMMARY
Few things could be so simple and yet so much fun for little kids. Blow bubbles
and let the children count, chase, and pop them.
SETUP
No special set-up required. You need a bubble blower and soap. Stand in front
of the class where everyone can see you clearly.
PLAY
You can play many different games with bubbles. At first simply blow bubbles
and encourage the children to count with you. Later you can blow bubbles and
challenge the students to pop as many as they can before they dissolve. Choose
one or two students at a time for this and encourage the rest of the class to
keep score.
You can also ask students to blow (or pop) a specific number of bubbles. Or, if
your are practicing the superlative forms, see who can blow the biggest, or
smallest, or longest bubble.
USES
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1. To teach or review numbers.
2. When teaching the superlative form.
2. THE PARACHUTE
SUMMARY
You don't need a real parachute: a large blanket and some soft balls will do.
Gather the class up and let them shake their little hearts out.
SETUP
Place a large blanket on the floor and get the class to sit around in a circle. Ask
everyone to grab a piece of the blanket's edge. Have several balls ready in your
hand or in a small pile nearby.
PLAY
Throw one ball on the blanket and encourage the class to shake the blanket.
The ball will bounce around (and may bounce right off the blanket). Ask "How
many?" The class answers "One". Now throw another ball on the blanket (the
students keep shaking the blanket). Again, ask "How many?" The class answers
"Two!". Go to as high a number as you want to teach. If a ball flies off the
blanket just laugh and say "There goes one. How many now?".
If you don't mind putting a hole in your blanket here is another game you can
play. Throw several balls on the blanket at once and get the children to sink the
ball in the hole. Again the students must shake the blanket vigorously
(otherwise it is too easy - the balls will just roll in). As the balls go through the
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hole shout "one, two....etc." Sometimes it can take a while for that last ball to
go in which only adds to the fun.
USES
1. To teach or review numbers
2. For fun.
3. ONE LEFT
SUMMARY
The class is standing up in a circle and you are tapping every child on the head.
Every fifth child sits down. Eventually, you are left with only one child left
standing.
SETUP
Get the class to stand up and make a circle. Stand in the centre with a soft bat,
toy hammer or rolled up newspaper in your hand.
PLAY
Start by lightly tapping one student on the head. Say "One!". Continue, left or
right, tapping heads and counting (encourage the class to count with you). On
the count of five (or ten) tap the student a little harder and say "Sit down!". The
student sits down on the floor.
Start from the number "one" again and continue around the circle, tapping
heads and counting. Skip over the students who are sitting down. Again, on the
count of five (or ten), ask the student whose head you just tapped to sit down.
Keep going until you have only one student left standing. This student is the
loser and must do something funny. (For example: roll the dice and run that
number of times across the classroom; act like a monkey; do push-ups; etc.)
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Note: It is better to make the last student the loser so the seated students feel
relieved not bored. Seated students will pay attention more to see who the loser
is than who the winner is.
USES
4. MAKE A TOWER
SUMMARY
Build a tower with Lego or blocks. Build it 2 blocks at a time, 5 at a time, 1 at a
time. Just don't be the one to make it topple.
SETUP
You need Lego pieces or blocks. Build a small base on the floor in front of the
class.
PLAY
Take several pieces of Lego in your hand, show them to the class quickly, and
then hide them behind your back. Ask the class "How many?". Give the pieces
to the student who first guesses the correct number. Then, ask this student to
add the pieces to the tower. The student must be very careful not to topple the
tower.
Repeat the above steps, always hiding a different number of Lego pieces behind
your back. Soon, the tower will be standing dangerously high and will topple
when someone attempts to add the new pieces. Just laugh and start over when
that happens.
USES
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5. HEAD COUNT
It's a balancing act all right. How many pens, books, rulers, or markers can a
little child keep on his or her head at one time?
SETUP
You need a number of pens, books, markers, rulers, erasers, etc., nearby and
ready to use.
PLAY
Call one student up. Place a pencil (or pen, etc.) on his or her head. Count
"One!" with the class. Now, add another pencil. Count "Two!". Keep adding
pencils (and counting) until there are too many objects on the students head
and they start to fall off. Laugh, and ask the student to sit down, or, he or she
can help you with the following student.
Now, call another student up and repeat the above steps (though maybe use
books this time instead of pencils). Make it a contest to see who can balance the
most objects on their head. If your students English level is good, you can ask
them (before they come up to the front) to guess how many objects they think
they can balance on their head.
USES
2. Review simple classroom objects.
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6. NUMBER BINGO
SUMMARY
It's Bingo but with numbers. Make sure you have some prizes ready for the
winners.
SETUP
Make your own Bingo cards. Use a blank sheet of paper and draw a grid like in
the picture above. Photocopy one for each student. Don't forget the happy face
in the middle.
Now, get the students to fill in the squares with numbers (numbers 1-5, or 110, or 1-24), in a random order. This way everyone's card will be different. You
may need to help some students with their number writing, or even fill in all the
cards yourself.
PLAY
Choose the type of Bingo that will win the first round (for example: a straight
line in any direction; an X; two straight, parallel lines; all the outside squares,
etc.) As the Bingo master you can call out numbers randomly, draw them from a
hat, or choose one student each time to call out a number. Write the numbers
on the board and get everyone to make an X on one square (and only one
square, even if several squares have this number on them). Keep going until
someone has a Bingo (as defined at the start of the game). Hand out prizes and
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then play another game. You should be able to play 3 or 4 rounds of Bingo with
one card.
USES
2. For fun.
7. MEASURING
SUMMARY
How many pencils tall are you? How many erasers? How many books is the
classroom wide? Here is a fun way to count with infinite possibilities.
SETUP
Decide what, and with what, you are going to measure. For example: students'
height with pencils; the length of the classroom with shoes.
PLAY
Let's say you want to measure how many pencils tall the students are. Call one
student up to the front and start to measure him: one pencil, two pencils, three
pencils, etc. Encourage the class to count with you. When you have determined
the student's height, break the class into pairs. Get the pairs to report to you
after they are done their measuring.
Now choose something else to measure: arms with erasers; the door with
books; hair with stamps. The possibilities are endless.
USES
1. To teach and review numbers.
2. Teach the concept of measuring.
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8. BEAN HUNT
SUMMARY
Like an Easter egg hunt. You've hidden beans all over the classroom. Call the
students in and give them one minute to find as many beans as they can.
SETUP
Send the students outside for a few minutes. Take out a bag of beans and hide
the individual beans in the classroom. Depending on the age of your students
make the hiding spots more, or less, obvious.
PLAY
Call the students back inside. On "Go!" the students try to find as many beans
as they can. Set a time limit of a minute or so. When the time is up say "Stop!
Sit down!" Everyone must sit down. Now count how many beans each student
has. Give a sticker to the student with the most beans. Send the students out
and hide the beans again if the class seems willing.
USES
1. To review counting.
2. For fun.
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9. STUDENT GROUPING
SUMMARY
The entire class is standing up. "In threes", you shout. The students rush to
make groupings of three students each. "In twos", you shout next. The students
rush to make groupings of two students each.
SETUP
No special set up is required. Just ask the students to stand up.
PLAY
Demonstrate, through a sample game, that when you shout a number, the
students have to arrange themselves in groups of that number. Now shout out a
number (or write it on the board). For example: five. The students must arrange
themselves in groups of five. You will likely have a few extra students who can't
together make a group of five. Call these students (or student) to the front and
let them decide the next number.
Note: if you have a very small class, hand out 20 beans to each student. Ask
them to group the beans in twos, threes, fours, etc. Reward the fastest student
with a sticker.
USES
1. To review numbers.
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10. COLOURED BALLS
SUMMARY
"Pick up 3 red balls. Two blue balls. Seven black balls." An excellent way to kill
two language birds (in this case, those of number and color) with one game.
SETUP
Make 10 paper balls in each of the basic colors (red, blue, green, yellow, pink,
purple, orange, brown, white, black). That's a total of 100 balls. Now, make a
pile in the middle of the floor with the paper balls. Mix up the colors.
PLAY
Call two students up and sit them in front of the pile opposite each other. Now
say, for example, "four blue balls." The two students race to pick up four blue
paper balls. The first student to put them in your hand, wins. Repeat with other
students and other color/number combinations. This is a fast, fun way to review
both colors and numbers.
Note: Let each pair of students play the best out of three. Allow the loser to
shout out the color/number combinations for the next pair of students.
USES
1. To review colors and numbers.
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SINGING GAMES AND COMMAND GAMES

1. SONGS
SUMMARY
Many traditional children's songs can help you to teach basic classroom
commands in a fun way. Very useful in the early stages of a class.
SET UP
Depends on the individual song.
PLAY
1. RING AROUND THE ROSIE
Ring around the roses.

A pocket full of posies
Atischoo! Atischoo!
We all sit down.
Get the students to make a circle. Start to sing the song. Sing the first two
lines. Now stop and sneeze twice (make it dramatic and the students will think
it's funny). On the words, "We all sit down!" sit down quickly and encourage the
students to follow. Then say, "Stand up!" and sing the song again. You can
repeat this activity many times in the early stages of a class.
2. LONDON BRIDGE IS FALLING DOWN
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London bridge is falling down.

Falling down.
Falling down.
London bridge is falling down.
My fair lady.
Use this song to teach the students, "Line up!" Most kids enjoy and know this
game so they will quickly learn the command "Line up" as it means they get to
play.
3. STAND UP. SIT DOWN. YOU'RE ROCKING THE BOAT.
Stand up. Sit down.

You're rocking the boat.
Stand up. Sit down.
Stand up. Sit down.
Oh, no!
If you don't know the tune to this old song just chant it in a sing-song manner.
Get your students to follow you as you stand and sit according to the lyrics.
Rock back and forth on your chair when you say, "You're rocking the boat." On
the final line, everyone can fall out of their chairs. (This gives you an
opportunity to reinforce the command "Sit down!")
USES
1. To teach command language in a fun way.
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1.
TEACHER SAYS
SUMMARY
This is just the ESL/EFL name for "Simon Says". Everyone, do as I'm doing.
SET UP
Get the class to stand up in front of you.
PLAY
Demonstrate to the class that they must follow your directions (touch your
nose, stand up, sit down, etc.), but only if you preface the command with
"teacher says". Anyone who follows a command that was not prefaced with
"teacher says" is out, and must sit down.
USES
1. To teach command language and simple actions.
2. OUTLINE
98
SUMMARY
It's the first day of class and no one knows their English name. But they can
recognize their hand print on the board. Point to an outline and call out "Greg".
Watch "Greg" raise his hand in answer.
SET UP
Call all the students up to the board and trace an outline of their hand on the
board. Write their English name in the outline. Leave lots of space between
hands so that students can remember their position.
PLAY
Point to one hand outline on the board. Call out the name that is written in the
outline. Encourage that student to raise his or her hand and say "here" or "yes".
Now ask that student to "stand up" and come forward and place his or her hand
in the outline to confirm that it is in fact theirs. (This step is just for fun). When
you've made confirmation ask the student to "sit down". Repeat with other
students.
USES
1. To help students answer "yes" when they hear their English names spoken.
2. To practice the commands "stand up", "come here", and "sit down".
3 WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER
SUMMARY
The children must perform some command action when the music stops. What
will it be? Sit down? Line up? Make a circle?
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SET UP
You need a tape or CD, with some lively music on it, and a tape/CD player for
the classroom. Put the command flashcards that you want to teach on the
board: stand up, sit down, make a circle, etc.. Use these pictures as a
reference.
PLAY
You will need to demonstrate this activity first before the students can follow
you. Use a co-teacher if you have one, or ask two children to come up.
Play some music and walk around the classroom. Encourage the two students to
follow you. Stop the music. Point to one of the command pictures and shout out
the command, "Sit down! Sit down!" Sit down and encourage the two students
to sit with you. Repeat the above steps a few more times with another small
group of students.
Now ask the entire class to stand up. Play the music. The students walk or
dance around the classroom. Stop the music suddenly. Point to a command
picture and shout out the command: line up, sit down, make a circle, etc. Help
the students to follow the command by setting the example.
USES
1. To practice listening to and following commands.
100
EMOTION GAMES
1. MONEY
SUMMARY
Would you be happy to find money on the ground? Of course. Unless it was not
money at all but a button.
SET UP
Wrap up a coin in paper. Take a similar looking wrapper but put a button inside
it. Place both on the floor of the classroom.
PLAY
Two students pretend to be strolling along the road. They see the two wrappers
and say, "What's this?" Each student picks up one wrapper and opens it. The
student who finds money says, "Oh, money. I am happy." The student who finds
a button inside says, "Oh, a button. I am sad (or angry)."
Reward students for a good performance.
USES
1. To teach the emotions happy and sad.
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2. I AM SAD
SUMMARY
A student finds a balloon. He is happy. But here comes the wind. Oh no, the
balloon flies away. The student is sad. Oh, look, another student catches the
balloon. Now she is happy.
SET UP
Blow up a balloon and place it on the floor of the classroom.
PLAY
One student comes up and picks up the balloon. She says, "Oh, it's a balloon. I
am happy." But then you pretend to be the wind. Go over and whisk the balloon
away from the student. The child says, "Oh, I am sad." Blow the balloon over to
another student. That student says, "Oh, I am happy". But again, you the wind,
come and blow the balloon away. "Oh, I am sad," the student says.
Note: Move quickly between students. Everyone will want you to bring the
balloon to them. Try to let all the children hold the balloon for a moment.
USES
1. To teach the emotions happy and sad.
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3. MIXED EMOTIONS
SUMMARY
Just like you've seen in a hundred cartoons. You find a dollar bill. You are happy.
You go to pick it up. It flies away. You are surprised. You chase it until you see
that some kids have the money tied to a string. Oh, you are angry.
SET UP
Tape a piece of string to a dollar bill. Run the string to a corner off the
classroom. Choose a child to pull the string. Send him or her to the corner to
hide behind a desk.
PLAY
Now call another student up. That student pretends to be walking along blithely
when he or she sees the dollar bill. "Oh money," the student says. "I am happy."
The child bends to pick up the money but the student in the corner pulls the
string. The money flies away. "Oh," the student says. "I am surprised." Again,
the child tries to pick up the money. But once more the other student pulls it
away.
This scene can repeat itself several times until the first student discovers the
second one pulling the money. "Oh, I am angry," the first student says. The
second student then says, "I'm sorry," and gives the money to the first student.
Repeat the above scenario with two new students.
Note: If your students are very young you may need to assist the child pulling
the money.
USES
1. To teach the emotions happy, surprised and angry.
103
4. CUTE DOG
SUMMARY
"Oh, what a cute dog," you say, until the dog growls and bites at you. Then you
whimper, "Oh, I am scared."
SET UP
Choose one student to play the cute dog and one to play the dog's master. If
you have a leash or rope attach it on the dog student (with his or her
permission).
PLAY
Choose a third student to play the innocent pedestrian. He or she walks up to
the dog and master and says, "Oh, what a cute dog." The student then tries to
pat the dog on the head. The dog student growls and snaps. "Oh, I am scared,"
the other student shouts and runs away. Depending on your sense of humor, the
master can then say, "good dog", or "bad dog".
Repeat the scene with other students.
USES
1. To teach the emotion scared.
2. Describing animals: good, bad, cute, etc..
104
GREETINGS GAMES
1. WHO ARE YOU?
SUMMARY
Who is that behind the blanket? Ask and they will answer you.
SET UP
Get two students to hold up a blanket in front of the class like in the picture
above.
PLAY
Call one student up and hide him or her behind the blanket. Get the class to
shout out together, "Who are you?" The student dashes through the blanket, or
(if they are very young) crawls from under the blanket. When the student is on
the other side of the blanket, in front of the class, the student shouts, "I am
(Joe)!" Repeat with other students.
Note: This activity may not seem like much but little children love it.
USES
1. To teach students to say their name.
105
2. WHAT'S YOUR NAME?
SUMMARY
There are handprints all over the board. Does this one match your hand? Yes.
Then you must be Rita.
SET UP
Trace all the students' hands on the board. Write their names inside the outline.
PLAY
Call one student up to the board. Ask, "What's your name?" The student shrugs
and says (if he can) "I don't know." Ask, "Is your name John?" Point to John's
handprint. The student puts his hand in that outline. If his hand doesn't fit the
handprint the student says, "No." Point to another handprint. Ask, "Is your
name Carlos?" The student puts his hand in the outline. If his hand fits (that is,
if the outline really is his hand's outline) the student says, "Yes, my name is
Carlos". (You may have to say the name first and get the student to repeat after
you.)
Repeat the above steps with other students.
Note: Teasing is what makes this game fun. If the student has a small hand
point to the largest outline. If the student has a large hand, point to a small
outline.
USES
1. To teach students to say their name.
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3. GOODBYE
SUMMARY
A silly song but it certainly is a fun way to end the class.
SET UP
No set up required. Just sing this song at the end of the class to say goodbye.
PLAY
SONG: Goodbye to you, cha, cha, cha.
(To the tune of Happy Birthday to You)
Goodbye to you. Cha, cha, cha.
Repeat 4 X
Wave your arms as you sing, "Goodbye to you." Twist and turn your hips and
arms as you say, "Cha, cha, cha." Sing "La, la, la," instead of "Cha, cha, cha," if
you prefer. The important thing is to do something silly with your body.
USES
1. To end the class on a silly note
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4. TIN CAN PHONES
SUMMARY
Tin can phones are a great way to help your kids practice "Hello," and "How are
you?"
SET UP
Build a set of tin can phones. Poke a hole in the end of two cans. Run a string
(or wire) through the hole and tie a knot on both ends so the string can't slip
through the hole again.
PLAY
Call two students up to the front. Give them each one end of the phone. Now
ask one student to say "Hello! How are you?" into his tin can, while the other
student holds her can to her ear to listen. The second student (after the first
has said something) now puts her tin can phone to her mouth and responds,
"I'm fine, thank you. How are you?" The first student answers into his tin can
phone, "I'm fine, thank you."
Repeat with other students.
Note: You can use other greetings and answers such as "How's it going?", "fine
thanks", "pretty good", "not bad".
USES
1. To practice greetings.
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GAMES WITH OBJECTS

1. BLINDFOLD
SUMMARY
Students can't see the object in their hands. But they can feel it? Can they
identify correctly the object's name?
SET UP
You need to bring into the classroom all the objects you wish to teach. Things
like pencils, pens, books, desks, clothing, toys, are all fine. Place all the objects
in the front of the classroom and identify them with your students before
playing the game.
Note: Your students should already know the objects you are going to use well.
PLAY
Call a student up to the front. Wrap a blindfold around his or her head. Now give
the student an object to feel. Ask the student "What is it?" Reward students who
can answer correctly. Repeat with other students and other objects.
For fun, give the students a flashcard to feel. Of course all flashcards feel the
same, but the idea is to get your students to speak English. Give a big reward to
those students who guess the name of a flashcard correctly.
USES
1. To review objects.
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2. THE WRAP UP
SUMMARY
How many sheets of paper, and how many layers of boxes must the students
unwrap and open before they reach the object inside?
SET UP
This activity takes a little preparation. Take a small object (a stuffed animal, a
toy, an eraser, or some candy) wrap it in paper, and then put it in a small box.
Now put that box in a sock. Put this sock in a larger box. Wrap that box in
alternating layers of newspaper and wrapping paper. Bring the whole mess to
class.
PLAY
Get the students to sit in a circle. Show them your wrapped object. Ask, "What
is it?" Let the students guess.
Now count to ten and get the students to pass the present around the circle.
The child who is holding the present on "10", passes the gift to the next student
to unwrap the first layer. Again ask, "What is it?" Teach the students to say, "I
don't know."
Now, count to ten once more, while the students pass the object around. Again,
on "10", the student who is holding the present passes it to the next student to
unwrap another layer. Repeat until the present is completely unwrapped. If
there is candy in the final box hand it out to the children at this time.
Note: You get the student who ends up with the present on the count of 10 to
pass the present to the person beside him to discourage kids from holding onto
the present (so that they can be the one to unwrap it) when you are nearing the
ten count.
USES
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1. A fun way to teach "What is it?" for the first time to a class.
2. Review numbers 1-10.
3. ON YOUR HEAD
SUMMARY
Look at all those books and things piled on that little student's head. Oh wait.
They are only pictures drawn on the board.
SET UP
Draw a number of objects on the board, one on top of the other like in the
picture above. Now stand under the pile and pretend that everything is on your
head (or you are holding them up with your arms). Groan and shake as you
pretend the objects are very heavy. Finally, drop down to the floor as if the
weight of all those objects were too much.
Note: Review with the students the names of the objects you wish to draw
before playing this game.
PLAY
Erase the objects on the board. Call one student up. Draw a book just over the
position of his or her head. Now ask the student, "What do you want (on your
head)?" The student must tell you what to draw. After you have drawn the
object, again, ask the student, "What do you want (on your head)?" Repeat until
there are a number of objects drawn over the student's head.
Encourage the student now to act as if the objects were almost too heavy to
bear. Ask questions like: "Are you tired? Is it heavy? Are you strong?" To end
the game ask the student to fall down. Pretend all the objects are crashing
down on top of the student. Your class will love it.
USES
1. To teach or review any set of objects.
2. Review vocabulary dealing with weight, strength, and feelings.
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4. UNDER THE BLANKET
SUMMARY
Great for little ones. There are many toys under the blanket. Can you crawl
under and find the teddy bear?
SET UP
Place a number of toys or classroom objects under a large blanket on the floor.
PLAY
Call one student up to play. On, "Get the teddy bear, please!" or "Please find the
ball!" the child crawls under the blanket and tries to find the correct object.
(Don't let students just lift up the blanket and look for the object.) The student
then crawls back out and shows you what he or she has. If the student has the
wrong object send him or her back under the blanket.
Note: Be careful! Some kids will bring back the wrong object on purpose so that
they can crawl under the blanket again.
USES
1. To teach or review any set of objects.
2. To teach the concept of "find" or "get".
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5. PRINCESS & THE PEA
SUMMARY
Lie on the blanket. Can you feel something under you? What is it?
SET UP
Show the class a group of well-known objects. Take one and cover it with a thick
blanket. (Don't let your students see what the object is that is being covered.)
Note: If you can find the story, read "The Princess and the Pea," before or after
playing this game.
PLAY
Call one student up to play. Ask him or her to lie on the blanket in such a way
that they can feel the object underneath. Let the student move around a little to
get a better feel (but don't let the child use his hands). Now ask, "What is it?"
The student makes a guess. Lift up the blanket. If the student guessed correctly
let him or her place another object under the blanket for the next student to
guess at.
USES
1. To review any set of objects.
2. For fun.
3. To teach the preposition "under".
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PREPOSITION GAMES
1. IN & ON
SUMMARY
Everyone has five beans in their cup and five beans on their desk. Confuse the
students by changing (several times) the ratio of beans in the cups to beans on
the desks. Now, who has the same number of beans in their cup and on their
desk as you?
SET UP
Give everyone ten beans (or candies or pieces of cereal) and a small paper cup.
Ask the students to put five beans in their cup and five beans on their desk. Do
the same but hide your cup and beans behind a book.
PLAY
Call out a different ratio of beans in the cup to beans on the desk. For example:
3 in the cup and 7 on the desk. Arrange your beans and give the students a few
seconds to do the same. Now call out a different ratio again. For example: 8
beans in the cup and 2 beans on the desk. Again, arrange your beans and give
the students a few seconds to do the same. Change the ratio several times
more and then remove your book covering. Ask the students how many beans
are in your cup and on your desk? After the children have counted your beans
let them count their own. Reward whoever has the same ratio of beans in the
cup to on the desk as you. If the students are using cereal or little candies let
the winners eat them.
If you want to make the game more challenging, and teach the concept of
"under" as well, give the students another cup and tell them to turn it upsidedown. Now, in addition to having to place beans on the desk, and in the cup, the
students must also put some under the second cup.
NOTE: For really advanced play change the order in which you say, "in", "on"
and "under". For example: in round one say, 1 in the cup, 7 on the desk, 2
under the cup. In round two say, 2 on the desk, 5 in the cup and 3 under the
cup. The students must listen very carefully.
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USES
1. Excellent for teaching in/on/under.
2. IN & OUT
SUMMARY
There's a circle on the ground. Five students stand outside the circle. You shout,
"Two in! Three out!" Two students jump in the circle. You shout, "One in! Four
out!" One student jumps out of the circle. Etc.
SET UP
Make a large circle on the floor with a hoolla hoop or a piece of rope. Call five
students up to the circle.
PLAY
Shout out different combinations of the number of students who should be in or
out of the circle. The students arrange themselves accordingly. For example:
"Three in. Two out." Three students jump in the circle while the other two
remain outside. Then shout "Four in. One out." One more student jumps in the
circle. Keep shouting out different combinations.
Note: This activity is simple but it makes students listen carefully. The students
also have great fun jumping in and out of the circle.
USES
1. To teach or review in/out.
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3. ON EARTH
SUMMARY
You describe your location, starting with, "at my desk" and ending with, "on the
earth". A fun way to review or teach the basic prepositions used with location.
SET UP
No special set-up required. You need a board, a marker and a balloon.
PLAY
Draw a picture on the board of you at a desk. Say, "I am sitting at my desk."
Then, draw a box around this picture to represent a classroom. Say, "I am
sitting at my desk, in the classroom." Draw a school around this picture. Say, "I
am sitting at my desk, in the classroom, at school." Draw a map like picture of
the local city or province. Say, "I am sitting at my desk, in the classroom, at
school, in Vancouver (British Columbia)." Draw a map like picture of the country.
Say, "I am sitting at my desk, in the classroom, at school, in Vancouver, in
Canada." Finally, draw a huge circle around the country. Say, "I am sitting at my
desk, in the classroom, at school, in Vancouver, on Canada, on Earth."
You should have no room left on your board to draw now. Take out a balloon
and blow it up. Pretend it is a rocket. Ask the children, "Where is it going to
land?" The children all answer, "By me!" Let go of the balloon. Reward the
student that the balloon lands on or closest to.
USES
1. To teach or review the basic prepositions of location: at, in, on, by.
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4. HANDS UP
SUMMARY
A group of students sits on the floor. Someone has a coin in his or her hand. The
student standing in front calls for everyone to put their hands up (with closed
fists), and then their hands down quickly on the floor (with open hands). Whose
hand is covering the coin?
SET UP
Arrange the students in a circle. If you have more than 7 students consider
dividing them into two or more groups. Give a small object like a coin, or chip,
to one member of each team. Choose one player from each team to be the
guesser.
Note: If your classroom has a hard floor consider playing on a blanket.
Otherwise, when the students put their hands down flat, you will hear the coin
hit the floor and know whose hand it is under.
PLAY
The guesser closes his or her eyes and counts to five. The other students pass
the coin back and forth. On the count of five, the students put their hands
behind their backs. The guesser opens his eyes and says, "Hands up!" The
students all raise their fists (palms up). The guesser says, "Hands down!"
Everyone places their hands, palms down, on the floor. Everyone now says,
"Who has the coin?" The guesser now tries to guess which student has the coin
under their hand (the guesser has to guess the correct person AND the correct
hand).
If the guesser guesses correctly, the student with the coin under his hand
becomes the new guesser. That student now moves to the front of the group
and closes his eyes and the above steps are repeated. If the guesser guesses
incorrectly then he closes his eyes again and counts to five.
USES
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1. Excellent for teaching up and down.
5. IN THE CANS
SUMMARY
Each team has a stack of balls. In pairs or singly, team members carry the balls
(between their knees or under their chins) to the can and drop them in. Which
team will be first to drop all their balls into the can?
SET UP
Place two large cans at the front of the room. About ten feet back from the cans
draw a line across the floor (use tape). Set two stacks of balls on the line (the
balls can be in small cans or buckets). Divide the class into two teams and line
them up behind the balls. Teach the students that the balls must go "in" the
cans.
PLAY
Depending on the age and co-ordination of your students place one ball each
between the knees (or under the chin, or between the shoulders of two team
members) of the first two players. On "Go!" the students race to the can to drop
their ball inside. The other team players shout, "In the can! In the can!"
If the ball bounces out (when the players drop it in the can), it must be brought
back to the starting line. If the players drop the ball on the way, they must also
come back and start over. The first team to drop all their balls in their team's
can, wins.
Note: Don't forget to count how many balls are in each can at the end of the
game.
USES
1. To teach the concept of "in".
2. To review body parts.
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SENSE GAMES
1. CATEGORIES
SUMMARY
You're going to make a chart to show what senses are commonly used to
experience different objects and things. For example: Can you smell an apple?
Yes, but can you hear an apple? No!
SET UP
Draw a chart on the board like the one above. In the left hand column place
pictures of animals, food, toys, household or classroom objects that the children
already know.
PLAY
Start with the first picture in the left hand column (in the above case an apple).
Point to the apple and then the nose in the horizontal column. Ask the students,
"Can we smell an apple?" Apples don't have much of a smell so you can say no.
Now point to the fingers on the horizontal column. Ask, "Can we feel an apple?"
We can so answer, "Yes" and make a check in the appropriate box. Continue by
asking about the other senses: taste, sight, hearing. Make a check mark under
the mouth and eyes (but not the ears) to indicate that we can taste, see, but
not hear an apple.
Now ask the students about the sun. "Can you smell the sun?" Get the students
to try to smell the sun. They should answer, "No, we can't smell the sun."
Continue by asking about the other senses. The students should answer that we
can see and feel the sun, but can't taste or hear it.
Note: This is not a "game" but young students enjoy the mental challenge of
imagining which senses can be used to experience familiar objects. They also
enjoy trying to use their senses in unfamiliar ways. For example: to smell the
sun; taste a book; feel smoke; hear a watermelon; etc..
USES
1. To review the senses.
2. To connect the senses to common vocabulary items.
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2. SEE THE WORLD
SUMMARY
Using your trusty blanket you are going to take the class on a visit to many
different habitats: a cave, the sea, the mountains, the beach. Everywhere you
go the children must describe what they see, feel, hear, smell and taste, before
you move on.
SET UP
Bring a large blanket into the class. Get all the students to sit on the blanket.
PLAY
Pretend you and the students are at the beach. It helps if you have some props
or flashcards handy. Get everyone to lie down on your blanket and pretend to
sun themselves. Ask the students "What can you feel?" Perhaps someone will
answer, "I can feel the sun." Encourage another answer. For example: "The
wind/The sand." Of course the answers will depend on what vocabulary you
have taught your students. Ask the students what they can smell, taste, hear,
and see.
Now ask all the students except one or two to get off the blanket. Pull the two
remaining students around the classroom. Get them to pretend they are
swimming. While they are swimming ask, "What can you see? What can you
hear? What can you feel?" If you have a large class ask two students to hold
and shake the blanket in imitation of the waves on the ocean. The remaining
students can lie on the floor and pretend to swim.
Now get the students to make a cave with the blanket. When everyone is under
the blanket, again ask the class, "What can you smell? What can you see?"
Make sure that it is not just one or two students who are answering you all the
time.
After the cave, take the students up into the mountains. Get two students to
prop up the blanket in the shape of a mountain. Pretend to camp at the base.
Once more, after you have had some fun camping (roast some hotdogs/sing a
song) ask the students what they can feel/see/hear/smell/taste in this location.
Note:
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1. Ask questions about only two or three senses per location. It can get tedious
if you make this activity too much like a drill. The idea is to let the children have
fun pretending they are at the beach, or in the mountains, and while they are
having fun sneak the questions in naturally.
2. Your students must understand where you are taking them for this activity to
work. Make certain you teach or review the locations beforehand.
3. You may want to spread this activity out over several classes. Visit one
location per class.
USES
1. To practice describing sense experiences in context.
3. THE PRINCESS & THE PEA
SUMMARY
Lie on a stack of 10 blankets. Are you so delicate and sensitive you can feel a
toy under the blankets?
SET UP
Lay a number of thick blankets on the floor. Place a hard toy (a block or car or
ball) under the stack of blankets.
Note: If you can find the story, read "The Princess and the Pea" before or after
playing this game.
PLAY
Call one student up to play. Ask her to lie on the stack of blankets. Ask, "Can
you feel the toy?" The student will probably say "yes". Now call another student
up. Ask him to close his eyes. Either leave the toy under the blankets or remove
it. (But don't let the student see what you did.) Now get the student to lie on
the blankets. Ask, "Can you feel the toy?" The student has to make a guess.
Let's say he says, "Yes, I can feel the toy." Ask the student to stand up and
check under the blanket. Is the toy there? If yes, reward the student.
Repeat the above steps with other students. Remember to always keep it a
secret if there is a toy under the blanket or not.
USES
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1. To teach or review the concept of feel.
2. For fun.
WEATHER GAMES
1. BLANKET WEATHER
SUMMARY
A blanket is a versatile tool for an ESL/EFL teacher. It can be the beach, an
umbrella, the wind, or warmth from the snow and cold.
SET UP
Bring a large blanket into the class. Get all the students to sit on the blanket.
PLAY
Pretend you and the students are at the beach. It helps if you have some props
or flashcards handy to show pictures of the different types of weather. Lie down
and pretend to sun yourself. Say, "It is sunny." Encourage the students to
imitate you. After a few moments, start to shiver. Say, "Oh, it's windy." Get the
students to stand up and shake the blanket like it is the wind. Make whishing,
wind-like noises. Again, after a few moments, look up and shout "Oh, no. It's
raining." All the students crawl under the blanket to shelter themselves from the
rain. Have one student stand outside and pretend to be the rain dropping on the
blanket.
Again, after a few minutes shout, "Oh, no, it's snowing." Wrap the blanket
around everyone and huddle together. Shiver and clatter your teeth together.
Act as if you were freezing. Sing Christmas songs if your class knows any.
Finally, look up again, and say, "Oh, it is sunny." Stretch out on the blanket and
pretend, once more, to be at the beach.
Repeat the above steps several times but let the students choose the order of
the weather patterns now.
USES
1. To teach the basic weather patterns.
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2. WET/DRY
SUMMARY
Teach your students the difference between wet and dry with these 2 activities.
One, using paper-mache and a balloon. The other using wet and dry sand.
1. SET UP
You need a balloon, flour, strips of paper, and water. Place everything on a small
table on the floor in front of the class where everyone can see clearly.
PLAY
Take a strip of paper and dip it in the dry flour. Now try to paste it on the
balloon. Of course it won't stick. Ask the students why? Someone might answer
something about the water. Explain that the paper is "dry". It has to be "wet".
Ask the students to help you make the flour "wet". Choose one or two children
to pour water into the bowl, and stir the flour into a paste.
Next, ask the students to form a line in front of you. Ask each student if he
wants a "wet" or "dry" piece of paper. Let the students paste their strips on the
balloon. When all the students have had a turn, draw a silly face on the balloon
and set it aside to dry.
2. SET UP
You'll need two trays of sand: one tray filled with wet sand and the other with
dry. Set them both on a low table in front of the class.
PLAY
Draw your handprint on the board. Now show the students the two trays of
sand. Get the children to understand that you want to make a handprint in the
sand. Demonstrate with both trays and show the difference between the print in
the wet sand, and the print in the dry sand. Of course the outline in the wet
sand will be much more distinct.
Call your students up and ask them to make a handprint in one of the trays.
Give students the choice. "Which one? The wet sand or the dry sand?" Require
an answer before they place their hand in the tray.
Note:
123

1. If you are using a small tray of sand don't forget to smooth the sand flat after
each student, so that everyone can make a clear handprint each time.
2. Don't forget to extend these two lessons into questions about the weather.
Ask the students "Is it wet or dry today?".
USES
1. To teach the concept of "wet" and "dry".
2. Fun, lazy-day activities.
3. HOT/COLD/WARM
SUMMARY
This is an old game. Something is hidden in the classroom. When you are far
from the object the class shouts, "cold". When you get closer they shout
"warm". When you get very close, they shout "hot".
SET UP
Send one child outside. Hide something in the classroom (a pen, coin, small
doll).
PLAY
The student comes back inside. You ask, "Where is the ....?". The student starts
to look for the object. If he or she is not close to the object, or is moving in the
wrong direction, the class shouts, "Cold, cold, cold!" When the student turns in
the correct direction, and starts getting closer, everyone shouts, "Warm, warm,
warm!" When the child is very close, everyone shouts, "Hot, hot, hot!" The child
stops and searches that area until he or she finds the object.
Note: 1. The class should gesture when they shout "hot/cold/warm": fan their
faces, shiver, or hug themselves warmly. 2. Either before or after the game
explain how hot/cold/warm relate to the weather. Draw a sun, a snowman and
the sun half covered by a cloud. Point to the sun and say, "It's hot." Make a
fanning gesture as if to cool yourself off. Now point to the snowman. Say, "It's
cold." Shiver and chatter your teeth. Now point to the sun behind the cloud.
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Look content and say, "Ah, it's warm. Mmmm." Give yourself a warm hug if you
are so inclined.
USES
1. To teach students to describe things as "hot", "warm" or "cold".
4. THE FLAMING BAT
SUMMARY
If you've ever played baseball you will recognize this game. Two kids grip a bat
and work their way up, hand over hand (as in the picture above) until one kid
gets the final handhold on the top. In baseball this means you have won the
toss, so to speak. In our game it means you have grabbed the hottest part of
the stick and so burnt your hand. Don't worry. Here comes the ambulance to
make it better.
SET UP
Take a baseball bat (or stick) and divide it into three sections: cold on the
bottom; warm in the middle; hot at the very top. Refer to the drawings above.
Place two or three kids in a corner of the classroom (they are the ambulance
team)
PLAY
Call two students to the front. One student grips the bottom of the stick with his
right hand ands says, "cold". The other students places her right hand on the
bat just above the first student's hand. This student also says, "cold". The first
student now places his left hand just above the second student's hand. The
second student, in turn, places her left hand above the other student's hand.
The students continue on like this (hand over hand) up the bat. As they do so,
they must say "warm" or "cold", depending on which section of the bat their
hand is gripping. When one of the student grabs the top of the bat, the entire
class shouts, "hot". The student pretends to have been burnt by the flames. The
class shouts, "Call the ambulance!" The ambulance team rushes over and puts a
bandage on the burnt student's finger.
Repeat the above scenario with other students.
USES
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1. To teach students the difference between hot, warm and cold. Use this
knowledge to refer to the weather or food.
WHERE? GAMES
1. THREE CUPS
SUMMARY
The old street game. There's a pea under one cup. Shift the cups around. Now,
where is the pea?
SET UP
You need three plastic or paper cups and a pea.
PLAY
Place the pea under one cup (make sure the students can see under which cup).
Now shift the cups around quickly, changing the order. Call one student up and
ask, "Where is the pea?" The student points to one cup and says "Here!" or
"Under here!" Turn over the cup. Is the pea under that cup? If it isn't, let the
student choose again. Give a sticker to students who guess correctly the first
time.
USES
1. To teach the concept of "where".
126
2. WHERE'S JACK?
SUMMARY
Two children are hidden under blankets. Can the student you sent outside come
in and guess where "Jack" is?
SET UP
You need two blankets, both large enough to cover a child.
PLAY
Choose one student to go outside. Call two other students up and get them both
to lie on the floor. Cover each student with a blanket. Call the first student back
in. Ask, "Where is Jack (or Jill)?" The student points to one of the lumps under
the blankets and says "Here!" Let the student pull off the blanket to see if his
guess was correct.
Note: Simple games like this are often the most fun for little kids. Kindergarten
kids especially love to hide under blankets or in boxes.
USES
127
3. THE RING
SUMMARY
The ring is on a string. The students are in a circle holding the string. But where
is the ring? Who's hand is covering it?
SET UP
Run a long piece of string through a ring (or nut or bolt) and tie up the ends.
You need a string long enough to make a circle as big as the class circle (see the
picture above). Get all the students to grab hold of the string with one hand.
One student stands in the middle.
PLAY
The student in the middle closes her eyes and counts to three. The other
students slide the ring around the circle. One the count of three, one student
covers the ring with his hand. The student in the middle opens her eyes.
Everyone shouts, "Where is the ring?" The student in the middle tries to guess
whose hand is covering the ring. "There," she says, pointing at someone's hand.
If the guess is correct the student in the middle can change places with the
other student.
Note: Don't play this game with more than five or six students or the person in
the middle will never guess correctly. If you have a large class consider breaking
the students into groups. Or, consider saving this game for the flu season when
only a few students show up for class.
USES
2. For fun.
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CHOOSING THE STARTING PLAYER/TEAM

A game has to begin with someone, or some team. Below we have some
activities for choosing the starting player/team that we feel are more interesting
than pointing and saying, "You first!"
1. HOT POTATO
Recite the following:
One potato, two potato,
Three potato, four.
Five potato, six potato,
Seven potato, more.
Point your finger back and forth (at the two teams or players) while you say this
rhyme. Stop on "more". The team that you are pointing to gets to play first.
2. EENIE, MEENIE
Recite the following:
Eenie, meenie,
Minee, moe.
Catch a tiger by the toe.
If he hollers
let him go.
Eenie, meenie,
Minee, moe.
As in "Hot Potato," point back and forth at the two teams/players while you say
this rhyme. Stop pointing on "moe." The team/player that you are pointing to
gets to play first.
3. PICK A NUMBER
Think of a number between 1-10. Ask the kids to guess what your number is.
Let each team/player make only one guess at a time.
4. RIDDLES
Ask a simple riddle. For example, "What is big and has a long nose? What
animals says moo and eats grass? What is red and round?" The first
team/player to answer correctly starts the game.
129
5. WHICH HAND?
Place something small in one hand. Put both hands behind your back. Ask the
students to guess in which hand is the object. The first team/player to answer
correctly starts the game.
6. HEADS OR TAILS
Toss a coin in the air and ask one student to call it "heads or tails." If the
student calls the correct side, let him or his team play first. If not, then not.
7. PAPER, SCISSORS, STONE (aka ROCK, SCISSORS,PAPER)
Choose one player from each team to play "paper, scissors, stone." The winner
or the winner's team plays first.
ALTERNATIVES TO KEEPING SCORE

The following suggestions allow for competition in the classroom, but
minimize hurt feelings in students.
1. STINKY SOCKS
A classic. Place a picture of a pair of socks on the wall or whiteboard. Play
any game that requires two players to compete against each other. Get
the loser to kiss (or pretend to kiss the socks). In place of socks, use a
picture of an elephant, a donkey, a monkey, a garbage can, etc.
2. THE LION'S MOUTH
Similar to KISS THE SOCKS except the losing player has to pretend to
stick his or head into a drawing of a lion's mouth. Prepare a tape
recording before class of a lion (or yourself growling like a lion) and then
play this every time a student has to put his head into the lion's mouth.
You can substitute a dinosaur, tiger or snake for the lion.
3. RUN
Ask the losing player to role the dice and then run the length of the
classroom as many times as the number on the dice. For example, if the
student rolls a 6, he or she must run 6 times. Little kids don't minds being
the loser here as it's more fun than winning.
4. PUSH UPS
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The losing player does push ups. This is especially fun for little ones as
they have no idea how to do a push-up properly.
5. FIND SOMETHING
The losing (or winning) player must find something in the classroom. For
example: something red, blue, (etc.), something big or small, or
something that is edible or non-edible.
6. MOO
The losing (or winning) player must imitate an animal sound: moo like a
cow; bark like a dog; baa like a sheep; etc.
7. LOSER'S CHOICE
Let the loser of each round choose the next two players, and perhaps
even ask them the question or hold the flashcard. This is an effective way
to avoid hurt feelings.
8. WINNER TAKES ALL
Reward the winner of each round with a small sticker, a piece of a cookie
or dried fruit. Pennies also make good prizes. Ask the students to hang on
to their stash until they have collected 10 or 20. Let them then cash the
coins in to you for a larger gift (a cute pencil, eraser, bookmark, even an
interesting stamp from your home country).
131

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Kedah, February 2003

LANGUAGE GAMES FOR THE YOUNG

Developed and written by

Kedah, February 2003

Singing and Command Games

Games with Objects

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2. FOUR CORNERS (Version 1)

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3. FOUR CORNERS (2)

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9. ROLL & JUMP

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10. DUCK, DUCK, GOOSE

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11. HOT POTATO

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12. MUSICAL CHAIRS (Version A)

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13. MUSICAL CHAIRS (Version B)

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14. SPIN THE BOTTLE

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16. READ MY LIPS

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18. QUICK DRAW

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20. BUMP HIM OFF

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21. THE BAD CARD

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22. WHERE'S THE SHARK?

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23. THE DISCREET DECK

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1. To teach or review the letters of the alphabet.

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2. WHERE'S THE TIGER?

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1. To teach letter recognition.

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more than once).

1. To teach letter recognition.

Kedah, February 2003

Kedah, February 2003

7. THE LAST LETTER

Kedah, February 2003

Kedah, February 2003

Kedah, February 2003

10. WOODEN LETTERS

Kedah, February 2003

11. TASTY LETTERS

Kedah, February 2003