SIX
- Name of Game: Running Dictation
- Duration: 15-30 minutes
- Number of Students: Pairs or small groups
- English Skills: Listening Reading Speaking Writing
- Objective: Remember words and phrase and dictate them to Your partner1. Break students up into groups of 3-4, or pairs for small classes
2. Put one sentence on a piece of paper for each team
3. One leader from each team goes to the board and tries to remember their sentence
4. The leader returns to their group and dictates the sentence while team members write it down
5. The first team to finish correctly gets a point
6. Change words/sentences and switch leaders• Use pictures for children who can’t spell and have them draw the picture instead of writing the words
• Use multiple sentences for more advanced students
• Place sentences around the room and have each group member do one each.
• Groups have to put the sentences into the right order before turning in the paperMake each team’s paper different so students do not simply listen to other teams. Leaders are not allowed to take their paper, write down anything, or yell across the room. They are allowed to return to the board to look at their paper as many times as they like. Use words from class to reinforce learned vocabulary and grammar structures.
SEVEN
- Name of Game: Run and Write
- Duration: 10-20 minutes
- Number of Students: Groups of 3-4
- SKILLS Listening Spelling Writing
- Objective: Find a word in the list and write in on the board1. Give each team a list of words
2. Have each team select a leader
3. Teacher says one word from list several times
4. Teams search for a word, then have leader go to the board and write THE word
5. Leaders must give the teacher a Hi-five after writing the word correctly
6. The first leader to give the teacher a hi-five gets five points
7. Next leader to finished gets 4 points, next one 3, etcUse sentences for higher levels
EIGHT
- Name of Game: Minesweeper
- Duration: 5-10 minutes
- Number of Students: Groups of 2-4
- English Skills: Reading Vocabulary
- Objective: Review vocabulary with flashcards1. Place a number of flashcards face down
2. Set one of the flashcards to be a whammy card
3. Students take turns flipping over and one card at a time and say the word/sentence
4. Whoever turns over the whammy card must perform a silly task
5. After someone pulls the whammy card, shuffle the cards and start again• Make the whammy card be a “safe” card, where everyone but the student who turned over the card has to perform the silly task
• Have players get one point for each card the say/answer correctly
• Play this game with regular playing cards to practice numbers, with one face card as the whammy
• Combine playing cards with a list, using numbers 1-6 or so and having a numbered list on the side with six vocabulary words /grammar structures.If a student turns over a 3, they say the item that is third on the list.Use grammar structures and/or questions for more advanced students.
If you use flashcards, make sure that you can’t see through the back!
NINE
- Name of Game: How Many Words Do You Know?
- Duration: 10-15 minutes
- Number of Students: Any
- English Skills: Speaking Spelling Vocabulary
- Objective: Write down all of the 2-letter words you know.1. Divide chalkboard into four equal vertical sections (columns).
2. Make two rows of deskbound students one team
3. Have teams pick a team leader to go to the chalkboard
4. Leaders write all the two-letter words they know on the count of 1, 2, 3, GO!
5. Team members help their leader by shouting out words and by writing words in big letters on paper and holding it up for the leader to see
6. Stop with 10, 9, 8,…0, STOP!• Three-letter, four-letter words, etc.
• Words that begin with the letter ‘S’, ‘R’, ‘Th’, etc.Decide beforehand whether dictionaries, textbooks, etc. are legal or not and rules for what kind of words can be used (ie names, acronyms that are accepted as words, etc). Will you count words if students don’t know the meaning? Also, the class gets noisy so make sure to close windows and doors.
TEN
- Name of Game: Sentence Jumble
- Duration: 30-45 minutes
- Number of Students: Any
- English Skills: Grammar Reading Speaking Writing
- Objective: Review sentence structures and verb tensesPreparation:
1. Make a series of sentences, three more than the number of teams in your class
2. Print the sentences in large text
3. Cut each sentence into separate words
4. Put each sentence into its separate envelopes
5. Number each envelope with a marker
Instructions:
1. Diving the class into pairs or small groups
2. Give each team one envelope
3. Students arrange the words into a correct sentence, copy it into their notebooks, and put words back into envelope
4. When finished, students say the sentence, show their notebooks, and bring their envelope to the teacher
5. If sentence is not correct, they go back and fix the error
6. If sentence is correct, they can swap their envelope for a new one with a different sentence
7. The first team to unscramble all of the sentences is the winnerUse easy sentences for less advanced studentsUse more complex sentences for more advanced students.This game is a sure success with any level or age group