Groups: Pairs

Shut the Box

Description

This game can be played 1v1 or 2v2. 

Each group receives a game board, 12 mini cards and two dice. The mini cards are shuffled and placed face-up in the spaces on the game board. Repeating cards are ok if you have less than 12 target English terms. Students then decide which pair will go first.

Team 1 rolls both dice and adds the two numbers together (e.g. 3 + 5 = 8). They then flip as many cards on the board face-down as possible adding up to their total (e.g. 8 = card 5 & 3 or card 7 & 1 or card 4, 3 & 1 etc.) Students repeat the target English for each card as they flip it over. Team 1 then takes a second turn rolling both dice and flipping over cards. Team 1’s round ends when they can no longer flip over any cards. Team 1 then count how many cards they managed to flip over. 

The cards are then shuffled and returned face up on the board. Team 2 roll the dice and take their turns. Once team 2 can no longer flip over any cards, both teams compare how many cards they flipped over and the team with the most cards wins 1 point. Both teams can continue playing until the teacher calls ‘finished.’ Pairs can then shuffle around the room if time allows for more rounds.

Notes

  • This game can be played 1v1 but playing 2v2 allows for more peer support. 

    A potential variation is to have one team trying to flip cards face-up while the other team tries to flip cards face-down. That way teams can alternate their turns. Feel free to try any variations to the rules.

Timer Dice

Description

STS make groups and get a set of cards. Each group picks 3 cards. At the start, all cards are worth 3 points. The STS repeat the HRT/ALT as they call out the vocabulary until the timer goes off. The HRT/ALT then rolls a dice. The number from the dice becomes how many points the last card that was called is worth. After 6 rounds, the game is finished and the groups see how many points their 3 cards are worth in total.

Notes

  • The number of cards each group picks will depend on how many total cards there are in the set. The more cards in total, the more cards the students should pick at the start of the round (a good amount is roughly 50%).
  • The amount of cards picked can change each round to add a sense of development in the game.

Similar Games

Card Battle

Description

  • Students get pairs and a set of cards. Split the cards evenly between them, leaving one out (kept secret!). Students can see their own cards, but are secret from their pair.
  • The teacher gives values 1-9 to each card on the board. Higher cards win, except a 1 will beat a 9.
  • Janken. The winner asks the question, and loser answer with any of their cards. Loser then asks the question, and the winner answers with a card.
  • The card with the higher value wins, and that student gets 1 point.
  • Check points and switch pairs every few minutes.

Notes

  • With multiple sets of cards this could be done with a group, although I haven’t tried it.
  • You could do this with just the answer as well.
  • 1 beats 9 so the 9 card isn’t too strong. Feel free to experiment with different values and rules to make it more difficult/strategic. 
  • Inspired by the board game Stratego.

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Territory Game

Description

Students make pairs. They get one set of cards and a territory game board. They shuffle and place 6 of the cards on the middle two rows of the board. The teacher sets a timer and the students janken. The loser asks the winner the question, and the winner answers by choosing a certain card. They can then move the card to an adjacent space, as long as there is no other card on that space already. A card can’t be moved more than one space at a time, or past any other card that’s blocking the path. When time is up, each student gets one point for each card that is on their half of the board.

Notes

  • If using the template version, print it at A3 size and the spaces will be the right size for small (roughly 9.2 x 6.5cm) cards to go on in the spaces.
  • This game can be used to practice vocabulary, grammar, or questions and answers.
  • To practice vocabulary or grammar without using a question, the students janken and the winner simply says the target English that matches the card they choose to move.

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Search Game

Description

The students put all their cards face down. The teacher calls out the target English and the students repeat, until a timer goes off. The last card that was called is the key word. Students each pick one card and turn it over when the teacher says ‘go’. If a student turns over a card that matches the key word, they get one point. If no one gets the matching card, each student picks another card and turns it over when the teacher says ‘go’ again, until the card is found. They then shuffle the cards face down and start the next round.

Notes

  • An important point to this game is you don’t want students racing to turn over cards, as that will make things messy and disorganised (and unfair). Make sure that students wait for you to say ‘go’ before turning over one single card. You’ll need to say ‘go’ as many times it would take for each group to turn over every card, even if some groups find it on the first or second try.
  • The size of groups will depend on the number of cards you have in each set. For example, if you have 6 cards, it makes sense to play in pairs as this would give both players 3 chances to find the keyword. If you have 9 cards, playing in groups of 3 also gives each player 3 chances.
  • If you have a number of cards that doesn’t divide evenly between the students playing (e.g. prime numbers where the number isn’t equal to the number of students playing), one or more cards will not be turned over in a round. For example, if there are 7 cards and students are playing in pairs, after 3 chances to find the keyword there will be one card left. If this left over card is the keyword, then no one wins a point for that round.

Destiny Game

Description

Students make groups and pick two cards, leaving the rest face down. The teacher calls out the target English and the students repeat, until a timer goes off. If one of the cards they picked matches the last target English that was called, they can turn it over. This continues until the first group (or groups) can turn over both of their cards and win. For round two, they pick three cards, round three they pick four cards, and so on.

Dice Battle

Description

The students make pairs and get a dice each. The teacher picks a keyword. The students repeat until the keyword is called. Then, the students roll their dice. Whoever gets a higher number wins one point. If both students roll the same number, they both get one point.

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Heads Up

Description

Students get into pairs and get a set of flashcards, and a timer is set for ~2 minutes. Student A holds the cards to face their pair. Student B asks the question, and A guesses what their own card is using the answer. They get 3 tries before they discard that card face up. If they guess correctly, they get one point, and go to the next flashcard. Students guess until the timer goes off. Pairs then switch and play again.

Notes

  • This game hasn’t been tested out yet. If you try it, please let me know how it went!
  • This could also be a good vocab review for a first game or warm up game, where students just guess the word instead of doing the question/answer.
  • The idea is it gets easier to guess the flashcard the more cards they get through, although it may result in students not using the full Q/A.

Example round:

A: *holds card facing away from them*
B: “What do you want?”
A: “I want a….book?”
B: “No! What do you want?”
A: “I want a…game!”
B: “Yes! 1 point.”

Similar Games

Battleship

Description

Using the worksheet, the students first draw their ‘battleships’ on the top half of the page. In the grid of squares, they shade out one row of 4, two rows of 3 and one row of 2. These can be horizontal or vertical, but not diagonal.

Next, making sure their partner can’t see their worksheet, they make sentences by combining the two parts of the sentences on the left and top axis of the grid. Each combination points to a particular space on the grid. If their answer matches a space taken up by a ‘battleship’ on their partner’s worksheet, their partner says ‘hit’. The student can mark that space on the bottom half of the page with a circle. If their answer matches an unused space, their partner says ‘miss’, and they can mark it with a cross.

The students take turns until all the first player is able to hit all the spaces their partner chose. If you print the worksheet as double-sided, they can draw their battleships in new places and play a second game if time allows.

Notes

Students may not know or understand ‘hit’ or ‘miss’, so saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’ (or anything more appropriate to the target English) may be more appropriate.

Squares

Description

Students make pairs and receive a worksheet that has a table with one half of a sentence down the columns, and the second half across the rows.

The goal is for a student to draw a square or rectangle between the points on the worksheet. Students say the two sentences for each point on the grid they chose and then can draw a line between them.

The student who draws a line that closes a square can sign inside of it, and this is worth one point. If a student creates multiple squares in one turn they can get multiple points.