Recommended level: Elementary grade 4

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.

Quick Acchi Muite Hoi!

Description

Students repeat the target English until the timer goes off. The teacher then counts to 3 and everyone looks either up, left, right, or down at once. If a student looks in the same direction that the teacher picked, they lose that round.

Quick X and O

Description

Draw a 3×3 noughts and crosses/tic-tac-toe board. Label each square from A-I. Set the timer for ~30 seconds, and repeat the target English until the time is up. The teacher then picks one of the spaces (referencing the letter in that square) and marks it with an ‘O’. A random student then picks a space, which the teacher marks with an ‘X’. For the second round onwards, toss a coin or roll a dice to see who goes first out of the teacher or students. If either the teacher or the students can get three of their ‘O’ or ‘X’ marks in a row, they win. If there are no spaces left at the end, it’s a draw. 

Notes

  • This game will last between 3 and 5 rounds, depending on when one team wins.
  • It’s best for the teacher to not pick the centre space first, as better to give the students a chance to pick it to have an advantage.

Teacher Battle

Description

The students repeat the target English with the teacher until the timer goes off. A dice is then rolled two times, once for the class and once for the teacher. This continues each round and each score is added to that ‘team’s’ total. The ‘team’ with the highest score at the end is the winner.

Notes

Alternatively, you could roll the dice once each round, the first round going to the class’s score and the second round to the teachers, and so on. However this way you would need to do an even number of rounds for the game to be ‘fair’.

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Search Zone

Description

The students make groups. Each group gets a set of vocabulary cards (face down) and they split the cards evenly between themselves. Any cards left over are kept in the middle of the group. The students cannot check what cards they have until the end of the round.

The teacher puts each large card into one of three ‘zones’ on the board. They set a timer and call random vocabulary until time runs out. The students repeat. The ‘zone’ of cards that the last called card is in ‘wins’. The students turn over all of their cards. Each card that matches the winning ‘zone’ is worth one point.

The students then shuffle their cards and split them between themselves for the next round, still face down.

Notes

  • When splitting cards between groups, whether there are any left over will depend on the size of the group and the number of vocabulary cards. For example, if there are 9 cards and 3 students in a group, each student will have 3 cards and none will be left over. If there are 9 cards and 4 students, each student will have 2 cards and one will be left over.
  • A ‘left over’ card could be worth one point for every student.

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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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Timer Zone

Description

The students make groups. Each group gets a set of vocabulary cards and they split the cards evenly between themselves. Any cards left over are kept in the middle of the group.

The teacher sets a timer and calls random vocabulary until time runs out. The students repeat. The student who has the card that matches the last called vocabulary wins one point.

After a certain number of rounds, the students shuffle and pick new cards.

Notes

  • When splitting cards between groups, whether there are any left over will depend on the size of the group and the number of vocabulary cards. For example, if there are 9 cards and 3 students in a group, each student will have 3 cards and none will be left over. If there are 9 cards and 4 students, each student will have 2 cards and one will be left over.
  • A ‘left over’ card could be worth one point for every student.

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Letter Hunt Relay

Description

Break students into teams of four players (max). Each team is given a whiteboard marker (make sure it’s erasable). Each team lines up in front of the blackboard where their letter poster is hung up (one per team).

The HRT/ALT calls out a particular letter. The first student runs up to the board and circles one of the called letters. They then return to their team and pass on the marker. The next student then runs up and does the same. Repeat until all four letters have been found and circled. When a team is finished, they sit down/put their hands on heads etc. Points can then be awarded for 1st, 2nd and so on.

Clean the posters and repeat for round 2 with a new letter.

Notes

  • There are three different versions; upper case, lower case and mixed letters.
  • You can hold up a flashcard of the chosen letter if students need extra help.
  • If your class is too big, they can sit in circles and pass the poster around instead. I’ve only played this game with small classes.

Quick Zone

Description

The students are split into groups. The first row of students is the first group, the second row is the second group, and so on. Give each group a ‘zone’ on the board, and put one or more flashcard in each zone.

A timer is set for around 20-30 seconds, but kept hidden from the students. The teacher points at one card and says the target English, and the class repeats. They then move to the next card, repeat, and so on. Whichever group’s zone the last called card is in when the timer goes off wins one point. The cards can be shuffled for the next round.