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.
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.
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.
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.
The students make groups. Each group gets a dice and each student gets a worksheet. The teacher picks 5 vocabulary words and assigns them numbers from 1-5.
The group asks the first player the target English question. They roll the dice and answer using the vocabulary word that matches the number they rolled. If the student rolls a 6, they can pick any answer from 1-5. The student puts a mark under the number they rolled (or picked, if it was a 6) on their worksheet. The group then askes the next student the question and they do the same thing. For each line they can complete, they get one point.
After a certain amount of time, the teacher can change the vocabulary for each number.
This game can be done just for an answer without a question, but make sure the students don’t start rushing and not saying the target English!
The teacher draws 3 groups on the board – 1/2, 3/4 and 5/6. The students repeat the teacher until the timer goes off, at which point the teacher rolls the dice. If they roll a 1 or a 2, they put a check mark under the 1/2 group, and so on. This continues each round. If the dice roll results in a group that has already been checked in a previous round, it doesn’t count. If all 3 groups can be checked off before the game finishes, the class wins!
It’s useful to draw boxes on the board to show how many rounds are going to be played, and check them off as you finish each round.
The students make groups and get a small whiteboard and marker. They pick 3 ‘unlucky’ numbers within the range being practiced and write them on their whiteboard. Every group starts with 5 points. The teacher then sets a timer and the students repeat them within a time limit. When the timer goes off, if they picked the last number called as ‘unlucky’, they lose one point.
For later rounds, the number of ‘unlucky’ numbers the students have to pick can increase. Another option (perhaps for the final round) is for the students to pick unlucky numbers for another group.
This game is designed to practice numbers. It can also be used to practice ordinal numbers, dates, or anything else sequential.
The teacher puts up flashcards on the board, where all the students can see them. The students make groups and put an ohajiki (or eraser, etc.) between them. The teacher calls out the target English and the students repeat. When the teacher touches one of the cards, all the students try to grab their ohajiki. The first student to grab the it wins one point.
The teacher picks one flashcard as the ‘keyword’. The teacher then points at random cards and models the target English, and the students repeat until the keyword is picked. The class then plays janken with the teacher. If they beat the teacher, a students gets one point. If they lose, they lose one point. If they have the same result, there’s no change.
The whole class picks rock, scissors or paper when the teacher counts to 3. Make sure to keep the timing consistent!
A flashcard or drawing of a monster is put on the board, with a ‘health bar’. The ‘health bar’ shows the monster’s ‘HP’. The students repeat the teacher until the timer goes off, at which point the teacher rolls the dice. Whatever number is rolled is subtracted from the monster’s ‘HP’. If the monster’s HP goes to 0 before the end of the game, the class wins.
It’s useful to draw boxes on the board to show how many rounds are going to be played, and check them off as you finish each round.
If you play this game for 5 rounds, then you probably want the monster’s HP to be around 17-20 points. If the class gets very lucky and beats the monster before the game is finished, then you can always draw a new monster on the board!
