Time: 15 minutes

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.

Lucky Roller

Description

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. 

Notes

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!

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Unlucky Number

Description

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.

Notes

This game is designed to practice numbers. It can also be used to practice ordinal numbers, dates, or anything else sequential.

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Touch Game

Description

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.

Notes

  • It’s best to always gesture towards each card as you call it regardless of if you intend to touch it or not, so the students can associate what you’re saying with the flashcard.
  • Make sure to stand to the side of the flashcards when gesturing towards/touching the cards so all of the students can see clearly!
  • Students who grab the ohajiki at the same time should play janken to decide who gets it.

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Lucky Wheel

Description

You can use the wheel however you want for different activities. Here are some examples:

“Me too!”

  • Everyone starts with 5 points.
  • Call out a phrase that the class has been practicing e.g. I like green/I like PE/I can play tennis. Something that they can form their own opinion about. Everyone then repeats the phrase.
  • Then, all students who agree with the sentence i.e. They like green/PE etc. Stand up.
  • Spin the wheel and all students standing receive the result. You can choose what the treasure chest and skull mean (e.g. +10 points/lose all points)
  • Students sit down and repeat with the next sentence.

“Me too! – Writing Edition” (this version is similar and can be geared towards JHS as a main activity.)

Hand out the sentence sheet to each student. Give them 5 minutes to complete the sentence with their own unique answer. You can change the topic of the sentence to whatever you’re studying as long as it can be a unique answer.

  • All students start with 5 points.
  • Randomly select a student to stand up and share their sentence. E.g. During winter vacation, I tried omikuji.
  • All students who also did the same thing during winter vacation stand up. It does not have to be the same as what they’ve written, they just have to have also done that activity.
  • Spin the wheel and all students standing receive the points from the wheel.
  • Students sit down and a new student is chosen to share.

Present/Past Connect 4

Description

This is the classic game of connect four. There are two team colors, red and blue. It’s up to you how you want to divide the class. You can split the class in 1/2 and within each half make groups or do something different. On the connect four board are present tense verbs such as write, read, sit, teach etc. you choose a team to “answer” and they choose a verb. They then announce the past tense of that verb. If it’s correct, you click on the verb to reveal the answer – you then choose which team claims that spot and choose the color. The goal is for teams to get as many rows of four as they can! 

Notes

Don’t use this as is. The vocabulary needs to be chosen for the class and their level/what they’ve studied. It’s easy to edit. You can add other things, too. For example, you can write a Japanese word and the students need to translate it correctly.

Asleep/Awake Powerpoint

Also known as:

  • Asleep/Awake

Description

Rules are the same for playing the Asleep/Awake game.

Prepare the slides with individual words from a target sentence. Arrange students into groups of 5. Determine who will be Player 1, 2, etc.

All students put their heads down and ‘go to sleep.’ One by one they wake up and note their sentence part on their sheet then go back to sleep. When all students have finished, everyone ‘wakes up’ and shares their words. They then work together to complete the sentence and write it on their sheet. I usually walk around with a stamp and stamp their sentence when it’s correct. Repeat for each round of sentences.

A variation for Elementary School can be done with spelling instead of making sentences. Same rules apply but each player receives a letter. After about a minute of thinking time, I then give them a hint e.g. “It’s a food” or “Picture dictionary page 24”.

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