Time: 5 minutes

Quick Janken Discard Game

Description

Class vs the teacher. The flashcards are on the blackboard. ALT/HRT sets a timer and calls the target English. The students repeat. When the timer sounds, the last called flashcard is the keyword. Using a set of small flashcards, the ALT/HRT discards cards one at a time until the keyword is found. The amount of discarded cards is the amount of points to be won. One student volunteer plays janken against the HRT. The winner of janken wins the amounts of points indicated by cards discarded. After a few rounds the team with the most points is the winner!

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Line Bingo

Description

Place 4 flashcards on the board. Students are put into pairs and each pair is given a set of small flashcards. The pair takes out the 4 flashcards that are on the board and arrange them into a line in any order they want.

ALT/HRT sets a timer and calls the target English. Students repeat. When the timer sounds, the last called flashcard is the keyword. All pairs who placed that card at either end of the line can turn it over. If the card is in the middle, they cannot turn it over. The card that was next to the card that was turned over becomes the new end card and can be turned over if it is the keyword in another round. The first group to get bingo are the winners!

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Bingo Battle

Description

Make a bingo sheet on the blackboard for the HRT and another bingo sheet for the class. ALT/HRT sets a timer and calls the target English. Students repeat. When the timer sounds, the last called flashcard is turned over on both bingo sheets. After about 5 rounds, check how many bingos the HRT and students have to see who the winner is!

Notes

This game requires two sets of large flashcards

Quick Creature Hunt

Description

Have all the students close their eyes or face the back. Place a random creature under each flashcard on the blackboard. Place another copy of 3~4 creatures matching 3~4 of the ones placed under the flashcards on the board. These are the creatures the class is trying to find. 

ALT/HRT sets a timer and calls the target English. STS repeat. When the timer sounds, remove the last called flashcard to reveal the creature underneath the card. If it matches one of the creatures the class is trying to find, class gets 1 point. If not, class gets 0 points.

Red Riding Hood

Description

On the blackboard, draw a house and 15 spaces going toward the house. Split the class into two teams and designate one team as Mr Wolf and the other team as Red Riding Hood. Place Red Riding Hood on space 5 and place Mr Wolf on space 1. 

ALT/HRT sets a timer and calls the target English and students repeat. When the timer sounds, 1 student from the Red Riding Hood team rolls the dice. ALT/HRT moves the game piece that many space forward. Next 1 student from Mr Wolf team rolls the dice. ALT/HRT moves the game piece that many spaces forward. If Mr Wolf lands on the same space as Red Riding Hood, team Mr Wolf wins. If Red Riding Hood makes it home without Mr Wolf landing on the same space, Red Riding Hood team wins. 

Janken Discard Game

Description

The students make pairs. Each pair gets a set of small flashcards, and the teacher picks one card to be the keyword. The cards are shuffled and placed face down. The students take turns in turning over a card and using the vocabulary to practice the target English. The card is then discarded in a separate pile. This continues until the keyword comes up. After saying the target English, the students janken. The winner gets one point for each discarded card (including the keyword card).

The cards are then shuffled and placed face down again, and the students continue. After a few minutes, the round finishes and the student with the most points wins. The teacher then picks a new keyword and the next round starts.

Notes

  • Changing pairs between rounds may help keep the game more interesting for the students and will increase opportunities for peer support.

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Wrong Keyword Game

Description

This is basically the keyword game but instead of ‘Go!’ or a keyword, the students need to listen for target English that doesn’t match the flashcard that the ALT is pointing at.

For example if the ALT is pointing at ‘Red’ flashcard, but the ALT says ‘Blue’ instead, that’s the sign to go for their dice or eraser or something else. This means that the students will need to have good eye-contact with the cards, while listening for something that is amiss. Which hopefully avoids situations where students stare at their erasers and only listen for one word or a loud signal.

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Plus, Minus, Double

Description

In groups or pairs, each get one set of cards. Groups divide cards into Plus cards, Minus cards, and Double cards (For a standard set of 9: 4 Plus, 4 Minus, 1 Double). Repeat with timer. Groups see where they put the last card called, and get (or lose) a point. If the card is their double card, their current points double. 

Notes

  • Feel free to play around with the third card and what its effect is!
  • After a few rounds they can shuffle the cards.

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50/50 Move

Description

Split the classroom (not STS but actual room) into two sections: A and B. You can place signs on each side of the class if you want to for clarity or you can just say it. Split the flashcards on the board into groups A and B. 

STS have a short amount of time to decide what section they want to be in. STS stand up and move to the side they decided on. Once STS have decided, ALT/JTE sets a timer and calls the target English. STS repeat. When the timer sounds, STS standing in the section of the last called flashcard get 1 point! Give STS a chance to change groups if they want to between each round. 

Notes

I played this with my JHS class and found they didn’t change groups between rounds. So to make it more interesting I kept secret what group of flashcards was A and what one was B. I also did round 1 as plus 1 point and round 2 as -1 point. The final round I made a ridiculous number like -100 points and +100 points, and found this got a good reaction out of the STS

Quick Sequence Game

Description

A timer is set, and the teacher picks a card from the first set, and says the appropriate target English. The students repeat, then a card from the second set is picked, with the teacher saying the target English and the students repeating again. If the two cards match (that is, they form a correct sentence like [Vietnam] is in [Asia]), the class gets one point and a card from the first set is picked again. This continues until time runs out.

Notes

  • The game (when the rules specifically as defined above) only works for units with more than one set of vocabularies.
  • The vocabulary sets need to generally make objective rather than subjective statements, for example countries and continents, animals and habitats, and so on.
  • Subjective statements could be used but vocabulary from both sets would need to be preemptively ‘connected’ by the teacher on the board, for example ‘she is [Hanako], she can [run].’

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