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.
Time: Less than 5 minutes
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’.
Similar Games
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.
Quick Lucky Roller
Description
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!
Notes
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.
Quick Janken
Description
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.
Notes
The whole class picks rock, scissors or paper when the teacher counts to 3. Make sure to keep the timing consistent!
Boss Game
Description
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.
Notes
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!
Mt Fuji Climbing Game
Description
Draw Mt Fuji on the board, add lots of markers along the way. The goal is for the students to advance up the mountain and one marker is one space. Use a timer and have the students repeat after the HRT/ALT. When timer goes off, spin the wheel (wheel 6) and allow the hiker to advance up the mountain based on how many spaces the spinner assigns them. For example, if the spinner lands on three, the hiker goes up three spaces.
Notes
You can make two hikers, if you want: one is for teachers and one is for students. The first one to reach the top wins. It adds a level of competition! Round 1, the teacher moves, round 2 the students move. It could also be adapted to a horse race, a car race, tug of war…there are many options. It doesn’t have to be Mt Fuji. Or you could change it each class.
You could also change the colors of the wheel to just two colors. One for the teachers team, one for students. The PowerPoint game is highly adaptable to suit your needs!
Pointing Game
Description
Split the class in half. Assign group A and B (or whatever is appropriate) and set the timer. When you begin pointing and saying the flashcard, the JTE/HRT will point at the A side. The students will repeat. When you move on to the second flashcard, the JTE/HRT will point at the B side. The students will repeat. This will go on until the timer beeps. Whichever team the JTE/HRT is pointing at when the timer goes off gets one point. Repeat the process.
Notes
You know your students. If they’re going to complain about the winning/losing team, don’t play it. I’ve had a class where the students really went after the teacher for their choices in selecting groups and points. If you think this might cause your teaching partner grief, avoid it. It’s not worth killing the atmosphere for your teaching partner and students!
Battle
Description
Put your flashcards on the board. Ask the HRT/JTE to write a number on the board. The goal of our game is to beat that number! Start the timer, begin the process of pointing at the flashcard, saying it and having the students repeat. When the timer beeps, roll the dice and write the number under the 1st flashcard. Continue the process. Between rounds you can point to the numbers under the flashcard, wince/look happy (depending on how well you’re doing) and then point to the HRT/JTE’s. At the end of the game, see who is the winner: the class or the HRT/JTE.
Notes
We have a lesson plan and flashcards – we know how many words the students are going to be using. Before class, quickly do the math. Say there are seven flashcards, the biggest number on the dice is six therefore on an insane lucky streak, the highest possible number is 42. Ask the JTE to choose a number up to 42. If they choose 100, of course that’s impossible. We need to be able to beat them!
If you have time you could print a picture of a trophy, stick a magnet on the back and put it under the JTE’s number. If we win, we can move it to our number.
It doesn’t matter where the timer stops, we’re writing the rolled number in order. So if we’re on the first round but the timer stops on the fifth flashcard, we still write the rolled number under the first flashcard.