Classroom Games

A key challenge for any  teacher  is to keep students engaged, and one of the best ways to do this is to incorporate some classroom games to make learning more fun and exciting! Games also make great rewards for students who do well in class, or as a ‘treat’ if the class focuses on their core work during the body of the lesson. As a teacher, having a few 5 minute activities that require little resource can be hugely helpful if a lesson finishes a bit earlier that expected.Games are perfect for practicing vocabulary and targeting grammar; thus increasing camaraderie through light competition, boosting energy levels, reducing stress, promoting problem-solving, and buying more focused lesson time later in the hour.

1. Last Man Standing

 This is a game which gives students the time to think and encourage peer learning. As they hear other students speaking, they will pick up on some words.  Have all the students form a circle and stand at the center with a ball. All you have to do is name a category (food, places, hobbies, etc.) and pass the ball to one student. Let them toss it to another student as they name a word related to the theme. If they repeat a word or can’t say any more words, they need to sit down. The last man/student standing wins the game.

2. Charades

 This is a popular game which is similar to Pictionary. This is a great game to get your students to move. First, you have to write down a couple of words on paper. Make sure most of the students know them. Divide the class into two teams and one person from each team will choose a paper and act the word out. A team receives a point for every correctly guessed word.

3. Pictionary 

 Pictionary is like a charade, but your students will draw, instead of acting the words out. You can use the cards from the actual board game for this activity, or make your own!

Similar to charades, you also need to divide the class into two teams. One person from Team A come up to the front and draws a card/word. The student must convey the word to his or her team using only drawings. There are certain rules such as students cannot use words, symbols or hand gestures. Each student should have a time limit of 3 minutes. The first team to get 10 points is the winning team.

4. Board Race

 Board Race is a fun game that is used for revising vocabulary. Here’s what to do:

Divide the class into two teams and give each team a colored marker. Draw a line down the middle of the board and write a topic at the top. The students must then write as many words related to the topic in a relay. The first person will write the first word and pass the colored marker to the one next in line. Score each team with one point for each correct word. Unreadable or misspelled words are not counted.

5. Taboo Words

Looking for a game which can help your students practice synonyms and descriptions? Try Taboo Words – suitable for more advanced learners. Divide the class into two and have the two teams sit on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. Choose one person to sit in front of their team and stand behind the students and hold a piece of paper with a word on it

The team has three minutes to get the one in front to say the word on paper. They can’t say the word; they can only mention synonyms and descriptions of the word you’re holding.

6. Hangman

 A favourite game among teachers, Hangman can be used at the start of the class to warm up the students and get them active. This is especially good for young students.

First, think of a word and write the number of letters on the board using dashes to show many letters there are. Then, ask students to suggest a letter. If it appears in the word, write it in all of the correct spaces. If the letter does not appear in the word, write it off to the side and begin drawing the image of a hanging man.

You have to continue this until the students guess the word correctly, your students will win. If you complete the diagram, you win.

7. 20 Objects

Time to test your students’ memories and vocabulary! Gather 20 objects that can be found in the classroom and lay them all out on the desk. Show them all to the students and then cover everything with a blanket or a sheet after one minute.

Ask the students to write down as many items they remember on a piece of paper. Write a list of the items on the chalkboard and allow students to self-correct.

8. Hot Seat

This game is similar to Taboo Words. You can write the name on the board and one student will guess the word. The rest of the class must guess the word by describing it.

9. Chalkboard Acronym

 First, you have to write a word vertically on the board. Each student must come up with a word starting with each letter of the vertical word.

You can change the rule and require the words to be related to the acronym.

10. Categories

This game is a great way to fill up the last few minutes of the class. Ask the students draw six columns on their paper and write a category at the top of each column. You can choose categories that fit your topic. You can include food, names, cities or countries, furniture, verbs and clothing.

Then, choose a random letter and write it on the board. Ask students to write down a word for each category that starts with that letter.

11. Tongue twisters

Tongue twisters are great for lightening the mood, as an ice-breaker, or way to begin each class. Search for more difficult phrases for advanced classes – you’ll see that it’s a rare student who doesn’t crack a smile! 

A sentence or series of words that is hard to say correctly is called a tongue twister in English. Children love tongue twisters and challenge their friends to try to say them fast several times in row. For English learners, tongue twisters are a fun way to work on one or two sounds at a time to get the pronunciation just right. Start by saying the tongue twister slowly, then try to speed up. Once you can say a tongue twister through, try to say it twice or three times in a row for a bigger challenge.

Tongue twister

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. How many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?Can you can a can as a canner can can a can?Frivolously fanciful Fannie fried fresh fish furiouslyTo begin to toboggan first buy a toboggan, but don't buy too big a toboggan.
She saw Sharif's shoes on the sofa. But was she so sure those were Sharif's shoes she saw?
Give papa a cup of proper coffe in a copper coffe cup.
Black background, brown background
Seventy-seven benevolent elephants
The chic Sikh's sixty-sixth sheep is sick
A loyal warrior will rarely worry why we rule.
A pessemistic pest exists amidst us.
Drew Dodd's dad's dog's dead.
Which witch switched the Swiss wristwatches?
She sells seashells by the seashore.

12.“First to the front” and 
   “Have you ever?”

This is a winner with kids and adults alike. Students start in a line at the back of the classroom and take one step forward for each question they answer correctly, sentence finished, or word guessed. The first to the front wins. You can also play a version of “Have you ever?” where students take a step forward for each thing they have done. (“Have you ever been to Africa, seen a dolphin, stayed awake all night, failed an exam, broken something valuable, etc.”)

13. TRUE OR FALSE?

Materials needed:

• 2 sets of Yes/No Sound Buzzers 
• Vocabulary list

How to Play:

1. Split the class into 2 teams
2. A student from each team faces off with the ‘Yes/No’ buzzers
3. Read out a word and a definition, saying sometimes the correct definition, and sometimes the incorrect definition
4. Students must hit the YES buzzer if they think it’s a correct definition, and the NO buzzer if they think it’s incorrect
5. The first student to hit the right buzzer gets a point for their team and 2 new students play
6. If the definition is incorrect, the first student to hit the NO buzzer gets a chance to say the correct definition for an extra point
7. The winning team gets a prize, a bonus point on the test, a privilege, etc.

14. Hot Potato

Here is a quick and easy  game to motivate your students to answer questions. This game can be used in any situation where the students have to answer questions in class, e.g. answering exercise questions. Take a small object such as an eraser. Hand the object to a student and then turn around facing away from the class. Tell the students to pass the object around. After a few seconds have passed, shout 'Stop!' The student holding the object at that time must then answer a question set by you. If the student answers the question successfully, he or she scores a point. If not, the game continues. You turn back around and the object continues to be passed around until you say 'stop' again. This process continues until all the questions have been answered. The student with the most points at the end of the game wins.

15.Noughts and Crosses

Here is a fun way to go through answers to questions in class. Divide the class into two teams and draw a noughts and crosses grid on the board. Decide which team will be noughts and which team will be crosses. Then, ask a question to each team in turn. If a team answers the question correctly, they draw a nought or cross in the grid. The first team to get three squares in a row scores one point. If neither team manages to get three in a row, the team with the most squares scores a point. Continue playing rounds until all the questions have been answered. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. As a variation, instead of asking a question to each team in turn. Ask questions to the class. The first team to answer correctly draws a nought or cross in the grid.