Language Game Book Final

1
Introduction 1
Whole Group
Games
2-
Team Competition 15
Lyric Race 2
Heart Attack 3
Team Spelling 4
Team Feud 5
Smack It! 6
Team Test 7
Artist's Charades 8
Octagon 9
Volleyball 10
Doubly Difficult Charades 11
Homerun 12
Speed 13
Sentence Builder 14
Steal the Bacon 15
Fashion Show 16
General Whole Class Activities
Bingo 17
Beat My Brag 18
Row Story 19
Ball Conjugation 20
Secret Object 21
Around the Room 22
Levels 23
Number One 24
Find a Partner 25
Total Physical Response 26
Find Someone Who… 27
Line Up 28
Who Am I? 29
Pass it! 30
Switch 31
Sponge
20 Questions 32
Chain Reaction 33
Tic-Tac-To 34
Editor 35
Whole Class Board Games 36
Inside the Phrase 37
Make a Word 38
2
Small Groups Activities
Am I Telling the Truth? 39
Secret Word 40
Unscramble 41
Same and Different 42
Oops! 43
Rummy with Letters 44
Memory 45
Go Fish! 46
Lost 47
For Sale 48
Children's Stories 49
Magazine Pictures 50
Grab It! 51
Board Games 52
Name that Noun 53
Pair Activities
War 54
What's the Difference? 55
Match My Drawing 56
Strategy 57
Fortune Teller 58
Pair Crosswords 59
Activities for Individuals

Cartoons 60
Index
List of Games in
Alphabetical Order 61
Octogons Board Blank 62
Octogons Board Example 63
Board Game Example 64
3
Introduction
Learning another language involves a great deal of practice and memorization. The
60 activities in this book are opportunities to help students practice and review
vocabulary, verb conjugations and grammar structures in a fun way. Upon
implementing them in your classroom, you will infuse a new energy into the
students’ learning.
ENJOY!
Some General Suggestions

1. Use the target language as much as possible.
2. Anticipate some of the problems that might arise during the activities
a. not all students participating
b. cheating (not using the target language, looking at the answers)
c. students being rough/getting hurt
d. students making other students feel bad
You know your class. If you can set rules to avoid problems and hold
students accountable, it will be more fun and a better learning experience for
everyone.
3. Keep the pace quick. It limits problems and increases the intensity of the
game.
4. Repeat games every once in a while. It limits the time spent going over the
rules and allows students more time to practice the material.
Prizes
Prizes aren’t necessary, but they sure are fun. You don’t need to spend a lot of
money to be able to offer prizes. You could even make a spinner with the prize
options and have the winners spin to find out their prize.
Here are some low budget ideas:

1. 5 less homework problems
2. Winner is the first person to leave class
3. Winner gets to be the game leader
4. Standing ovation for the winner
5. Winner chooses the game for next time
6. Penny candy
7. Pencils
8. Stickers
4
Lyric Race
Category Team Competition
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Listening
Amount of Class Time 15-20 minutes
Group Sizes Groups of 4-6 students
Materials Needed Song, lyrics, tape, large flashcards with
words from the song written on them
Preparation Required
 Obtain a copy of a song and lyrics at appropriate level
 Write selected vocabulary words on flashcards
 Stick flashcards to a wall or chalk board
Description
1. Divide students into groups of 4-6. Each team needs to make a line
perpendicular to the wall/chalkboard where the flashcards are. Eliminate any
obstacles.
2. Go over words on the flashcards orally with the whole class.
3. Play the song.
4. When a student at the front of the line hears a flashcard word in the song, s/he
runs to the board and grabs the flashcard for the team.
5. After a word is obtained, the students in each line rotate. (First person goes to
the back and everyone else moves up)
6. Game continues until all the flashcard words have been removed from the board.
It may take 2-3 times hearing the song for this to be accomplished.
7. The team with the most flashcards wins.
*The more words you use, the harder it is. Ten to twelve works well.
Variation for a large class

1. Make two sets of flashcards. Use two different colors.
2. Explain that the teams on the right can only use the “red” flashcards and the
teams on the left are to use the “yellow” flashcards.
3. Rest of the game remains the same.
Variation with increased difficulty and/or for a large class

1. Give students a copy of the lyrics with blanks left where key words would be.
2. Divide students into the same groups as above.
3. Instead of using flashcards, have a piece of chalk/whiteboard marker for
each group.
4. Play the song.
5. When the first student in each group hears the missing word, they run to the
board and write it down.
6. The first student to write the missing word correctly gets a point for the team.
7. Students in line rotate as above.
8. Team with the most points at the end wins!
5
Heart Attack
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar/Vocabulary
Amount of Class Time 15 minutes
Group Sizes Teams of 4-6 students
Materials Needed List of vocabulary/verb conjugations to be
used, chalk or white board marker for each
group
 Make the list of vocabulary/verb conjugations/sentences you want to use.
Description
1. Teacher gives each person on the team a number. (All teams need to have
the same numbers. If one team has an extra person, then give two numbers
to a player on each of the other teams.)
2. Teacher calls out a vocabulary word/verb conjugation (ex. He has
spoken)/sentence (ex. He threw the ball to her.)
3. Then the teacher calls out a number.
4. The students who correspond to that number race to the board to write down
the correct answer
5. The team whose player answers correctly first gets the point.
Suggestions
1. Have students clear the aisles between the rows so no one trips on a book.
2. Move the teacher desk to the side if it sits in front of the chalk board.
3. Keep track of how many times you call each number so everyone gets their
fair share of participation.
6
Team Spelling
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Spelling
Group Sizes 4-6 students
Materials Needed none
 Make a list of spelling words to be used.
Description
1. Have students stand in rows.
2. Ask row one to stand.
3. Give them a word. Say it two times. Do not repeat it again.
4. Student 1 says the first letter of the word in the target language.
5. Student 2 says the second letter of the word in the target language.
6. Student 3 says the third letter of the word in the target language and so on.
7. Prior letters can not be repeated.
8. When the word is finished, the next player says “finished” in the target
language and the team sits down.
9. If they are correct, they get a point and play moves to the next row.
10. In round 2, spelling of the word should begin with the person who said
“finished” in round 1.
11. Play for as many rounds as you like.
12. The group with the most points wins.
Variation keeping all students/teams involved

1. Instead of you being the judge, let the other students judge the correctness
of the spelling.
2. After the word is spelled, Teacher counts to 3, all students should show you
a 1 for correct and 2 for incorrect. (use fingers)
3. If the whole team is in agreement and correct, the team gets an extra point.
4. In this variation, give the team who spells correctly 3 points.
7
Team Feud
(based on Family Feud produced by Fremantlemedia North America)

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary
Group Sizes Groups of 4-6
Materials Needed 1 piece of paper, a pencil, and a
highlighter per group
 Prepare categories to be used.
(Examples: activities done with your feet, activities done with your mouth,
important holidays (for target culture), animals, things done at school,
adjectives used to describe a person,)
Description
1. Put students into groups of 4-6.
2. Ask students to put away all dictionaries, books, notebooks etc.
3. Give teams a category and 3 minutes to write down as many words as
possible that fit into that category.
4. After 3 minutes, teacher collects all pencils.
5. Teams count up their words.
6. Teams take turns reading their list of words.
7. Other teams use a highlighter to mark the words on their list that other teams
have.
8. Scoring: 1 point for every 5 words and an extra point for every word the
team has that no other team listed.
9. Pencils are returned to teams and another category is provided.
10. Play as many rounds as you have time for/students´ attention is held for.
11. Team with the most points wins!
Variation Bonus Round

1. At the end of “regular play” have all students return to their seats and take
out a piece of paper and a pencil.
2. Give out one final category and 20 seconds.
3. This is played individually. No talking. Each student writes ONE word that
fits that category.
4. Teams get one point for each word that correctly fits the category and an
extra 3 points for any word that no one else in the class wrote down.
8
Smack it!
Group Sizes Whole Class divided into two groups
Materials Needed Chart on overhead transparency,
overhead projector, erasable overhead
marker, and 2 flyswatters. (If you don’t
have an overhead projector, just use the
chalkboard.)
 Make a 4 x 4 grid on an overhead transparency and fill it in with the English
equivalent of the vocabulary you are studying.
 Verify that the projector works!
 Obtain flyswatters.
On top of Close to To the left Under

Next to in In front of Far from
Behind Up Between Inside
To the right outside Through down
Description
1. Two students (one from each team) approach the projected image.
2. Each is given a fly swatter.
3. Teacher says a vocabulary word in English.
4. Students find the word on the chart and smack it with their swatter.
5. The student who smacks it first says the word in the target language.
6. Continue inviting different students from each team up to the image to play.
7. The team with the most points at the end wins
Variation - Easier
1. Write the words in the grid in the target language.
2. You call out the word in English.
3. Students smack the correct word in the target language.
9
Team Test
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar/Vocabulary/Culture
(Practice Test)
Materials Needed Practice Test Questions, paper and
pencil for each team
 In your notebook, write 20 questions similar to what will appear on the
upcoming test.
Description
1. Students sit with their teams.
2. Teacher calls out a question.
3. Teams work together to answer the question.
4. At the end of 20 seconds, the teacher walks around to check answers.
5. One point is given to each team who correctly answers.
Variation-Game Show
1. You can organize the questions by category and difficulty.
2. Write a chart on the board. It might look like this:
Vocabulary Verb conjugation Culture Dictation Random Questions

1 1 1 1 1
2 2 2 2 2
3 3 3 3 3
4 4 4 4 4
3. The more difficult the question the more points it is worth.

4. Select a player from the teams who answer the question correctly to choose
the next question (example-Culture 1)
5. Keep track of what teams choose questions to keep it fair.
6. Team with the most points wins!
10
Artist’s Charades

Group Sizes Divide the class into 2-3 groups
Materials Needed Game Cards, Chalkboard, Chalk, Dice
 Game cards which lend themselves to drawing.
Description
1. Start the game with one member from each team approaching the board to
draw.
2. Show them the word/phrase that they need to draw. Give them a few
seconds to think and then count to three.
3. Students have 20-30 seconds (you decide depending on the difficulty) to
draw and get their team to guess the word/phrase.
4. The team that wins that round sends a player to roll the dice. If it lands on an
odd number, that team is the only one that draws/plays. If he/she rolls an
even number then each team needs to send up a player to draw.
5. After an individual team plays alone, choose a player from another team to
roll the dice and decide the teams´ fate.
11
Octagon
Group Sizes Divide class into 2 groups
Materials Needed Game Board p.63/64, questions
 Create a list of questions (25-30)
Description
1. Divide the class into two teams. Each team needs to be represented by a
color.
2. Flip a coin to decide which team first.
3. The blue team decides to go vertically and chooses to begin with the first m
octagon.
4. The letter in the octagon indicates the first letter of the answer.
5. The teacher asks a question such as “what animal swings high in the trees of
a tropical forest?”
6. If the yellow team is the first to answer, that octagon is colored yellow. If it is
the blue team who answers correctly, it is colored blue.
7. The yellow team chooses the next question.
8. Teams strategize to get across the board without the other team interrupting
their path.
12
Volleyball

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Verb Conjugation
Materials Needed 1 Balloon (maybe a few extras just in case)
 Divide the room in half using desks or tables.
 Prepare a list of 30 verbs to work on. (You need the list because play is fast
and continuous until an error is made or the balloon falls to the floor.)
Description
1. Teacher lets everyone know the verb tense. (You can change the verb tense
after a point is awarded.)
2. Teacher calls out the verb and puts the balloon into play.
3. Each student who touches the balloon says a part of the conjugation.
4. The balloon must make it over the “net”/row of desks within 3 hits without
ever touching the floor.
5. Points:
a. A team gets a point if the other team makes a mistake with
conjugation.
b. A team gets a point if the other team lets the balloon touch the floor.
Variation for a big class

1. If your class is too big or your classroom really small, it makes sense to
divide your students into 4 groups and play a championship.
2. Team 1 and 2 play for 10 verbs.
3. Team 3 and 4 play for 10 verbs.
4. The winners of each game play for the championship.
13
Doubly Difficult Charades
Materials Needed cards
 Have two blank cards ready for each student.
Description
1. Give each student 2 cards.
2. Each student is to write a noun/adjective combination (happy family)and a
verb/adverb combination (run slowly) to be acted out.
3. Teacher collects cards and throws them in a hat/bowl/bag.
4. Divide students into 4 groups.
5. Team 1 sends a student to get a card.
6. Student acts out that card for the whole class.
7. If after 30 seconds team 1 cannot guess then any team can guess.
8. The person has to say the words exactly as written on the card to get the
point.
9. Team 2 sends a student to do the same thing,
10. The team with the most points at the end wins.
Variation eliminating students writing the cards

1. You can make up the cards. A list of possible adjectives and adverbs can be
found as Appendix 2 on page 62.
14
Homerun

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Verb Conjugation
Group Sizes Divide the class into 2 groups
Materials Needed Flashcards
o Move the desks to the perimeter of the room and create a baseball
diamond (no outfield necessary).
o Create flash cards with subject/verb combinations or vocabulary in
English.
o Decide ahead of time how many “innings” you will have time for.
Description
1. Make 2 teams.
2. Put one student from each team on the bases. (2 on first, 2 on second, 2 on
third and 2 on home plate).
3. Show the students on home plate the flashcard. (If you have sneaky
students you may want to use a box top with wide sides to hide the card from
the others.)
4. Students on home plate register the word on the flashcard and run to first
base telling the person on their team the word(s) in the target language.
5. If the student does not know what the word is in the target language, he/she
can run and tell the first base student the word in English hoping that person
knows.
6. Student on first base runs to second base telling teammate the word.
7. Student on second base runs to third base telling teammate the word.
8. Student on third base runs to home plate and shouts the word to the teacher
before the other team does.
9. A point is awarded to the team whose player arrived at home and shouted
the correct word first.
10. Two new players “come up to bat” and the pattern is repeated.
11. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.
15
Speed
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Verb Conjugation/Culture
Materials Needed None
 Prepare a list of 25 questions that can be answered quickly.
Description
1. All students stand up and each team forms a line.
2. Ask a question to the first two students in the line.
3. The first person to answer it gets to sit down.
4. The other student goes to the back of his/her line.
5. Ask a question to the next two students standing in line.
6. This should be a fast paced game as its name suggests, so zing the
questions out quickly.
7. Continue the pattern until all students on one team are seated.
8. The team who sits down first wins.
Possible Questions-Level Easy

1. What color is my shirt/the sun/our football team?
2. How many students are in the class? / How many brothers do you have?
3. What is the name of our school/football team/the principal?
4. How did you get to school today?
5. What time is it? / What time does school start/end?
6. What is the date? When is Valentine’s Day?
7. What day of the week is it?
8. What is the weather like today/in January?
9. What animal says…? What kind of pet do you have?
10. In what room would you find a refrigerator/bed/table?
11. What holiday is celebrated with…?
12. Who is your favorite baseball player/singer/actor?
16
Sentence Builder
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Grammar
Group Sizes 5 students (can be less)
Materials Needed Paper and pencil for each group
 Have your list of vocabulary ready.
Objective: To write a complete sentence as a team using current vocabulary.
Description
1. Teams should be lined up in rows.
2. Give a piece of paper and a pencil to the first person in each row.
3. Call out a vocabulary word.
4. Student 1 writes the vocabulary word on the paper and hands the paper to
Student 2.
5. Student 2 adds a word either before or after to begin constructing a sentence
and hands the paper to Student 3.
6. Student 3 adds a word before, after or between to continue the sentence.
7. Each student needs to include a word.
8. The teams who finish within the allotted time with a correct sentence win a
point.
9. Round 2 starts with player 2 writing the vocabulary word called out.
10. All sentences must have 5 words. If there are not 5 students on the team,
the first student to write is also the last student to write.
11. An example with the vocabulary word bus in chart form (your students will
not be this organized and that is fine.)
Today the bus arrived Late.

Student 5 Student 2 Student 1 Student 3 Student 4
*It will happen that the last student to write will be unable to complete the sentence
as written. That is okay. The students will learn strategies to succeed. You can
even give them a time out after a few rounds to strategize.
17
Steal the Bacon
Group Sizes 2 groups
Materials Needed Objects that have unique characteristics
 Desks moved to the perimeter.
 Objects 5-7
Description
1. Two teams line up parallel to one another.
2. Put the objects in the center equidistant to each team.
3. Number off the players on each team. Each team needs to have the same
numbers, so if there is one less player on Team B, give one student 2
numbers.
4. Call out a characteristic such as “It is red”
5. Call out a number.
6. The students who correspond to that number run to the center and grab the
item with the said characteristic. (in this case the red object)
7. The student to grab it first earns a point for his/her team.
8. Return the object to the center and call out another characteristic and
number.
9. Allow all students to participate at least once before finishing the game.
18
Fashion Show
Category Whole Class
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Clothing Vocabulary Introduction
Group Sizes None
Materials Needed Various pieces of clothing representing the
vocabulary to be learned, music
 Gather as many different types of clothing as possible.
 Put them all on at the same time.
o You can have pants with shorts on over them and a skirt over that
and a dress over that and a suit over that.
o You can wear one regular shoe with socks and a sandal.
o You can wear a hat, sun glasses, and a large winter coat.
Description
1. Put on some fashion show music if you have some.
2. Strut around the room repeating the vocabulary words for the items you have
on.
3. Ask students to repeat the words.
4. Don’t forget to really act the part. It makes it much more entertaining!
5. When you are finished introducing the vocabulary, ask students to take out
their notebooks and a pencil to write down the new words.
6. In the meantime, shed your extra layers.
7. Hold up each item of vocabulary while students write the words in their
notebooks.
19
Bingo
Group Sizes Individual
Materials Needed 1 bingo card, beans to cover card,
flashcards with vocabulary words
 Purchase beans or plastic chips to cover the bingo cards
 Make bingo cards (4x4 or 5x5 grid) with the vocabulary word in target
language.
 Make flashcards with the vocabulary words on them.
Description
1. Give one card and a hand full of beans to each student.
2. Announce which type of bingo you will play (diagonal, 4 corners, X, T,
horizontal/vertical, whole card covered)
3. Randomly choose a card and read it in the English.
4. Students need to search for the equivalent in the target language and cover
it on their bingo card if they find it.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until a student correctly covers their bingo card.
6. You can play several rounds changing the type of bingo played and clearing
the cards of beans from the prior round.
20
Beat My Brag
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Present Perfect/Past tense
Materials Needed One brag per student
 Write one brag per student.
Description
1. Before beginning, show how the game works by writing a sequence on the
board.
2. Hand out brags.
3. Student 1 reads his/her brag: I have played soccer with Pele.
4. Any student who can outdo that, raises his/her hand: I have played soccer
with Pele and David Beckham.
5. Random student 3 raises his/her hand and says: Pele and David Beckham
have asked me to help them coach a soccer team.
6. Random student 4: Pele and David Beckham have asked me to be in a
commercial with them about the World Cup.
7. When no one can “top” the last brag, start with a new brag.
Variation
1. The next time students are going to play the game, have them write out a
brag for homework the night before.
Variation to Track Participation

1. Have all students stand up. Once they have added on to a brag sequence
they can sit down. (Reading the first one doesn’t count.)
21
Row Story
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Grammar/Writing
Materials Needed Worksheet
 Create a worksheet template for the story
Who:
To Whom:
Where?
What did person 1 say?
What did person 2 say?
What did they do?
Description
1. Give a worksheet to the first person in each row.
2. Student 1 answers the first question and folds the paper so that his/her
answer is no longer visible.
3. Student 2 answers the second question and folds the paper so that neither
the first nor the second answer is visible.
4. This continues until all the questions have been answered.
5. Teacher writes a short script on the board:
___________ slapped _______________ in the _________________.

(person 1)__________said__________________
And (person 2)_____________responded ________________
Afterwards, they both _____________________.
6. One student from each group unfolds the paper and plugs in their answers to
the script and reads the story aloud to the class.
7. Everyone gets a good giggle.
Variation
1. Require that each answer be of a certain length so that students need to use
more of the target language.
22
Ball Conjugation
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Verb conjugation
Group Sizes Whole class
Materials Needed A ball
 Choose the verb tense and verbs that you want the students to practice.
Description
1. Students make a circle where everyone can be seen.
2. The teacher calls out a verb and the verb tense. (example: to run past
tense)
3. Then he/she throws the ball to a student.
4. That student begins the conjugation: “I ran” and throws the ball.
5. Student 2 follows the order of conjugation: “you ran” and throws the ball.
6. This pattern continues through the entire conjugation of the verb: he ran, she
ran, we ran, all of you ran, they ran.
7. Once the verb conjugation is finished, the teacher calls out a new verb.
8. If the student is incorrect, he/she sits out.
9. If a student whips the ball, he/she is out.
10. The ball cannot be returned to anyone who has already participated in the
conjugation of the verb.
Variation to control participation

1. Once the student has participated, they squat or sit on the floor. Once
everyone has had a turn, all stand up again and continue playing.
23
Secret Object

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Question formation
Materials Needed secret object
 Decide what your secret object is.
 Hide it in a container (box/ bag) so no one can see it. Sometimes it is fun to
put something very small like a ring in a big T.V, box and pretend it ways a
ton when you put it on your desk.
 All students names in a hat/on tongue depressors...etc.
Description
1. Place the secret object in its respective container on your desk.
2. Pick names out of a hat to decide who asks a yes/no question.
3. Different students ask until they can guess what it is.
Variation-Where is the Object?

1. Similar game, but the students are trying to figure out where in the room the
object is.
2. Teacher tells the students that he/she has hidden X object in the classroom.
3. Students ask yes/no questions and the teacher answers with closer/farther
away/really close/super far…etc.
4. The student who asks the question to find the object wins!
24
Around the Room
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Grammar Review
Materials Needed Flashcards
 Flashcards of the material you want to review.
Description
1. Ask the first person in row one to stand next to the person behind him/her.
2. You show a flashcard.
3. If Student 1 says the correct answer first, then he/she moves to stand next to
the third person in the row. If Student 2 says it correctly first, he/she moves
to stand next to student 3 and student 1 sits in student 2´s seat.
4. Let’s imagine that student 1 won and is now standing next to Student 3. You
show another flashcard.
5. Student 1 wins again and thus moves to stand next to Student 4.
6. Student 1 attempts to win each time until he/she has moved all the way
“Around the Room.”
25
Levels
Materials Needed Set of questions and pencil/paper for
each student
 Write out the questions you want to use to help the students review starting
with the easiest and increasing in difficulty.
Description
1. All students should be sitting on the floor next to their desks.
2. Ask question 1.
3. Students have 10 seconds to write the answer and then pencils and paper
are put on the desk.
4. Teacher quickly moves up and down the aisles indicating which students
have answered correctly and can thus move to the next level.
5. Those who have answered incorrectly remain at level 1.
Sitting on the floor

Standing next to your desk
Sitting in your chair
Standing on your chair
Standing on your desk
6. Ask question 2.
7. Continue pattern until a student/students reach the top of the desk. They are
the champions!
8. Play again if the game goes too quickly.
Variation
1. Instead of allowing students to remain at their level if they make an error, send
them back a level. (Only play this way if you feel like there is an excellent sense of
community in your classroom and no one is going to have self-esteem issues.)
26
Number One
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary Review
 Make a list of 10 things that fall into your chosen category.
Animals Action verbs Sports
Bird To dance Volleyball
Cat To run Soccer
Cow To study Running
Dog To sing Basketball
Goat To eat Baseball
Horse To write Skiing
Mouse/rabbit To play a sport Horseback riding
pig To sleep American football
Sheep To play an instrument Hockey
Snake To talk (sport particular to target
culture)
Description
1. List the words you will be using in alphabetical order on the chalkboard.
2. Ask students to help you think of an action for each word.
3. Model how to play with 2-3 students before breaking up into groups.
4. Students move into groups.
5. Teacher selects a leader in each group. That student corresponds to the first
word on the list. (Bird)
6. Student 2 corresponds to the second word on the list (Cat) and so on.
7. Ask students to quickly go around the circle saying their noun and showing
their action.
8. Teacher erases list from the board and asks the leader of each group to
begin play.
9. The leader does his/her action while saying the corresponding word
(bird)followed by doing the action and saying the word of another student in
the group.(Pig)
10. Student 8 (pig) performs His/her own action while saying the corresponding
vocabulary word and then does the action and says the word of a different
person in the group.(Horse)
11. This continues until some one makes a mistake (forgets to do his/her action,
doesn’t do the action of another person quickly, can’t remember the word in
the target language…etc). Let’s say it was student 6-Horse.
12. Student 6 stands up and takes his/her new place as student 10-snake.
13. Students 7-10 move up a seat and assume their new word/action.
14. Play continues like this until time is called.
15. Student who is in the #1 seat=bird when the game finishes wins!
27
Find a Partner

Materials Needed Set of questions
 Write out 10-15 questions to ask students.
Description
1. Teacher says a question.

2. Students mill around the class asking the same question trying to find
someone else whose answer matches his/hers.
3. Once they have found their partner, they move to the perimeter.
4. Teacher asks a couple of partners/singles to answer the question in the
target language.
5. Teacher moves on to question 2.
6. Students follow the same pattern.
7. Play through all the questions or until you don’t have any more time.
Possible Questions
1. What is your favorite sport/color/food/movie/actor/song?
2. How many brothers/sisters do you have?
3. In what hospital were you born?
4. Who will you vote for?
5. Where would your dream vacation take place?
6. Do you prefer pizza or hamburgers?
28
Total Physical Response
Group Sizes Whole Class
 Think of vocabulary that could have a corresponding action.
o Works well with action verbs, and some nouns and adjectives.
Description
1. Teacher calls out a vocabulary word and all students need to perform an
action that corresponds to it.
2. If a student does the wrong action, he/she is out.
3. As the game progresses, call out the words more quickly to increase the
difficulty.
4. The last student standing wins.
Variation based on Simon Says

1. To increase difficulty a bit, add “your name” says before each action.
(Example: Mrs. Smith says dance).
2. Students should only do the action when “your name” says to do it.
3. If you simply say “dance”. No one should comply. Anyone who does is out.
29
Find Someone Who…
Category Mixer
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar (specific verbs or verb tenses),
vocabulary
Group Sizes Whole group
Materials Needed Worksheet for each student
 Make a worksheet in the target language following the example below called
Find Someone Who … with 10-15 points using grammar and vocabulary
from the current unit.
Find Someone Who…

1. Likes ice cream.
2. Likes the color blue.
3. Likes to eat beets.
4. Likes to run.
5. Likes to play soccer.
6. Likes to read mysteries.
7. Likes snakes.
8. Likes pizza.
9. Likes to watch the news.
10. Likes to see horror movies.
Description
1. Give a worksheet to each student.
2. Go over the question formation they should use.
3. Go over the response (in complete sentences) that students should use.
4. At your signal, allow students to mill around asking and answering questions
in the target language.
5. Students should write the name of the student who answers his/her question
along side the item.
6. Student who finishes first wins.
7. Teacher should mill around as well confirming that students are using the
target language.
8. Teacher can quickly verify that the winning student completed the task
correctly by randomly asking a few of the students whose names appear on
the sheet to confirm their answer.
Variation
1. Format the same items in a 4x4 chart.
2. Students win by covering the chart like in bingo. (four corners, diagonal,
horizontal, vertical, X, or whole card)
30
Line Up
Category Mixer
 Plan category/categories to be used (birthday, telephone number, favorite
color/sport/class…etc)
Objective: Students correctly line themselves up (numerically or alphabetically)

only speaking the target language.
Description
1. Give students a category such as birthday.
2. Tell students that they need to put themselves in order from January to
December. They must be in order within the months as well.
3. Students may only use target language to obtain the necessary information.
Variation
1. Make flashcards with words in English.
2. Students need to put themselves in alphabetical order by the word in the
target language.
Variation with a time limit

1. Provide the students with the category.
2. Give them a time limit in which to complete the activity correctly.
3. A whole class prize is given if completed correctly within the time limit.
(example: five less homework problems)
31
Who Am I?
Category Mixer
Materials Needed Tape and one card for each player
 Write a card for each person in the class with a noun on it. Usually it is
easiest to use around ten vocabulary words and then repeat them.
Description
1. Review some questions that might help students figure out the word soon to
be on their back. (Am I a person/animal/place? Do I have …? Am I made of
…?)
2. Tape one card to each student’s back without them seeing the card.
3. Students must walk around asking others questions about the card on
his/her back.
4. A student may not ask more than one question in a row to the same student.
5. Once a student is confident they know their word, they remain playing the
game answering other people’s questions.
Possible Topics
TRANSPORTATION PEOPLE PLACES

car Police officer House
bike Student Movie theater
bus Teacher Police station
boat President Post office
subway Fire fighter Bank
truck Pilot Supermarket
train Athlete Restaurant
airplane School principal Pharmacy
bicycle Farmer church
motorcycle Actor park
Variation
1. Use famous people’s names or places (countries/cities) that speak the target
language.
Variation 2
1. Have students find their partners or the rest of their threesome who have the
same noun.
2. Ask students to work together to make a short skit (1min.) about their noun.
3. Present to the class.
32
Pass it!
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Culture
Materials Needed Strange item to pass around the circle
Music in the target language
 Obtain a strange stuffed animal, rubber chicken, or just a stick to pass
around the circle.
 Get a CD and a CD player
 Write a list of topics
Objective: Students pass around the object hoping not to be the one holding it
when the music stops.
Description
1. Students sit in a circle.
2. Teacher calls out a category, hands the stuffed animal to a student and
students pass it around the circle until the music stops.
3. Student holding the animal when the music stops needs to say 5 things that
fall within the category given.
4. If the student succeeds, he/she stays in. If the student fails, he/she sits out.
5. Continue until only one student remains. He/she is the winner!
Possible Topics
-cities/countries where the target language is the main language spoken
-animals you see in your neighborhood
-fruit
-vegetables
-school subjects
-sports
-methods of transportation
-adjectives to describe a person
-holidays celebrated in the target culture
-family members
-days of the week
-months of the year
-words to describe the weather
-activities you do with your friends
-rooms in a house
-authors who write in the target language
33
Switch
Category Mixer
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Answering questions
 Chairs are placed in a circle. (one less than there are students)
Description
1. All students sit in the circle, but one. That person is “it”.
2. That person leaves the circle.
3. All students close their eyes.
4. Teacher taps three people on the head and tells every one to open their eyes.
5. The person who is “it” walks around the circle asking students questions.
6. Every one must answer the questions truthfully except the three who were
tapped on the head.
7. Those who were tapped on the head yell “switch” when asked a question.
8. This is the indicator that everyone needs to find a new seat. (No moving just
one seat over).
9. The person who is left standing is now “it” and the game starts over.
34
20 Questions
Category Sponge
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Question formation, vocabulary, culture
Materials Needed Cards with a person, place or thing written
on them
 Make cards with a person, place or thing written on each one
Description
1. Choose a student. This student selects a card, reads it and keeps its
contents a secret. He/she remains in front of the class to answer the
questions.
2. Taking turns, students from the class ask yes/no questions in the target
language to gather information allowing them to guess the secret word(s).
3. Guesses need to be asked as yes/no questions and count toward the 20
allotted questions.
4. If after 20 questions are asked, no one has guessed, the answer is revealed.
Variation- Students Make Cards

1. Have students each write 2 cards. Student should include their name on the
card. It may be prudent to set limits as to what they can write on the card:
must be a famous person, must be an object we have all heard of…etc.
2. Teacher begins by selecting a card at random. The student whose card is
chosen comes to the front of the class to answer the questions.
3. The rest of the game remains the same.
Variation-All Students Guess

1. Give students a small piece of paper as they enter the room.
2. Follow the original description, but do no allow any guesses.
3. At the end of the twenty questions, all students write their guess and their
name on the piece of paper they received.
4. Teacher collects all the papers and reads them to the class.
5. All students who guessed correctly win.
Variation-Teams
1. The teacher is the holder of the card and information.
2. Students are broken into teams of 4-6.
3. Each team takes turns asking questions one at a time. A different student
must ask the question each time. No repetitions are allowed until every
person has had a turn.
4. The group that guesses correctly wins.
35
Chain Reaction
Category Sponge
 Plan the category/categories to be used (sports, food, places, nature, or topic
for the current unit of study)
Description
1. Ask students to write the alphabet down one side of their paper.
2. Provide students with a topic such as food.
3. Give students five minutes to write words in that category in alphabetical
order.
4. Play begins after the 5 minutes with one student saying a word that begins
with A. (apple)
5. The next student in the row says a word that begins with the last letter of
word 1. (egg)
6. Student 3 says a word that begins with the last letter of word 2. (grape)
7. The student who cannot provide the next word is out and game continues
with the next person.
8. Last student “in” the game wins.
Variation with a little more excitement

1. Instead of going row by row, have students stand-up.
2. Call on students randomly (names out of a hat) to provide the next word.
3. When student is “out” they sit down.
4. Last student standing wins.
36
Tic-Tac-To
Category Sponge
Group Sizes Whole group split into 2 groups
Materials Needed Chalkboard and chalk
 Plan out ahead of time the 16 words or phrases that you will use to fill in the
4 x4 Tic-Tac-To grid.
He went I gave We played You asked

She ran You said He slept We wrote
They walked They had We ate I liked
We sang He was They talked She made
Description
1. Teacher writes out the Tic-Tac-To grid on the chalkboard including the
words/phrases in each box.
2. Decide which team will go first.
3. Student 1 of Team one selects a square and then gives the answer in the
target language.
4. If student is correct the respective “X” or “O” is put in that place.
5. Students on the team need to work individually. No whispering answers. If
you hear an answer being called out, the team loses its turn.
6. Team 2 follows the same pattern.
7. No student can repeat a turn until all have played.
8. The team to get 3”X” or 3”O” in a row wins.
9. A finished game may look like this:
He went X I gave X We played X You asked

She ran O You said O He slept X We wrote
They walked They had O We ate O I liked
We sang X He was They talked She made
Variation
1. Students can play this on a worksheet in pairs or small groups.
37
Editor
Category Sponge
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar
Group Sizes Individuals
Materials Needed Paper and pen per person
Chalkboard or white board
 Create a sentence or paragraph containing errors.
 Have sentence/paragraph on the board when the students enter.
Objective: Students locate and correct all of the errors in the sentence/paragraph.
Description
1. As students enter the class, they read the paragraph on the board.
2. Students write the entire paragraph “as is” in their notebooks.
3. Students then begin to correct the errors that they find.
4. After a few minutes, ask all students to stop writing and look at the board.
5. Ask students to show with their fingers how many errors they found.
6. Student who found the most comes up to the board and corrects the
sentence.
7. If he/she is correct, they win!
Variation to make it easier

1. Indicate the number of errors present.
Variation
1. Use student’s work (without the student’s name, of course).
38
Whole Class Board Games
Category Sponge
Group Sizes Divide class into 2-3 groups
Materials Needed chalkboard/chalk
 A list of vocabulary/grammar you want to practice would be beneficial, but
not necessary. You could do this with no preparation.
Description
1. Teacher draws a random board game trail on the board. (Make it long or
short depending on the amount of time you have and don’t worry about
artistic value! Simple example below.)
2. Each team chooses a symbol or number to represent them on the board.
3. Take turns asking the teams questions.
4. If they answer correctly they move forward one space.
5. If they answer incorrectly, they remain in the same spot.
6. The team to reach the end first wins!
Variation
1. You decide randomly which student will answer the question for the team.
2. Rotate who you choose each round.
End
START
39
Inside the Phrase
Category Sponge
Group Sizes Individuals
Materials Needed Paper and pen for each student
 Think of the phrase/sentence you want to put on the board.
Description
1. Teacher writes the phrase/sentence on the board.
2. Students have 3-5 minutes to write down as many words as they can form
using the letters from the sentence/phrase on the board.
3. At the end students use the following chart to count up their score:
o 1-letter words = 1 point

o 2-letter words = 2 points
o 8 or more letter words = 20 points
Example=181 points!
HAVE FUN AT THE HOMECOMING GAME!
EAT TOME
NUT FOAM
HUT MUGGING
GUT COMING
VAN THING
TAN MOTH
MAN MATE
CAN FATE
HAM MOTE
HEM TOTE
CAT VOTE
MAT NAME
HAT GAME
FAT FAME
NOTHING CAME
HATE
COME
HOME
40
Make a Word
(based on Boggle by Parker Brothers)
Category Sponge
Materials Needed Chalkboard and chalk
 Write out a 4 X 4/5 x 5 grid on a piece of paper and fill it in with common letters.
 Play a round by yourself to insure there are enough options for forming words.
 Draw the grid on the board.
Description
1. Put the grid on the board and give students 3 minutes to perform their task.
2. Students are to use adjoining letters to form words.
3. A letter may not be used more than once unless it appears multiple times in the
grid.
4. The letters need to adjoin in order to form the word. No jumping around.
Example
T E V L
A K K I
S O B U
Z W A R
G I S H
Acceptable Answers:
Take evil Like Rash soak Soar

Sob Saw Swish Wars Boat Soars
Wish War Bash bar Sat
Words that would be unacceptable:

takes (because the s is not connected to the e)
boats (because the s is not connected to the t)
soaks (because you can’t use one letter twice)
41
Am I Telling the Truth?
Category Small Groups

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar/Vocabulary (works well with present
perfect and past tenses)

 Write four sentences about yourself. Three should be true and one should be a lie.
This will be the model for the students, so if you want them to practice a certain
verb tense, you should use it in your example.
Description
1. Model the activity reading your four statements and asking the students if they can
detect the lie.
2. Before students move into their groups, the whole class takes 3-4 minutes to write
down the 4 sentences about themselves.
3. Students then move into groups.
4. Student 1 reads his/her four statements.
5. When student one finishes, he/he counts to 3 and the rest of the players indicate
with their fingers (1 finger for statement one, 2 fingers for statement 2, etc) which
statement contains the lie.
6. Students see how many guessed correctly and how many people they fooled.
7. All students in the group take turns reading their statements.
Variation-Deeper Investigation
1. Allow each student in the group to ask the “Liar” one question to help them determine
which statement is false.
42
Secret Word
Based on Taboo by Milton Bradley

Materials Needed 12 Secret Word Cards
 Make 12 Secret Word cards that go along with the vocabulary students know/are
studying. The number of forbidden words can vary per card.
 Photocopy the cards so each group has one set.
AIRPLANE
Fly
Flight attendant
Pilot
Airport
Wings
Description
1. Divide small group in half. (2 teams)
2. Player 1 of Team 1 picks up a card and reads it.
3. Without using gestures or the forbidden words, Player 1 tries to communicate the
Secret Word to his/her teammates in the target language within the 60 second limit.
4. Team 2 watches the clock and makes sure no gestures or keywords are used.
5. If gestures or key words are used, play is stopped and the other team begins their
turn.
6. If the team guesses the word, they get a point.
7. Player 1 of Team 2 follows the same pattern.
8. Team with the most points at the end wins.
Variation-Speed Round
1. A speed round can be added where each team gets 30 seconds and half the cards.
2. Players on the team take turns picking cards.
3. Each player can only say ONE word as a clue to the secret word on the card.
4. If a teammate guesses the word, then said teammate should pick up the next card
and give a one word clue.
5. Repeat until time runs out or no cards are left. One point/correct answer.
43
Unscramble
Materials Needed A scrambled sentence set for each group,
Paperclips, envelopes
 Think of 5 sentences that have a logical sequence.
 Write them in a large font. It is easier if each sentence has a different color.
 Cut up the sentence so that there is only one word on each slip of paper.
 Clip the words to each sentence together with a paperclip
 Toss the 5 clipped sentences into an envelope
 Repeat for each group.
Description
1. Give one envelope to each group.
2. On your signal, groups begin to unscramble one sentence at a time.
3. Once all the sentences are unscrambled, the team puts the sentences in order to
tell a logical story.
4. The first group to put all the sentences in order wins.
Variation-Less materials and more movement

*Important to do each sentence in a different color consistently.
1. Make only one scrambled sentence per group with one whole extra set.
2. Pass out one sentence to each group and leave the extras on your desk.
3. Students need to unscramble the sentence and then write it down in their
notebooks.
4. When they finish with a sentence, they bring it up to the teacher’s desk, and locate
a sentence they haven’t yet unscrambled.
Variation-Increased Individual Accountability

1. Each student receives a sentence to unscramble.
2. Once the student unscrambles the sentence, s/he moves to the designated area to
share the sentence with the group.
3. Group works together to put the sentences in order.
4. No one can help an individual put his/her sentence together.
44
Same and Different
Materials Needed paper and pen/pencil per group
 Give each group an empty sheet of paper
Description
1. Give each group a blank piece of paper and ask them to use their pen/pencil to
divide the sheet into the same number of people as their group.
2. Students should then number the spaces created 1-?
3. Student 1 says something about his/herself in the target language.
4. The rest of the students comment on whether they feel the same way or not.
5. If no one agrees, then the characteristic is written under section 1 because only
one person feels that way. If three people are alike, then it is written under section
3.
6. Include the names of the people who agree when writing it down.
7. Then, a different student takes a turn saying a characteristic.
8. Follow this pattern until each person has said 2 characteristics or until the time is
up.
45
Oops!
Materials Needed 20 Flashcards with vocabulary in English
4 Oops cards
 Flashcards for each group.
 4 Oops cards (should look the same as the vocabulary cards from the back)
Description
1. Ask each group to shuffle the deck and place the cards face down in a 4x6 grid.
2. Students take turns picking up a card and saying the word in the target language.
If they say it correctly, they keep the card. If the student is incorrect the card
returns to the grid.
3. If a student picks up an Oops card. They are required to sing 2-3 lines of a famous
song in the target language (or what ever silly thing you or the class decides)
4. Student with the most cards at the end wins!
Variation
1. Have the Oops card indicate that the rest of the group (not the card-holder) needs
to perform the silly thing.
Variation Adding Difficulty

1. Instead of writing one word on each card, write a whole sentence.
46
Rummy with Letters
Materials Needed Word Rummy Cards
 Make a deck of Rummy with Letters cards for each group.
Description
1. Deal out 5 cards to each person and lay the rest of the deck face down.
2. Students take turns either picking up one card from the discard pile or from the
deck.
3. Students are trying to make words out of the letter cards in their hand.
4. If player can lay down a word, they do so during their turn.
5. Player finishes his/her turn discarding one card.
6. Students must discard even to win.
Additional Rule to make it More Fun

1. Player can “steal” a card that is laid down IF:
a. the word that remains can stand alone without it.
i. Player can steal the “s” off of she because he is still a word.
ii. Player can steal the “e” off of seat because sat is still a word
iii. Player can NOT steal the “d” from did, because id is not a word.
b. the player must use the card IMMEDIATELY to lay down a word.
i. Player cannot steal a letter card and hold on to it for a future turn.
Deck Make-Up (This will change per language, but here is a general idea.)
A 10 F 2 K 2 P 3 U 6 Z 2
B 3 G 4 L 4 QU 2 V 2
C 3 H 2 M 3 R 6 W 2
D 4 I 8 N 6 S 5 X 2
E 12 J 2 O 8 T 6 Y 4
47
Memory

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Verb Conjugation
Amount of Class Time 10/15 minutes
Materials Needed Memory Cards
 Write out 15 pairs of Memory Cards. The pairs can be:
o picture/vocabulary word in the target language
o vocabulary word English/target language
o subject/verb conjugations
o countries/food, holidays, capitals
Description
1. Students lay out cards face down in a 5 x 6 grid.
2. Students turn over two cards.
3. If the cards match, the student keeps them and gets another turn.
4. If the cards don’t match, the students returns them face down to the same place
and play moves to the next student.
5. Student with the most pairs at the end of the game wins.
48
Go Fish!
Category Small Group
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Verb Conjugation/Vocabulary
Materials Needed Vocabulary/Verb tense cards for the game
For Big Numbers

 For each group, make a deck of 54 cards counting by 10’s or 100’s
o 6 cards of every number (6-100, 6-200, 6-300…etc.)
For Vocabulary Study

 For each group make a deck of 52 cards using 13 vocabulary pairs
o 2 cards for vocabulary in English and 2 cards for vocabulary in target
language
For Verb Conjugation

 Make a deck of 52 cards for each group
o 2 cards for each subject and 2 cards for the verb conjugation
o Best if kept to 1-2 verbs in one tense.
Description Playing with Numbers

1. Each student is dealt 5 cards.
2. In the target language, Student 1 asks another student if they have the
complement to his/her card. (If you are playing by 10’s, the complement would be
the card that added to first card would equal 100. Example: If I have a 20, I will
ask Student 2 for an 80.)
3. If Student 2 has the card requested, he/she gives it to Student 1.
4. Student 1 lays down the pair in front of him/her and play moves to the next person.
5. The student who lays down all their pairs first, wins.
Description for Playing with Vocabulary

1. Students follow the same pattern as above, but ask for the corresponding
vocabulary word. A pair is a word in target language and the same word in English.
Description for Playing with Verb Conjugations

1. Students follow the same pattern as above, but ask for the corresponding subject
or verb. A pair is a subject and correct verb conjugation.
2. If playing with two verbs, student needs to ask for a specific verb.
49
Lost

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar (If clauses/Conditional tense)
Materials Needed List of items
 Decide where you want your students to get lost 
o Tropical island
o Desert
o Antarctica
o Forest
o Mountains
o Moon
 Write out a list of 20 items students might want if lost
 Create the scene in your mind/on paper
.
Description
1. Set the scene for the students (plane/helicopter/boat crash, reality t.v. show
production crew takes you there to see if you will survive, kidnappers, woke up one
morning and found yourself …) What do they see there? Weather?
2. Break students into their groups and give them the list of supplies.
3. Students take 10-15 minutes to discuss which 6 items they would want to have
with them.
4. Have one member from each group write their list on the board.
5. Discuss the similarities and differences.
6. Vote on the group that survives the experience.
Example List
First Aid Kit sunscreen
Flashlight solar powered radio set
Pistol (loaded) needle and thread
2 signal flares cell phone
Box of matches 4 cans of tuna
1 magnetic compass 6 gallons of water
50m Rope
1 case of dehydrated milk
Knife
Tent
Blankets
candle
portable heating unit
50
For Sale

Materials Needed One photocopy for each group
 Take a blank sheet of paper and draw a random squiggle on it.
 Photocopy one for each group.
Description
1. Give each group the photocopy.
2. Each person in the group needs to add something to the drawing.
3. After about 3 minutes tell groups to stop.
4. Give them around 10 minutes to create a short commercial (20 seconds) for the
product they have just created/drawn. All students must have a speaking part
in the commercial.
5. After the 10 minutes are up, have each group perform their commercial.
6. Vote on the most creative commercial.
51
Children’s Stories

Type of Skills to Be Practiced Grammar/Speaking
Amount of Class Time 2 hours
Group Sizes 4-6 students per group
Materials Needed Little squares of paper and stories in target
language
 Copies of famous children’s stories in the target language (internet copy is fine)
 Write the names of the children’s stories on little squares of paper (one per
group)
Description
1. Once the groups are chosen, have one student from each group pick a
children’s story out of a hat.
2. The students are then given the class period to create a short play in the target
language based on that story.
3. Teacher mills around observing and helping.
4. Day 2 begins with time to practice.
5. Plays are then performed for all to see.
6. Students can give positive comments in the target language after each
presentation.
Possible Expectations
1. All students must have a speaking part.
2. If the story is too long/complicated, students may perform only a section.
3. Props/costumes are unnecessary, time consuming and distract students from
practicing the play in the target language. They are also fun. So, students are
encouraged to make them as homework.
4. Part of grade will be based on work day 1.
5. Reading from a script is dull. Parts should be improvised/memorized.
6. All students should make at least one positive comment about another group’s
play.
52
Magazine Pictures

Group Sizes 4-6 students per group
Materials Needed Pictures from magazines about a variety
of topics, glue, paper
 Cut out pictures from magazines. (Bring one for each student plus 5 extra)
Description
1. Students stand in a large circle.
2. Place all the pictures face up in the center of the circle.
3. Ask students to look at the pictures and choose one.
4. Place students in groups of 4-6.
5. Explain to students that they need to come up with a story that includes all the
pictures.
6. Pictures should be glued in order and captions written underneath each one.
7. Each student in the group should write their own caption.
8. The story can be longer than the captions.
9. After about 15 minutes, groups should practice presenting the story.
10. After about 5 minutes, groups present.
Time Saver
Ask students to bring in a magazine picture as part of their homework.
53
Grab It!
Materials Needed Letter Cards
 Make Letter Cards
Description
1. Students sit in a circle with the cards face down.
2. Students take turns turning over one card.
3. As the cards are turned over, students study the possibility of forming a word
with the upturned letters.
4. The first student to slap the floor gets the opportunity to form a word with the
letters showing. (Unscrambling the letters is legal. The letters do not need to be
connected either.)
Example
T Z K A E
Student forms the word: T A K E
5. If they are correct, they take the cards used to form the word.
6. Play resumes.
7. The student with the most cards at the end wins.
Deck Make-Up (This will change per language, but here is a general idea.)
A 10 F 2 K 2 P 3 U 6 Z 2
B 3 G 4 L 4 QU 2 V 2
C 3 H 2 M 3 R 6 W 2
D 4 I 8 N 6 S 5 X 2
E 12 J 2 O 8 T 6 Y 4
54
Board Games
Materials Needed Game Board and cards
 Create a game board from scratch or modify the example p.65
 Make game cards that match the skill you want practiced:
o Vocabulary
o Verb conjugation in a certain tense
o Any grammar construction
Description
Board Games lend them selves to making any skill acquisition fun. You make the
rules that suit you.
Options
1. Each time a student rolls the dice they need to pick up a card. They must
answer the question correctly/say the right vocabulary word to be able to move
forward.
2. If dice are hard to come by, you could either:
a. Make number cards that say the number of spaces they can move
forward
b. Explain that each turn the student only moves forward one space.
3. It adds a little extra thrill when there are short cuts to move them forward or
surprise setbacks which move them backwards.
4. You could make the board game around a particular cultural theme or about a
popular movie/book that has come out recently.
5. Students can make their own game boards.
55
Name that Noun
Materials Needed Cards with a noun on them
 Choose a category: Ocean animals, Transportation, School
 Cut out enough cards so that each team gets one.
 Write a noun in the chosen category on each card.
Description
1. Have groups pick out a card out of a hat/bag/bowl.
2. Secretively they begin working on a SHORT skit (20-30 seconds) that
represents/involves their noun without saying the word.
3. After about 8 minutes, reassemble the class and begin watching the
presentations.
4. After the skit is finished, students in the other groups can guess what their noun
was.
5. All groups take turns performing their skits.
6. Afterwards the students guess what the category was.
56
War
Category Pairs
Group Sizes 2-3 people
Materials Needed Flashcards with vocabulary
 Have students make flashcards of the new vocabulary
 Ask them to leave one card blank.
Description
1. Have students sit facing each other with one set of vocabulary flashcards
between them.
2. Tell them which side you want facing up. (If the target language word is facing
up, it is easier. You could start here at the beginning of a unit and then proceed
to English face up as the unit progresses.)
3. Without looking, a student should shuffle the cards, and place the blank card on
top.
4. One student counts to three in the target language and removes the blank card.
5. The first person to say the word in English (if the target language is face up)
wins the point.
6. Keep that card there so that it covers the next card.
7. Student who won counts to three in the target language and removes top card.
8. Again, student who says the word in English first wins.
9. Continue until all cards have been used.
Variation
1. Use verbs asking students to conjugate the verb in a certain tense and person.
(Example: Conjugate each verb in the present tense third person singular)
57
What’s the Difference?
Category Pairs
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Question formation
Group Sizes Pairs
Materials Needed Two similar pictures
 Either draw two pictures (thinking about current vocabulary in unit) that have
only about 6-7 differences or find printed ones in a Puzzle book, newspaper
magazine, or the internet. (You don’t have to be an artist to make this work for
certain vocabulary. You can cut out clip art if you want.)
 Photocopy them on separate sheets of paper. Each student gets ONE picture.
Description
1. Pairs sit in front of one another looking at their respective picture.
(no peeking!)
2. Student 1 says 5 statements in the target language about his/her picture.
3. Student 2 is welcome to ask clarifying questions at any time.
4. Once Student 1 is finished, student 2 says 5 things about the picture in front of
him/her. Again, student 1 can ask any clarifying questions.
5. This pattern continues until the students have identified all the differences.
6. The first pair to correctly identify the differences wins.
58
Match My Drawing
Category Pairs
Group Sizes Groups of 2
Materials Needed Drawings for half the class and blank paper
for the other half
 Make a simple drawing using vocabulary from the unit.
 Photocopy one for each set of pairs.
Description
1. Student 1 explains his/her drawing slowly using one sentence at a time in the
target language.
2. Student 2 listens and attempts to draw the same thing on his/her paper.
3. Student 2 may ask clarifying questions in the target language, but can NOT
look at Student 1’s drawing.
4. The pair whose drawings are the most similar wins.
Variation-Clip Art
1. Instead of having Student 2 draw, he/she can cut and paste clip art according
to Student 1’s description.
59
Strategy
Category Pairs
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary Review
Group Sizes 2 students
Materials Needed Flashcards for each group
 12-20 flashcards for each group
Description
1. Students lay out the flashcards face down in a grid.
2. Students take turns turning over flashcards and saying the equivalent in the
target language.
3. Students may turn over any number of cards from a single row.
4. The student who has to pick up the last card looses.
60
Fortune Teller
Category Pairs
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Future Tense/Question Formation
Materials Needed Fortune Teller Cards for each pair
 Create a set of 6-8 Fortune Teller Cards
 Homework for students the night before:
o Write up 10 yes/no questions they have about their future
 Optional: Dress the part of a fortune teller
Description
1. Teacher enters the class acting as a fortune teller and invites one student to get
his/her fortune read.
2. Teacher sits with the student in a place where the whole class can see.
3. Still acting the part, the teacher/fortune teller invites the student to ask a
question about his/her future.
4. At this point the teacher lays out the cards face down while repeating the
question.
5. Now you need to choose your fortune telling strategy of choice:
a. Through magic you choose the card that answers the question
b. Allow the student to choose his/her fate.
6. The sillier you are, the more fun it will be. It sets the students up for their
fortune telling experience that comes next.
7. After you are done modeling, the students break into pair and read each other’s
fortunes.
Fortune Telling Card Answers and Pattern

1. Possible answers are: It is possible, Definitely YES, Without a doubt, NO,
Concentrate & ask again, Very Doubtful, Looks good, Forget about it.
What is in your future?
61
Pair Crosswords
Category Pairs
Materials Needed 2 copies of the Crossword Puzzle for each
pair
 Create a crossword puzzle without the clues.
 On one copy of the crossword puzzle fill in the horizontals(verticals empty)
 On the second copy fill in only the verticals(horizontals empty)
Description
1. Give one partner the verticals sheet.
2. Give the other partner the horizontals sheet.
3. Partner A gives a clue for the first word on his/her sheet and Partner B fills in
the correct word.
4. Partner B gives a clue for the first word on his/her sheet and Partner A fills in
the correct word.
5. Partners take turns until they each have the whole crossword filled in.
6. NO PEEKING!!!
Simple Example
1 B 2 T 1 2
3
O R 3 H E L I C O P T E R
A U
T C
4 C 5 T K 4 5
6 A A 6 A I R P L N E
R X
7
I 7 T R A I N
62
Cartoons
Category Individual
Type of Skills to Be Practiced Vocabulary/Grammar/Verb conjugation
Materials Needed Copy of a cartoon from the newspaper
 Photocopy a cartoon out of the newspaper. It is probably best to increase
the size.
 Before you make a copy for each person, eliminate all the words.
 Make a copy for each person. (You can probably fit two to a page)
Objective: To create a new dialog for a cartoon.
Description
1. Hand out the photocopy to the students and explain their mission.
2. Students work quietly writing the new dialog.
3. When students are finished working, ask them to get together with a small
group to share.
4. While in the group students should decide whose cartoon is the most
creative/funniest.
5. Each group shares one with the class.
Variation-More time consuming

1. Ask students to draw their own cartoon.
63
APPENDIX 1
Games Listed in
Alphabetical Order
Am I Telling the Truth? 39 Pass it! 30

Around the Room 22 Row Story 19
Artist's Charades 8 Rummy with Letters 44
Ball Conjugation 20 Same and Different 42
Beat My Brag 18 Secret Object 21
Bingo 17 Secret Word 40
Board Games 52 Sentence Builder 14
Cartoons 60 Smack It! 6
Chain Reaction 33 Speed 13
Children's Stories 49 Steal the Bacon 15
Doubly Difficult Charades 11 Strategy 57
Editor 35 Switch 31
Fashion Show 16 Team Feud 5
Find a Partner 25 Team Spelling 4
Find Someone Who… 27 Team Test 7
For Sale 48 Tic-Tac-To 34
Fortune Teller 58 Total Physical Response 26
Go Fish! 46 20 Questions 32
Grab It! 51 Unscramble 41
Heart Attack 3 Volleyball 10
Homerun 12 War 54
Inside the Phrase 37 What's the Difference? 55
Levels 23 Who Am I? 29
Line Up 28 Whole Class Board
Lost 47 Games 36
Lyric Race 2
Magazine Pictures 50
Make a Word 38
Match My Drawing 56
Memory 45
Name that Noun 53
Number One 24
Octagon 9
Oops! 43
Pair Crosswords 59
64
APPENDIX 2
Adjectives and Adverbs List
For
Doubly Difficult Charades p. 11
Adjectives Quick Sadly

Afraid Quiet Sleepily
Ancient Rainy Softly
Bad Romantic Wildly
Beautiful Sad Yesterday
Big Scary
Boring Short
Bright Silly
Broken Skinny
Cloudy Slow
Cold Small
Crazy Smelly
Curly Tall
Damp Ugly
Deep Weak
Dirty Wet
Excited Wide
Expensive Young
Funny
Friendly Adverbs
Fat Almost
Giant After
Good Angrily
Happy Anxiously
Healthy Badly
Hungry Bravely
High Calmly
Intelligent Cautiously
Large Clumsily
Late Constantly
Lazy Easily
Long Elegantly
Low Energetically
Modern Far
Magical Fast
Many Gently
Narrow Gladly
Nervous Gracefully
New Happily
Nice Loudly
Old Mysteriously
Perfect Neatly
Pretty Quietly
Proud Roughly
65
APPENDIX 3
Blank Octagon Game Board
(Accompanies activity p.9)
66
M L O S
F B A
T E N C
D G P
R A D S
P L B
M G T E
APPENDIX 4
Octagon Game Board Example
(Accompanies activity p.9)
67
APPENDIX 5-Board Game Example (Accompanies activity p. 52)
START   
  
 shortcut →  
  
   

FINISH       
-Roll again -Lose a turn
Shortcut can only be used if player lands directly on shortcut square
68
69

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1

Activities for Individuals

Some General Suggestions

Here are some low budget ideas:

Variation for a large class

Variation with increased difficulty and/or for a large class

Variation keeping all students/teams involved

Category Team Competition

Variation Bonus Round

On top of Close to To the left Under

Vocabulary Verb conjugation Culture Dictation Random Questions

3. The more difficult the question the more points it is worth.

Category Team Competition

Category Team Competition

Variation for a big class

Variation eliminating students writing the cards

Category Team Competition

Possible Questions-Level Easy

Objective: To write a complete sentence as a team using current vocabulary.

Today the bus arrived Late.

Variation to Track Participation

___________ slapped _______________ in the _________________.

Variation to control participation

Category Whole Class

Variation-Where is the Object?

Sitting on the floor

Category Whole Class

1. Teacher says a question.

Variation based on Simon Says

Find Someone Who…

Objective: Students correctly line themselves up (numerically or alphabetically)

Variation with a time limit

TRANSPORTATION PEOPLE PLACES

Variation- Students Make Cards

Variation-All Students Guess

Variation with a little more excitement

He went I gave We played You asked

He went X I gave X We played X You asked

Variation to make it easier

o 1-letter words = 1 point

HAVE FUN AT THE HOMECOMING GAME!

Take evil Like Rash soak Soar

Words that would be unacceptable:

Category Small Groups

Amount of Class Time 10-15 minutes

Category Small Groups

Variation-Less materials and more movement

Variation-Increased Individual Accountability

Variation Adding Difficulty

Additional Rule to make it More Fun

Category Small Groups

For Big Numbers

For Vocabulary Study

For Verb Conjugation

Description Playing with Numbers

Description for Playing with Vocabulary

Description for Playing with Verb Conjugations

Category Small Groups

Category Small Group

Category Small Groups

Category Small Groups

Student forms the word: T A K E

___ slapped _ in the ___________.