Games Bank

Board race Teams have to list as many words as possible related to a topic. Set a
time limit.

Charades or This is a good game to reinforce vocabulary.

miming
Have cards with pictures and words in a bag. One learner takes a card
and acts out what is written on the card. The first learner to call out what
the word is, has the next turn.
You can divide the class into two or four groups for this and make it a
‘winning team’ game. The first team to call out the word gets a point.

Catch the ball Make eye contact with a learner and ‘throw’ an imaginary ball to them.
They have to say a vocabulary word from the topic and then ‘throw’ it for
another learner to catch. That learner then says another word. Repeat
until all learners have said a word.

Correct me Play in pairs. One learner says an untrue statement and their partner
has to correct them using emphatic stress. For example: Paris is the
capital of Germany.

Draw it Either play as a class with two teams with volunteers drawing on the
board, or divide learners into small groups with volunteers drawing on
a sheet of paper. Give volunteers the words to draw. The first group to
guess is the winner.

I spy The learner who is ‘It’ says ‘I spy with my little eye something that is (a
colour).’ It has to be something the class can see.
They could say something that is big, is small, hops, jumps, (if pictures
are in the room) begins with the ‘t’ sound, etc.
The learner who guesses is the next ‘It’.

First letter, last Learners make chains of words either in groups or as a class. Learner
letter 1 in the group starts by saying a word. Learner 2 has to say a word
beginning with the last letter of that word. Learner 3 has to say a word
beginning with the last letter of Learner 2’s word. For example:
Learner 1: sister

Learner 2: ride

Learner 3: egg

Hangman Choose a vocabulary word for learners to guess. Write blanks for each
letter on the board. Learners try to guess the word by guessing one letter
at a time. They should start with common letters such as ‘e’, ‘s’ and ‘t’.
For example: Is there an e? If they guess a letter correctly, you write that
letter in. Each guess about a letter and any guess about the word counts
as a turn. The guesser(s) get ten tries. Draw an apple tree with ten
apples and cross one off for each letter guessed.

How many? Learners work in groups to write answers to questions about numbers.
Ask at least six questions. The winner is the group to get all of the
numbers correct.

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Question time Tell all the learners to stand up. Ask a question to which you know that
some learners will know the answer. For example: What time is the
lunch break today? Which singer sings [name of song]? etc. The learner
who puts his or her hand up first is allowed to answer. If the answer is
wrong, the next learner to put their hand up can answer. If the answer is
right, the learner who answers correctly can sit down. Play until all
learners are sitting down.

Simon says This game is good for practising listening skills.

Stand in front of the class. Do an action and say: Simon says [action
word]. The learners copy what you do. For example: Simon says hop.
The teacher hops and the learners copy. Repeat this choosing different
actions. They can be silly actions, which the learners enjoy. Then do an
action but this time don’t say ‘Simon says’ or do the action, only say the
action, for example: Hop. Whoever does the action this time is out and
must sit down. The winner is the last learner standing.

Spelling race Give the class a vocabulary word verbally or, for an extra challenge,
show a flashcard. The groups race to spell the word on a sheet of paper
at their own table. When they have finished spelling, they raise their
hands and the teacher checks their spelling. The first team with the
correct answer wins a point. The whole class then spells the word out
loud for the teacher to write on the class whiteboard.

Spin the bottle Have a plastic bottle. Learners sit in a circle. Spin the bottle. When the
bottle stops spinning the learner who the bottle is facing answers a
theme related question, for example: What did you have for breakfast?
What is your favourite food / colour /
number / day?

Ten questions Someone thinks of a secret noun (person, place or thing) and the other
team or person gets to ask up to 10 questions to guess the person, place
or thing. At the beginning of the game, you have to say whether it is a
person, place or thing. The guessers can only ask Yes / No questions.
For example: Is the person a man?

Yes / No game Learners play in groups. The aim is to answer without saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
Model the activity: For example:
Learner 1: Is the sun shining?

Teacher: It is!

Learner 2: Are you a man?

Teacher: Absolutely!

Learner 3: Do you like swimming?

Teacher: I do! Do you?

Groups decide who in their team is going to go first. The rest of the group
takes it in turns to ask questions. If the learner says ‘yes’ or ‘no’, the turn
passes to another learner.

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