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Tag: fun esl games to do with elementary school students
Bye Bye 6
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Hot Seat
Materials Needed:
- Chairs, one per two teams
How to play:
- Divide the students into two teams, and have them stand on each side of the chair in a line. The chair is the hot seat.
- Set a timer (1-2 minutes recommended, but you can adjust based on the level of students or class size)
- Students from different teams alternate turn sitting in the hot seat. They should sit in a chair while practicing the target language.
- When the timer goes off, the team with a member sitting in the hot seat is the loser. Award a point to the other team they win this round.
- Depending on the class size, play enough rounds so that each student gets a chance to play.
Teacher’s role
Listen as students practice. correct any mistakes they make and notice common errors. Explain them between rounds so that students don’t continue making the same mistakes.
Make sure to use a timer, such as the stopwatch on your cell phone. This will make the game more fair for both teams.
Who wins
The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
What’s there to love?
The hot seat is a fun, competitive game to keep students on their toes while practicing. They must be quick and careful to make sure they are not in the hot seat when the time is up.
It helps to improve their fluency as they try to complete the English practice writing faster than the timer.
- Student to student Practice: Adjust this game by dividing your class into pairs. Give each pair a chair. They play PSS, with the winner sitting in the chair and doing the English task first. The loser stands behind the chair.
- When they are done, they stand up and switch positions with the loser.
- They do this again and again until the timer goes off.
- The person sitting in the chair doing the English task when the timer goes off is the loser. The other person receives a point.
Watch their confidence soar
with games like these
The Joker Game
Materials Needed:
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- A deck of playing cards (joker included)
How to Play:
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- Explain the target practice of the game (spelling, grammar pattern, etc.) Start by giving each student a card.
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- Then allow students to stand up and walk around the class. Students must find someone (from the other team to practice with).
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- Both students must complete the English practice one time. When both finish practicing, they exchange cards. Then, they find new players to practice with.
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- As the teacher, you can decide how long the round is by setting the timer or shouting “Time’s up” when you feel like it. At that point, the person with the joker is the loser of this round.
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- Then you can give a point to the other team.
Teacher’s Role
Since this is a student-to-student practice, walk around and check students. Help slower students and make sure they are completing the English practice.
You can choose how long each round is depending on the time you schedule for this section of your class.
In our classes, we often play three rounds of the game. Each round lasts about a minute and a half.
Who Wins?
The team with the most points after the game finishes is the winner.
What’s there to love?
Joker is a fun game. It will get your students moving around the class. It will help them to get comfortable practicing with different partners in a short span of time.
Students must put on their best poker faces and be careful. Remember, no one wants to end up stuck with the joker.
Have fun! And watch out for the joker!
- Increase the Joker count: You can start increasing the number of jokers for this game. Instead of having one, secretly hand out three.
- Then the team with the least number of jokers at the end of the game wins.
Up to 200x more fun in your classroom
with games like these