Fun, customizable, quick-prep games!
When teaching elementary level EFL in South Korea, I rarely found worksheets useful. My students usually had difficulty getting up the courage to speak, so incorporating games that utilized their participation and speaking helped students gain courage in class.
5. Jenga
If ever I found myself at the end of a lesson with five minutes to spare, my students knew there would be a review game to pull out of a hat. My favorite was undoubtedly Jenga. Jenga isn't an English game you say? Not so! I've found Jenga remarkably helpful while reviewing vocabulary at the end of a lesson, and is a great way to informally assess how even the quiet students have grasped the material.
Materials: Jenga game
Target Vocabulary: Customizable
The teacher situates his or herself at a desk
Have students to line up in front of your desk.
Ask question to the student at the front of the line. If they get it correct, they are able to take a turn with the Jenga piece. If they are incorrect, they must go to the back of the line.
This usually takes between 5-10 minutes for all the pieces to fall.
4. Go Fish
Go Fish is a great way to get students to write, speak and communicate with target vocabulary.
Materials: Notecards (cut in half)
Target Vocabulary: Customizable / "Do you have..." "Yes I do." "No, Go Fish."
Write the vocabulary on the board and have the students copy them onto their notecards
Have students group into pairs (or have them work in threes if you want to) and shuffle the cards
Rock-Paper-Scissors to see who goes first
The first person asks the runner-up if they have any of the cards they need to complete their pairs
If the person has them, they say "Yes I do" and give player 1 the card. If they don't, they say "No, go fish." and player 1 takes a card from the deck
This continues until all cards are matched and the winner has the most cards!
3. Golden Bell
"Golden Bell" is a famous game show in South Korea. It is also the name I learned this review game under. The two, upon revision, are remarkably un-related, but it's still a great final review.
Materials: Dry erase boards (or a piece of paper each)
Target Vocabulary: Customizable
Give each student a dry erase board and have them draw three stars at the top
Ask a question, and require the students to write the correct answer on the board
If the student answered incorrectly, mark the star off the board with a red/green marker
The last man standing wins
2. Read - Speak - Write Relay Races
Materials: Paper, Chalk/white board
Target Vocabulary: Customizable
Divide classes into two teams
Assign roles to each student (Reader, Speaker , Writer). These roles will rotate
Write a sentence (or word, or paragraph depending on level) on a piece of paper and tape it outside the classroom door.
Choose a student from each team to be the reader of the paper
Count off for them to read it, then release them to the listener
The speaker then runs to the writer at the board, who writes the sentence correctly
The first team to get the phrase/sentence/paragraph correct gets a point
1. Powerpoint Template Games
Prior to coming to Korea, I had only heard of Powerpoint Jeopardy Games. Then, I found out about Waygook.org and the amazing work done with Powerpoint template games. My favorite stand-bys are:
- Pass the Pencilcase: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mod83-1271462-pass-the-pencil-case/
- Super Mario Classroom Blast: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mod83-1271360-template-quiz-super-mario-classroom-blast/
- Robots vs. Aliens: http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/mod83-1271345-template-quiz-robots-vs-aliens/
Pass the Pencilcase is essentially "Hot Potato" with the Benny Hill Theme playing. Super Mario and Robots vs. Aliens are versions of the bomb game. They incorporate sound, animation and are highly customizable. The kids absolutely love them.
