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When you are reviewing vocabulary, make vocabulary flashcards for all of the students in your class(you may need to have several of each word so that every student can have one). When you call a word, all of the students with that word on their card can get up and jump up once. For older students that don't like this (and/or for more crowded rooms), they can pound their desks once. Sometimes, we feel like broken records telling them NOT to pound on their desks, so this is an excellent way for them to take what they want to do, anyway, and use it in a constructive way! Submitted by: Janis L. Antonek, Guilford County Schools, NC FLANC 2007 Conference - NNELL Swap Shop |
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Put students into 2 or more lines. Put items representing vocabulary words pictures, shapes, real items, etc.)in boxes or on the floor or on the walls, etc.) in front of each line. Call out a vocabulary word and let the first person in each line run to retrieve the named item. The first back wins a point for his/her team. The students move to the backs of their lines and the next people run for the next vocabulary word called. The team with the most points at the end is the winner. This can be done non-competitively, as well. It can also be done by hitting the named objects with flyswatters. Submitted by Gisela Ibarra, Ashley IB Elementary Magnet School, Winston-Salem, NC FLANC 2007 Conference -- NNELL Swap Shop Click here to view Gisela's original lesson plan idea (in Spanish and in Engish) - Posted with permission | ||
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Students write each vocabulary word in pencil. Then, they go over the letters with a crayon. They repeat twice more with two other colors of crayons. The resulting words can be very pretty, and the repetition of copying the words multiple times becomes more interesting. Submitted by Ele Wilhelm, Randolph County Schools, NC FLANC 2008 Conference -- NNELL Swap Shop | ||
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Students are given bags of cards with either words and pictures to match up or even whole sentences to match with pictures (For example, sentences about clothing that people are wearing and pictures of the clothing or sets of clothing). On the backs of cards that match are written matching numbers, so that when students are done matching up cards, they can flip them over to see if they matched them correctly. Submitted by Ele Wilhelm, Randolph County Schools, NC (at Trindale Elementary, Trinity Elementary, and Archdale Elementary in 2008) FLANC 2008 Conference -- NNELL Swap Shop | ||
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Hand out a set of vocabulary cards/pictures to each student, then call out a Category like "food." All students look to see if they have any vocabulary items in their decks that belong to that category. If they do, they are to share it with the class. Original Source: unknown | ||
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Divide the class into teams. Announce how many items must be completed to complete a category. Announce a category. The first member of each team goes up to the board and writes up a vocabulary word that goes with that category. The next person then goes up and writes Another word, and so on, until the predetermined number of words has been reached. The winning team is the one that finishes first. Original Source: unknown | ||
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Each student brings an item from home and shows it to the class. He/she must say a certain number of things about it in the target language, using vocabulary learned in class ("It is big and blue," for example.) You may also ask each student to write the statements he/she will be making to the class. Original Source: unknown | ||
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I always called this "This is a pencil," because that's pretty much how I always heard it start out. I have seen it used as a party game and an icebreaking game. Everyone sits in a circle. The leader sits in the circle with a selection of objects. The leader picks up a pencil (0r any object) and says, while passing to the person on his/her right, "This is a pencil." The person to whom the object is passed responds, "A what?" and the leader responds, "a pencil." Again, the first person reponds, "A what?" And the leader again says, "a pencil." This time, the first player says, "Oh! A pencil!" Let everyone try the pattern. After everyone has practiced, the fun can REALLY begin! Start the first object going again, but this time, add a second object as the pencil is being passed to the third person. The first player is now engaging in two conversations at one time: to player #2: This is a pencil (at the same time that the leader is passing something new to him/her, say, a bell) to leader: "A what?" (player 2 is saying the same to player 1, who is looking away) to #2: "A pencil." (leader is saying, "a bell") to leader: a what? to #2: "A pencil" (leader is saying, "a bell") to leader: "Oh, a bell!" Of course, you can make it simpler for students by just having them pass a new object down a line, learning a new object and practicing simple conversational vocabulary at the same time, but this is the game as it is generally played. You have to be both listening to the new word, while holding on to the old word, to succeed, so it is better for a final review when played in full form, and with only one object going around at a time when learning a new word. It can get loud and crazy when you have a lot of objects going around at once, and the whole group "wins" if it can get all of the objects completely around the circle. Original Source: unknown | ||
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This is a variation on the "A What?" game presented above. Divide students into teams and have them each stand behind baskets containing identical sets of objects. The first person in each team picks an item out of the basket and, turning to the person behind him/her, says, "This is a pencil." (or whatever the object is. The person receiving the object then says, "Oh, a pencil. Thank you." and then presents the object to the person behind him/her (or, if he/she is the last one in the line, deposits the item wherever you have designated (like another basket). The line that goes through all the items first is the winning team, and has not only practiced the vocabulary, but polite conversation! Original Source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created by: Tina M. Hodge from great ideas compiled from other teachers Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Divide the class into two teams, and put two chairs at the front of the room. One chair is labeled, "YES" and the other "NO." Ask a yes/no question. The first two team members race to sit in the chair with the correct labeled answer (example: "Is the apple blue?"). If one answers correctly and the other doesn't, the one with the correct answer wins a point for his/her team. If both are heading for the same chair, the one that sits down first is the winner. Be careful no one gets hurt! Original Source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Divide the class into two groups. Give the first player from each team a vocabulary word/phrase to illustrate on the board. Both teams try to guess what the drawer is trying to illustrate. The first team to guess correctly gets the point. Instead of having both teams drawing and guessing at the same time, you can alternate teams and set a time limit on drawing/guessing time as in the old TV game show, "Win, Lose, or Draw." If a team does not guess an item within the time limit, the second team can try it before they try for their next item. Original Source: the well-known games | ||
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Like the game above, but with people acting out the words instead of drawing them. You can play in teams, as above, or simply have one student do the acting out of the selected word or phrase and call on students to guess (the quieter version of the game). Original Source: the well-known parlor game | ||
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Divide the class into two groups. Idea source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Most students I know know this game, already, so it is easy to teach it to them as a vocabulary game. In the traditional game, 7 students are selected to be "it." They stand at the front of the class, and everyone else puts their heads down. The 7 students walk through the room, and each taps one student. If a student is tapped, he/she puts his/her thumb up to show it so that he/she is not tapped a second time. After one of the 7 taps a student, he/she moves back to the front of the room. When all 7 are back in place, the teacher calls, "Heads up, 7 up" and the students can raise their heads. Each student that was tapped tries to guess who it was that tapped him/her. If the student guesses correctly, he/she switches places with the one that tapped him/her and becomes a new member of the 7. You can change this to a vocabulary game by hanging signs around the necks of each of the 7 with a vocabulary word. The 7 are then designated by vocabulary words instead of their names. Idea source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Kids love to play 4 corners, in general, and it can make for a good way to practice problematic vocabulary items. Label each of the room's 4 corners with a picture designating a vocabulary word (4 different numbers, 4 colors, etc.). The leader closes his/her eyes or is blindfolded and ounts to 10 or whatever is agreed on in advance. While the leader is counting, students can move around the room, choosing a corner to stand in. When the leader finishes counting, everyone must be in one of the corners. The leader then calls out a vocabulary word corresponding to the corner of his choice. Whoever is in that corner must sit back down. Repeat the process until only one student remains. That student gets to be the new leader. When I play this game with my students, I make sure that anyone that fails to choose a corner on time, that is unsafe (I don't allow students to run indoors, for example), or that tries to change corners after the count is done automatically sits out. When we are down to just four students or less, I add the rule that you can't have more than one person in a corner. This speeds the final elimination process. Original Source: the well-known classroom game. | ||
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Divide class into small groups. Give each group a vocabulary list, a small poster board, and a stack of magazines containing relevant pictures. The students must find pictures for each word on the list and paste the pictures on the board. They should also label the pictures. Idea source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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YOu don't have to play Old Maid with regular playing cards or a special Old Maid card set... play with ANY vocabulary list! Make a set of playing cards with even numbers of each type of card save one. The students shuffle and deal out all of the cards (if some have more cards, it's ok). Without showing their cards, players look to see if they have pairs of any particular card. If they do, they place them face up on the table. If they have three of a particular item, they lay down two and keep the third. If they have 4 of an item, they lay down two pairs. After this, a player spreads his/her cards out, fan-like, with the faces towards himself/herself and lets the player to his/her left pick a card. If the one that picked the card has a match, he/she, must name the vocabulary item and lay down the pair created. Play keeps going in a circle until a player is stuck with a single card. That player is the "Old Maid." Idea source: the well-known children's card game | ||
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A simple, yet effective, game. Students should be already somewhat familiar with a given vocabulary list. A student is chosen to pick an object or vocabulary card from the vocabulary list and put it in a bag or box. The student sits in front of the group and asks "What do I have?" He/she calls on students to guess, one at a time, saying "No" every time a guess is wrong. When someone guesses correctly, the student says "yes" and holds the card/object up for all to see, and the one that guessed correctly gets to choose a new item for the bag or box. Idea source: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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This is another simple, yet effective guessing game. The teacher places a vocabulary item in a bag and passes it around the room to every student except the one that will be doing the guessing. Each student looks in the bag and tells the guesser what is in the bag, but they are free to choose to tell either the truth, or a lie about what is in the bag. For example, if the bag contains an apple, a studnet may say, "It is an apple" or "It is a strawberry." When all students have made a declaration about what is in the bag, the remaining student must try to guess what actually IS in the bag. If he/she guesses correctly, he/she may remain "it." Idea source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Have a student lie on the floor. Display a set of vocabulary items, and call on students one at a time to put the items on the designated places on the person on the floor. For example, "Put the sink on the head." The silliness of it is what makes it memorable and fun. Idea source: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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When practising new vocabulary, try giving the kids silly commands, or write commands on index cards and have them give the directions to each other. Anything goes that you are comfortable with! ("Draw an apple on the chalkboard." "Put your shoes in the trashcan.") Submitted by: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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Great for practicing simple question/answer pairs. Throw a beanbag to a student and ask a predetermined question like, "What is your name?" The student answers and throws the beanbag to another student. Throw another beanbag after a bit to another student, and you'll have two conversations going on at once. See how many you can get going at the same time and have everyone stay on task! It spices things up a bit and requires that extra bit of concentration. Idea modified from "Group Juggle" on page 16 of the Greetings/Introductions section in: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Book created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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A conversational exchange can be used instead of the "Duck, duck, goose!" in the childhood game. All students sit in a circle. One student walks around the circle and taps another on the shoulder. They must stand up, shake hands, and perform a scripted conversational exchange such as, "Hello, what is you name?" "My name is George. What is your name?" "My name is Sean." "Good-bye George." "Good-bye, Sean." The students then run around the circle in opposite directions, trying to be the first to the spot vacated by the student that was tapped. Whoever doesn't get there first must go around the circle and tap another student. Idea from "Host" activity found on page 16 of the Greetings/Introductions section in: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Book created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Have two students pick up play telephones and have a conversation about a certain subject like their school schedule or the weather. Idea modified from "What's Up" activity on page 23 of the Numbers section in: 100+ More Games for the Foreign Language Classroom Book created By: Tina M. Hodge (with ideas from other teachers) Publisher: Carlex | ||
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Don't forget or slight the power of this traditional game! You can make cards for just about any subject (Ex: pictures of animals to pair with the name, clock faces to pair with the time in words in the target language, etc.). have the students shuffle the cards and place them face down on the playing surface. On his/her turn, each student turns over two cards and says aloud what they are in the target language. If they match, he/she gets to keep them and take another turn. If they do not match, he/she must turn them face down where they were and let the next person try. The person with the most matches when all cards are gone is the winner. Idea source: The well-known children's game Submitted by: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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Go Fish! is another well-known card game that can be played with regular playing cards (for lower numbers and card name vocabulary) or with cards for any set of vocabulary. If you are making voabulary cards, you will need to make four of each card. Decide on how many cards each child will be dealt, keeping in mind things like the size of the cards. There are many ways to play. The method below is the simplest, though is not the the officially-sanctioned version of the rules (which involve a discard pile and rules for picking up from it): The dealer deals out the number of cards you decide and places the rest in a stack in the center of the playing area. The player to the left of the dealer goes first, and asks any player he/she wishes "Sarah (or whatever the student's name is), give me your horses (or whatever card he/she wants or needs to get four of a kind). ou may prefer to ask in the target language, "Do you have any ____?" If the person he/she asks has the card or cards requested, he/she must give ALL of the card or cards requested to the one that asked the question. If he/she does not have any cards matching the request, he/she tells the player to "Go Fish" ('Vete a pescar). That means the player must pick up a card from the center deck. If the player gets what he/she asked for, either by asking for it or by fishing for it, he/she can keep playing. If he/she does not get what she/he asked for, play passes to the left. When a player gets four of a kind, he/she lays all four(or both) cards down, face-up, in front of him/her. The player that is able to put all of his/her cards down in front of him/he first is the If no one runs out of cards in their hand before the "go fish" deck in the center runs out, then the player with the fewest cards wins. Idea source: The well-known children's game Submitted by: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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So simple, yet so loved! Put pictures of things being learned up on the board or screen and hand one or more students a flyswatter. Simply name something or call out a question and let them smack the answer! You can divide the class into two teams, if you like, turn it into a competition, and keep score, but you may find the kids are happy to swat things just for the pleasure of that alone! Idea source: Lots of teachers over a long period of time! Submitted by: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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To get ready for this game, you must make lists of vocabulary in categories the children have studied. The students pair up, and one takes a list. He/she names the category, and the partner names as many words/phrases from that category as he/she can. While he/she does so, the partner with the list checks off what his/her partner is calling out. When time is called, the students count up how many items were named, and switch roles. Whoever names the most items in the category at the end of two rounds is the winner. Note: You may want to make your lists differ in difficulty, and color-code the lists accordingly. Idea source: Games with Gusto by Sue Spivey (Published by Carlex) | ||
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Bingo isn't just for numbers! Put up a list of vocabulary and give your students blank bingo boards (They don't have to be 5x5, either... 3x3 boards work fine, too, for example) and let them put the words where they want to put them. You can either call out the words and let them simply cover them up as you do numbers in a traditional Bingo game, or you can hold up pictures of the vocabulary and let the students find the right words. Submitted by: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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In a particular vocabulary category, students choose three things that they like (they don't have to be true). Students get in pairs and take turns asking each other if they like certain things (example: Do you like soccer?). In each case the partner must answer in a complete sentence, (example: No, I do not like soccer.). Whoever guesses the three things the other person like first is the winner! Idea source: Games with Gusto by Sue Spivey (Published by Carlex) | ||
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Make up some lists of vocabulary (equal in length) and hide them (put them on an overhead, put them on the board with the screen pulled down over it, etc. You will divide the class up into as many teams as you have lists. Give each group a few sheets of paper and a long strip of masking tape. Tell them to choose a secretary. When you reveal the lists, assign a list to each group. They must write each word on the list on a separate label and put the labels on the appropriate items in the classroom. WHen a team finishes, they let you know, and you check their list as they point out where their labels are. All teams get to show you their labeling, even if they weren't the first to finish. Then they get to "de-label" the room so it will be ready for the next class. Idea source: Games with Gusto by Sue Spivey (Published by Carlex) | ||
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Before the game, you need question cards. You can make these in four levels of difficulty (for first base, second base, third base, or home run), or just mix them all up together and let the student decide to answer 1, 2, 3, or 4 questions to get to first, second, third, or home. Designate the base locations in your room, divide the class into teams, and stand in the middle of the room as the "pitcher." Call the first student up to home plate to "bat" and ask him/her if he/she is going for first base, second base, third base, or a home run. Either pick the question card from the appropriate level set or ask the appropriate number of questions to match the student's choice. If the student answers correctly, he/she gets to move the appropriate number of bases. If he/she is incorrect on any answer, it is a strike against the team. The play proceeds as in normal baseball, with teams changing after 3 strikes. Of course, there are no balls, walks, steals, etc., though! Idea source: used by lots of Spanish teachers I have met over the years Submitted by: Melissa MB Wilkins | ||
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Draw a 4x4 grid and place either words and translations on either side of each interior line (as in the example below) or words and pictures. The example below contains all animal words, but you can use vocabulary from multiple lists, verb conjugations, etc. Cut the puzzle out on the lines and place the pieces in an envelope, and you have a quick and easy, self-checking activity you can give to a student at any time! Idea source: a NNELL Swap Shop at a FLANC conference (unknown year) 
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