KIDS GAMES
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Editor's note: Book suggestions and World Wide Web resources are listed
after the description of games.
THE GAME LIST FOR YOUNG CHILDREN by Louie Liviu Dragut
Why games? Because learning should be fun and the students should be
involved.
Level: Young children who have no previous knowledge of English.
Emphasizing speaking and listening. Children absorb in the visual and
physical sense rather rapidly.
------
1) a) HELLO SONG (Introductions)
Goal: for students to practice the new vocabulary and learn the custom of
introducing one self (shaking hands)
Preparation: None
The students make two lines facing each other. The tape is played and
the teacher demonstrates.
Hello! Hello! Hello! (Wave to the partner facing you)
What's your name? ( Point to your partner with palm up)
My name is Soo Mi. (Soo Mi point to self)
My name is Hyong Kyong. (Hyon Kyong point to self)
Hello Soo Mi. (Lean forward and shake Soo Mi 's hand)
Hello Hyong Kyong. (Lean forward and shake Hyong Kyong's hand)
Change partner and do it again. The students love this song if it is
demonstrated well and they remember the vocabulary and structures very
well.
b) HELLO, WHO ARE YOU?
Goal: to practice greetings and responses
Preparation: None
One member of each team (say, Hearim and Kyongju) goes to the front and
faces the board. Pupils in the class, either in some prearranged order
in alternation between teams, or as pointed to by the leader of the game,
say Hello, Hearim and Kyongju or alternatively, good morning/afternoon.
Hearim and Kyongju have to say who had spoken (e.g. That's Hyonsook) and
the first to do so wins a team point. More may be said, e.g. How do you
do Hearim and Kyongju? Or, Hello, Hearim and Kyongju how are you?
Possible replies: Very well Hyonsook, how are you?
2) a) DRAW AND GUESS (Who, What, How)
Goal: to review the vocabulary taught in the lesson
Preparation: None
Divide the class into 2,3 or 4 teams. A representative from each team
will come to the board. The teacher shows the representatives a picture
and they draw it on the board until someone guesses it right and they
score a point for their team. The students can only respond in specific
structures, e.g. It's a . or that's a I think is a .... This should be
kept at a fast pace (about a minute per word). Students enjoy this game
but it should not be done for too long (maximum 7-10 minutes).
b) BINGO
Goal: to review or preview vocabulary
Preparation: None
Draw a 9 square box (as in tic-tac-toe) and ask students to draw a
picture in each box (with the target words). You might like to draw each
picture on the board in a random order and the students draw them in
their grid. (This is very useful since you can review the words together
with the whole class as you go along, and help students with ideas of how
to draw them). Then draw then pictures in your box on the board and ask
for students to choose a word. Choose the students at random and when
they get a bingo (any three in a raw) then they get a team point, a card
or a reward. A variation may be to only reward them if they get a bingo
before you. This makes it more challenging and covers more vocabulary.
3 a) SIMON SAYS (as described in the handout) (The human body)
b) MIMING AND ROLE-PLAY
Goal: to review body parts and common behaviors
Preparation: None
The teacher divides the class into groups and mimes or role-plays a
particular behavior and the students tries to guess. For example: Comb
your hair. In the simplest form the teacher will pretend to comb his/her
hair and the first student to say it right scores a point for their
group. It can be more advanced where the teacher role-plays a number of
unknown actions and only one that the students know. Another way it
could be played is to have the students do the miming or role-playing.
c) CATEGORIES
Goal: review vocabulary
Preparation: None
Teams try to come up with as many words as they can in a category. Get
students to draw as many parts of the body they can name. Simple but
very effective and it encourages students to teach each other if the
teacher will test them at random and give them a group score.
4 a) BLIND OLYMPICS (Location)
Goal: to reinforce direction
Preparation: rearrange the class into an open space
Make two (or more) teams and in each team one person is blindfolded. The
students sit at the back of the class and make the class into an obstacle
course. Then the students from each group has to give directions to
their candidate to reach the finishing line at end of the room. Every
time their competitor touches an item in the room they loose a point and
if they touch the other competitor they loose two points (or any
combination you like). This is a very noisy game but students love it
and its very useful in reinforcing directions. (It is ideal for a big
class to split them into 4 teams and start at opposite ends of the
classroom)
b) HIDE AND FIND THE CUP RELAY GAME
Goal: to practice directions
Preparation: paper cups and something to blindfold half the students
Buy 12 paper cups and number them on the bottom from 1 to 12 - you can
buy more or less, depending on the number of children. Divide the
children into two teams, although, for larger classes you could make
three teams or more. Students on each team are paired off. One student
is blindfolded and the other student becomes the guide. Hide the cups
all over the place but they shouldn't be under anything. Give team one
cups 1-6 to find and team 2 cups 7-12. Children cannot touch or lead
their partners by the hand, they can only give them directions, such as
turn right, turn left, go straight, etc. They cannot use their native
language, only English to explain where the cup is. When they have found
a cup, they must return it to the place that has been chosen by the
teacher. I have them stack each cup on top of the cup they have just
found. They remain blind folded until they have completed finding and
returning the cup to the proper place. Their partners must give them
directions on where to put the cup that has been found. As soon as a cup
has been found and returned by one pair of students, the next pair goes,
etc. The cups must be found and returned in order. The first team to
find and return all the cups is the winner. You can play it again if you
like..
c) MEMORY GAME
Goal: to review directions and positions
Preparation: 5 to 7 simple pictures with directions e.g. a dog on a table
Students look at about 5-7 pictures with objects in various places (like
a pen on a table, a dog under the chair, words that students know well) .
After a minute, things are removed or covered. Then students working
individually or in small groups and redraw all the pictures they can
remember. And each student has a picture on a card; the class is one
team, The teacher is the other (they love this!). the teacher says a
word/phrase/description and the person with that card must hold it up.
If only the correct person holds up a card, they get a point; if the
wrong person holds up a card, I get a point. They may confer with each
other before deciding who should hold up a card.
5 a) DO AFTER ME (time, day)
Goal: to review and learn time
Preparation: cards with time for each student
Sit in a large circle. One person begins by entering the circle and says
a time and then points to someone else in the circle to succeed him. This
person repeats the time, that the preceding person made and then adds her
own time. She then chooses the next person. This person need only repeat
the preceding time and add one before choosing someone new. The game is
over when everyone has had a chance in the circle. (try it, it might
work)
b) CHINESE WHISPERS WITH A TWIST
Goal: to practice time and pronunciation
Preparation: None
* *
Have 2 teams in a U- shape facing each other: Team A * * Team B
* *
Call 2 representatives, one from each team, to your desk and whisper a time.
Then they go back to their teams and whisper the time into the ear of the
first person, who whispers it to the next person, and so on down the line.
The last person writes it down and gives it to the person who whispered it first
Then the 2 original representatives run to write it on the
board. If the words written on the paper and the board are the same, the
fastest team scores a point; however, if it is not correct they have to go
back and whisper it again. This forces not only time recognition but
good pronunciation, like distinuishing between 15 and 50 or 14 and 40.
The students love this game. (recommended)
6 a) MATCHING EXERCISES (have, has)
Goal: to practice structures/have, has...
Preparation: None
Write a substitution table on board. Show students pictures (a pencil, a
book, a brown horse, a gray fish etc.). Split the class into 2 groups and
one asks and the other answer.
What's this? It's a white/ black/ gray/ brown dog
Is it your book? Yes it is. No it isn't. It's John's book.
b) MAGIC BAG
Goal: to have students ask questions and answer
Preparation: a bag and collect items from the students in the class
(preferably out of their bags without letting them see it so they have to
guess)
Before the game collect items from the students' desks or bags and put it
in your bag without them seeing what you have taken. Then they have to
ask you " Do you have a ." . If they guess correct their team gets a
point. After you put all the items on the table one team asks the other.
"Is this your ." For every correct response add a point to the team.
This is a good game if it is played a good pace.
c) HAVE
Goal: to practice have
Preparation: 2 coins for each student
Each student receives 2 pennies/cards. All stand. In turns, students
make true statements beginning with the words "I have a... in my bag" All
those who *have* the named object sit down. Optionally, players can use
one of their pennies to "buy" the chance to remain standing. Last one
standing wins. (So the strategy is to think of things that most people
in the room have in their bags, but the player has not.) Object: to be
the last one standing
7 a) SCRATCH MY BACK (Numbers)
Goal: to help students recognize and say numbers
Preparation: None
The students stand or sit in two lines and the representative of each
group is facing the board. The teacher "scratches" a number on the back
of the last student at the back of each line and then they continue to do
the same up the person in front who writes in on the board while saying
it aloud.
b) CIRCLE THE NUMBER RELAY
Goal: to practice numbers
Preparation: None
Various numbers are written clearly and firmly on the board.
They need not be from 1-20 if everyone is already confident using such
numbers. They should be written at the height the learners can reach.
There are two teams and one member from each team stands at the board,
colored chalk in hand (each team has a different color). Someone calls
the numbers and the first to put a ring round the correct one scores a
point for their team. Then replace the 2 representatives and do it again.
Instead of numbers it can be clock times, dates, pictures, telephone
numbers. You can also make this a race game: when the number is
called, the first in each team rushes to the board and circles the number,
then hands the chalk to the second person and another number is called.
8 a) MIMING AND ROLE-PLAY (feelings)
(look at 3b)
9 a) HAPPY FAMILIES (family)
Goal: to learn manes of family members
Preparation: sets of cards of family members
There are 36 cards (or as many family members as you like) bearing
pictures of 9 family members, each associated with an occupation. Thus
there is Mr. Cheese the Grocer, Mrs. Cheese, Miss Cheese and Master
Cheese, Mr. Tape the tailor ... (These cards can be bought or made to
suite your class). The cards are dealt face down to everybody in the
group. Each sorts his cards into as many families as possible and puts
complete families face downwards on the table in front of him. Players
ask each other in turn for the cards they need to complete his family.
So they can say, Can I have Mr. Tape please? Yes you can. No you can't.
I haven't got it, sorry. The one with the largest number of families
completed at the end of the time is the winner.
10 a) FEEL AND GUESS (food)
Goal: to review vocabulary
Preparation: bring plastic or real food in a bag
The class is divided into teams. A representative from each team comes
to the board and the teacher places a food item in their hands behind
their back. The first person to guess correct scores a point for their
team. Then new representatives come up.
b) SLAP IT
Goal: to recognize words and listen for relevant information
Preparation: a set of 10-15 pictures of different kind of food items for
each team of 4 to 6 people
Put the items on a desk and the students sit around the desk. The
teacher describes the food item and when a student thinks they know the
answer they slap the card and say the word aloud. If they are right they
get a point for their team if they are wrong they are out. Or in each
group each student plays for themselves and if they slap the correct
picture they keep the card as a point. The person or team with the most
cards/points wins.
11 a) WORD RACE (house)
Goal: to review target vocabulary
Preparation: None
The teacher says a word like bedroom or kitchen and the students in
groups have to draw as many items related to that word as they can.
After 5 minutes the teacher calls "pencil down" and the students must call out
the names of all the pictures they have drawn. The team who can call out
the most is the winner.
b) WOLVES AND LAMBS
Goal: to reinforce and review vocabulary
Preparation: 2 or 3 sets of the target vocabulary
The teams or groups sit in circles well apart from each other, and are
visited by 'wolves' from other teams. Each 'wolf" has a list of
pictures/words to be recognized. Anyone who does not know the words has
to stand aside as a captive 'lamb'. (The wolf may ask anyone, What's
this?) After some time the 'shepherd' (teacher) chases the wolves away
and the wolves take the 'captives' back to their groups. The team with
the most captives wins.
12 a) CHARADES (school)
Goal: to get students to describe class items
Preparation: None
Have a representative of each team come to the board and stand with their
backs to the board. Then the teacher puts up or draws a picture on the
board behind the representatives. Then the teams take turns describing
it to them until one of the representatives guesses it and scores a point
for their team. (In the beginning you might like to choose more alert
students)
b) HANGMAN
Goal: to practice class and school vocabulary
Preparation: None
Draw up the hangman on the board. Then start to draw a picture. Anyone
may guess and fill the picture until the picture is complete. If they
can not guess then they lose, but if they guess they score a point for
their team.
c) GUESSING OBJECTS
Goal: review and guess class items
Preparation: None
Send two students out of the room for a minute. Have the class decide on
an object in the room or in a series of pictures. The students come in