Usefun games Elien Wuyts 2 baso b
- werewolves: +
All the pupils are seated in a circle. They all receive a card with a character on it. They are citizens of a small village that is threatened by werewolves. The meaning of the game is to find out who the werewolves are. Every night the narrator tells the different characters to wake up and to their thing. During the night the werewolves kill a person.
Then the narrator tells the village to wake up. She announces the victim. Then the players have to start discussing, who they think the werewolves are.
The different characters in the game are:
1. werewolf: Every night the werewolves kill a person.
2. citizen: This character has no special role. He is just part of the village.
3. witch: She can brew a potion that can bring you back to life. She is awakened during the night and can bring the victim, chosen by the werewolves back alive.
4. cupid: He chooses two lovers at the beginning of the game. If one of the lovers dies, the other one dies too.
5. hunter: If the hunter is killed, he can take someone with him to death.
6. thief: During the night the thief can change cards with another player. So this character changes person during the whole game.
7. seer: Every night the seer gets to pick a person to see what’s on his of her card.
8. little girl: The little girl has to be very sneaky, she is allowed to cheat during the game. Because she can watch actions that take place during the night. Mind: she has to do this secretly so that the werewolves don’t see it.
! variation: creating new roles
more information about this game can be found on the internet :
This game is ideal to stimulate the pupils’ speaking skills. It is absolutely forbidden to speak Dutch. The pupils will be so involved in the game, that they will start speaking more spontaneously.
- Detective game:
Teacher enters the classroom and tells the pupils that a crime has been committed. Thieves broke into the house of the principal and stole all the examinations. The teacher asks for alibis. She interrogates the pupils, asking them were they were between 8 and 11 p.m.
What were you doing between 8 and 11 p.m.
Where were you?
who were you with?
This game can be used to talk about past tenses.
It can be used in third grade and higher. It is necessary that the pupils can already answer your questions. - memorising objects:
The teacher puts a number of objects(e.g. new vocabulary) on her desk. She asks the pupils to have a very good look at them. Then the pupils have to close their eyes while the teacher takes away an object. She asks them which of the objects has disappeared.
This game is very useful in vocabulary lessons. It is a nice way to train the new vocabulary. It can be played in all years. The teacher can adapt the level by adding more and difficult objects. - memory:
Teacher creates a memory with the new vocabulary. The pupils have to find the words and matching pictures.
This game is very useful to train new vocabulary. Everytime a pupils turn over a card, they have to say the word out loud. This way the pronunciation is also practised. It is ideal for the first and second grade. - creating stories.
The teacher brings a lot of material with her that can be an inspiration to the pupils. The class is divided into different groups of 3 to 4 pupils. In the beginning of the lesson, the teacher shows all the material (pictures, objects, paintings, quotes, accessories,…). To create a nice atmosphere they all sit in a circle, with the material in the middle. The teacher asks a few pupils to pick a picture, object, painting,… and tell what it makes them feel, think about. The teacher does this, to make the pupils familiar with the material, and show what the meaning of the game is. She explains that the pupils should pick different kinds of material, and create a story with it. Afterwards all the stories are told, with the help of the material.
This game is for the higher levels(third and fourth). It’s rather difficult. So the pupils have to be able to speak and write in a good way. It demands for a certain amount of creativity as well. - improvisation games:
* ‘urgent’ 2 pupils are sitting face to face. They are talking about a certain object. (doesn’t matter what). One pupil wants to leave the conversation. But the other tries to keep him/ her there, with all the possible verbal ways.
* ‘the bus stop’ There is a chair in the classroom that represents a bus stop. There is only one seat, and it is occupied by a pupil. Another pupil has to try to make the pupil that is seated leave.
* The scientist and the interpreter One pupil is a foreign scientist who speaks an incomprehensible language, the other pupil is an interpreter. The scientist is explaining something and the interpreter has to translate the explanation for the rest of the class. (the scientist has to be very expressive)
* style exercise The teacher gives a description of a short scene. The pupils prepare this scene in small groups. But, each group has to perform in a different style ( drama, comic, musical, reversed, very slowly,…) e.g. boyfriend confesses that he is in love with someone else,…
This game stimulates speaking skills. It is necessary to speak in a spontaneous way, because with most of the exercises there is no preparation time.
This game is more for higher levels, because of the spontaneous aspect. It can be used in third or fourth grades.
- internet game:
--> match the words with the pictures.
This game is merely to practise vocabulary. It is a very simple exercise with which you have to select the matching words. It can be perfectly used in first year. - taboo:
The pupils have to tell about a specific subject. But there are some taboo words. Words that the pupil is not allowed to use during the speaking. If the pupil does say the word, the next pupil continues.
This game can be used during a vocabulary lesson. The subject depends on the new words. And the taboo words do too. By making the new words taboo words, the pupils have to search for other ways to explain these words.
This game can be played in third year or higher. It is important that speaking skill are already present. If not, it is very difficult for the pupils to just start talking about something. - Hotels:
The pupils are divided into two groups: hotel receptionists and guests. Every pupil receives a description of the character that he or she has to play.
The receptionists receive a description of the hotels they work in.
The pupils that have to play hotel guests are searching for a hotel that suits them best. They do this by asking the receptionists questions about the hotel and even the surroundings ( beach, port,…)
They also take notes a long their search. In the end the choose the hotel that suits them best.
This game can be used in second, third or fourth year. The positive side of the game is that the students have some sort of support. They have their cards with information so they only have to make sentences with it.
It stimulates the speaking skills. Perhaps the teacher can explain how to ask proper questions at first. Then this game can be used in the evaluation stage. - ‘Ben ik een banaan’ ‘Am I a banana?’
The pupils are seated in a circle. Every pupil receives a sticker with a word on it. The sticker is placed on the forehead, so that you can’t read what’s on it. This can be an object, a person, food, a sport, hobby,… Then everyone starts asking questions in turn. By asking these questions you have to find out what word you have on your forehead.
This game is very nice in a lesson about asking questions. It can also be used in a vocabulary lesson. It is possible for each year. The level depends on the difficulty of the words and whether hints or given or not.