1.

Scavenger Hunts

Description hunts: Rather that writing out a list of items for your students to find, try
writing item descriptions instead. You can write simple descriptions (i.e. This piece of
metal holds papers together. = paperclip), write your clues more in riddle form (i.e.
Inside this box is gold for the taking, but there are no locks or keys to open it. = an
egg) or do a combination. The point is that your students get some reading
comprehension practice when they figure out what you are describing by your clue.

Adjective hunts: If you want to focus on a certain part of speech, like the wonderful
adjective, try giving your students a simple list of descriptive words rather than nouns
to be found. They will then have to find something each adjective could be describing.
If you do this version, be sure to include some adjectives your students might not
already know to increase their vocabularies in the process. Try words such as
spherical, musty, submerged or rustic.

Vocabulary hunts: A language-twisted scavenger hunt doesnt have to be complicated.

On your list of items to find, simply include some words that are a part of your current
vocabulary unit as reinforcement for your students.

consider making it a photo scavenger hunt, where students take pictures of the items they find
rather than bringing back the items themselves.

2. Theme Tag

The game gets played the same way; players must drop to one knee and call out an item in
the chosen theme to be safe from it.

What makes this game great for ESL students is that you can choose any theme you want,
and whatever it is, your students will learn new vocabulary words in that category. After they
have played the game once, you can easily change up the theme for each game. Your students
will have fun running around and not even realize they are hearing and learning new and
unfamiliar words. (And they wont need to carry a dictionary to do it.)

3. Backyard Scrabble

2: J, K, Q, X, Z
3: B, C, F, H, M, P, V, W, Y
4: G
5: L
6: D, S, U
8: N
9: T, R
11: O
12: I
13: A
18: E

play according to the traditional rules, swapping letters only at the expense of losing your
turn and making sure each word played connects with another word already on the board.
 4. The Human Knot

(English in Camp)

5. Nature Impressions

Have students choose items such as branches, fern leaves, rocks, etc. and make impressions
of them in a ball of dough. After the impressions have dried, see if everyone in the group can
guess what their classmates used to make each of the impressions.
Heads up, this is a great time to use modal verbs or adverbs of frequency. (i.e. It could be a
twig. It is most likely a pebble.)

6. Greetings (or Introductions) with Ball-Catching

Have the students make a circle. Pick a student and say "Hello Kenji, how are you?". Throw
Kenji the ball. Kenji then does the same thing to another student. If they don't drop the ball,
add more balls.

7. Blindfolded Fukuwarai with Obstacle Course

This is a combination of two activities. Put students in groups of 3. At the end of the room (or
field), draw a large circle on the chalk board or whiteboard. If you are outside, lay a hula-
hoop on the grass. Tell your students that this is a face, and that they will have to draw the
eyes, nose, and mouth, while blindfolded. Teach your students 'up', 'down', 'right', left'.

Put them, in groups, on the other side of the room/field. In between them and the circles,
place a bunch of obstacles (e.g. a vacuum, ropes, chairs, etc.). Blindfold one of the students in
a group. Spin him around 4 times and face him in a random direction. Tell his partners that
they'll have to give directions to the student so he can get to the circle and draw the first body
part (eyes). Review giving directions ("Go straight. STOP. Turn right. Turn left." etc). When
ready, blindfold one person from each group and have them start. If they touch an obstacle,
make them go back to the starting point.
Once they get to the circle at the other side, give them a marker (or a ball if you are making
eyes in a hula-hoop on the ground) so they can 'draw' the eyes. Once done, unblindfold them,
and have them go back to the start. Blindfold the next kid, who will be responsible for
drawing the nose. Continue until the face is drawn. When done, compare faces and have a
good laugh.

8. Banana Olympics

I found this activity on another site. Basically, it's a relay race involving bananas. Put the kids
in groups of 3 or so. Give each group a banana. Have them do a series of races to one end of
the gym (or to a determined spot about 4 meters away) and back. Variations include:
Run with the banana in your armpit to the line and back. Then hand it to your partner.
Once everyone has gone, give a point to the winning group.
Run with the banana between your ear and neck (telephone style).
Walk with the banana balanced on your head.
Walk with the banana between your knees.
Crawl with the banana on your back.
Et cetera. In the end, I regretted using real bananas because they got smushy and got in the
clothes (and in the hair!) of a few of the little kids. It was fun though =). If you use real
bananas, use the relays in which the banana is likely to get smushed towards the end.

9. Obstacle Course
We built a circular obstacle course in the gym for the kids to run around. We used a balance
beam, a vaulting box, etc. To make it more educational, I put flash cards that they had studied
already (e.g. weather, colors, fruit) in the course. The kids had to say the flash cards when
they walked on it.

10. Duck Duck Goose

This is a traditional kids game. Have the students sit on the ground in a circle, facing inwards.
Walk around the outside of the circle. Each time you pass a student, tap him or her on the
head and say 'Duck.' At some point, pick a student and say 'Goose' instead of 'duck.' The
goose must then stand up and try to tag you. Your goal is to run around the circle and sit
down back in the goose's place before the goose tags you. If you succeed, you can sit and the
other student becomes the one who stands and says "duck, duck, goose."

The Flyswatter Game

Writing the words in all sorts of directions so they are harder to read. With one person from
each team, you ask, Ready? After students nod in agreement, you yell a word. First student
to smack the correct word gets a point for their team. Good for practicing reading speed.
Other rules: the flyswatter must remain on the board until a winner is declared. If a student
lifts their swatter and is replaced by another student, the second student gets the point.