Warm up

1. Simon says
Ask SS to stand at their desks. SS follow T's commands if T says "Simon
says ...". If T doesn't say "Simon says..." but a student still follows the
commands, he/she has to sit out the rest of the game.
2. Memory game
Show a slide that consists of at least 20 pictures. Give SS 2 minutes to
look and memorize, then close the slide and ask SS to write what they can
remember on a piece of paper.
3. Alphabet game
Introduce a topic. Have pairs of students write down A—>Z on one piece
of paper. Give them 2-4 minutes to think of one word/letter that fits that
certain category.
4. Pointing game
T says a random thing in the classroom and the first student pointing to
that thing will get points to his/ her team.
5. Traffic lights
Instruct the SS to run fast when T shouts, “green light”, slow down when
T shouts, “yellow light”, and stop when T says, “red light.”
6. The Hockey Pockey
Sing this song and make SS do the actions: “You put your ____ in, you
put your ________ out, you put your _________ in and you shake it all
about. You do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around, that’s what
it’s all about.”
7. Exercises
Stand the students in a line and call out instructions: "Jump 10 times",
"Turn around 4 times" etc. Other good ones to use are: run (on the spot),
hop, hands up & down, touch your (body part), stand up & sit down and
star jump.
8. Introduce yourselves
Sit the students in a circle. Point to yourself and say your name "I'm
Jason". Then students say their names around the circle. You can use a
ball to pass around the circle as each student says his/her name. After
going around the circle a few times get each student to throw a ball to
another student. The student that catches the ball has to say the name of
the student who threw it.
9. Spin the Bottle
 Sit in a circle with a bottle in the middle. Teacher spins the bottle. When
it stops spinning the student it is pointing to has to answer a question. If
the answer is correct then that student can spin the bottle. This is a good
class warm up activity (e.g. What did you do last weekend? Did it rain
yesterday? What did you have for breakfast this morning?).
10. Letter Vocab
Start with a random student and ask for a word beginning with A, then
circle around the room, proceeding through the alphabet. Choose one part
of speech (noun, verb, adjective, adverb) or lexical group (sports,
countries, colors, animals) and change this each time you play the game.
11. Shopping list
Imagine that SS are at the supermarket and they want to buy things. This
game starts with one student, he/ she will say: I want to by a … The one
next to him/ her continues repeats the previous sentence and add one
more thing. The student cannot repeat correctly in order will be sent out
of the game.
12.What can you see in the picture?
Show the picture on the slide. Devide the class into 2 teams. Each team
make one line in front of the board. T makes a starting signal. The first
one of the line run to the board and write whatever he/ she can see in the
picture, then pass the marker to the student behind. SS cannot copy the
words appearing before. The game ends when the time’s up.
13. Bang Bang
Ask the class to stand up, make a circle and pretend that everyone’s got a
gun. T stands inside the circle and Bang! (shoot) a random student. That
student immediately sits down and two SS next to him/ her Bang! each
other. The slower have to leave the game.
14. Face to face
Devide the class into 2 teams. Call one student from each team to play.
Ask SS to sit face to face in the middle of the class and play rock paper
scissors to decide who goes first. Inform SS the topic. The first student
says a word. Then the second student says a word without repeating. 2 SS
take turn to say until one of them is stuck or repeats the words before.
15. Stand Up, Breathe and Stretch
Begin with the students standing up, stretching (reaching for the ceiling,
turn left and right, touch your toes) and taking a sequence of three slow,
deep breaths.
16.Category Relay
Write five kinds of topic on the board in different column. Each team
making a line facing the board to play. After a starting signal, SS take
turn to pick a flashcard from the vocabulary set and stick it in the right
column.
17.YES Wall/NO Wall
With flashcards of food and drinks in your hands, have SS line up facing
you in the middle of the room, and designate the walls to their left and
right as either “Yes Wall” or “No Wall”. Show SS the first flashcard, and
ask a simple yes or no question, such as “Is this an egg?”. SS should reply
by running to the correct wall and shouting either “Yes, it is!” or “No, it
isn’t!”, after which they return to the center of the room for the next
round.
18.What does your name mean?
Using a dictionary, google or any other resource, SS find and write down
an appropriate adjective that begins with each letter of their first name.
For example: HAI -> Humorous - Active – Intelligent.Y
19.Electrical points
Hold up a flashcard for everyone to see. Then ask a question related to
the target topic. Call a student to stand up and answer the question. After
answering, that student comes to the front, points an object and calls a
student to answer his/ her questions.
20.Mirror Mirror
Choose a student to come to the front and do a sequence of actions he/
she wants. Imagine that SS are mirrors so they have to repeat the actions.
The slowest student has to sit out of the game.
21. Finish the thought
Write the beginning of a sentence on the whiteboard, for example: Today
I am happy because .... and ask students to complete it. Call SS to stand
up and share with the class.
Other example:
 Today was great because…
 Today will be great because…
 Yesterday, I wish I had…
 By the time we finish today, I want to have…
22. Name ten
Have students think of 10 items that fit particular criteria. For example:
  Jobs where you have to wear a uniform
 English football clubs
 Sports that are played with a ball
 Foods that contain egg
 Animals that lay eggs
 Three letter parts of the body – eye, arm, leg, hip, ear, toe jaw, rib,
lip, gum
23.Word Association
Give an initial word, for example, banana and each student takes it in
turns to say a word which they associate with the previous word. If the
connection isn’t obvious, challenge the student to justify their choice. For
example: banana – monkey – zoo – tourists – hotel – bible …
24.Category Tag
Choose a category (e.g. food, weather, transportation, etc.). Students run
around the room and the teacher chases them. When the teacher tags a
student s/he must name a word from the category (e.g. food: cheese, fish,
bread, etc.). Give a time limit to answer (e.g. 5 seconds). If the student
cannot answer or says a word that has already been used s/he sits out until
the next round.
25. Eraser toss
Lay out flashcards face down up the floor. SS toss an eraser onto a card
and identify the flashcard it lands on. If they say the card correctly they
keep the card but if incorrect the card remains on the floor. When all the
cards have gone, count who has the most cards to see who the winner is.
26.Give Me
Throw all the flashcard around the classroom. Teacher says "Give me
…". SS should look around, find the correct flashcard and approach the
teacher to hand T the FC "Here you are".
27.Unscramble
Write a word on the board that has all its letters mixed up (e.g.
lrocsmaos" = "classroom"). Students have to unscramble the word and
shout out the answer to win a point. This works well in a team game.
Variation: use letter blocks / letter shapes instead of writing on the board
- students then rearrange the letters/blocks to spell out the correct word.
28.Biting tails
 Ask SS to make a circle on the floor. T says a random word, the student
next to has to say a word that begins with the last letter of T's word. For
example: run - nurse - elephant - tea- ...
29. I spy
Teacher says "I spy with my little eye something that begins with B".
Students try to guess the object (e.g. "book").
30.Free Writing Game
Devide the class into 2 teams and make 2 lines in front of the board. Give
the first student a marker. With the time limit, SS in a line take turn to
write one thing they can see in the house.
31. Ball Game
Everyone makes a circle. T throws the ball to a student and ask simple
questions related to the topic: Which school are you studying at? Which
class are you in? How many pupils in your class? What's your teacher's
name? Who do you sit next to? Then that student throws the ball back to
T and the process repeats until every student has the chance to answer.
32. Peel banana.
Peel banana, peel peel banana,
Chop banana, chop chop banana,
Shake banana, shake shake banana,
Drink banana, drink drink banana,
banana banana no more,
banana banana no more.
 Middle
1. Pirate ships
2 teams make 2 lines facing T. Each team choose a captain of the ship. 2
captains rock paper scissors to decide which ship goes first. Captain picks
a student to answer T's question: "Can you tell me a word about animals/
drinks/ colors/ food?”. If that student answers correctly (without repeating
words before nor making pronunciation mistakes), he/ she can use the
cannon to kill one student from the other ship. If that student answers
wrongly, he/ she will have to suicide. Then the process repeats with the
other team until there is one student alive.
2. Right line
Write three topics (e.g: House, School and Beach) on the board in
different column. Call 6 SS to make a line facing the board to play. T
says a random object, and SS decide where is the object: at school, at
home or on the beach. Then jump to that column. For example: T says
"Bed", SS jump to "House"; T says "Sand", SS jump to "Beach".
3. What have I got?
Ask a student to secretly pick up one flashcard they like and come to the
front. That student uses some sentences to describe that word. (For
example: It’s long and black. It can’t jump or run.)
4. Great Actor
Tell one random student to come to the front, then T whispers one word
(taget vocabulary) in the student’s ears. That student tries to act out for
everyone to guess what is the word. After one word has been guessed, T
holds up the flashcard of that word and ask the class to repeat out loud.
The game continues until all the taget vocabulary has been guessed.
5. Great Artist
T choose a student to come to the front then whisper a word. The student
draws that thing on the board for everyone to guess. The first one
guessing right brings points for his/ her team. After each word, T asks SS
to say the word chorally.
6. Magic circle
 Have SS sit in a circle on their chairs. T sits outside the circle turning
back against the SS. SS pass one random flashcard from one to another
and say the word too. When T says "Stop!", the student holding the FC
has to put it down on the floor and go out. The process repeats with a
different FC, until there is one player left.
7. Match
Write all the words SS are going to learn on the board in random order.
SS take turn to come to the front, pick a flashcard and stick it next to the
appropriate word, then say it aloud. T explains any words as necessary.
8. Words in words
Give SS a random word (for example: mountains) and ask SS to find as
many words as possible having letters from the given word. For example:
sun, main, mine ...
9. Step by step
Devide the class into 2 teams and setup a line of flashcards on the floor. 2
SS from 2 teams play the game, each SS stand on one side of the
flashcard line. 2 SS rock paper scissors, the winner takes one step forward
and say the word he/ she stans next to. The process repeats until one of
the players reaches the last flashcard.
Note: If one player loses 3 times, he/ she is subsituded for anothe student
in the team."
10.Take it!
Devide the class into 2 teams and label each student from each team a
number. (for example: There are 5 SS in one team so T labels the first
student next to T "Number 1", the next student "Number 2" ,... Do the
same thing with the other team.) T puts the pile of flashcards on the floor
and says a word with a number (for example: handbag, number 4). 2 SS
of that number rush to the pile of flashcards and try to find the right one.
11.Vocab Circle
Sit the SS with T in a circle. T holds up flashcard and says its name. T
then passes it on to the next student who also says its name and passes it
on to the next student. (Variations: change directions, speed rounds, have
many objects going round at the same time)
12.Dog and Cat chase
Have students sit in a circle. The teacher walks around the outside of the
circle patting the on the head saying "dog" each time. Suddenly, teacher
says "cat" as s/he touches a student's head and then that student must
 chase the teacher around the circle. The teacher must try to sit in the
student's spot before being tagged by the chasing student. If the teacher
is tagged s/he must touch the heads again. If teacher makes it back
without being touched then the chasing student walks around the circle
touching heads. This can be done with any variation of pair words (e.g.
big & small, happy & sad, can, can't, etc.).
13.Hoop!
Ask SS to stand up making a circle. Show a flashcard and choose a
student to start the game, he/ she says the first letter of the word. The
students next to contiues to say until they finishes spelling and the last
student says the whole word, everyone Hoop! (sit down)"
14.Lucky numbers
Prepare word cards corresponding to the flashcards. Put the flashcards
facing down on the floor and hold the set of word cards in hands. Call one
student at a time to draw a word card and find the corresponding
flashcard. If the cards are not the same, that student faces the cards down
again.
15.Train of flashcards
T needs a TA or a student to help in this game. Devide the class into 2
teams and make 2 lines (with the same number of SS) facing T and TA.
(T takes care one line and TA takes care one line). T gives the first
student of the line one FC, then ask him/ her to say the word, then pass
the card on. (TA does the same in the other line). When the last student
receives the FC, he/ she runs to the front of the line, gives the FC back to
T and take a new one. The game ends when one of the teams finishes
saying and passing all the FCs.
16.Say the number
Put the flashcards on the board and write a number next to each one. Call
2 SS from to teams to play the game. Call out a number and ask SS to say
the word.
17.Slow reveal
Put a flashcard on the board and cover it with a piece of paper then very
slowly move the paper to reveal the picture. Ask ""What's this?"" or
"What room is this?". The first student to guess correctly bring points to
his/ her team. Continue the game until all the words from the vocabulary
set have been practised.
18.Mime words
 Give a student a flashcard and tell him/ her not to show the class. Tell that
student to mime the word on the flashcard for the rest of the class to
guess the word. After a flashcard has been guessed, the student holds it
up for everyone to see and repeat.
19.Relay race
Each team make a line facing the board, the first one has a marker. T says
a sentence (for example: My dad is sleeping in the living room). The first
student comes to the board and writes the first word in sentence, then
goes back and passes marker to the student behind. That student
continues to write the next word and this proccess repeats until T's
sentence is completed.
20.Musical chair
Setup chairs to make a circle (one chair fewer than the number of
players). The music is turned on, and SS walk around the chairs. When
the music stops SS race to sit in the available chairs. The one left standing
is out and has to answer T's question that is related to the target topic.
This procedure is continued until only one student remains.
21.Whisper game
Arrange SS into 2 teams and ask them to make 2 lines. Show a flashcard
to the first student of the line. This student whispers the word to the one
behind him/ her. SS continue whispering until the word reaches the final
student, then the final student says it aloud. If the word is correct, that
team is the winner.
22.Hangman
Think of a word and write the number of letters on the board using dashes
to show many letters there are. Ask students to suggest a letter. If it
appears in the word, write it in all of the correct spaces. If the letter does
not appear in the word, write it off to the side and begin drawing the
image of a hanging man. Continue until the students guess the word
correctly (they win) or you complete the diagram (you win)
23.What’s missing?
Display the flashcards from the vocabulary set on the board. Give the
class a few seconds to look at them. Ask SS to turn around. Remove a
flashcard. Let SS look at the board and ask “What’s missing?”. When SS
have identified the missing one, shuffle them again and repeat the
procedure.
24.Magnet letters
 Prepare two sets of magnet alphabet letters for each team (Alternatively,
T can use small pieces of paper to write on). T shows a flashcard and all
the team members find out letters to make the correct word.
25. X and O
Draw a 3x3 grid on the board with a simple adjective in each box (for
example: beautiful, ugly, big, long, tall,...) Devide the class into X and O
teams. Each team tries to win three suqares forrming a row by making a
sentence using any adjective in the grrid, any animal word and structure
"has got". The sentence has to be logical. (for example: the spider has got
long legs.)
26.Pictionary
Prepare a bunch of words and put them in a box before the class. Split the
class into teams of 2 and give one student from each team a marker and
ask them to choose a word from the box.Tell the SS to draw the word as a
picture for the team to guess.When a word has been guessed correctly,
that student continues to take a word from the box and draw. Repeat this
until all the words are practised.
27.The hot seat
Prepare a chair (the hot seat) and put it at the middle of the class. Choose
a student to sit on the chair and ask him/ her to turn his/ her back to the
board. Write a random school word on the board. The rest of the class
describe it in English for the player to guess. (with time limited and no
action allowed.)
28.Cowboy
Devide the class into two teams. Call each team one student to play. Two
SS stand back to back to each other. T give each of them a flashcard and
ask them to hold FC in front of their chests. When T gives a signal, two
SS turn back, look at the other’s FC and make a sentence realated to the
topic. The faster is the winner.
29.Chicken fight
Call each team one student to play the game. Give each player a flashcard
in secret and ask them to put FC behind their backs so the other player
cannot see. Within the time limit, players run around to find out which
word is behind their competitors.
30.Sticky ball
Draw a dart board with scores on the board. Devide the class into 2
teams, rock paper scissors to decide who goes first. SS in a team takes
 turn to stand up, answer T's question. After answering correctly, SS can
throw the ball to the dart board to get scores.
31.Word Bingo
Each student need a piece of paper with a 3x3 grid. T writes 9 target
words on the board and SS add words to each square in different order as
they want. SS cross the word by pencils when T calls it out. If one
student has crossed all squares in three rows - vertically, horzontically, or
diagonally – he shouts: BINGO.
32.Zombie
Put the flashcards in different corners of the classroom and draw a circle
in the middle of the class. One volunteer is zombie and stands inside the
circle. The rest of class gathers in one corner. Zombie says a word, other
SS run to that word's area without being touched by the zombie. Any
runner who gets caught by the zombie should sit on the floor.
33.Running game
Display the flashcards on the floor. Call each team 1 student to play the
game, they stand inside a circle in the middle of the room. T says a word
(T can call a good student to be the teacher.) and 2 players run as fast as
they can to the right place and repeat the word. The faster is the winner.
34.Swap the chairs
Setup the chairs in circle with one fewer chair than players (T also plays).
Tell SS to sit down and choose 1 student to stand inside the circle. T
shows up a random flashcard and ask that student a question. When that
student finishes answering, everyone stands up and swaps the chairs. The
one who fails to find a new chair will stand inside the circle and answer
T’s question again. The process repeats untils all the students have the
chance to answer.
35.Jumping game
Ask SS to stand up. Hold up a flashcard from the vocabulary set and say a
word. If the word is the same as the flashcard, they jump. If it isn’t, they
keep still. (Alternatively, SS can put their hands up instead up jumping.)
36.Yes No chairs
T teaches/ revises the structure Do you like ...? Yes, I do/ No, I don't. Set
up 2 different-color chairs (one chair is Yes and the other is No) in the
middle of the class. Draw a tick or a cross in the corner of each flashcard.
Call 2 SS from 2 teams to play. Show a FC and ask "Do you like ...?". If
 there is a tick, SS have to sit on Yes chair but if there is a cross, SS have
to sit on No chair.
37.Slap the board
Put the flashcards on the board. Call 2 SS from 2 team to play the game
and give each player a toy fly swatter. Ask them to stand behind the
starting line. Call out a word from the flashcards, then 2 players rush to
the board and slap the correct flashcard using their sly swatter.
38.Quick flash
Take the flashcards and hold them facing T so that SS cannot see. Choose
a FC, reveal it for a few seconds only and ask "What's this?" The first
student to call out the word can select the next FC and "flash" to his/ her
friends.
39.1 2 3
Display the flashcards on the board. Call each team one student to play
the game. Ask players to turn their backs against the board and listen until
T counts to 3, they turn back and say the word T is pointing to. The faster
is the winner.
40.I like to move it (topic: body parts)
Display the flashcards on the board. 2 SS from 2 teams come to the front
turning their backs to the board. T counts "1, 2, 3", players turn back and
shake or point to the part of body being pointed to by T.
For example: T points to hand, SS wave their hands.