Author Topic: Most requested games from students (Read 50067 times)

teacherjenni · « **on:** November 15, 2010, 07:39:36 AM »

Although it is into November, my students still request the Halloween Game. Others they like are hangman, Simpsons, and Harry Potter (See 5G 'What are you doing' for explanation of this game). Just wondering what are some of your most requested games?

teacherjenni · « **Reply #1 on:** November 15, 2010, 07:41:13 AM »

Oh, and are there any games they groan at? Mine dislike pictionary and battleships :(

DirtySexyMoney · « **Reply #2 on:** November 15, 2010, 07:53:47 AM »

Hey!
My low level students don't like pictionary either, but I force them to play it because I've come to realise that tey don't want to play because they're either too lazy to actually be active participants in class, or they're too shy to be laughed at by the other students in class if there's a word they don't know. Either way, they play it when I'm around.

I'm at an all-boys middle school, and I've found that they go mental over any games that have guns or where they have to take away points from, or swop points with, other teams. They absolutely LOVE "Hearts, Guns and Bombs" and the "Bomb Game", as both appeal to their competitive nature.

I'm not sure what girls are into though... I'd die if I had to take a group of girls for a class!

Please keep us posted. I'd love to know what other people think works and what doesn't!

nzaslow · « **Reply #3 on:** November 15, 2010, 08:11:43 AM »

I work at an all girls middle school.

LOL there's not really a difference - anything to cream the other teams! Stealing + changing points is awesome.

teacher_del · « **Reply #4 on:** November 15, 2010, 08:41:45 AM »

One of my third-grade classes keeps demanding the Ghost Game (Ghostbusters-template bombs game).

All of my third-grade classes love Simon Says.

Fifth grade loves BINGO and seems fond of Pink Fish in all its variations.

RufusW · « **Reply #5 on:** November 15, 2010, 08:46:30 AM »

Quote from: Sibbie on November 15, 2010, 07:53:47 AM

My low level students don't like pictionary either, but I force them to play it because I've come to realise that tey don't want to play because they're either too lazy to actually be active participants in class, or they're too shy to be laughed at by the other students in class if there's a word they don't know.

Korean teachers don't like using drawing in their classes. Consequently, students aren't great at quickly producing pictures. But my lower level students do love pictionary regardless.

salabbe · « **Reply #6 on:** November 15, 2010, 09:23:06 AM »

By far the two most effective speaking games I have used do not involve a computer at all. I find the trick is just telling them it's a game and doing an effective speaking activity. First one to finish wins.

1) Speed Game:
There are a million variations on this one every one of which is sure to get the least enthusiastic class going. Essentially, it involes printing or writing everything from simple vocab to full questions and answers to pictures that elicit either of the two. They are taped up on the wall in a horseshoe pattern keeping as much distance between them as possible. After a review of the target language split the class in two and have them line up at the tips of the horseshoe. One student at a time must read through the target language walking towards the student on the other team page by page. Whe they meet they rock, paper scissors it out. The winner continues while the loser must go to the back of their teams line. Immediatly, the next person in line on the losing team starts. When ever a player makes it to the other side of the horseshoe without losing a rps game, their team earns a point. Play until they get bored.

2) Running dictation:
Choose an appropriate dialogue and preteach so the students have a basic but not thorough understanding (i.e. pronunciation). Have a printed out version of the dialogue cut into strips and spread out in stations all over the room. Form groups of 3-5 depending on class size. Have all evidence of the new dialogue removed aside from the stations.

Explain that for every strip there is a runner and a writer. Only one student from each group can be standing at a time. The runner runs to a station, attempts to memorize the passage, runs back, and dictates it to the writer. Other students help with spelling. The runners can go back and forth for spelling and word order as many times as necessary so long as they don't take the passage with them or write it down themselves.

The runner and writer roles switch every passage so that all students get a chance to participate. After all the passages are written down the students must re-arrange the dialogue in the correct order and then write them on the board under their teams name. First team to finish the dialogue with no spelling or punctuation mistakes gives the teacher a hi-five and are declared winner. They must then role play the dialogue to the class.

This beauty takes the whole period and involves reading, writing, speaking, listening and running. The five skills necessary at this age.

Their is a huge amount of variations with this activityas well. Good luck.

teacherjenni · « **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2010, 08:53:11 AM »

Quote from: Sibbie on November 15, 2010, 07:53:47 AM

They absolutely LOVE "Hearts, Guns and Bombs" and the "Bomb Game", as both appeal to their competitive nature.

I've never heard of the Hearts, guns and bombs game, but mine love the bomb game, and also the BAAM game (where instead of answering the question no matter what, the bomb appears as soon as they choose the number). Also, the higher the points the better. They LOVE LOVE LOVE it if questions are worth 100-1000 points instead of 1-10.

cocoinkorea · « **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2010, 02:59:05 PM »

I taught 2nd Grade middle schoolers how to play UNO. Apparently they had never hear of it before, so my guess is that it is not sold in Korea. If you brought UNO cards along with you, or you have access to a militar base where you can pick some up, the children will really enjoy it ^^

Janitor · « **Reply #9 on:** November 18, 2010, 03:07:43 PM »

Quote from: cocoinkorea on November 18, 2010, 02:59:05 PM

I taught 2nd Grade middle schoolers how to play UNO. Apparently they had never hear of it before, so my guess is that it is not sold in Korea. If you brought UNO cards along with you, or you have access to a militar base where you can pick some up, the children will really enjoy it ^^

You can buy uno in most stationary shops, English Bookstores for Koreans (more textbooks than actual English books) or stores designed for teachers. For years my hogwan students went nuts for uno because (like janga) they don't have to say any other words beside "uno"

I did however, find a series of "English Uno" with uses English Vocabulary. They didn't like that as much but it was great watching them try to think of a way to play the game with out reading the phrase on the card. If you can find those, they would be perfect.

teacherjenni · « **Reply #10 on:** March 03, 2011, 08:07:45 AM »

Two things here:

First, I just wanted to say that I'm so excited my school bought me a game set with Guess Who, Life, Boggle, Apples to Apples Jr., Scrabble Jr., Pictionary Jr. and several other games that I've never played. Does anyone else have access to games and can they tell me which ones work well in class?

Second, I have a game mash-up of charades and pictionary that all of my game levels have enjoyed playing and it is super simple:

Go to www.barryfunenglish.com --> flashcards. Print in a small flashcard version: actions with a blue banner and animals with a red banner. (If you don't have an acct with barryfunenglish you can make this with pics in ppt, but it just takes a little bit more time).

Once you have your two sets with different colored boarders, cut them out and mix them up. Tell the students if they choose an image/word with a blue boarder they can only use body language to make their team guess the word. If they choose a word/image with a red boarder they can only draw a picture of for their team to guess. I usually write blue=body and red=picture on the board so they don't forget. (Don't tell them the categories are animals and verbs, otherwise they just run through the list of words they know without paying attention.You can change the vocab, but body language works best for verbs or maybe professions; the red could be any set of nouns.) Set a timer (I usually give ~30-45secs) and let them go through as many words as they can. Give them one point per correct answer.

katrine · « **Reply #11 on:** March 03, 2011, 08:18:41 AM »

I play Apples to Apples Jr., Guess Who and Life with my after school students (20 of em) and they work great. With Apples to Apples, I have to explain maybe 1 out of 5 cards, but I could solve this problem if I just went in and sorted the pop culture cards out from the others. They love Guess Who, but it loses their interest after 10-15 minutes. Life is difficult for them, but they love trying. It's such a long game, though, that we've never gotten through a whole game.

We've also got regular Scrabble and regular Pictionary. The students are interested in them, but it's pretty difficult. I'm middle school, btw.

Rustyflop · « **Reply #12 on:** March 03, 2011, 08:19:28 AM »

Mario bomb game is by far the most popular with my kids.

injuredeagle · « **Reply #13 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:06:32 PM »

Surprisingly, my students really love Boggle the first time we play it. They are all into it for a whole period. But then they never want to play again.

machoman · « **Reply #14 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:14:36 PM »

i teach middle school and my kids love apples to apples, jr. and i brought a board game from home called "loaded questions" that they love doing too.

Cy&Leon · « **Reply #15 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:43:37 PM »

Mine likes Hali Gali. You can find these as Homeplus.

gmosborn · « **Reply #16 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:49:24 PM »

I used Twister and Monopoly Jr last year. Kids really liked twistrer

CultureShock · « **Reply #17 on:** March 11, 2011, 01:59:17 PM »

My previous native teacher left me an awesome little "Teaching in Korea" guide. Part of it included games to help facilitate English conversation. Here it is verbatim.

ESL GAMES

1. Chair game: Present a dialog on the board in this pattern: This is a general favorite among the students and is a very enjoyable, yet beneficial game for the students.

   Q: Question 1?
      A: Answer 1. Answer 2.

        Q: Question 2?
           A: 1. Answer 2. Answer
           3 Answer   4. Answer

   Sample: Q: Does your father work?
         A: Yes he does   A: No he doesnt

           Q: What does he do?
            A: He is a __________
           1. Doctor 2. Lawyer 3. Teacher 4. Nurse
Directions:
Clear away the desks, and have the students sit in a circle in their chairs with one student standing in the middle (Student A). Give each student a number 1, 2, 3, or 4. Student A will ask any student sitting in a chair (Student B) the question Does your father work?. If Student B replies no he doesnt, then the students sitting on both sides of Student B have to change seats before Student A can sit down. Whoever is left in the middle becomes Student A, and repeats the dialog.
However, if Student B replies Yes he does, then the conversation continues and Student A must then ask What does he do?. Student B can then reply four ways. He is a doctor, He is a lawyer, He is a teacher or He is a nurse. Whichever job Student B calls out, the students with the corresponding numbers have to change seats. Since there is one less chair than student, one student will always be left in the middle and will have to choose a new Student B to repeat the dialog with. As the game progresses feel free to throw in a fifth option i.e. President, whereas all the students in the class will have to change seats.

Est time: 15 minutes

2. Speed Quiz
   Divide the class into groups of 4- 6 students. 2 students from the group will have to sit in front of the tv/screen, so that they cannot see it. The other students in the group will have to act out the picture or sentence that they see on the screen, while the students that cant see the tv have to guess what it is. Each group will have 30 seconds to 1 minute (your preference) to see how many vocabulary words or sentences they can answer correctly.

Est time: 10-15 minutes

3. Acting Game
Similar to the speed quiz game, except all the students compete at the same time. Divide the class into 2-4 groups. Invite one student from each group to come up to the front. Show them a picture or sentence so that they can see it, but the rest of the class cant. The students in the front then have to act out what they see to the class. The students in the class will raise their hands to try and guess what they are acting. If a student guesses correctly, their team gets 1 point. Rotate students to the front. You can use simple vocabulary words, or you can have the students answer in the sentences using present tense, past tense, present-continuous, etc.

   Est time: 10- 15 minutes

4. Hammer- Rock paper scissors game
   This game works best with smaller classroom sizes. Form a semi-circle with 7-10 desks, and put a vocabulary word or grammar concept on each desk. Divide the class into two teams. Have the two teams form a line behind the opposite ends of the semi-circle, and give the first player on each team a plastic inflatable hammer (not essential, but certainly makes the game more fun). When you say go, the students with the hammer will have to smack the first desk with the hammer and say the key word or sentence correctly. They will continue to go around the semi-circle saying the key words correctly, until the two players meet in the middle. When this happens, the two players have to stop what they are doing, and Rock-Paper-Scissors eachother. The winner will continue going around the circle, whereas the loser has to go back to the beginning and pass off the hammer to the next person on his team. The next person starts over from the first desk and continues going until he meets the player from the other team, and they Rock-Paper-Scissors again. The game ends when one player manages to reach the other side. Some games take a minute, while some can go on for 15. Generally, I play the game about three or four times in a 15 minute span.

5. Drawing Game
   Pretty simple game, but younger students really enjoy it. Divide the class into X number of groups. Have one student from each group come up to the front and show them a picture or vocabulary word. The students at the front will then have to draw the picture on the board, while the students in the class have to try and guess what it is. If the student in the class guesses correctly, he gets one point for his team. Rotate students to the front.

   Est time: 10-15 minutes

6. Flyswatter/ Hammer game
   Tape or hang up a bunch of pictures or words all over the board. Divide the class into two or three teams, and invite one student from each student up to the board. Give each student a hammer, and have them turn around and face the class. Then you will either say the vocabulary word outright or give them clues, and they will have to turn around and find it on the board by smacking it with the hammer or flyswatter. Give the student that answers correctly 1 point to his team, and invite new students to come to the front.
   Great game for pronunciation difficulties (r and l words), cause and effect, or simply general vocabulary.

Est. time 10 minutes

7. Pickup (Snatch) game
   Same concept as flyswatter game, except that students play at their desks. Have them divide into groups of 4-6 students, and have them spread out the cards (face-up) all over their desks. Have them ask you the key question i.e. What are you wearing?, and you will answer I am wearing socks! The students will then try and pickup the sock card as fast as they can. The student that finishes the game with the most cards wins. Feel free to invite the students to answer the question I am wearing______, as well.

Est. time 5-10 minutes

8. Flip Cup
   Same as the drinking game (minus the drinking). Divide the class into two teams, and give each student a cup. Place a picture face-down in front of each student (This part is optional as you can certainly play the game without pictures). The students stand down a line on each side of the table. Game is played like a relay race. The first student will have to ask the second student the key question i.e. What are you wearing? The second student will flip over his picture and answer the question I am wearing pants! When he answers the question correctly, he then has to flip over his cup. After he completes this successfully, he has to ask the third student the key question and so on. The first team that finishes flipping all of their cups is the winner. Usually play 3-5 rounds. If the game gets too hectic, divide the class into two games. You can monitor one, and your co-teacher can monitor the other.

Est time: 10-15 minutes

9. Team bingo
   Same as regular bingo except that there is a team aspect as well. Divide the class into several teams, and give each student a bingo card. Pre-make the cards, or have the students fill-out the cards using a selective word list. To play the game, show the students a picture (one that corresponds to a word on the list). If a student can identify the picture, he/she raises her hand and says what it is. If they are correct, they get one point for their team. Keep playing until a player gets BINGO, and give that individual a small prize or additional bonus points to his team. Can play the game several times if youd like. When you are finished playing, the team with the most points is the winner.

Est time: 15 minutes

10. Flash Games: Some standard flash games that you can play. You can email me if you would like me to send them to you.

Bomb game: Jeopardy style trivia game, where bombs are hidden in some of the choices, resulting in the students losing all of their points. This isnt really a flash game, but a PPT file.

Word Unscramble: Word Unscramble flash game. Can enter any word you choose into the data, and the program will automatically scramble the word for you. The students will then have to try and figure out what the word really is. Can play in teams or as individuals. The flash program allows the letters to move around and plays music, making the game more fun and difficult.

Team Matching game: Same as the regular Memory or Matching game, in which you have to match two of the same cards together. You can have them match the Korean word to the English Word, the English Word to the Picture, or however you choose. Generally, more fun than the regular card Memory game, because you can play with teams using the entire class. I find that the class gets much more into the game this way than the standard way.

Guess the Hidden Picture; Self explanatory

Speed game: Same game as described earlier except Flash

The first attached file is the word scramble flash file.
The second attached file is the memory flash file.
The 3rd file attached is the text file that goes with the word scramble (file 1) just replace the English words with whatever you like.

ariybird · « **Reply #18 on:** March 11, 2011, 02:04:43 PM »

Mine love the Bomb Game in all its varieties. The Pokemon game ( a speaking game using Rock Paper Scissors) is also well loved. Students also often request Bingo (which I generally never play with them because I know the Korean teachers like to use it in class when I'm not there). Mostly we try to play alot of different games.

Games not requested, but well loved by my students include: Wastepaper (Spelling) Basketball, the Pokemon Game, and Evolution (mostly because if they win against the teacher at the end I give them a piece of candy).

My coteacher also uses a variety of UNO. Although she uses a target phrase for each card number (1. I have Math on Monday. 2. I have English on Saturday. etc.). She then prints it out and the kids recite that phrase every time they play a card with that number. The kids really like it. And it works well for different chapters.

Paul · « **Reply #19 on:** March 11, 2011, 02:20:37 PM »

Mine go nuts for the Pass the Bomb game. Its the ticking that gets them hey.

Tick tick tick tick tick tick tictictictic tctctctctctc...

It builds anxiety, promotes competition (despite there being actually no way to win) and they lose any inhibitions towards speaking English!