INTRODUCTION

Hi! My name's Nick, and when I'm not working on ESL-Kids.com, I'm
teaching English at an English 'conversation' school in Japan.

These 'In-Class' pages are designed to give some guidance to current

teachers, or people considering teaching ESL to children. I've been
teaching children ESL for over 15 years, and hope to share some of of what
I've learned in that time with you.

Generally, children in Japan study at private English schools just once a

week, usually for 45 minutes or an hour. Japanese parents tend to expect
their children to learn English quickly and with ease, and also expect them
to have lots of fun at the same time. We all know how hard this is, so the
emphasis is on having fun with the children. After all, if the children are
enjoying their classes, they will keep coming back week after week, and
their English ability will slowly improve.

I'm going to focus on an imaginary class of kindergarten children. I have

chosen four children, each from the second year of Japanese kindergarten,
which means they are either four or five years old. I have given each child a
unique learning style and opposing personalities, to make this one of the
more challenging classes! Fortunately, it's a small class with just the four
kids. Phew!

The next page details the learning styles and personalities of each child,
and on page three I talk through the lesson, giving suggestions on what
activities to do, and how to deal with the problems that arise. I wish there
were a magic fix for problem children, but unfortunately every class and
every child is dierent, and I can't guarantee that the methods I use will
work for you.

MEET THE CHILDREN

Name: Hiroki

Age: 5

Learning Style: Kinesthetic. Being a kinesthetic learner, Hiroki learns best

through physical movement. Total Physical Response (TPR) activities, in
which the children respond physically to the teacher's commands, are
most appropriate for children like Hiroki. Examples of TPR include forming
ABC shapes with the body, actions like running, jumping, or touching
things the teacher calls out. Songs with movement such as 'Hokey Pokey'
and 'Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes' can also be considered TPR.

Personality: Overly energetic, Hiroki is the kind of student who just won't
sit still. He's always happy, smiling, laughing, playing with the other
children, climbing under the table, and making funny noises!

Name: Naoko

Age: 5

Learning Style: Visual. Naoko learns best from illustrations and text. She's
at her best chorusing vocabulary from flashcards and playing games such
as Quick Flash and Slow Peek with the picture cards. She also loves the
textbook and has started to recognize written words.

Personality: The smart kid. Naoko learns quicker than the other children in
her class. She's always the first to answer questions, and usually wins all
the games - to the frustration of the other kids! However, Naoko gets
annoyed easily, particulary with Hiroki, and she often complains about him,
hoping the teacher will punish him. She also likes to point out everyone's
mistakes, making them feel stupid.

Name: Sayaka

Age: 4

Learning Style: Auditory. Sayaka learns through songs, chants and story-
telling. Although she doesn't always dance to the songs, she sings along
and even sings when there's no music playing! She picks up on repetitive
English quickly - particularly if it's chanted. For example, "Do you like
apples? Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy. No, I don't, No, I
don't. Yuck!"

Personality: Quiet and shy. Every class has a quiet kid and Sayaka fits the
bill. She does answer questions with some pressing, but her voice is so
quiet you can barely hear her over the other children. She's sometimes
reluctant to join in TPR activities and takes forever to complete any writing
or drawing exercise. She's a lovely girl though - no trouble whatsoever...
except when she cries, she just sits their with tears streaming down her
face, usually caused by the other children picking on her or being too
physical around her.

Name: Taichi

Age: 4

Learning Style: Tactile. Taichi learns best by touching things, preferably

objects as opposed to flashcards. Give him some plastic food, blocks, or
even crayons and he's away!

Personality: Generally happy but easily upset. While he'll laugh and copy
Hiroki (usually a bad thing!), he is often picked on by Naoko. Taichi is a bit
slow, and his English is the lowest level in the class. He quickly forgets
vocabulary taught through flashcards, and struggles with using crayons.
Taichi also gets upset easily. Maybe he has a blue chair but wants a green
one, or perhaps the air conditioning is too cold for him. There's always
something troubling him.

THE LESSON
Okay, let's get started. First up is preparation. I always write the lesson flow
on the board so that I can just look over my shoulder to see what's next,
rather than flicking through my notes, so here it is:

1 Attendance

2 Hello Song

3 Basic Questions - name, age, favorites

4 TPR (Total Physical Response)

5 Alphabet - H, I focus

6 Theme: Body Parts - Flashcards

7 Textbook - draw body

8 Games - Touch, Shoot the basket

9 Story - From Head to Toe

10 Song - Hokey Pokey

11 Wrap-up & Good-bye Song

Before class starts, I write the names of the children on the board and give
them all three points. I use these points at the end of the lesson to reward
them on their 'stamp card'. They can get a maximum of four points each
lesson. Next, I play the Hello Song in the background and greet the children
and their parents outside the classroom.

1. Attendance. The kids come in, but Hiroki isn't here yet (typical!). I have
them put their bags to the side and sit down on the mats. I pull out my
attendance sheet and ask "Where's Naoko?" She raises her hand shouting
"I'm here!" but I ignore her for the moment and ask Sayaka and Taichi in
turn "Are you Naoko?" They laugh and reply "No, I'm not!" Then I ask
where Naoko is again, and this time I accept Naoko's response and ask her
"How are you?" she replies with "I'm fine." and I draw a little smiley face on
the attendance sheet for her. I repeat asking where the children are in the
same manner and when I get to Hiroki, I have the children chant "He's, not
here! He's not here!" At that moment, in bursts Hiroki who throws his bag
down and screams "I'm here!!!!"

2. Hello Song. We all stand up and march to the tune, waving our hands
and pulling muscle-man poses when we sing "I'm fine". The kids are
laughing and all is going well so far.

3. Basic Questions. I have the kids sit down facing the front while I stand
up and ask "How are you?", "What's your name?", "How old are you?",
"Do you like banana pizza?" (to laughs and 'yuck' faces) and "What color
do you like?" For each question, I use gestures to indicate meaning and I
help the kids answer by mouthing and whispering their answers to help
them along. This whole section is done with the kids responding together.
Next, I ask them individually, so I pull out my 'cow', a fluy stued toy I use
as a huge ball, and a bucket. I pick a kid randomly and ask one of the
questions above. I help them answer it and toss them the 'cow' saying
"Here you are." They reply "Thank you" and I respond "You're welcome".
They throw the ball towards the bucket, I yell "mooooooo!" and catch the
'cow' in the bucket. I repeat the procedure with each child.

Problem: Hiroki is doing 'head-stands' while I ask the questions.

Solution: I ask him to sit properly and wave the board eraser over one of
his points. He doesn't want to lose a point so he sits properly, and I rub him
on the head.

4. TPR. We all stand up and I call "Attention! Salute!" The kids respond by
standing up straight and raising their hand to their forehead. "Everybody,
let's walk!" and we march around the room as I continuously call "Walk,
walk, walk!" When I ask them to stop, we do the 'attention' thing again and
repeat with run, jump, hop, swim, and crawl. Then we stand up and I call
the following commands (doing the actions with the kids) "Stand up, sit
down, stand up, sit down, jump, jump, jump, turn around, clap your hands,
stomp your feet, brush your teeth, brush your hair, wash your hands, wash
your face, clean your ears, blow your nose, rub your tummy and pat your
head, shake, sneeze!" Then we go straight into the 'Head, Shoulders,
Knees and Toes' song, lying on our backs for the second verse (causing the
kids to lift their feet in the air so they can touch their toes - very funny!).

5. Alphabet. We're all pretty exhausted after that all that TPR, which Hiroki
and Sayaka particularly enjoyed because of their kinesthetic and auditory
learning styles. So, we all sit down on the mats again and I pull out the
alphabet flashcards. Each card has a picture which corresponds to the
letter on the card, e.g. A - apple. I go through the cards chanting the letters
and words, using gestures and more importantly, rhythm. The kids chorus
what I say and copy my gestures. Taichi's concentration is starting to drift,
but I bring his focus back to the cards by chasing him with my hands
clasped together mimicking a fish (teaching the F - fish card). I throw some
questions in such as "O - orange, do you like orange socks?" The
combination of rhythm, gestures and jokes get us through all 26 cards and
we stand up to sing the song. I do the song, tapping various body parts
along with the music - clap hands, tap head, knees and finally my bottom
which the kids copy.

Problem: During the song, Naoko is looking bored, Taichi isn't singing and
Hiroki is crawling under the table.

Solution: Whoosh! With no warning, all three of them lose a point. We start
the song again and I ask for them to sing in a "big voice!" They rally
together and sing their hearts out, and all win their points back for their
eorts. High fives all round.

Today, we are focusing on H and I. Each child is given a copy of the H and I
cards which they put on the floor in front of them. I call out a letter which
they hit like a drum. "H, I, H, I, ... H, H, H, ... I, I, I, ..." etc. We finish with a
rapid "HIIHIHIIHHIHIHI - whoooooo!!!!" which they enjoy.

6. Theme: Body Parts - Flashcards. There are three steps I follow when
teaching vocabulary through flashcards - presentation, reception and
production. We start with chorusing the cards, changing voice and pitch to
make it more enjoyable. I ask the children "Okay?" They reply "Okay." I ask
"Really?" and they do their muscle-man pose and in a deep voice answer
"Yes." Next, I want to test how well they remember the cards with a
receptive skills activity - one that doesn't require them to say the words,
just recognize them. I put the cards on the floor and ask the kids to put
their hands on their head. I call a body part card and the first kid to slam it
wins it. Of course, Naoko gets the first card as always! We continue and I
steadily move the cards away from Naoko and closer to the other kids -
she doesn't seem to mind and enjoys the challenge.

Problem: Naoko and Taichi hit the right card at the same time. I get them
to do Rock, Scissors, Paper and Naoko wins. Taichi is upset and doesn't
want to play anymore.

Solution: I ask Naoko how many cards she has. Then I ask her how many
Taichi has. She realizes that he doesn't have any and when I ask her if she
wouldn't mind giving the card to Taichi, she agrees, gets a head rub, and
Taichi is happy enough to continue.

For fun, when there's only one card left, I call out silly things like "pizza" or
"banana" and they laugh as they hit the card by mistake. They count their
cards and Naoko wins.

Problem: Hiroki didn't win so he throws his cards and one hits poor
Sayaka in the face. She starts to cry.

Solution: I give Hiroki my angry face and take one of his points away. Now
he's upset too, he didn't mean to hurt anyone after all. I ask him to say
sorry to Sayaka which he does, and he gets his point back. I ask Sayaka if
she's okay, and rub her head. She seems fine, so I oer to give her a point
if she wants to continue. She does.

Next, I test their ability to say the words by using a game of 'Quick Flash'. I
show them a card for a split second and see if they can say the word. They
all start enthusiastically calling out the answers, but instead of rewarding
the first person (which is usally Naoko) and risk the problems we just had, I
decide it's best to say "Good job everyone!" each time they say the word....
and I keep the cards to myself.

7. Textbook. I pull out the little tables and ask each kid in turn which color
chair they want (this usually appeases Taichi who can get pretty upset if he
doesn't get the color he wants). I ask the children to get their books and
crayons and we sit down at the table and turn to the page we are doing.
After reviewing the language in the book, the kids can draw a body on the
page. They make a start and go round helping them and asking them
questions such as "What's this?" and "What color is it?" I notice that
whereas Hiroki and Naoko are rushing ahead and have nearly finished
already, the other two have barely started. Taichi is trying to sharpen his
crayons while Sayaka is drawing the most amazing picture ever - but she's
still only on the face!

Problem: So, half the class is nearly finished and the other half a way
behind.

Solution: This is tricky. In retrospect, I wish I had gotten the kids to draw
one body part at a time so we could have gone at the same pace, but too
late for that now. Instead, when the first two have finished I will ask them to
copy their names above their picture (that should slow them down!).
Meanwhile I'll encourage the other two to speed up. If they don't catch up,
I'll ask them to finish it at home.

8. Games. First, I line the kids up and call commands for them to follow.
Since, we are doing body parts, I ask them to touch various body parts. If
they make a mistake, they sit down. We play a few times so they still have a
chance even if they lose early in the first round or two. Being a tactile
learner, Taichi seems to be getting to grips with the vocabulary now that
he's using real body parts. The next game is "What do you have?" I give
Sayaka a body parts card and she holds it close to her chest so the others
can't see. They all ask "Do you have (body part)?" and Sayaka answers
"No, I don't" until someone gets it right. They love this game and they love
'being the teacher' at the front with the cards.

Problem: It's Hiroki's turn with the cards, and while the others call out
body parts, I can't hear what Sayaka is saying over the noise.

Solution: I have the kids take turns to guess the card.

9. Story. In this fictional lesson I'm using the book 'From Head to Toe'.
Naoko and Sayaka are very much into it, with their eyes glued on the book.
I ask questions about the pictures they can see to get them involved with
the story.

Problem: Hiroki, who can't sit still, is talking to Taichi and pinching him.
Taichi isn't too happy about this, and Naoko is getting annoyed because
she wants to listen to the story.

Solution: I pick up Hiroki and sit him on my lap and have him turn the
pages of the book. He enjoys the attention, Taichi is no longer being
pinched, and Naoko can focus on the book.

10. Song. While it was fun at first, Hiroki is desperate to get away from
sitting on my lap so when we finish the book, I start the CD and we launch
into the Hokey Pokey song to let o some steam. The kids have learned
from previous lessons that this is their last chance to boost their points up
to the maximum of four. They give it everything and they are all rewarded
accordingly.

11. Wrap-up. To finish the lesson, the kids pull out their stamp cards and
can choose which stamp they want. They count o the circles on their
cards as they are stamped. The they go back to the mats, ready for the
Good-bye song. We sing the song with gestures and at the end I pick each
kid up high in the air so they can touch the ceiling - they love this! Finally,
they line up at the door and I ask each of them a question about today's
theme which they answer. Good-bye's all round and o they go.

The End. If you teach kids regularly, I hope you can relate to what you've
just read. If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear from
you. You can drop me an email from the contact page. If you are
considering teaching ESL to kids, I hope this has given you an insight into
what teaching children is all about!

Alphabet Shout Out

Randomly choose an alphabet flashcard and award a point to the first

student who shouts out a word beginning with that letter.

Alphabet Writing Relay

Divide and line up the students into two teams. Divide the board into two
halves and have one student from each team run to the board, write 'A',
then run to the back of the line. The next student writes 'B', etc. The first
team to finish wins.

Alphabet Erase relay

As 'Alphabet Writing Relay', but this time, write the alphabet on each half of
the board and have each team race to erase the letters in order.

Alphabet Sculptures

Divide the students into teams and call out a letter of the alphabet. Award a
point to the first team that can form the letter with their bodies.

Alphabet Soup

Give each student an alphabet flashcard and have them skip around the
room to the 'ABC Song'. Stop the tape at random and have the students
rush to line up in order, e.g. A-K.

Alphabet Touch

Call out letters and have the students find and touch them in the
classroom, on posters, etc.

Alphabet Wave

Give each student a few ordered alphabet flashcards and play the 'ABC
Song'. Have the students hold up the cards that correspond to the letters
they hear in the song.

Animal Crackers

Take a big dice and assign an animal to each number. Have the students
roll the dice and act like the animal!

The Ball

Throw the ball to a student and ask that student a question. The student
answers and throws the ball to another student asking the same question.
E.g. "Can you...?", "Yes, I can. / No, I can't." "Do you like...?", "Yes, I do. /
No, I don't."

Balloon Toss

Have the students stand in a circle. Toss a balloon to one student and elicit
vocabulary or a structure from that student. They must be able to tap the
balloon in the air without missing the vocabulary or structure E.g. S1: "My
name's Miki. What's your name?" (tap) "My name's Hiro. What's your
name?" (tap).

Basic Flashcard Fun

The teacher simply holds up a flash card and elicits the answer from the
students. This can be done in teams with points awarded for correct
answers.

Beat The Clock

Time the students as they race to put alphabet, days of the week, or month
flashcards in order. Have them try again to see if they can beat their fastest
time.

Bingo

Bingo can be used with any topic. Blank Bingo sheets can be used, and
students can write of draw randomly in the boxes. The winner is the first
student to cross out all the numbers/letters etc. on the sheet.

Blindfold Conversation

Arrange the class in a circle and choose one student to stand in the circle
with a blindfold on. Spin the student and tell him/her to point. Tell the
student to guess the name of the student he/she is pointing at by talking to
him/her. E.g. "Hello. How are you? Do you like...?"

Blu

The object of the game is to be the first student to get rid of all his/her
cards. Divide the students into small group and deal flashcards to each
student. Player 1 chooses a card from his/her hand and throws it face
down on the table saying, for example, "I have (a cat)". Player 1 may be
telling the truth or blung. If player 2 has a 'cat' in his/her hand then
there's a good chance player 1 is blung. Player 2 should say "No, you
don't". If player 1 was blung, player 2 gives player 1 a penalty card from
his/her hand. If player 1 was telling the truth then he/she gives player 2 a
penalty card from his/her hand. Continue until one student is out of cards.

The Bomb

Pass a ball, object or a flash card around a circle of students. When the
timer rings, the student holding the ball must answer a question, make a
sentence or say a word.

Car Race

Arrange the flash cards in a long line with starting and finishing points. Give
each student a counter. The first student throws the dice and moves. The
student must say the word on the flashcard he/she lands on. If the student
makes a mistake, he/she goes back to his/her original place. Add colored
paper between cards to represent 'Take Another Turn', and assign a crash
number e.g. #4 on the dice which means the student must return to the
beginning.

Catch The Fruit

Toss a piece of plastic fruit to a student and ask, "What is it?" Elicit and
prompt the correct vocabulary. Gesture the student to throw it back to you
and repeat with dierent fruit and students. For a variation see 'The Ball'.

Charades

Divide and line up the class into two teams. The first student from each
team comes to the front. The teacher whispers a word or shows a flashcard
to the two students and they act it out. The first team to call out the correct
word gets a point. E.g. sleeping, eating, playing soccer...

Clusters

Play any music and have the students walk, skip, jump, hop, etc around the
room randomly. Stop the music and call out a number between 1-8. The
students must quickly get together in a group or groups of that number,
and the odd students must sit out until the next round.

Commando

The teacher is the commando and gives commands to the class and/or
individual students. This is a great energy burner as well as review of
actions colors, numbers or anything else you can throw in. E.g. "Jump 10
times", "Touch your (body part)", "Touch (classroom object", "Turn around",
"Stand up / Sit down".

Concentration / Memory

Have the students sit in a circle. Spread out the flashcards (2 sets) face
down. Students take turns flipping over two cards and saying the
vocabulary. If the flashcards are a match, the student keeps the cards. If
they are dierent, they remain face down. The student with the most pairs
is the winner.

Conversation Relay

Line up the students in two teams and have the last student in each team
tap the shoulder of the student in front and have a conversation E.g.
"What's you name?", "How are you?". The student answering then starts
the same conversation with the student in front, and so on. When the
conversation reaches the front, the student at the front must run to the
back and continue the procedure. The first team to get all the students
back in their original positions wins.

Crazy Train

Students line up behind the teacher in a choo choo train line. Give
commands such as "faster", "slower", "turn left", and "stop".

Dance Of The Ostriches

Pair up students and attach a flashcard to their backs. The object of the
game is to look at the other student's flash card and yell out the word
before they see yours.

Draw It Relay

Divide the students into two teams. Whisper a flashcard to the first member
of both teams and have them run to the board and draw the word as fast
as possible. Award points to the fastest team.

Duck Duck Goose

Students sit in a circle and the teacher starts by walking round the outside
of the circle tapping the students on the head saying "duck". When the
teacher says "goose" the student whose head was touched must jump up
and chase the teacher round the circle. The teacher must sit down in the
student's spot before being tagged. If tagged, the teacher must continue
tapping heads. If not, the student walks around the circle touching heads. It
might be easier to use vocabulary like "cat, cat, dog" or similar, or even
"duck, duck, dog" to practice awareness of 'u' vs 'o' and 'g' vs 'ck'
sounds.

Fashion Show

Have each student stand up one at a time and elicit from the class what he
or she is wearing.

Find It

The teacher holds up a letter flashcard. The students must search around
the room to find either a corresponding object/picture that begins with that
letter or find that same letter written somewhere in the room. The purpose
of this game is letter recognition. It can be played as a relay race with two
teams racing to find the letters first.

First letter

Give the students various picture flashcards. Go through the ABC's and
instruct students to hold up the flashcards that begin with that letter.

Flash Card Act Out

Choose one or more students to come to the front. Show a flash card or
whisper a word, and have the students act it out. Reward the first student
to guess the correct answer. This can be used with many subjects (e.g.
sports, actions, verbs, animals, etc.)

Flash Card Walk

Arrange the flashcards in a big circle. Play some music while the students
walk around the circle. When the music stops, call out a flashcard, and the
student standing next to the flashcard wins.

Follow The Leader

Students line up behind the teacher and follow the teacher's actions. Use
as a review for identifying and chorusing classroom objects or acting out
actions. Give the students a chance to lead.

Gestures

Use western gestures in your class.

Expressions

Gestures

Hello

wave

Goodbye

wave

It's cold

put arms around shoulders

It's hot

fan your face with hands

No!

shake your head "no"

Come here

move your index finger

Me!

Touch your chest

OK

make the OK sign

I don't know

pull shoulders and hands up

Shhhh

index finger in front of mouth

Stop

hand up, palm out

Stand up

raise hand slightly, palm up

Sit down

lower hand slightly, palm down

Go Fish

Have students choose two flashcards each. Have the students hold the
flashcards face up but not to show anyone. Choose a student and ask "Do
you have a cat?" If the answer is yes, they have to give you the flash card.
Have each student ask other students questions. A student with no cards is
out.

Grab

Use Lego. Spread out the Lego and call out "(Five!)". The students should
take five blocks, join them together to make a pattern and hold them up.
Next say "two blue, one yellow" and other combinations to 5.

Grab It Relay / Race to Touch

Lay the flashcards on the floor at one end of the room, and have the
students line up in teams at the other end of the room. Call out a flashcard
and have the first person in each team race to grab the card. Those
students then go to the back and the next students race to grab the next
flashcard the teacher calls.

Hangman

Use review words from past lessons. The teacher chooses a word and
writes the appropriate number of spaces on the board. Students guess a
letter one by one. If the student guesses correctly, write that letter in the
space and give the student another turn. If they guess wrongly, start
drawing a hanging man and have the next student guess a letter. Let the
first student to guess the word take the teacher's place. You may prefer to
draw a hanging spider (Spiderman?) instead.

Hot Potato

Play like 'Pass It' using a time limit for added motivation. Set the timer for
10 seconds. When the timer goes o, the student holding the flashcard
must say the vocabulary / structure.

I Spy

The teacher says "I spy with my little eye something beginning with G".
Students try to guess the object (E.g. garbage can). Use classroom objects
and with younger students use colors rather than letters e.g. "I spy with my
little eye something (red)."

I've Got It

Have students sit in a circle. Give each student a flashcard or item. Ask
"What is it?" and elicit the vocabulary. Call out the vocabulary and have the
students stand up and say the flash card. Repeat until all the students are
standing, then continue until all the students are sitting. Go at a fast pace
so the students are sitting and standing rapidly.

Jeopardy

Make a jeopardy grid on the white board as follows:

Fruit

Sports

Animals

Body

10

_______

_______

_______

_______

20

_______

_______

_______

_______

30

_______

_______

_______

_______

40

_______

_______

_______

_______

50

_______

_______

_______

_______

In teams, or individually, let the students randomly pick a category and the
points to be attempted. The teacher will then ask a question and (a 40
point question should be more dicult than a 10 point question) if the
students get the correct answer their team name is written in that box.
When all the boxes are filled the team with the most points wins.

Jumping The Line

Put a piece of tape across the middle of the floor or draw an imaginary line
dividing the room. Designate ones side as 'true' and the other side as
'false'. Line up the students on the line, hold up a flashcard and say a
word. If the students think you said the word that matches the flashcard,
they should jump to the 'true' side, otherwise they should jump to the
'false' side. Students who make a mistake should sit out until the next
round.

Lego

Spread Lego on the floor and call a color for the students to pick up.
Continue until all the colors have been called. Allow the students to play
with the blocks for a few minutes before packing up. While the students are
playing, talk to them about what they're making and the colors they're
using.

Letter To Word Match

Give each student an alphabet flashcard, and spread alphabet picture

cards randomly around the room. Play and sing the 'ABC Song'. When
finished, have the students match their alphabet card to an alphabet
picture card and say the letter and vocabulary. Change cards and repeat.

Listen and Order

Put the students into pairs and give them number cards (1-10). Call out
numbers (out of order) and have the students put their cards in that order.
When finished, have the students chant the numbers in the order you gave
them.

Magic Finger

Print a letter of the alphabet on the board. Instruct the students to stand
and face the board. Raise your 'magic finger' and trace the letter in the air.
Be silly and use other parts of your body to trace the letter, e.g. elbow, foot,
nose, tongue.

Make A Sentence

Put the students into teams and lay out a selection of flashcards or items.
One student from each team chooses a vocabulary item and uses it
correctly in a sentence. Give each student ten seconds on the timer.
Reduce the time in the second and third round. As the item is named, the
teacher puts it away and gives the team a point. Write the points on the
whiteboard.

Map Game

Use a world map and elicit "Where are you from?", "Where do you live?",
"Where do people speak Spanish?", "Where's China?", and any other
questions you can think of. Also show and tell the students about where
you are from.

Memory Buzz

Have the students sit in a circle and start building a sentence. Student 1
says "In the classroom, I see a clock", student 2 says "In the classroom, I
see a clock and a map", student 3 says "In the classroom I see a clock, a
map and a chair" etc. For a variation, see 'Question Chain'.

Memory Master

Have the students sit in a circle. Designate one student to be the Memory
Master. Arrange the flashcards face up in the center. Each student chooses
a flashcard and says the word. They cannot touch the flashcards. After
everyone has chosen, the Memory Master must hand the correct flash
cards to each student.

Memory Tray

Bring in a tray of various review or new objects. Elicit the names of the
objects and give the students a minute to memorize what's on the tray.
Take the tray away and see how many objects can be remembered. Older
students should write a list of objects. The student who remembers the
most objects gets a point. Can be done with flashcards.

Musical Chairs

Line up the chairs and place a flashcard on each one. Play some music and
have the students walk, skip, jump around the chairs. When the music
stops, the students should sit down on a chair and shout out their flash
cards. For more excitement remove a chair while the music is playing and
make the chair-less student sit out until the next round.

Object Toss

Select three soft objects. Assign object#1 the question "Do you want some
milk?", assign object#2 the response "Yes, I do." And object#3, "No, I
don't". Toss each object to a student and have them use the appropriate
phrase. Then they toss the objects to dierent students.

On My Back

Line up the students in two teams and have them face the front. Show an
alphabet flashcard to the student at the back of each line and have them
use their finger to draw the letter on the back of the student in front. The
next student draws on the next student and so on. The student at the front
of each line then writes the letter on the board.

Paper Airplane Contest

Give students a couple of minutes to make an airplane and one minute to

test them. Divide the students into two teams and have the teams stand at
the back of the room. Ask a student a question and if the answer is correct
that student gets a throw. Assign points to dierent objects in the room
(white board = 10pts., far wall = 15pts., etc.). Each student should be
asked a question and teammates can help if needed.

Pass It

Have the students sit in a circle. The teacher holds up a flashcard or object
(e.g. ball, pen, eraser, etc.), says the word and passes it to the next student.
That student holds up the card/object and says the vocabulary and passes
it on. After a couple of rounds start the flash cards/objects going in the
opposite direction. Also try a speed round.

Pass The Secret

Have the students sit in a circle. Show them that they have to whisper to
the person next to them. Start the secret by whispering it to the student
next to you, e.g. "It's Windy." Have the students pass the secret around the
circle. The last student says the secret out loud. Compare how close it is to
the original secret. If necessary, write the original secret on the board.

Pictionary

Have a student come up to the front and show him/her a flashcard. That
student should draw it on the board. The first student to guess the picture
gets a point. This can also be played in teams.

Question Chain

Have the students sit in a circle. The teachers starts by asking the student
on the right a question. That student must answer the question and ask the
next student the same question. Go round the class then change the
question. For a variation, see 'The Bomb'.

Quick Peek

Cover a flashcard and quickly show it so the students get just a quick peek.
Reward the student who can guess it correctly.

Run And Get It

Divide the class into two teams and have them stand in two lines facing
each other. Assign each team member a number from one to four. Place a
few flashcards in the middle of the two teams. Call a number and a
flashcard, e.g. "Student three - rabbit". The students assigned that number
must run into the center and touch the flashcard and shout "rabbit". The
member who touched and called first can take the flashcard to their side.

Scrabble

Write a selection of letters on the board. Explain to the students that they
have to make up as many words as possible from the given letters. Model
one or two examples on the board for them. Give them a time limit.

Ship In The Fog

Make an obstacle course, put a blindfold on a student and have the other
students verbally help him or her through the course. For example: Take 2
steps, turn left, one small step, etc.

Shiri Tori

This is a popular Japanese game. Have everyone sit in a circle. The teacher
says a word and each student must add a word that begins with the last
letter of the word just spoken e.g. apple-egg-girl-lion-neck-etc.

Shoot The Basket

This can be done in teams or individually. Ask a student a question and if

the student answers correctly then he/she gets a shot at the basket.
Variations include rolling a ball between 'posts', throwing a ball to knock a
stued animal o a box, bouncing a ball into a bucket, etc. Award points.

Shopping

Use plastic fruits, vegetables or corresponding flashcards. Gather the

students around you and let them ask for what they want using a dialog
such as: "What do you you want?", "An apple, please.", "Here you are.",
"Thank you.", "You're welcome." Then the teacher calls back the objects
from the students, "Apple, please". Then the students put the fruit back
into the basket.

Simon Says

Play Simon Says as a review using "touch" body parts, classroom objects,
etc., or with actions. E.g. "Simon says touch your toes" = Students touch
their toes. "Touch your eyes" = Students don't move. When a student
makes a mistake, he/she must sit out until the next round.

Slam

Have the students sit in a circle with their hands on their heads. Spread the
flashcards face up in the middle. The teacher calls out a flash card and the
students race to touch it. The first student to touch it gets to keep the
flashcard. In the case of a tie, have the students 'Rock, Scissors, Paper'.

Slow Motion

Put a flashcard in a bag or behind something. Pull it out very slowly

showing only the top part of the picture at a time. Reward the first student
who can guess it correctly.

Spelling Bee

This can be done with the whole class or in two teams. The first player on
team one is given a word to spell orally. The teacher writes the letters on
the board as they are spelled out loud. If correct, the team gets a point. If
you do a class competition, line the students up and give them words one
by one. When they make a mistake they must sit down. The last student
standing is the winner.

Spelling Game

Put a name or word on the board and have teams or individuals make as
many words as possible from those letters, e.g. Brad Pitt = bat, rat, bad, at,
etc.

Spin The Bottle

Use the bottle to ask each student questions. The teacher spins the bottle
and asks the student it points to a question. First ask basic warm-up
questions and then move on to target structures or review structures.

Ten

Students stand in a circle and chorus counting from 1-10. Instruct the
students to each call out one, two or three of the numbers in numerical
order. The student who calls out 'ten' must sit down. Continue until only
one student is standing. That student wins the game. E.g. "one, two",
"three, four, five", "six", "seven, eight, nine", "ten (sits down)", "one"..... Try
playing it backwards as an extra challenge.

Tongue Twisters

Use these tongue twisters with older students. They work well as an
extension activity.

1) She sells seashells by the seashore.

2) Rubber baby buggy bumpers.

3) Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

4) How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could

chuck wood?

Topic Tag

Give a topic, e.g. fruit. The students must run around the room trying to
avoid the teacher's tag. If the student is tagged, he/she has five seconds to
name a fruit. If no fruit can be named or the fruit has already been said, that
student should sit out until the next round.

Touch

Order the students to touch various objects around the classroom e.g.
"Touch your book", "Touch something red".

Vocab with Rock, Scissors, Paper

Lay the flashcards in a straight line on the floor. Assign two teams and have
them line up at each end of the flashcard line. When you say 'Go' the first
member from each team starts to walk from their end of the line, straddling
the flashcards, reading the vocabulary out loud as they walk. When the two
students meet they have to Rock, Scissors, Paper, the losing student goes
to the back of his/her line and the winning student continues along the
flashcard line. The second student from the losing team starts walking and
reading the vocabulary until the two students meet and Rock, Scissors,
Paper, and so on. Give points for reaching the opposite end of the line.

What's Missing?

Scatter 8-10 flashcards face up on the table. Give the students a minute to
look at them, then have them close their eyes and take away one flashcard.
Tell the students to open their eyes and ask, "What's missing?". Reward
the student that guesses correctly.

What Time Is It, Mr. Wolf?

Have the students line up against the back wall. The teacher should stand
with his/her back turned to the class. The students must ask the teacher
"What time is it, Mr. Wolf (or teacher's name if easier)?". The teacher
answers with a random time, e.g. "It's four o'clock" - the students take four
steps toward the teacher. The students should move the corresponding
number of steps. If the teacher says "It's lunch time!", the students must
run to safety at the back wall. The teacher chases the students and if
tagged, the student must sit out until the next round.

Who's Got What?

Have the students sit in a circle and secretly pass a few objects or
flashcards from hand to hand under the table or behind their backs. Say,
"Stop", and ask "Who has the (apple)?" The students should point to who
they think has the (apple) and say "He/She does." The first student to
guess correctly should be rewarded.

The Wind is Blowing (submitted by Wyatt Crane)

A great game for all kids ages 6+, as long as they're producing full
sentences, in a group of maybe 8-15 people. It is best played outside or in
an area with a lot of space. Have the students make a spacious circle with
you in the middle (there should be maybe a meter between each student).
Each student needs to leave one item at there feet to mark a fixed spot in
the circle (a shoe, a pencil case, a backpack, a rock... something they don't
mind possibly getting stepped on). You start the game by making a
statement that will correspond to some or all of the students. If it
corresponds to them, they have to leave their spot and find a dierent one.
So, for a food unit, you can use a beginner command structure: "Move if...
you like bananas," or "Move if... you don't like onions," an intermediate
structure: "You have to move if... you like bacon on your pizza," or an
advanced structure: "The wind is blowing for everybody that..." (The
command structures can be used with lots of dierent verbs and themes
e.g. "have" for family members, "are wearing" for clothes, "want" for
Christmas presents) Once you make the command, you have to run to take
an abandoned spot, and one student will be left in the middle. For younger
kids, its fun to chant "_______'s in the middle, ________'s in the middle!" in
a sing-songy voice. That person is then in charge, and has to make a
sentence using the same structure that you used. The game goes on for as
long as you want, cycling through lots of students and putting them on the
spot to make sentences using relevant vocab.

Winner Says M

A variation on the activity 'Ten'. Write a big 'M' on the board and have the
students take turns reciting the alphabet, saying one or two letters each.
The student who says "M" is the winner. E.g. "A", "BC", "DE", "F", "G",
"HI", "J", "KL", "M" (winner)! Variations: Numbers 1-21 (winner says 21),
Days of the week (winner says Sunday), Months of the year (winner says
December).