PICTIONARY!

 

There are many variations of this useful, useful, useful game you can have your students play. This simple variation is for the first year grammar point “Is that a~?” (New Horizon pp. 20 – 21) This is what I call seductive learning: students enjoy the game so much they don’t realize they’re learning English. It works at my worst school, so I recommend you give it a try. First, you prepare a list of vocabulary you think the students will more or less know, like this:

 

 

Then, split the students into two teams, and get a volunteer from each team. Call the teams what you like: Anpanman-team and Baikinman-team; Doraemon-team and Nezumi-team; whatever. Then draw a dividing line down the center of the blackboard like this:

 

 

 

Position the volunteers on their respective sides of the chalkboard, and write down one of the vocabulary items on a sheet of paper, showing only the two volunteers. They both have to draw the item, and the students have to guess what they have drawn. When a student thinks s/he knows what is being drawn, s/he raises his/her hand. The teacher chooses that student and s/he says “is that a ~?” Their teammate up front answers “yes it is” if they have guessed correctly, “no it’s not” if they haven’t. A correct guess is a point for the guesser’s team, and two new students then go to the front. The team with the most points at the end wins. Simple, yet effective. (Note: Have more vocabulary items prepared than you think you are likely to need, as some classes cannot seem get enough of this game.)