Running dictations

It is a game involving running and information. It is fun as the children need to run to get the information they need. The information at the end may be any, depending on what is the aim of the activity. If it is Maths it may be an operation, if it is Science, a part of the body they need to label...

Rules
One person of the team goes to get the information while the rest waits in the table for him/her to come. When this person has come, the next person in the team goes and gets the next piece of information. They may remember the information and tell it to their team. Once they've got all the information or while the team is bringing it, they can do the activity proposed, depending on what it is.

How can it be used?

-To introduce new information and get the meaning of it.
-To review vocabulary or a specific topic.
-To work on a specific issue on any subject.

Groupings
-In groups of 4-5.

Positions

In the beginning, it's difficult to teach reading and focus attention to the book. For that, it can be a good idea to write on the board some sentences they need to read using a competition game.

Groupings

-Groups of 5 or more to do it more dynamic.

How can it be used?

-For reading

-To focus attention

-To assess reading

How to do it?

-You divide the class into 4 groups (creating too many groups will make the students lose interest on the development of the activity)

-You write a sentence and one person from the first group reads it. The whole group repeats it.

-After that, the student does what he/she has just read.

Example:

I did it with the flascards from the topic practising the positions "on", "in" and "under" in first grade. I wrote "The pool is on the box" and the students read it aloud and placed the flashcard with the pool on the box. (It is a good idea to read it with the whole class first so that students with difficulties had a bit of help and focus the attention of the whole class during the activity). If the student placed the flashcard correctly he got a point for the team. The winner is the team which gets more points. The team can get a sticker or a stamp.

Find the flashcard

You have to place the flashcards around the class. The activity consists of telling one word of the ones studied and finding its flashcard. You can tell walk to "mum" or walk to "grandfather". You can make it more complex by telling if you are a boy, go to "mum" or if you are wearing a red sweatshirt go to "mum"...and so on.

How can it be used?

-To assess the progress of the students.
-To detect which children are having problems.
-To focus on listening skills.

Groupings

-The whole class.
-Parts of the class (if you specify characteristics, depending on the instructions)

Be careful

The rules must be clear or they will run around the class and push each other.

Other uses: Maths (times by/divide by/ adding/ taking away)

Action story

It is a good activity to introduce to new vocabulary or help understanding it. It is very simple. You just tell them a story that they have to follow doing the actions and repeating some words. For example: make the children go to the back of the class and tell them to lie down on the floor and close their eyes as if they were sleeping. Then, make the noise of the alarm clock and wake up...get dressed, have breakfast, go to school, take the bus...watch out for the zebra crossing... Tell them everything you are doing so they can learn it in its context.

How to use it?

-To introduce new vocabulary
-To practice the vocabulary.
-To give context to the learning.
-To assess progress.

Groupings

-The whole class
-Small groups (if you want them to teach the rest of the class their own story)

Spelling

A good way of working spelling is by playing games with it. Maybe one of the most common games is the hang man, but another well known is "Scrabble".

Make groups and ask them to make words related to one topic or one specific spelling rule and give points for the best/longest word, depending on what you're looking for.

How can it be used?

-In groups
-In pairs
-Individually

What can it be used for?
-Reviewing .
-Guessing spelling of the new vocabulary.
-Learning to spell new vocabulary.

How well do you know your classmates?

It is a question and answer game. First, you need a set of questions in a table with a space to write answers. Then, they need to write the names of the classmates next to these spaces without looking at the actual questions. They need to ask these classmates the questions and write their answers.

How to use it
-To break the ice with a new group.
-To review a topic


For example:


 

The first questions would be an example for English and the second one for Science.

Back to the board

This game consists of positioning a child in front of the board in a chair so he/she cannot see what's on it. Then, someone writes/draws something and he/she has to guess what it is. The rest of the class can give clues using the vocabulary and expressions learnt.

How to use it
-To review
-To assess knowledge of a topic or vocabulary beforehand.
-To promote oral skills by using descriptions, characteristics, definitions... 

Groupings

Whole class or small groups

Call my bluff

This game consists of defining a word along with two false definitions. Students must choose which is the correct answer.

For example:

An elephant:
-It's a small animal and it's black.
-It's a big animal and it's grey.
-It's a big animal and it's brown.

How to use it

-To write or speak on a specific topic.
-To review
-To practice how to describe animals.
-To create their own definitions so that they can play later in class.

Groupings
-In pairs.
-In groups.
-Individually.
-The whole class.

Pub Quiz

Esta es una actividad que les gusta mucho a los ingleses. En clase es muy fácil utilizarla. Se trata de un cuestionario con una serie de preguntas que pueden responder en grupos o individualmente. Luego se dan puntos por equipos.

¿Cómo usarlo?
-En grupos
-En parejas
-Individualmente

¿Para qué?
-Para repasar lo que recuerdan del año anterior, ya sea de vocabulario, de gramática, de science, de plástica...
-Para hacer una evaluación inicial
-Para que hagan una autoevaluación
-Para evaluar tú
-Para pasarlo bien

Siempre es mejor que se haga en grupos ya que la posibilidad de éxito es mayor y no perderán confianza en sí mismos, pero todo depende de nuestro objetivo al hacerlo.