If you’re having problems finding ways to make your classes more fun and get your students using English, maybe you could introduce some games to your lessons. The best way to get kids really speaking English is to make them feel that it’s not hard work but something fun. Playing games is the perfect way to do this. I use a lot of games in my classes. Over the years, I have found that some are a lot more effective then others. So I’ve chosen my five favorites here in this collection of EFL ESL games for elementary/primary classes. These are the ones that I use most often with my elementary/primary aged kids. You can also see my collection for preschoolers/kindergarten classes as well as games and activities for teenagers.
Cannons, hearts and bombs
You’ll find this game with lots of different names: Angels, bombs and guns or hearts, stars and bombs. You might think that it is too complicated to use with children. However, I have used it successfully with groups as young as five years old. Kids love it because it is very competitive and gets everyone involved. I find it a really good way to make them use complete sentences and practice new verbs. If you want to see how I have used it, you can see it in my New Year Resolutions lesson plan.
If you don’t already know the game, it is easy to understand and this article explains it really well. You can adapt it to any subject or new vocabulary that you want to practice. Make it as simple or as complicated as you want.
- Prepare your grid in advance with cannons, hearts and bombs but don’t show it to anyone.
- Draw a grid on the board with 3 or 4 vertical columns and 3 or 4 horizontal rows.
- Put one subject or names of people in each of the rows and the action or other half of the sentence in each of the columns
- Put the kids in two teams and give them 3 points each to start.
- Let them take turns making sentences and, checking your grid each time, draw the cannon, heart or bomb and give or take away points.
- Whoever has most points when the grid is completely filled is the winner.
Noughts and crosses / Tic Tac Toe
This is another well known game that you can easily adapt to play either in pairs or in teams. It is a fantastic way of practicing new vocabulary and getting the kids using phrases.
- Just draw a normal noughts and crosses grid on the board and either stick a flashcard or draw a picture in each square of the vocabulary you are learning.
- Play it in the usual way but to place a nought or a cross, the children have to make a phrase using the word in the square they choose.
- The winner is whoever gets three noughts or crosses in a row.
Find your partner
If you want to practice asking questions and get the kids talking to each other, this is a fantastic way of doing that. You’ll need flashcards or pieces of paper with information on them that they can ask questions about. Let’s take for example, Jobs.
- On one half of the cards, just write the name of a job; a different one for each card.
- On the other half, write a sentence which describes each job.
- Give them out to the class and tell them they need to ask questions to find their other half.
- Let them mingle and then shout Stop!
- They have to ask a question to whoever is nearest to them who can answer yes or no. For example: “Do you work with animals?” or “Do you work in a school?”
- If they find their partner, they have won and can sit down. If not, continue until they do.
Who am I? / What am I?
Another great game for asking and answering questions. This is also really good for practicing vocabulary and thinking about describing people or objects. This time, one of the students has to pick a person or object from the vocabulary or topic that you are learning about in class. Let’s take Jobs as an example again.
- Put a selection of flashcards on the board or write a list of jobs that everyone can see.
- Once the student has chosen one, the other children then have to take turns asking questions to guess what they are.
- “Do you wear a uniform?” or “Do you work in a hospital?”
- Take away the incorrect answers until they manage to guess or are left with just one choice.
Scavenger Hunt
If you’re playing EFL ESL games for elementary/primary classes, it’s really good to get the kids up and moving sometimes, especially if you’ve got a lot of space. It’s even better if you can get outside sometimes. There are lots of ideas for outdoors classes but one of my favorites is a scavenger hunt. Actually you can do it indoors too and even in your normal classroom but outside it becomes a real adventure for kids.
- Make a list of what you want to find either yourself before the class or together with the kids.
- Give them the rules: where they can go, what they can and can’t touch, how long they have, how they have to record what they find.
- Send them off, keeping an eye on everyone to make sure they’re safe and following the rules.
- When the time is up, get everyone back together and let each pair or group present what they found to the class.
There are many other EFL ESL games for elementary/primary classes. These are the 5 that I consistently find practical and effective to do with my classes in that age group. If you’ve got other favorites, I’d love to hear them. If you’re looking for games to play online, have a look at Games4ESL who have an enormous choice. To stay up to date with new teaching ideas and lesson plans, you can follow the GoogooEnglish Facebook page. Alternatively, sign up for email updates by filling in the form below.
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