First Day of Class Activities

School has probably started for most, but over here in the Spain-Auxiliar World, we've got one more week of vacation! Which means it's time to start planning First Day activities to kick off the new year. Usually, I would go through a quick PowerPoint with my students introducing myself - where I'm from, a few hobbies, pictures...

Handshake Killer

How to Play: This fun ice breaker game is great for large groups. First, give the class a few questions they can ask each other - "How was your weekend/summer?" "What's your favorite _____?" "When's your birthday?" etc. Then, explain the game: The teacher will secretly choose one person to be the "killer". Everybody will walk...

Catch Phrase

How to Play: Just like the board game! Students are divided into teams. Write vocabulary words on separate pieces of paper (or have the students write them). One student begins by choosing one paper and describing the word (without say any part of the word or pointing to anything or making any gestures) to their...

Tongue Twister Challenge

How to Play: There are a few ways you can play with tongue twisters in class. Usually, I'll teach the students one, allow them to practice on their own, and then in teams they must recite the tongue twister as many times as possible (you can have one person per team go each round, or...

How to Carry Out Successful Class Games

Organization is key: If the students don't understand the game, it won't be fun. Be sure to explain all of the rules, the objective of the game and how to win. Demonstrate with 2 or 3 students before beginning.  For a lot of games, I number students from first to last on each team (usually based...

Board Races

How to Play: There are many ways to have board races and students will always have a blast playing them. The main premise is similar to the game "Snake". Divide students into teams (no more than 4) and number each person on the team to designate a first-last order (once students reach the last person,...

Hit the Deck

How to Play: This is a fun camp-like game that works well with younger students (especially during gym class). Teach students a series of moves: "Hit the Deck": lay face down, flat on the floor "Pirate": one leg bent (peg leg), one hand over your eye (eye patch) and other arm curled onto your shoulder...

Poker Face

How to Play: This game has a bunch of different variations (and definitely has different names that I can't remember). The main premise is that the students sit in a circle and one student gets questioned by the others. One way you can play is that the student has to answer the questions but if...

Going to the Moon

How to Play: This game is about guessing a pattern or rule. In a small group (3-8 students is best), the teacher tells them that they're going to the moon. The teacher comes up with a pattern, for example, things that are yellow. So the teacher says "I'm going to the moon and I'm taking a...

Acronym Race

How to Play: I played this with two students (private lesson) but it can be played with large classes also. The teacher writes any word on the board and the students (individually, in partners or groups) must write one word for each letter that is related to the word. For example, if the teacher wrote "CLOWN",...

Name 5 Things

How to Play: This is an easy, simple game that's good to have in your back pocket if you need to fill a bit of class time. Put the students in small groups or in pairs with paper and a pen. The teacher says "Name 5 Things that are (see below for examples)" and the...

Thumper

How to Play: Students sit in a circle and each come up with a unique gesture (something simple and quick mostly utilizing their hands. For example, making "moose ears" or "dabbing"). The students each take turns showing the class their gesture and everybody mimics it. The teacher then teaches the students the "beat": SLAP, SLAP,...

Musical Chairs

How to Play: This classic game can be lots of fun in the classroom! Set up the game as normal - gathering chairs in a circle (one less chair than the number of students. If there are 20 students, set up 19 chairs). Students gather around the chairs (or inside the chairs if you prefer...

BANG!

How to Play: Students stand in a circle with one person in the middle. This person will use their hands as a gun and "shoot" one person in the circle while shouting "BANG!". If the shot student ducks, they are safe. The two students on either side then turn to each other and "shoot" while...

20 Questions

How to Play: Teacher goes first and thinks of any noun (you can give them a category if you want to make it easier). Students have 20 yes-or-no questions to guess what the teacher is thinking. Whoever can guess the noun, gets to go next. Other Tips/Alternatives: If their level is low, give them ideas of...

Snowball

How to Play: Have students write down a sentence (or a few sentences) on a piece of paper. Tell them to crumple it up into a ball. Divide the class in half (2 teams). Each team throws their "snowball" to the other side of the classroom. The goal is to have more snowballs on the...