Active games in English lessons

There are several ways to diversify a monotonous lesson and at the same time continue to study the material. For example, you can show children in the classroom excerpts from cartoons and films with high-quality pronunciation and subtitles, presentations about travel or hobbies. But do not forget about the game moment in English classes. Introducing games in the classroom is a good way to switch attention. It will defuse a tense working atmosphere, suitable for children of any age, and help to consolidate the material covered.

In previous articles, we considered phonetic, spelling and grammar games, but this time we offer you to get acquainted with mobile ones. The rules of the games can be changed depending on the topic of the lesson and the level of knowledge of the students.

"Data"

The bottom line is that one of the students writes on a piece of paper or says aloud five facts about himself. One of the facts is a lie. At this time, other players must guess which of the facts is true and which is false.

Example:

I like to walk in the rain.

1. I hate playing football.
2. I like to read books.
3. I hate listening to music.
4. I like to start something new and interesting, but I rarely finish what I started.

Other players ask: “I don't think you like walking in the rain. Am I right?" The facilitator should answer: “Yes, you're right. The fact that I like to walk in the rain is a lie.

"Edible/Inedible"

The game is played at a fast pace. Participants line up. The leader throws the ball to them in turn, naming the word. If it can be eaten, the contestant catches the ball. If the object is inedible, the ball is beaten off. The one who responded correctly takes one step forward, the one who reacted incorrectly remains in place.

"Sounds"

To play the game, you will need several chairs arranged in a circle. The teacher announces the main letter, for example "F". The children begin to walk around the chairs while the teacher slowly says any words in English: "sun, house, bird..." As soon as he says the word with the letter "F": "flower or factory", the children should be ahead of other participants take a seat on chairs. The last player to sit down is out of the game.

"Run Freeze"

The host says: "Run!" After this phrase, the players begin to run until they hear: "Freeze!". At this point, everyone stops and assumes the pose of an animal. The facilitator's task is to guess the pose of which animal this or that participant shows by the method of "questions".

Example:

The host asks: “Are you a cat?”. Children answer: "Yes, i am / No, i am not."

"Ball"

This game can be played by 2 or more players. The first student calls any letter and throws the ball to another player. While the ball is flying, the second one must name a word starting with this letter and come up with a sentence.

Example:

The first player says the letter "W", the second answers "What" - "What a lovely day it is." Throws the ball back, saying the letter "T", to which the first one replies "Tell" - "Tell me your name".

"What colour?"

Children gather in a certain place and choose a leader. The facilitator should point to any object that he sees and ask: "What color is it?". The player who first answers the question correctly becomes the next leader. The one who guessed the most colors wins.

Example:

The driver asks: "What color is it?" and points to the grass, the students answer: “Green!”.

"Simon speaks!"

The host of the game says: "Simon says", after which he pronounces a command that the students must follow. At the same time, he himself shows this action. Children should only follow these commands if they have the phrase “Simon says” in front of them. You can complicate the game by the fact that when a certain team is called, the leader will perform the opposite action.

Example:

The host says: “Simon says: stand up!”, And instead of this command, he sits down. Children must notice the catch and follow what was said in the team.

"Tell, show, draw"

This game requires a dice. One of the participants throws a die and, depending on the number that falls out, he must tell, show or draw a word to other players. The meaning of the symbols on the cube: 1-2 - tell, 3-4 - show, 5-6 - draw. For each word guessed, the leader receives one point. The game is played up to ten points.

"Palette of the artist"

The players randomly move around the room when the teacher says: "Touch the..." and names the color, at this moment the children must touch any object in the class or an element of the neighbor's clothing of the same color. You can't touch your clothes. The one who last touches the object of the desired color is out.

"Crocodile"

For the game, you need to prepare cards with nouns and adjectives in English. One of the players draws out a word, looks at it so that the others do not see it. With the help of various gestures, movements and facial expressions, he must explain the word written on the card. The moderator cannot speak or answer questions. So you can show one word at a time or give each player 5 minutes - the time during which you need to show as many words as possible. For each word guessed, the leader receives one point. The one who scores the most points wins.

"Stickers"

One of the participants is glued to the forehead with a sticker with the name of a famous character (cartoon character, actor, political or historical figure), which he must guess. As soon as all other players see the word on the sticker, the game can begin. The facilitator asks questions about his character.

Example:

"I'm alive? I'm a musician? I'm fictional?" and other leading questions. All other students can only answer his question with the phrases: "Yes", "No", "Maybe".

"Duel"

Two participants stand with their backs to each other. In their hands, each of them has a card with an image. There is a countdown to five. Every second they take one step forward. On the fifth step, they turn to each other and the one who first calls what is shown on the opponent’s card wins.

"Race of proposals"

It is required to prepare several sentences, using different colors for each of them. Approximately 3-5 pieces for each team. Each sentence must be cut and placed in separate bags, sorted by color. The teacher divides the class into teams of 2-4 people. The task of the teams is to assemble a whole sentence from scraps for speed.

"Hot Ball"

The participants of the game sit in a circle. The host throws the ball to one of the students and names the fruit. The student in response must name another fruit and throw the ball to the next player. So in a chain. The names of fruits cannot be repeated. If the child cannot remember the fruit or drops the ball, he is out of the game. After each eliminated player, you can change the theme, for example: animals, professions, countries.

"Guess"

Prepare a tray with random items: books, pencils, toys, flowers, or whatever is on hand. Blindfold the child and ask him to touch, feel and loudly pronounce the name of the subject in English. For the correct word, he receives one game point. The player gets an extra point if he spells the word correctly. The one who scores the most points wins.

"Art Appraiser"

Put the children in pairs, but don't let them look at each other. Give one student a picture or image. The second child has to recreate the picture while his partner describes it without revealing what it is. For each guessed word, the couple receives one point. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins.

"Dash"

Draw a straight line with chalk or sticky tape. Mark one side of the string as "true" and the other side as "false". The participants of the game at this time stand on this line. Ask any question. If the students think it's true, they go to the "true" side, if false - "false". Counting is carried out, those who answered correctly receive one point, for each mistake a point is taken away.

"Hurry, don't rush"

Divide the class into two teams. Choose ten or more vocabulary words and write each word on two pieces of paper. You will have two sets of vocabulary words. Each team receives a set of words and a marker/chalk. Divide the board into two sections, one for each team. When you say a word from the list, one student from each team runs up to the board and writes a sentence with that word on it. The team that writes the most correct and meaningful sentences with the selected words wins.

Finally

Active games in the classroom are carried out in the middle or at the end of the lesson for 15-20 minutes. This time is enough for the children to rest and at the same time not lose concentration. Such activities contribute to the development of the thought process, reactions and will help to activate some of the already acquired vocabulary.

What active games for learning English are you familiar with? Please share your experience with us and other readers in the comments.