Games

1. Boys and Girls

Give students different commands, for example, Boys, stand
up. Point to the window. Girls, stand up. Point to the door.
Boys and girls, sit down. Point to the floor. Increase the speed
of the commands to make the game more challenging.

2. Clap Twice
Have students sit in a circle on the floor. Clap twice until all
students are following. Say Stop and interrupt the rhythm.
Change the rhythm to clapping three times. Next, name
students one by one. Encourage the whole class to clap the
syllables of the student’s name. You can do the same activity
with vocabulary words.
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3. Color Bingo
Prepare bingo cards: Draw five to six squares on each card.
Distribute the bingo cards and have students color each
square with a different color. Next, call out the colors, one by
one, and encourage students to cross out the corresponding
square if that color is in their cards. Continue playing until
someone has crossed out all the colors in his or her card.
Encourage the student who finishes first to say Bingo!

4. Do You Have a…?

Have students sit in a circle. Show them a flashcard or picture
of a dog. Say Look, this is a dog. Ask a student if he or she
has a dog. Ask Do you have a dog? Encourage students
to answer. Have that student ask the person next to him or
her. Continue in the same manner until all students have
participated. Change the type of pet and play again.
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5. Draw and Guess

Start drawing a picture of an object or animal on the board.
Do it slowly. Encourage individual students to guess what it
is.

6. Erase the Number

Write numbers on the board (for example 1 to 9). Pair up
students and give each student an eraser. Have both of them
go to the board. Then say Erase number (two, five, etc.).
Encourage students to erase the number before their partner
does.
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7. Faces
Give students mirrors. Make a happy face. Have students
imitate your action as they look at themselves in the mirrors.
Repeat the procedure with sad.
Encourage students to make funny faces and look at
themselves in the mirror.
Finally, invite students to touch different facial features on
their own faces. For example, say Touch your nose. Touch
your ears, etc.

8. Family Members
Have students come to the front. Assign each student the
role of a family member. Then name a family member and
have the corresponding students step forward.
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9. I Like…
Have students sit in a circle on the floor. Roll a ball to a
student. Point to different pictures of food and drinks on the
poster and ask the student with the ball if he or she likes the
food or drink. For example, ask Do you like milk? Encourage
him or her to answer. Tell him or her to roll the ball to another
student. Lead the class in asking that student the same
question. Repeat until all students have participated.

10. I Spy
Place some real objects or pictures on the floor. These are
objects in colors students are familiar with. Say I spy with my
little eye (point to your eye) something red. Students guess
what object you are talking about. Encourage them to hold
up or touch the object and name it. You can also play this
game using the poster pictures.
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11. Listen to the Number

Have three students come to the front of the class. Give
each student a card with a number written on it. Review such
numbers as a class. Next, say the numbers at random and
have the student holding the corresponding number step
forward.

12. Listen to Your Name

Have students sit in a circle. Give each student a paper ball.
Place a bucket or box in the middle. Call each student’s
name.
When the child hears his or her name, he or she must throw
his or her paper ball in the basket and say Hello! or Hi!
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13. Pets Together

Divide the class into teams of five and have them go to each
corner of the classroom or play area. Name each team after
a pet-– dog, cat, bird, turtle, fish, spider or snake. Call two
of the pet names and have the corresponding teams run and
change places. Then say All pets togheter! and encourage all
the teams to run and stand in the center of the classroom or
play area.

14. Shapes
Get a beanbag and make big paper shapes of colored paper
(blue, yellow and red). Place the paper shapes on the floor.
Have students sit around the shapes. Point to each one
and have them identify each shape and its color. Then have
students take turns tossing the beanbag onto one of the
shapes. Have students describe the shapes. Ask, for example,
What shape is it? Is it a triangle? Is it a square? What color is
it? Elicit answers from students.
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15. The Animal

Get pictures of up to six animals students are familiar with
and a big die. Display the pictures on the board and write a
number from 1 to 6 next to each picture. Have the students
roll the die, help them say the number and the animal it
belongs to, according to the information on the board, and
encourage them to act like the animal.

16. The Shoe

Have all students remove their shoes and put them in a pile
at one end of the classroom. Make two teams. When you say
Go!, one student from each team runs to find their shoes and
put them on. The fastest student scores a point for his or her
team.
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17. What’s Missing?

Have students sit on a circle. Place some real objects or
pictures in the middle of the circle. Give students some time
to memorize the objects. Tell them to close their eyes. Take
away one of the objects. Ask students to open their eyes. The
first student to guess which object is missing gets a point.

18. Where’s the…?

Hide various objects around the classroom. Tell students to
close their eyes. Then say Where’s the (puppet, ball, etc.)?
and have students take turns trying to find it. Encourage
them to answer It’s under / in / on the chair, etc.