#1 Color touch game
You need:
Large color cards (JTE)
ALT/JTE says a color, students find that color somewhere in their classroom and touch it.
#2 Seven Steps
You need:
50 English Songs CD A, #14 (JTE)
ALT/JTE introduce numbers 1-7, then teach students the dance from the 50 English
Songs book, (there are two dance options: see illustration).
#3 Memory Game
You need:
Memory cards (ALT)
Magnets (JTE)
The ALT should prepare matching pairs of cards for the topic to be taught, i.e. if the
topic is fruits you will need two apple cards, two banana cards etc. Place the cards on
the blackboard at random face down. Depending on the size of the class, either split the
class into two teams or have students approach the board one at a time. The students
must answer a simple question (What’s ____ in English?) and then they can choose two
cards to turn over. They or their team must say the vocabulary shown on the card. If
they get a match they may have another turn.
#4 Endless Game
You need:
Picture cards (determined by topic) (ALT)
Have the students move their desk and chairs to the back, and then stand in the middle
of the class in a large circle. Lay the cards in the center face up. The ALT will start the
rhythm by clapping twice then saying one of the cards on the floor. The chant then goes
around the circle. All the students clap but only the student whose turn it is will say a
card on the floor. Example for fruits: clap, clap, BANANA. Clap, clap, APPLE. Clap, clap,
CHERRY…. The only rule is that you can’t say the same fruit as the person right before
you. Start slow and as the students become more confident, speed up the rhythm.
#5 CrissCross (warm-up)
Students stand at their desks. The ALT/JTE asks questions and the first student to raise
their hand may answer. If that student answers correctly, the ALT/JTE allows a row of
students (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) to sit down. Play until all students are seated
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#6 Janken Race
You need:
Large vocabulary cards (JTE)
Lay the large vocabulary cards face up in a row on the floor. Split the class into two
teams (if it is a large class make two rows of cards and four teams) and position one
team on either side of the row. The first player from each team begins on their side of
the row, and must say each vocabulary word before they can proceed to the next card.
When the two players meet somewhere in the middle, they play Rock Paper Scissors.
The winner can continue, the loser goes back to his team, and the next player in line
from that team starts at the beginning of the row. If player from Team A makes it all the
way to Team B, Team A gets a point. (see illustration 100 Exciting Activities book pg.97)
#7 Simon Says
See 100 Exciting Activities book (pg. 57) for Japanese instructions.
#8 Eraser Game
You need:
Large vocabulary cards (JTE)
Erasers (students)
Students split into pairs at their desks. One student in each pair takes out an eraser
and places it in the middle of the desks between the two players. The ALT/JTE shows a
vocabulary card, says the word, and the students repeat. If the ALT/JTE says a word
that is different from the picture on the card, the students can grab for the eraser. It is
recommended to change the pairs every three rounds or so.
#9 Basket (ideal for large classes)
You need:
Multiple small vocabulary cards (ALT )
Students sit in their chairs in a circle. Have one less chair than there are players. Each
student gets a small card with a picture of the target vocabulary. Make sure there are
about even numbers of each vocabulary card (for example: 30 students, 6 dog cards, 6
cat cards, 6 tiger cards, 6 koala cards, 6 rabbit cards). One student begins in the middle.
Seated students ask “What______ do you like?” The student in the middle responds “I
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like A,” and every student with “A” on their card must get up and change seats. The
student in the middle can also try to find a seat. When the dust settles there should be
a different student standing in the middle, and the game begins again. For younger
grades, instead of “what___do you like” just say “3, 2, 1, GO!” and the student in the
middle can say the target vocab.
#10 Telephone
You need:
Vocabulary cards (ALT )
After practicing the vocabulary, put all the cards on the blackboard. The ALT will stand
in the back of the classroom and the students will form lines (each line is a team,
number of lines will vary with class size). All the students ask the question related to
the topic, i.e. “What ~ do you like?”, then the students closest to the ALT will go up and
listen the word the ALT says. Then they’ll go back to their line and whisper the word to
the next teammate and so on until the last person in their line hears the word. Then
that final student will run to the board and touch the appropriate card.
#11 Gesture Game (ideal for sports, jobs)
After practicing the vocabulary for the topic, place all the cards on the blackboard. If
students come up with their own sport or job, write it or draw a picture on the board as
well. Then start the game. First the ALT will do a gesture hinting at one of the
cards/words on the board. The first student to guess the correct answer gets to do the
next gesture. Works well with “Do you play ~?” or “Are you a ~?”
#12 Musical Chairs
Move the chairs in a circle facing out. Have one less chair than student. Place the target
vocabulary cards on the chairs, add repeats if there are more chairs than cards. Play the
music and when it stops the students have to slap/sit down on the nearest card. The
student “out” has to say a card/say all the cards/or do any other task.
#13 Interview Bingo
You need:
3
Bingo sheet (ALT )
Student have a blank 3x3 bingo sheet and go around the class asking their friends “What
~ do you like?” The other student answers “I like ~.” The student then writes the
person’s name and what they like in a box. When all students have all boxes filled, play
bingo with the names of the students. The HRT and ALT can take turns reading out
names.
#14 Regular Bingo
You need:
Bingo sheet (ALT )
Students fill out the 3x3 sheet with the days target vocabulary. Then play bingo, using
question phrases if applicable.
#15 Castle Game
Divide the student into teams. 4 or more teams for bigger classes. Draw a castle with 4-5
towers on the board for each team. The students then have to answer a question. The
first team to answer can erase one tower from any opposing team. When a castle loses
its towers, the members of that castle join the team that took their last tower. Play until
only one castle stands.
#16 Word Searches
You need:
Word search sheet (ALT )
Great game for grades 4, 5 and 6. Works well for introducing any new vocabulary, and
for talking about holidays or festivals in the ALT’s home country. Have one word search
sheet for groups of 2 – 4 students. DO NOT have the list of words to find printed on their
sheets. The ALT will then talk about the topic and when one of the words comes up,
they will explain it, then write the word on the board. When the ALT says, “GO!” the
students can start to look for the word. After they find it, continue talking about the
topic until the next word comes up. Another variation is to give points to the first three
teams that find the word.
#17 Ball Pass Game (Time Bomb)
You need:
A passable object (preferably soft) (ALT)
A timer (JTE)
Students sit in a circle and pass an object (preferably ALT provided) around the circle.
When they have the object, they must say one of the target vocabulary words. When
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the timer goes off, the student holding the object must stand and answer an easy
question (“What ____ do you like?” “When is your birthday?” etc) or for younger
students say the target vocabulary.
タイムボムゲーム
必要なもの：
ボールやぬいくるみなど
タイマーや音楽の CD
みんなは丸になって座る。まず、先生がボールなどぬいぐるみをまわして、音楽
やタイマーが止まったら、最後にまわしてた物を持っている生徒が立って、先生
の質問を答える。それとも、ねらいの単語を言う。
#18 Jeopardy
You need:
Answer card (ALT)
Break the class up into groups of 4 – 6 students, depending on class size. The ALT will
have an answer card with various categories, i.e. food, people, things, animals etc. In
each category their will be 4 - 5 vocabulary words increasing in difficulty. Using words
they haven’t learned as bonus or the most difficult is fine but try to gauge the level of
the class. For example, under people I usually have 消防士(firefighter) as the most
difficult. Sometimes students know it, sometimes they don’t. But they understand the
concept and they come up with some pretty original answers that I usually give partial
points to.
The students choose a category and then a point level, i.e. Animals 10 points, then the
ALT reads the answer: “How do you say ねこ in English?” The first team to raise their
hand and answer correctly gets the points. Then that team gets to choose the next
category and point level.
#19 9 Up
You need:
Large or small vocabulary cards (ALT)
After practicing the words, put nine (fewer cards is fine, but no less than 5 or 6) of them
on the blackboard face up. Get the class into two teams. Play rock, paper, scissors to
decide which team will go first. The one member from the winning team will go up the
board and point to one of the cards while the opposing team has to turn around so they
can’t see what card is being chosen. After the student has chosen the card and sits back
down, the opposing team can now look back and guess what card was chosen. They
have three chances to guess, if they guess correctly they get a point. If they fail to guess
the right card the team that chose the card gets a point. Works well with the
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questions “Do you like ~ ?” “Do you play ~ ?” “Are you a ~ ?” For younger grades they
can guess by just saying the name of the object on the card.
#20 Group Game
Students form groups of the number that the ALT says. The left over students have to
answer a question or perform an ALT specified action.
Lesson Specific
#21 Polar Bear and Elf Game (Directions)
You need:
Polar bear and Elf magnets (ALT)
Draw a 5x5 grid on the board with squares big enough to surround the magnets. Draw a
north pole in the top row and tell the students this is the Elf’s home. Start the Elf at the
bottom and have a few students direct the elf home, ex. “Go left.”(move the elf one
square left) “Go up”(move the elf one square up) Then when the students get the hang
of it, try it again, but add the polar bears. Also the polar bears can sometimes move
squares too. After that, erase the home and start the elf in the middle. Then choose
one student to give directions, but he/she can’t look at the board. Place the polar bears
randomly on the board and if the student can move 5 times without getting eaten, they
win. (Rule: they cant move back and forth between two squares)
#22 In/On/Under/By/Behind Power Point
You need:
In On Under By PowerPoint (ALT)
Computer with PowerPoint, projector, screen/media board (ALT/HRT Talk to
school in advance!!)
Teach in, on, under, by, behind first with an object. Then follow the powerpoint slides in
order to show the items, hide them, then show one by one.
#23 Go Fish!
You need:
Cards 5 or 6 decks (ALT)
Japanese instructions can be found in 100 Exciting Activities book, pg 20
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#24 4 Corners (seasons)
You need:
Large picture cards – seasons set (School)
Designate four areas in the room. Assign each area a season. Warm up by just saying a
season then having the students run to that corner. Then start asking when certain
festivals/events are. Finally try to ask some trickier questions so they have to guess. Like
when school starts in America, etc.
#25 Calendar Board game (days of the week, weather)
You need:
Calendar Board game (ALT)
Player pieces (ALT)
Die (ALT)
Best for smaller classes. Give each player a piece then go around in a circle rolling the
dice. The student moves that number of squares then has to say the day of the week
they land on and any other task that is written there.
#26 The Giant Turnip
You need:
Giant Turnip book (School)
Read one time, then assign roles for the students to act out as you read it again. If
possible give the students easy lines to say, and lines for the kids watching to join in
with.
#27 HSKT
You need:
50 English songs CD B (School)
Head, shoulders, knees and toes.
#28 Animal Hunt/Count (3rd-6th grade)
You need:
Animal Hunt Sheet/Large animal pictures (ALT)
Timer (JTE)
Review numbers and animals with students. Split the students into pairs or groups of
three. Each group gets one Animal Hunt sheet. The students may not look at the sheet
until the ALT says go! The ALT asks “How many ______ are there?” and the students
have a set time (30-45 seconds) to search for that animal. The ALT asks again, “How
many _____ are there?” and let’s a few students answer. Level up for 5th and 6th
grade: have the students answers “There are 6 monkeys,” “There are 3 birds,” etc.
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#29 Get Dressed!
You need:
Two sets of clothes/accessories(ALT)
- 2 sweatshirts
- 2 pairs of shorts/pants
- 2 pairs glasses (not sunglasses)
- 2 hats
- 2 gloves
- 2 scarves
- 2 watches
- 2 pair shoes (optional)
Review the items of clothing, then teach them what “Put on ~ “ means. They usually find
it interesting how in English we can use “put on” for anything, but in Japanese they have
a different verb depending on the item. So I usually ask them how to say put on a hat,
put on gloves, etc. in Japanese, and then talk about how learning Japanese is so difficult,
but in English we just have one way to say it. (I don’t go into “wear”, just stick to “put
on”).
Then split the class into two teams and have them form two lines. At the far end of the
class put the clothing into two respective piles so each team has one of each item. Then
tell the first two students in each line to decide who will be the model and who will be
the one to put on the clothes. Then the ALT will say, “Ready, put on (1,2,3 or 4 items)”
and the two members of each team will race to their pile, one student standing and one
putting on the said items. When all items have been put on correctly, the pair has to do
a pose (good photo opp.) and the fastest pair wins. Then repeat with the next pair from
each team.
#30 Do You Play? Interview Game
You need:
Do you play sheet (ALT)
Color one sport circle in. That is the sport that that person plays. Do that for all the
sheets, keeping an equal number, ex five sheets with baseball filled in, 5 sheets with
basketball filled in etc. Pass out the sheets to the students and tell them to keep them a
secret from the other kids. The students then go around asking other students “Do you
play ~?”. When the have filled in all the other sports, they are done. A student who
starts with baseball will ask other students if the play the other sports on their sheet. If
they are asked if they play baseball, they say yes. If they are asked if they play any other
sport than baseball, they say no. Students can still ask students that have finished.
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#31 Do you have/like game
You need:
Small picture cards 2 sets (ALT)
Have a two sets of the same cards. Give them out to the students keeping them secret.
Make sure there are at least two of every card (If its an odd numbered class one pair will
have to have three members) Students go around asking the phrase trying to find their
pair.
#32 Cones Clock Game/What time is it Mr. Wolf?
You need:
Permission to use the gym (talk to JTE well in advance)
Cones (school)
Printed numbers 1-12 (ALT)
Colored jersey (school)
Set up twelve cones in a circle and tape the numbers to the cones in order, like a clock.
Make two circles if it's a large class. Choose one student to be the wolf for the first
round. The other students make a circle, holding hands on around the outside of the
cones. One of the students will wear a colored jersey and represent the hour hand. The
students all ask the wolf in the center what time is it, and the wolf will respond it’s ~
o’clock. The students all rotate clockwise until the student wearing the colored jersey is
in front of the cone with that number. But if the wolf says “It’s dinner time” then the
students run away and whoever the wolf touches becomes the wolf in the next round.
#33 Road Trip
You need:
Transportation cards (ALT)
Break the class into teams (4-5 teams). Draw a row of squares (about 10-15) on the
board for each team. Lay one of each transportation card face down and assign a
number of squares each vehicle travels, ex airplane 5 squares, car 3 squares etc. Let one
person from each team choose a card one by one and after they say what vehicle they
got, color in the according number squares. The team that reaches home first wins.
#34 Houdini Game
You need:
Target cards/objects (ALT)
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Lay the cards or objects on a table in the front of the class so everyone can see. Make
the students say each object once. Then have the students put their heads down, and
remove one object from the table. Tell them they can look and then they have to guess
what object is gone. Variations: remove more items each round and/or let students
remove objects.
#35 Runway Challenge
#36 Who am I?
#37 Guess Who
#38 School Schedule
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