ESL Sentence Race Games
Alphabet Madness
Age/Level: Elementary and above Time: 20 minutes Players: Teams of 4 to 5 Preparation: None
Aim: To make sentences using words beginning with a particular letter
This fun sentence race game helps students improve their sentence structure.
Procedure
Divide the class into teams of four or five.
Tell the class that they are going to race to make sentences using words beginning with a particular letter.
Write a letter on the board, e.g. M.
Explain that the first team to give a grammatically correct sentence will receive one point for each word that begins with the chosen letter.
Give the students the following example: My mother makes my morning meal. (6 points)
Write a random letter on the board and begin the game.
Tell the students that they must raise their hand before they give a sentence.
Choose the first student to raise his or her hand. Be sure to ignore students who shout out sentences.
The chosen student must say a grammatically correct sentence or no points are awarded.
If no points are awarded, another student can put up their hand and try to answer.
If the sentence is correct, give that team points. Then move on to another letter.
At the end of the game, tally up the points to see which team is the winner.
Balloon Buster
Age/Level: Any Time: 15 minutes Players: Small teams Preparation: Balloons and slips of paper
Aim: To form sentences from word slips
This entertaining sentence race game is great for practicing sentence formation and structure, vocabulary and grammar.
Before you begin, write your target sentences on slips of paper, cut each sentence into words, and place the word slips inside a balloon, so each balloon contains a different sentence. Do this for each team.
Procedure
Divide the students into small teams of three or four.
Give each team a balloon containing the same sentence.
Ask the teams to blow up their balloon.
When you say, "Go", the students must pop their balloons using only their elbows and race to form the words inside the balloon into a sentence.
The first team to form the sentence and read it aloud wins one point.
Play several rounds. The team with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
You could also play this game to practice spelling and vocabulary by putting in letter slips that make a word.
Sentence Race
Age/Level: Any Time: 20 minutes Players: 2 teams Preparation: Two identical sets of word cards
Aim: To write a sentence containing a particular word
This fun ESL writing game is ideal for large classes. It's useful for teaching or revising vocabulary and sentence structure.
Before you start the game, prepare two sets of word cards. One word should be written on each piece of paper and both sets should be identical.
Procedure
Separate the students into two teams.
Hand out one set of word cards to each team. Make sure each student has one word.
When you call out a word, the two students with that card must run to the board and write a sentence using the word.
The winner is the first student to write a clear and grammatically correct sentence.
That student wins a point for their team.
The team with the most points at the end is the winner.
Translation Race
Age/Level: Any Time: 20 minutes Players: 2 teams Preparation: None
Aim: To translate sentences
This amusing ESL sentence race game can be used for any teaching point.
Procedure
Split the class into two teams. One player from each team comes to the front of the class and sits with their back to the board.
Write a sentence on the board behind the two players. Make sure the two students can't see what is written on the board.
When you say 'Go', the two teams shout out what is written on the board in their native language.
The two players then race to translate the sentence into English.
Teams may wish to translate word by word or by saying the whole sentence. The only rule is that they must use their native language.
When a player thinks they can say the complete sentence in English, have them put up their hand and say the sentence unaided by the team.
The first student to translate the sentence correctly gets a point for their team.
Once a sentence has been translated correctly, select new players to sit in the chairs and write a new sentence on the board.
The first team to ten points is the winner.
Words to Sentences
Age/Level: Any Time: 20 minutes Players: 2 teams Preparation: Two sets of identical word slips
Aim: To write a sentence containing a particular word
This sentence race game can be used to review vocabulary and sentence structure. Before class, prepare a list of words you would like to review. Copy the word list. Then, cut out the words, so you have two sets of identical word slips.
Procedure
Separate the class into two teams.
Give each team a set of word slips. The word slips are divided out among the team members.
Make sure each student in both teams has a word. Some students can have two word slips if you have some left over.
You then call out a word from the list.
The two students with that word slip run to the board and write a sentence using the word.
The winner is the first student to write a clear and grammatically correct sentence.
That student wins a point for their team.
Play until all the words have been used.
The team with the highest number of points at the end wins.
You can also use this game to focus on punctuation, spelling, capitalization, etc.