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jotto · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Happy Everyday!

I was hoping that somebody could suggest some games that are not too noisy. I teach grades one to three at a primary school. I have looked at the Idea Cookbook on Dave's and some other websites but haven't found anything the kids enjoy. The only game that I know works is Heads Up 7 Up. I don't play it often because most of them cheat or choose the same people over and over despite my telling them otherwise. Kev7161 and vikdk thanks for your advice last time I posted (months and months ago). It did help out and made my days a little easier. Thanks and looking forward to quieter days!

kev7161 · Joined: 06 Feb 2004 Posts: 5880 Location: Suzhou, China

Did I recommend "Silent Ball" last time? It does absolutely NOTHING for learning English, but the kids still seem to like it. If allowed, they sit on their desks roughly facing each other. You have a soft ball which the GENTLY toss to each other. If they miss it, no big deal. But if they talk or make a noise during the game, they have to sit in their seat until that final quiet one is left.

jotto · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Happy Everyday!

That's why I don't play Heads up 7 Up often. No real beneficial value other than giving my ears a break. Maybe I am asking too much... I just thought there might be some games out there that keep them interested and learning without all the excess noise.

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

as far as i remember, on CELTA they often said that a quiet esl classroom is not a good esl classroom, or something like that. i tend to disagree. anyway, i dont know any quiet games. i did try hot seat a few weeks ago and it works well, however there are drawbacks (as usual) in that plenty of students just cant resist the urge to cheat. when they do this and i catch them, i try to make them lose a bit of face.

if you dont know how to play hot seat and want to try it, let me know by pm and i can send you an outline.

saint57 · Posted: Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:00 am Post subject:

This is an old gem my father told me about and possibly invented. I've played it with all levels. It's called WORDO. Get your students to write down any three letter word they can think of. You draw letters out of a hat. Any time a letter in their word comes up they cross it out. I've never dared go beyond 7 letters (no letter repeats). It's not really educational but I've never seen a class that doens't like it. Another game I played in China was called word unscramble. I had up to 45 kids in a class and it's guarenteed to keep them quite. If the students sit in rows, make each row a team. Any time a kid can correctly identify the word his/her team gets a point (points can vary with difficulty). It will hold their interest for up to 10 words which can take more than 10 minutes. Student also enjoyed Boggle grids (it's on the idea cookbook). Make your own 5 x 5 boggle grid on the board and put some words you know they'll be able to get in there. Give points for each word they get. 1 point for 3 letter, 2 points for 4 letters etc. They will find words you didn't notice and it keeps them quite. Finally, tallying points is a game itself. Give each row a team number on the board. Give your normal lesson. Anytime a kid answers a question their team gets a point. Watch how competitive they get. It will last the whole class and it tricks them into speaking English. Get creative with your point systems. Don't over use them but always have these on hand they can save you.

Roger · Joined: 19 Jan 2003 Posts: 9138

Highly educational, yet not even a real game:

Pair up the students; each pair must have one NOTEBOOK or NOTEPAD.

Their job is to COPY a text that lies on your desk in front of them; you can make several copies so that several students can simultaneously copy it. They must NOT COPY it in front but memorise a line or so, then walk back and dictate it to their partner.

As a contest: who finishes the first, with the fewest mistakes?

7969 · Joined: 26 Mar 2003 Posts: 5782 Location: Coastal Guangdong

roger, thats a good one. i'll try that this week.

jotto · Joined: 12 Oct 2004 Posts: 11 Location: Happy Everyday!

Thanks for the replies. I tried boggle and the dictation in different classes. Both worked well. I was quite impressed at how many words my students were able to find playing boggle. Considering some of them have a hard time answering "how are you?" this was a pleasant surprise.

I had tried a similar dictation activity as a relay race. One student dictates a sentence, one student writes. The paper is then handed to the second row and they will write the next sentence. I place six sentences around the classroom or one for each pair. The only problem I had is keeping the other kids busy while waiting for their turn. Maybe sing a song?