Level: From Primary Grade 4 to High School

Materials: None

Content: Any vocabulary words from any/all previous lesson(s).

Method:

1. After teaching (showing) the students how to play (by demonstrating the activity to the whole class), divide the class into homogeneous-ability pairs.

2. One person thinks of something (but they must know the English word for that something!!!) After choosing something in his/her mind, he/she must give a hint to his/her partner. The hint MUST be one of the following:

a. "It is an animal."

b. "It is a vegetable." (vegetable = plant).

c. "It is a mineral." (mineral = inanimate object).

3. All things in this world fit into one of those three categories, except perhaps a limited few things, such as:

spirit/soul (영혼/혼령), ghost (유령/귀신), fire (불), light (불), etc.

If the chosen thing is something that doesn't fit into the one of the three categories above, the hint should be:

d. "It is not an animal, nor vegetable, nor mineral."

4. The guessing partner then, asks YES/NO questions ONLY to try and guess what the thinking partner is thinking of.

5. If the guessing partner cannot guess the chosen thing within twenty questions, one point goes to the thinking partner. If the guessing partner successfully guesses the chosen thing within twenty questions, one point goes to the guesser. Then, roles are reversed. The person with the most points at the end of the period wins.

NOTE to teacher: to prevent cheating, the teacher may require the thinker to write the chosen thing on a piece of paper and turn it over on the desk until twenty questions are completed.

Level: Students who can read English

Materials: Clock with second hand

Content: words from any/all previous lesson(s)

Method:

1. Teacher puts the students in homogeneous-ability pairs.

2. The pairs do "Rock, Scissors, Paper" in order to decide who goes first.

3. The first student chooses an English word, and says the word aloud.

4. The second student must say an English word that begins with the last letter of the partner's spoken word. But, there is a time limit (that's why you need a clock with a second hand). The teacher chooses an appropriate time limit for the level of the students. The person whose turn it is NOT, keeps the time (for example twenty seconds.) If the person whose turn it IS cannot say an appropriate word within the time limit, one point goes to the person whose turn it is NOT.

5. No word may be repeated. Therefore, it is expedient that students write each word after they say it, in order to keep track.

Variation:

For higher level students, (like middle school and high school), categories can be chosen by the teacher, and the students must choose words within the chosen category, (for example: "Food" is a good category)

Level: From Primary Grade 4 to High School

Materials: None

Content: persons (in English)

Sample content: farmer, teacher, mail deliverer/post person, fire fighter, police officer, etc.

Method:

1. After the teacher demonstrates how to play the game, the teacher puts the students into homogeneous-ability pairs.

2. One student thinks of a person (and secretly writes it; or if unable to write, secretly draws a picture, but does not show it to his/her partner).

3. Then, the thinker gives one hint (in a sentence). For example: "I have a lot of rice." and then the student asks, "Who am I?"

4. The partner of the thinker guesses, like this: "You are a cook."

5. If the guess is wrong, the thinker says, "No, I'm not a cook."

6. Then the thinker gives another clue, like this: "I grow the rice."

7. Then, the guesser guesses again, like this: "Oh, you are a rice farmer."

8. If the guess is right, the thinker says, "Yes, I am."

9. The guesser gets one point for each guess.

10. Then the thinker and guesser switch roles.

11. Continue until time is out.

12. The person with the fewest points wins.

Variation:

For more advanced students, play "What am I" Activity.

1.4  Letter/Number-->Sentence Puzzle Activity

Level:  Any

Materials: board/ chalk or marker (for teacher); pencil & paper (for each student)

Content: content should match the level of the students

Rules:

     (a) Upper case letters signify the NAME of the letter

          Examples:

          I C U = /ai si: ju/ = I see you.

          U R OK   = /ju ar okei/ = You are okay!

          R U BZ? = /ar ju bi:zi:/ = Are you busy?

          I M DZ = /ai em di:zi:/ = I am dizzy.

     (b) Lower case letters signify the SOUND of the letter

          Examples with upper & lower case:

          U R Qt = You are cute.

          2B or not 2B = to be or not to be

          U R Gr8 = You are great.

          1 4 me & 1 4 U 2 = One for me and one for you, too.

          I M the 1 4 U = I am the one for you.

Method:

1.  Teacher does a few puzzles on the board to demonstrate the rules of the game to the students.  Teacher should explicitly state the rules (otherwise some students, maybe most students will be confused).

2.  Then, the teacher puts the students into pairs.

3.  Each person in each pair secretly makes there own sentence (or phrase) according to the rules.  Then, they switch sentences (or phrases) and try to guess each others' sentences (can be orally or by writing).

Note:  There is no competition involved.  It is just a fun activity.       

Level: From Primary Grade 3 to High School

Materials Needed: None

Content: English sentences from the lesson

Note: The number of words in each sentence must match the number of students in each group.

Sample content:

Four Sentences: 1. It's cold in winter.

                       2. It's warm in spring.

                       3. It's hot in summer.

                       4. It's cool in fall.

Method:

1. Put the students into groups of four members.

What do you do if there are extra students?

If there is one extra student, the teacher has several options. The one student can be the teacher's whispering assistant. Or the teacher can pair the extra student up with another student. They will act as one "unit"(student).

If there is more than one extra student, the teacher can pair the extra students up with partners in various groups to act as one "unit"(student). This activity will not work unless there are exactly four "units" (students) in each group.

2. The students number themselves from 1 to 4 by doing "Rock, Scissors, Paper" (in English, of course). The teacher chooses a spokesperson for each group. [It is preferable that the teacher form homogeneous-gender, heterogeneous-ability groups and makes the lowest-level student in each group the spokesperson].

3. The teacher summons all the "#1" students to the front of the class and the teacher whispers one word of the chosen sentence (randomly, i.e., not in proper order). Then, the students one-by-one whisper it back to the teacher to make sure they know the word. Then, the "#1" students return to their seats, but do not reveal the word to their group-mates.

4. Repeat with #2 students, and #3 students, and #4 students.

5. Then, when the teacher says, "Begin!", the students share the information in the same order that it was received from the teacher.

6. Then, the students in each group must put the words in order to make a proper sentence. Then, the spokesperson raises his/her hand.

7. The teacher writes down the order in which each spokesperson raises his/her hand.

8. Then, when all spokespersons have raised their hands, the teacher calls them up one-by-one to whisper the answer in the teacher's ear. The first correct spokesperson receives 3 points for his/her group. The second correct spokesperson receives 2 points for his/her group. The third correct spokesperson receives 1 point for his/her group.

9. The same process is repeated until all sentences are done. The group with the most points wins.

NOTE to teacher: more advanced classes should have more complex sentences, and more than one word can be given to each student.

Level: From Primary Grade 3 to Grade 6

Content: The words from the day's (or previous day's) lesson

Method:

1. The teacher divides the class into teams of 2-5 students.

2. One person from each team comes up to the front of class.

3. The teacher whispers the word or phrase.

4. Each student whispers the word or phrase back to the teacher in order to make sure they know the proper word or phrase.

5. The students walk back to their groups slowly and silently, and wait.

6. When the teacher says "Go," The students draw what was heard. The drawing person may not speak at all nor write any words. The drawing person may only draw pictures.

7. The first team to guess the correct word or phrase wins a point.

8. Continue until time is out, changing drawing persons each time. The team with the most points wins.

NOTE: This can be a noisy activity. So, you might want to encourage the students to whisper. Also, whispering is very strategic for the students, because if the other team hears, they might get the teacher's attention first and say the guess first (to the teacher). When this happens, fights may result.

In order to maintain control in the classroom, the teacher may chose spokespersons for each group and only the spokesperson may give guesses to the teacher. OR, the teacher may require guesser to raise his/her hand and wait until the teacher calls upon him/her. To call out the answer prematurely is minus one point for the team.

Level: From Primary Grade 3 to High School

Content: The words or phrases or clauses from the day's lesson (or previous day's lesson)

Method:

1. The teacher divides the class into teams of 2-5 students.

2. One or two students from each group come up to the front of the class.

3. The teacher whispers the word or phrase.

4. The students whisper the word or phrase back to the teacher to make sure they understand correctly.

5. Then the students go back to their groups slowly and wait.

6. When the teacher says, "Go!", the students mime the word or phrase.

7. If a member of a group guesses the word or phrase correctly, the miming person(s) raises his/her hand. When the first mime raises his/her hand, the teacher yells, "Stop."

8. All activity must stop at that point. The teacher tells the mime to point to the person who guessed correctly. Then, the guesser must speak audibly for the whole class to hear. If the answer is correct, one point goes to that team(group).

9. If the answer is incorrect, the teacher asks, "Who knows the correct answer?" At that point anybody may raise their hand. The teacher tries to recognize the first hand to go up. etc. etc. etc.

10. If no hands go up at that point, the teacher yells, "Begin again!" and the activity resumes, until a correct answer is given.

NOTE: This is a variation FOR ANY other cooperative/group activities.

Materials:

1. score board

2. soft ball (size of football [영], soccer ball [미])

Content: sentences or words from that day's lesson

Method:

1. Do the cooperative/group activity.

2. The winning group gets a chance for an extra point via "free kick". One student is chosen by the group to kick a soft ball from the back of the classroom, and try to place the ball between the goal posts (which can be two students' desks). If the ball goes between the goal posts, it's a goal! And the group gets an extra point.

3. Repeat activity until all the content is reviewed. The team with the most points wins.

Variation:

NBA English Activity

...instead of a soccer ball, use any ball (or ball-like thing) for a mock Basketball and any receptacle for a basket.  The winning team can go for two "Free Throws" for two possible extra points. 

Level: From Primary Grade 3 to Grade 6

Materials: None

Content: English imperatives

Method:

1. One person is "it" (술래). The "it" person is "Simon". Perhaps teacher should be "Simon" first.

2. If the "it" person says, "Simon says ((do something))," then the participants must do it For example: "Simon says put your hand on your head."

3. If the "it" person just commands to do something, without saying, "Simon says," the participants must not do it. For example: "Put your hand on your hips."

4. Anyone caught disobeying the rules by the "it" person is out of the game (dead) until the next round. The winner is the last remaining participant. He or she becomes the "it" person in the next round.

Level: Primary Grade 3

Materials: None

Content: "Red light", "Green light"; or "Stop", "Go";

Method:

1. This activity is probably best done outside.

2. The "it" person (술래) stands at the front of the goal and gives the orders. The rest of the students stand at the other end of the field.

3. The students at the other end of the field must follow the commands of the "it" person. There are only two commands in this game: "Red light" (stop) and "Green light" (go).

4. When the "it" person says, "Green light," he/she must turn around and face the opposite direction of the other classmates. At that time the classmates may run toward the "it" person.

5. At the whim of the "it" person, the "it" person yells, "RED LIGHT!" and THEN immediately turns around (to face the classmates). The classmates must "freeze" (stop) before the "it" person turns around.

6. If the "it" person sees someone still running, the running person must go back to the beginning. The classmates have no choice but to obey the "it" person's commands.

7. The winner is the first person to touch the "it" person.

8. Then, the winner becomes the "it" person.

Variation:

The teacher may substitute other words in place of "red light" and "green light" in order to reinforce memory of other vocabulary words.

Level: Primary Grades 4 - 6

Materials: None

Content: "Boiling", "Hot", "Warm", "Cool", "Cold", "Freezing"

Method:

1. One student is chosen to be "it" or "Cat" (술래).

2. The "cat" leaves the room.

3. One person in the room is chosen to be the "mouse".

4. The "cat" comes back in the room.

5. The "cat" touches a classmate's shoulder.

6. If the touchee is the "mouse". The activity is over.

7. If the touchee is NOT the "mouse", he/she must say:

a. "You are freezing" [if the mouse is at the other end of the classroom]

b. "You are cold" [if the mouse is 3/4 across the classroom]

c. "You are cool" [if the mouse is 1/2 across the classroom]

d. "You are warm" [if the mouse is 1/4 across the classroom]

e. "You are hot" [if the mouse is two or three students away]

f. "You are boiling" [if the mouse is one student away]

8. Then, the "cat" touches another student on the shoulder. etc. etc. etc.

9. After the "cat" catches the "mouse", the "mouse" becomes the new "cat".

10. The winner of the activity is the person who catches the mouse in the least number of touches.

Level: Primary Grades 4-6

Materials: None

Content: "Put your heads down," "Put your thumbs up," "Put your heads up," "I think _____ touched my thumb."

Method:

1. Minimum TWO persons are chosen to be "it" (술래).

2. The "it" people go to the front of the class and say (simultaneously), "One, two, three: Put your heads down, and Put your thumbs up."

3. At that point all seated students must put their heads down and cover their faces with their arms, and put only ONE thumb up. Also, students should close their eyes. It is difficult to enforce this rule, but there is a way (explanation below).

4. Then, the two "it" students walk around the classroom. Each "it" student touches (presses down) half the students' thumbs. (This means they should count how many students are in the class, divide the number in half and press that many thumbs).

5. HOWEVER, the "it" students should check to see if the eyes are closed before touching the thumb. If the eyes are open, the "it" student should NOT touch the thumb. But, it is important that all thumbs get pressed down. So, the it students keep walking around until all thumbs are down.

6. Then, when the "it" students are done pressing thumbs, they go back to the front of the class and say (together), "One, two, three: Put your heads up."

7. At this point, each sitting student, one-by-one, must say:

"I think ______ [name of one "it" person] touched my thumb."

8. If the student is correct, the named person says, "Yes, that's right." and the student may remain seated (sitting).

9. If the student is incorrect, the named person says, "No, that's wrong." and the student must stand and go to the front of the class.

10. After all the students have guessed, the activity starts again. But this time there are many more "it" people standing at the front of the class. They say (in unison), "One, two, three: Put your heads down and put your thumbs up."

11. At this point, there is no need to count. The "it" students walk around the classroom touching thumbs at random until all thumbs are down.

12. And the guessing begins again.

13. The winner is the last sitting person.

14. NOTE: At some point in the game there will be more people at the font of the class than sitting down. That's okay. It will be harder to guess which person touched one's thumb, and the activity will be over very quickly.