100+ Classes

Welcome to our 100+ Classes page. This page is dedicated to teachers working in more challenging situations, characterised mainly by large class sizes, limited space and extremely limited resources.

As you can see from our featured image above, we approach this section with the assumption that teachers in such situations only have a chalk board in the classroom.

However with a bit of creativity and a love of games, you will find that there are many things you can do from the board to help engage your pupils with the English language more meaningfully.

Before using our games, please keep the following tips in mind to help you manage the games more effectively. As with any new game or activity you use, it will be a bit challenging at first (this is normal, don’t worry!) and will get easier the more you use them.

TIPS:

Dividing your class into teams: Most of the games here are team based. Don’t worry! You do not need to move any of your pupils. You can easily divide your class into teams by using a a hand gesture or large ruler to indicate which group of pupils are in one team (imagine slicing into a cake or bread). The teams do not need to be equal in number!

Naming the teams: You can increase communication and fun in your lessons by having the teams choose a name for their group. This is easy to do. Just ask each team:

“What is your favourite colour?” (or animal, cartoon, fruit, vegetable etc.).

Whatever they say (even if it’s one pupil shouting out) that’s their team name! Simple!

Which team goes first? You can ask each team or team leader to give you a number. The team with the number closest to the number you are thinking of goes first, the next closest goes second, the third closest goes third and so on. For example, you think of number 15. Team A says 3, Team B says 11, Team C says 7, Team D says 20, Team E says 4. Based on this, Team B goes first, Team D goes second, Team C goes third, Team E goes fourth and Team A goes last.

Who answers from each team? With so many pupils in each team it can be difficult for pupils to discuss with each other before answering. A method we have tried is to simply nominate a pupil sitting at the front, in the middle or at the back of each team on each turn. This way you help increase participation from different pupils during the game. Try it and see!

Using the chalk board: Make sure to make your writing as large as possible. The larger it is, the easier it will be for all the pupils to see! If they cannot see it, how can they read it? If they cannot read it, how can they participate in the game? So keep your writing BIG! Also, remember to include the team names on the board to write down scores. These can be written on the left or right corner of your chalk board.

Chalk colour: Many of you probably have chalk boards that have been used for years! This can make it very difficult to see the writing on the board. A solution we found is to invest in brightly coloured chalk (bright yellows and greens ideally). These contrast excellently with old chalk boards making it easy for the pupils to see! Chalk is cheap, so try to invest in brightly coloured chalk!

Our games are designed with primary pupils in mind (Grades 3 – 5). However, as with any game you can increase or lower the difficulty level depending on which grade you teach.

We hope you find our games useful for your very large classes and that your pupils enjoy playing them and develop their English skills in the process! As usual, use the comments box below to give us feedback, suggestions or any problems you may have and we will try our best to adapt future games accordingly!

Click on the links below to access the games and how to use them in your class!

Don’t forget to leave feedback in the comments box below. You can also send in suggestions, problems you may be encountering and we will try our best to adapt our future games and activities accordingly!

Enjoy!

Race Against Letters

If you know the game ‘hangman’, you will be very familiar with this game. This game requires pupils to guess the word before time runs out. The more help they get, the less points they get! This  game is effective for helping pupils recognise words quickly based on its shape and spelling pattern.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Race Against Letters

Word Shape Challenge

This is a very simple game to play! Here pupils try to guess the word based on the outline shape of the word. You might be surprised how well your pupils can guess the word based on its shape alone! Give it a try!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Word Shape Challenge

Guess the Picture

Can you guess the picture above? Yes that’s right it is ‘a flower’!. This is a very simple game that’s easy to play.  Here pupils try to guess what the picture is before you finish drawing. Great testing pupils understanding of words. Lots of fun!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Guess the Picture

What Am I Thinking?

This is a well-known vocabulary game which many of you are most likely already familiar with! Here pupils must try to guess the words you are thinking! Another very easy game to play and one which will surely get your pupils very excited!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS What Am I Thinking

Rhyme the Picture

This game requires pupils to do two things. Match the picture to its written form, match the picture to another word with the same sound. This game appears simple but will challenge your pupils as they try their best to find a rhyming word. This will help your pupils with pronunciation, reading, spelling and of course vocabulary.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Rhyme the Picture

Rhyme the Word

This game is very similar to ‘Rhyme the Picture’ except pupils are required to focus more on the word forms and pronunciation. Pupils use a slightly different way of thinking here, because they might know a word that rhymes (but not necessarily its meaning). This helps with pronunciation and reading.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Rhyme the Word

Beware the Tornado!

Beware the tornado! This a well-known game which will either make your pupils laugh in excitement or cry in horror. A simple game that you can easily play from your board to practice verb forms and sentences. Use with caution!. You have been warned!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Beware the Tornado

Odd One Out!

Do you know which word is the odd one out? This is another popular game that is often used in books and tests and can easily be used in the classroom from the board! Pupils must quickly find the word that is different to the other words in some way. Simple but effective! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Odd One Out

Valleys and Mountains

Have you noticed that words have a shape with some parts that are tall (like mountains) and low (like valleys). IF you see the word ‘butter’, it is tall at the beginning and middle. With practice, your pupils can recognise words quite quickly just by its shape! This should help with developing their reading skills. This game is similar to ‘Word Shape Challenge’ above! We hope you find this game useful!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Valleys and Mountains

Apples and Oranges

Apples and oranges are both fruit but they are different. Just like some English words! Some English words have the same spelling pattern and pronunciation but have different meanings. Let’s see if your pupils can find some! Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Apples and Oranges

Lemons and Limes

Lemons and limes are the same but different. Just like some English words which have the same pronunciation but different spelling. This game looks at such words. This will help your pupils get more experience with the spelling/pronunciation relationship of English words and should help develop reading skills.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Lemons and Limes

Peaches and Plums

This game is very similar to ‘Apples and Oranges’ and ‘Lemons and Limes’. In this case, pupils look at something called ‘minimal pairs’, whereby changing one letter/sound changes the meaning of the word. This will help your pupils with reading skills, vocabulary, pronunciation and spelling. Hope you find this one useful!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Peaches and Plums

Stop the Bus!

This is another very popular game used by children all around the world! You may know it by a different name! In fact, your pupils most likely know this game already! Pupils try to think of words from different categories beginning with the same letter. Don’t forget to make your pupils say ‘Stop the bus!’.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Stop the bus

Picsaw Story

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Can you connect the pictures above to tell a silly story? This game is called Picsaw Story. Picsaw is a made-up word from ‘picture’ and ‘jigsaw’. Pupils must try to fit the pictures together  (like a jigsaw) into a story. Give it a try and see where it goes!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS Picsaw Story

Can You Guess?

Can you guess what the picture is? That’s right! It’s a horse! This is a simple game where pupils try to guess the picture. As they guess they use different phrases depending on how confident they are. If they are very confident they scan ay ‘It must be…’, quite confident they can say ‘It could be/might be…’. You can get pupils to draw on the board to make your classes more student-centred. Enjoy!

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS It Must Be