10 Amazing Activities you can do with index cards

Can a simple index card hold the key to a creative language activity for your ESL students?

Read the following 10 ideas before you give your final answer.

10 Things You Can Do With Index Cards

1. 1
   New Perspective
   How you look at life all depends on your perspective, right? If that is the case, why not force a perspective change with this observational activity? Give each of your students an index card, and tell him to poke a hole in the card using a pen or pencil. It should only be big enough for him to see through it a little. Then have each of your students look around the room and write a description of something he sees through the hole (without naming the object). When finished, the rest of the class should listen to the description and try to identify the object.
2. 2
   Newspaper Headlines
   When it is time for your students to learn some new vocabulary or just practice what they already know, look to the newspaper for some inspiration. Cut out interesting individual words from the headlines and tape each on to its own index card. Then have your students each select two to three cards randomly. They should then try to combine the words into a coherent sentence or original newspaper headline. If you like, have your students write the article that follows the headline.
3. 3
   Why-Because
   For a little index card fun, give two cards to each student. On one card, have each student write a question that begins with the word “why”. Then on the second card, he or she should write the answer beginning with “because”. Collect all the ‘why cards’ in one pile and shuffle and do the same with the ‘because cards’. Then pull one card from each pile and read them together. You should end up with some funny combinations. After reading all of them, you can challenge your students to match up each question with an answer that makes sense.
4. 4
   Who Am I?
   Index cards have their place in speaking class, too. Collect one card for each student and put the name of a famous person that your students would know on it. Then tape one name to each student’s back, and he “is” that person. Give your students enough time to walk around the room and ask each other yes/no questions about who they are. (One question per person and then he must move on to another student.) If a person guesses his identity correctly, he may sit down. Keep playing until everyone has guessed who he is.
5. 5
   Story Starters
   If you give your students any free writing time in class, they may sometimes need a nudge in the right direction. When that is the case, have available a stack of story starters (one on each index card) that they can pull and use when they are looking for inspiration. When she is finished writing, have your student turn in her story with her card paper clipped to the top for your review or designate an area of the classroom to post original stories.
6. 6
   Memory Game
   Memory is another simple game you can play with index cards. This is especially useful when reviewing vocabulary. Simply write each vocabulary word on one card and its definition on another. Shuffle the cards and place them face down on a table. Each person can turn over two cards on his turn. If he is able to match the word to its definition, he may keep the set and go again.
7. 7
   Antonyms
   When you want to make the memory game a little more challenging, instead of matching words to their definitions, match words to their antonyms. Your students will still get practice using their vocabulary words as well as challenging their memories.
8. 8
   Order, Please!
   If you want to cast a wider net than isolated vocabulary, write one sentence of a narrative on each card. Then challenge groups of students to use transitional words and signal words to put the sentences in the correct order.
9. 9
   Take 5 Notes!
   Anytime your students are doing research, index cards are a functional and flexible place to take notes. You can find information on how to take notes on Busy Teacher or teach your students your preferred method for taking notes. Challenge them to read a magazine article and take at least five notes on index cards, and then have them use those cards as part of a larger research assignment. They will have the flexibility to rearrange notes as they like without losing valuable information in a cumbersome notebook.
10. 10
    Oh, How Practical!
    Index cards do not have to be relegated to the world of fun and games. They have practical uses as well. They are a concise place to keep emergency contact and allergy information about your students. It is especially helpful to have this information in one place should you ever need a substitute teacher.

When you can get one hundred index cards for only a dollar, the possibilities for your ESL class can be endless as well as inexpensive. The next time you are looking for some inspiration, shuffle on down to your local store and get a back of the 3x5 wonders.

With a little creativity and some blank cards, your ESL class can do more than you might think.

10 Fun English Spelling Games for Your Students

Are your students ready for a fun filled game style spelling review?

Here are some ways to get their pulse quickening and the letters in the right order.

Try These 10 Fun English Spelling Games with Your Students

1. 1

   Unmix It Up

   Have students unscramble letters to make an English word. Using a current vocabulary list, have each student write the letters for one word on index cards – one letter per card. Then under the flap of an envelope, have each student write out the correct spelling of their word. Students then tuck the flap into the envelope, shuffle their letter cards and put them into the envelope in front of the flap. Now you have a learning center game ready for your students. Just put the envelopes out in a box or basket. Students using the center should pull out the index cards and arrange them to make a correctly spelled English word. They can check their answer by lifting the flap of the envelope when they are finished. As the year progresses, add words to the collection while leaving those that are already there and it becomes a way to review vocabulary as well.
2. 2

   Unmix It Up Relay

   Using the envelopes your students made for the ‘unmix it up’ learning center, have a spelling relay race. Divide your class into teams of five, and put a stack of ten envelopes on a desk across the room for each team. One at a time, students run to the desk, take the cards out of an envelope and unscramble the letters to make a word. When they think they have a correct word they call “check”. You should see to be sure they have a correctly spelled English word. If so, he should put the letters back in the envelope and put it on the floor before running back to their team. The next person then runs to the table and choose his own envelope to unscramble. Whichever team finishes unmixing all their words first wins the game.
3. 3

   Blind Relay

   If your whiteboard is also a magnetic one, this game will get your students excited about spelling. Divide your class into two teams. Each team should have a set of magnetic letters (the simple kind you find at the dollar store) on their half of the board. On your go, announce one word for each team to spell. One person from each team runs to the whiteboard and uses the magnetic letters to spell out the word. Just be sure you have enough duplicate letters to spell the words you call out. (For example, “taller” would require two letter ls.) The team that gets the word first scores a point. Then two other players take a turn. Play until everyone has had at least one turn. The team with the most points at the end of the game wins. If you want to make the relay even more challenging, blindfold each person and position them at the board before calling out the word. They will have to feel the letters on the board to spell their word correctly.
4. 4

   Telephone Spelling

   This game is just as much a test of pronunciation and listening skills as it is of spelling skills. Divide your class into two teams, and have each team sit or stand in one long line. You whisper a word to the person at the back of the line, and she must carefully whisper it to the person in front of her. That person whispers to the person in front of him and so on until the first person in line hears the word. When he does, he should go to the whiteboard and write the word that he heard using the correct spelling. If he gets the word right, his team scores a point. If not, he does not score for the team. He then goes to the back of the line and the teams play again with a new word and a new player.
5. 5

   Secret Speller

   This game requires a small whiteboard or flipchart that you can face away from the students in your class. Set the flipchart up so it is opposite the front wall of the classroom. Put your students in pairs and have them choose one person to be the speller and one to be the writer. On the flipchart, write five to ten words that are difficult to spell or pronounce. When you say go, the speller from each team runs to the front of the classroom and looks at the list of words on the flipchart. He tries to remember as many of the words and their spelling as he can and runs back to his partner. He must then help his partner write the words on her paper, but the speller is not allowed to look at the paper. He can run back to the flipchart as many times as necessary to check spelling or remember words. When the pair thinks they have all of the words right, they call check. You should then look and tell them if the words are all correct or if there is a mistake. Throughout the game, the speller and the writer can say anything they want, but the speller can never look at the writer’s paper. The first team to get all the words written correctly on the writer’s paper wins.
6. 6

   Scrabble Slam

   Scrabble Slam is a fun spelling game that also builds vocabulary. Each card has one letter on the front and another on the back. (You can also create your own Spelling Slam cards by writing one letter each on index cards. Have more copies of common letters like vowels, t, s, r, n and l in your set, also omitting q and z.) Play starts with any four letter word laid out on the table and each player holding ten cards. The remaining cards go in a pile on the table. On go, players add one letter at time to the word to create a different four letter word. For example, pole may become poke which becomes pike which becomes bike. Every time a letter is laid down, it must correctly spell an English word. Up to four players play at one time trying to get rid of all their cards as quickly as possible. If someone plays a word that is not spelled correctly, players stop and that person must take a three card penalty from the draw pile. If no one can play a new word and everyone still has cards, each person draws one letter from the draw pile. The first person to use all her cards wins.
7. 7

   Hangman

   This classic grade school game gives your students a fun way to practice spelling.For the traditional rules, look here. Start by playing with your entire class, you putting a word or phrase on the board. Players guess letters trying to decipher the words. If a student calls a letter that is in the phrase, you fill in all the places where it belongs. If they call a letter that is not in the phrase they receive a penalty. After a practice round with you leading, have students break into groups of three and play on their own.
8. 8

   3-D Spelling

   Why have a spelling test with pencil and paper when you can use play dough, beans, toys or other fun items to write out the words. You call out a word to your class, and they race through the items in their desk to spell the word out on their table. They might spell the word by arranging crayons, paper clips or other items in their desk. If they do not have enough items in the desk to spell the word, they can use items from around the room though collecting items will take more time. The first person to spell out each word correctly gets a point. The person with the highest score at the end of the spelling test wins.
9. 9

   Spelling Battleship

   In traditional Battleship, you sink your opponent’s boats. In this spelling version, you sink their spelling words. Each person needs two 10 by 10 grids. Have students start by labeling the rows letters A-J and the columns 1-10. Then each person writes the same set of 5-7 spelling words on one grid, in random order and location, either vertical or horizontal. On the other grid, he tracks his opponent’s words. Players take turns calling out a coordinate, for example D-5. His opponent checks his grid and announces whether D-5 was a hit or miss. The first player should mark that square on his blank grid – red for a hit and blue or black for a miss. Play continues until one person finds every letter of all the words on his opponent’s grid. (For more detail on how to play as well as a printable grid, see Salvo - the complete rules.)
10. 10

    Sparkle

    This game tests spelling as well as listening skills. Have your students arrange themselves in a circle. Announce a word from the current vocabulary unit. The person to your left says the first letter of the word. The second person says the second letter. The third person the third and so on until the word is completed. The next person says ‘sparkle’. Then you call out a new word. If at any time a person says the wrong letter, he is out and returns to his seat. If a student does not say sparkle when the word is completely spelled or if he says it too soon, he is out. Play continues until only one person remains in the circle.

How to Host Your Own English Language Olympics

As the year comes to a close, celebrate everything that your students have learned with this fun review of the year’s English lessons. Here’s how to host your own English Language Olympic Games.

Host Your Own Olympics in Your Classroom

1. 1

   Assign Teams

   You don’t have to put your students in teams to play these language games, but giving ESL students a partner does tend to decrease their stress and make fun activities like these even more fun. So think about creating teams of two to four amongst your students. Mix skill levels as well as the cultures of your students.
2. 2

   Create Country Flags

   Have students create fictional countries that they will be representing. In their teams, have students choose a name for their country andcreate a country flag.
3. 3
4. Host the Events
   The events are probably the most fun part of your English language Olympic Games. You have lots of flexibility to design events based on your students’ skills and what you are studying in class. Here are some ideas to get you started. Remember for each event, you will want to award points to the top three teams – five points for first place (gold), three points for second place (silver), and one point for third palce (bronze). It’s up to you whether you have one person from each team compete in each event, requiring your students to strategize who will participate in each event, or have everyone from each team compete in each event, which will give you a read on every student’s skills. At the end of each event, take a few minutes to hold a metal award ceremony. Have the top three scoring teams come to the front of the room and award them prizes for the round. If you like, choose three awards – gold, silver, and bronze – to use for every award ceremony. Let each team who won an award keep it in their possession until the next award ceremony at which time they return it to you and you pass it on to the top three teams for the next event.

Consider Vocabulary Diving

Use this event as a review of all your vocabulary words for the year. Write each word on a small slip of paper, and put it in a bucket. This will be your pool. Then, have one person from each team take turns “diving” their hand into the bucket and choosing a word. They will then have sixty seconds to write a sentence on the board, which clearly shows the meaning of the word they chose in their dive. If the sentence shows the meaning of the word, score five points. If it is also perfect grammatically, score another five points. Play as many rounds as you like and then award medals to the teams according to their scores in the event.

Check Equestrian Spelling Jump

While Olympic riders race to complete a jumping course in the quickest time, your students will race all at once to reach the end goal while spelling words. In essence, this is a spelling bee, but in Olympic style. To prepare, scatter several papers around your classroom floor or another open playing area. Tell students these papers are like rocks in a stream, and they will have to step from one to another to get to the goal. No two people can occupy the same spot at the same time. Students will have to choose what they think is the shortest route from their starting position to the goal. Have teams draw for the order in which they will play. On each team’s first turn, they begin at a designated starting spot. Give the player a word to spell. If that person spells the word correctly, he or she may jump to a square of their choosing. Then the next player goes. If a person spells a word incorrectly, they must return to the starting point. If they miss the square on their jump (both feet have to land entirely inside the paper) they must return to the starting point. Students will have to decide if they want to spell more words and take more careful steps or if they want to take bigger jumps in hopes of getting to the finish faster. The first person to reach the end wins gold, the second silver, and the third bronze.

Fill in the Blank Archery

Firing arrows in your classroom probably isn’t a good idea, but you can easily set up a dartboard for this simple game. First, choose the skill you want to test. - it might be a particular grammar point or comprehension questions on something your class has read. Then set up your dartboard with a line down the middle. Label one side A and the other side B. When students compete in the event, ask each person a question on the target structure and give him or her a choice of answers between A and B. The student must choose what answer they think is correct and then throw the dart at that side of the board. Award one point to the team if the dart lands on the correct answer. If the dart misses the board completely, subtract one point from their score. At the end of the game, the top three scoring teams are awarded metals.

Apply Vocabulary Wrestling

How many synonyms do your students know for common words? How many items can your students name from a given category? Find the answers in this simple vocabulary faceoff. Students from two teams come to the front of the room and face each other. You announce a category, such as sports. The players must then take turns giving an item from each category until one person cannot think of another one. The last person able to give an item for the category scores a point. Play enough rounds so each team has the same number of turns and award the top three scoring teams at the end of the event.

You can create other games of your choosing, or do an encore of in-class exercises after giving them an Olympic sounding name. Add up points for all the medals your students won, and award the final prizes in the closing ceremony.

Do you do any fun end of the year reviews with your students?

What are your favorites?

Speak Up: 6 Fabulous Games to Get your Students Speaking

Many ESL teachers find that their students are timid speakers or reluctant to participate in class discussions.

It’s only natural. After all, they are trying to talk in a language they are still working on learning. Still, silence can be deadly in the ESL classroom for your students and you. When you want to get your students to speak up, try one of these fun and simple games to get them talking in class.

Try These 6 Involving Activities for Students to Speak Up

1. 1

   This is How We Roll

   You can use this simple game as a get to know you at the start of school or later as a get to know you better activity. All you need is one standard die and six questions – either ice breakers or ones that elicit opinions, experience or other personal thoughts. Be creative and choose the ones you’d like to hear your students answer. Give students a list of the questions, and make sure they are numbered on the paper. Then, have students take turns rolling the die. Whatever number they roll, that is the question they must answer. You could do this activity as a class, in smaller groups or as a public speaking activity. For the latter, have students prepare answers to each question as homework and then have them share in front of the class after they roll.
2. 2

   Human Experience Bingo

   Your students are probably already familiar with the rules of Bingo. Simply get five numbers in a line on a chart. You can use this as a basis for another get to know you game. Work with your class to compile a list experiences that a person might have had. For example, gone scuba diving, made a birthday cake and eaten sushi would all be good expereinces. Work together on the list until you have about 30-40 different experiences. (You can also compile the list on your own if you prefer.) Then, give students a blank bingo board (a 5x5 chart) and have them write one experience in each of the boxes. On your word, students mingle and talk to each other to find someone with each experience they have chosen. If a student finds someone who, for example, has gone scuba diving, that student signs the square where your student wrote it on his Bingo board. The first person to get five in a row yells, “Bingo!” Another variation is to arrange students speed dating style: two rows of chairs facing each other. Each pair then gets two minutes to talk with each other. When time is up, the students in one row shift one chair to the right. The game is over once someone has gotten five spaces in a row on their bingo board.
3. 3

   Character Trait Roulette

   This game works best for students who already know each other fairly well. Work as a group to come up with a list of several character traits a person might have. (Try to stick to positive traits.) You might include adventurous, sympathetic and generous. Then write these traits on small slips of paper and put them in a bag. Each person takes a turn drawing one character trait from the bag in front of the class. The student must then announce who in class (and you are fair game, too) possesses that character trait. Of course, a name isn’t enough. The person must tell a story or give an example of why he made his particular choice.
4. 4

   Story Starter Hot Potato

   Put the list of story starters in your writing drawer to double duty with this silly and fast paced game. Students play in small groups of around five members. Students should arrange their seats in a circle. Give your class a story starter at the beginning of the round. Starting with the person whose birthday is closest to today and them moving around the circle, each person gives his group one sentence of the story. After one person is done, the person sitting to his left adds a line where the first person left off. Students continue around the circle, adding one sentence at a time, until the music stops or until you give another signal. Whoever is in the middle of his sentence or is struggling to think of a sentence when the music stops is out. He must leave the circle. Then students play a second round either continuing the story or with a new story starter. When you stop the music, whoever’s turn it is is eliminated. Play continues until the final round when the person not speaking when the music stops is the winner.
5. 5

   Find Your Partner

   Prepare a small slip of paper for each student in your class. Each paper should have one word on it that goes with a word on another slip of paper. For example, matching pairs might be fork and spoon, day and night, bat and ball, or table and chairs. Fold the papers and put them into a hat. Each person then draws one slip of paper. On your word, students must circulate and talk to one another trying to find their partner. Once two people think they are a match, they come to you to see if they are right. If they are, they sit down. Play until everyone has found their partner. Then have those partners work together to create a new pair of words that go together. Repeat the game with these student given examples.
6. 6

   Hide and Speak

   To prepare for this energetic and fast paced game, write several questions each on one index card or post-it note. These questions can be get to know you questions, comprehension questions or questions using current vocabulary words. Before your students arrive, hide these cards throughout your classroom. At the start of class, break your students into two teams. Explain that you have hidden cards throughout the room. On your word, students will search the room for the cards you have hidden. They can only pick up one card at a time. When a student finds a card, he must bring it to you and answer the question on the card. If he answers it correctly, he earns the card for his team. If he does not answer it correctly, he must get someone else from his team to help him find the answer. Once students have correctly answered the question on their card, they can search for another card. At the end of the game (after a certain amount of time or when all the cards have been found) the team with the most cards in their possession wins.

Speaking doesn’t have to be forced or boring when it comes to ESL class. These games are just a few of the fun ways to get your students speaking up and having a good time while they practice their English.

What games do you use to get your students talking?