Here’s a word guessing game that you can set up in your class in no time. It’s great for those moments when you’ve got just a little time to fill with a game that’s not too intense, but is still good for some review.
Who can play
This game is great even for very young students with limited vocabulary and all the way to adults. At least two players are necessary, but it also suits small groups well.
Materials
You need a decently large pile of small coin-shaped beads or something comparable. They should be just small and round enough so that they can slide over each other easily, but not so round that they’re likely to roll onto the floor. Ideally use something made from a material that is easy to wash and disinfect, because there are going to be a lot of little hands all over them. Go1 pieces are excellent and probably already available if you’re teaching in a cram school.
How to play
Dump the pile of beads onto a table where everyone can see. If the color of the beads are too similar to the color of the table you can place a differently-colored piece of paper under the beads. Pick one student to be the smoosher. Discreetly tell this student a word, like umbrella or fish or something relevant to what they’ve been learning recently. The student then needs to form the pile of beads into a shape that looks like that word, but can’t say anything or in any way give any clues. The students watching can raise their hands and guess what the secret word is. The student who guessed correctly gets to be the next smoosher.
Variations
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You can give the smoosher a short time limit to complete their little work of art. Good luck making a crab in 30 seconds!
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If you’ve got a whole lot of pieces you can have students play at the same time. Give each one a different word and see who’s word gets correctly guessed first.