Lego
Spread Lego on the floor and call a color for the students to pick up. Continue until all the colors have been called. Allow the students to play with the blocks for a few minutes before packing up. While the students are playing, talk to them about what they're making and the colors they're using.
Letter To Word Match
Give each student an alphabet flashcard, and spread alphabet picture cards randomly around the room. Play and sing the 'ABC Song'. When finished, have the students match their alphabet card to an alphabet picture card and say the letter and vocabulary. Change cards and repeat.
Listen and Order
Put the students into pairs and give them number cards (1-10). Call out numbers (out of order) and have the students put their cards in that order. When finished, have the students chant the numbers in the order you gave them.
Magic Finger
Print a letter of the alphabet on the board. Instruct the students to stand and face the board. Raise your 'magic finger' and trace the letter in the air. Be silly and use other parts of your body to trace the letter, e.g. elbow, foot, nose, tongue.
Make A Sentence
Put the students into teams and lay out a selection of flashcards or items. One student from each team chooses a vocabulary item and uses it correctly in a sentence. Give each student ten seconds on the timer. Reduce the time in the second and third round. As the item is named, the teacher puts it away and gives the team a point. Write the points on the whiteboard.
Map Game
Use a world map and elicit "Where are you from?", "Where do you live?", "Where do people speak Spanish?", "Where's China?", and any other questions you can think of. Also show and tell the students about where you are from.
Memory Buzz
Have the students sit in a circle and start building a sentence. Student 1 says "In the classroom, I see a clock", student 2 says "In the classroom, I see a clock and a map", student 3 says "In the classroom I see a clock, a map and a chair" etc. For a variation, see 'Question Chain'.
Memory Master
Have the students sit in a circle. Designate one student to be the Memory Master. Arrange the flashcards face up in the center. Each student chooses a flashcard and says the word. They cannot touch the flashcards. After everyone has chosen, the Memory Master must hand the correct flash cards to each student.
Memory Tray
Bring in a tray of various review or new objects. Elicit the names of the objects and give the students a minute to memorize what's on the tray. Take the tray away and see how many objects can be remembered. Older students should write a list of objects. The student who remembers the most objects gets a point. Can be done with flashcards.
Musical Chairs
Line up the chairs and place a flashcard on each one. Play some music and have the students walk, skip, jump around the chairs. When the music stops, the students should sit down on a chair and shout out their flash cards. For more excitement remove a chair while the music is playing and make the chair-less student sit out until the next round.
