Classroom Games to Boost Teaching: Benefits & Examples

If you’re looking for some fun classroom games to play, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for more than 25 of the best games to play in class!

Fun games to play at school

Fun Classroom Games

Let’s get into the best games to play in the classroom.

#1: Two Truths and a Lie Classroom Game

This is one of my favourite icebreaker games. Students have to come up with 3 statements about themselves, one of which is a lie. To level up, I like to have the other students in the class grill that person for a couple of minutes to try to uncover the lie. There are lots of fun variations for this classroom game. Check them out:

2 Truths and a Lie Game.

#2: The Highest Tower

Give students some practice with their engineering skills! Put them into teams and give them a variety of materials (straws, sticks, paper, tape, etc.) to construct the tallest tower within a certain amount of time. The tower has to stay standing for at least 1 minute when the time is up in order to qualify.

#3: Charades

In this activity, students can get some practice with using new words that they may have learned, plus gain some confidence with presentations and being in front of people. Have a look here for more details:

#4: Steal the Eraser

This is one of my favourite games to play in class. It’s fun, creates a lot of excitement and can be used to review just about anything that has a concrete answer. Learn more about it here:

Steal the Eraser Game.

#5: Guess the Word Game to Play in Class

This is a nice review game for a science class. Write down a bunch of words on pieces of paper. Then, put students into groups of four. One person has to grab a piece of paper and describe it to the rest of the group. The first person to guess that word keeps that slip of paper and gets a point. They can do the next word. Continue until all the papers are gone.

#6: Egg Drop Contest

I love to play this classroom game for students. I put students into pairs and give them an egg. They have to design a container in which to hold the egg when we drop it from the roof of the school. It’s a serious science challenge and something that students find very memorable.

#7: The Memory Circle Game

This is a fun activity for learning names, reviewing certain grammatical constructions (irregular verbs in the simple past, for example) and a variety of other things. It’s a challenging memory game that students really enjoy. Learn more about it:

#8: Board Games

I love to play board games in real life, which is why I like to use them in the classroom as well. You can let students play some classic board games that you might have on hand, or you can make your own and use them to review just about anything. Learn more here:

Board Games.

#9: Bingo

Out of all the games to play in a classroom, this is the one that students seem to love! I get students to make up Bingo cards with a variety of words or numbers. Instead of just saying the number or word, I give hints. For example:

7 x 3 = (21).

It’s something that plants do (photosynthesis).
I ______ dinner last night (ate).

#10: Vocabulary Auction

This is a fun game to play at school that helps students with sentence structure. It does certainly take some time to prep the activity but it’s totally worth it if you can reuse the activity for a couple of different classes (or save it for the next year). Learn about it:

ESL Vocabulary Auction Activity.

#11: Online Quizzes

Try out an online quiz with your students. They’re fun, motivating and a nice game to play in class. Have a look here at this general knowledge one:

#12: Paper Airplane Contest

Whenever I talk about basic aerodynamics and principles of flight with my students, I love to have a paper airplane flying contest. Students can design their own plane, using a variety of things like paper clips, various kinds and sizes of paper, staples, straws, etc. Then, we go to the gym and try them out!

#13: Jeopardy

This is a classic game to play at school that is ideal for review. You can find online jeopardy game makers online (search on Google). Then, fill up the board with your questions and you’ll have a fun game to play in class in almost no time at all.

#14: Ball Toss Game

This is a fun game for the classroom that gets students talking and interacting with each other. It’s ideal for an icebreaker or use it to review just about anything. Check it out:

ESL Ball Toss Activity.

#15: Odd One Out

Try out this simple game, Odd One Out to help students develop their critical thinking skills. Out of a group of four words, students have to choose one that they think doesn’t fit well and explain why. Check it out:

#16: Pictionary

This is a classic game for students in the classroom. It’s ideal for reviewing new vocabulary or just having some fun in a party class. Students have to draw a picture of a phrase or word and then their teammates have to guess what it is.

#17: What Can I Do With a _____?

This is a fun game that encourages creative thinking. Bring in a common object (a potato, for example). In teams, students have to think of some interesting uses for that object, besides the most popular one (eating the potato).

#18: Error Correction Relay Race

I love this game to play at school because it takes something old (error correction) and turns it into something new and fun. It’s ideal for teaching punctuation, spelling, grammar, and just about anything related to English writing. Have a look:

#19: Have a Debate

While this isn’t exactly a game to play in class, it certainly does have an element of competition to it which makes it a great activity. There are lots of things to get your students talking about, from silly to controversial, to very serious things that can impact the world. Have a look here at some ideas:

Debate Topics.

#20: The A-Z Category Classroom Game

This is a nice game for teaching students to categorize things. Give students a theme (sports, animals, emotions/feelings) and students have to work in small groups to try to come up with one for each letter of the alphabet. Of course, it’s not usually possible (very few words start with X, for example). However, I set a time limit and then team with the most words in the allotted time is the winner.

#21: Typhoon Review Classroom Game

This is one of my favourite review games for the classroom. It creates a lot of fun and excitement in the classroom and I’m sure that your students will love it. Have a look:

#22: Four Corners

This is a simple game that lets students give their opinions about controversial topics and also works off some energy. Mark each corner as strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree.

Make a statement (school uniforms are beneficial). Students have to stand in the corner that represents their opinion. Elicit some reasons from some students in the vari0us corners.

#23: What’s the Definition

This is a class party game that can be used in a classroom as well. Say a word and students have to write down what they think the definition is. Include the real one in there as well. Say a few of the definitions out loud and students have to guess which one they think is the true one.

#24: 20 Questions

I’m sure you’ve played 20 questions before! It’s a nice addition to the classroom as well. Have a look here:

#25: I’m Going On a Picnic

This is a fun game to play at school. Tell students that you’re going on a picnic and going to bring _____. Then, students can say what they’re going to bring and if it follows the patterns, they can come too. Some examples:

water (all words start with W)
icecream (compound words)
book (double letters)

More Classroom Games

41 Reviews

101 ESL Activities: For Teachers of Kids (6-13) Who Want to Have Fun, Engaging and Interactive...

Amazon Kindle Edition
Smith, Jennifer Booker (Author)
English (Publication Language)

134 Pages - 03/31/2016 (Publication Date)

For even more ideas for the classroom, check out this book: 1o1 ESL Activities for Kids. The key to better classes is a wide variety of games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

Pick up a copy of the book today and get ready for better English classes tomorrow:

Benefits of Using Classroom Games

There are lots of benefits to games for students in the classroom. Here are some of the most important ones.

Encourages Creative Thinking

I love that most games encourage students to think a little bit outside of the box to come up with creative solutions to problems. This can serve students well in later life.

Builds Teamwork

Most games require students to work in teams! This amps up the fun but it also teaches students how to work with a variety of people.

Allows for a Variety of Learning Styles

Some people learn best through books, others through watching or listening to something. Finally, some people learn best by doing and that’s where games come in.

Creates a Fun Environment

The best classes are those that have fun together. This builds rapport among students and also between the students and the teacher. It makes the tough things (digging into serious math problems) easier to deal with.

Games are Ideal for Review

It’s rare for someone to hear or do something once and then be good at it. That’s where review games come in. Give students a chance to do things multiple times in the classroom.

Fun classroom games and activities

FAQs for Classroom Games

Here are the answers to some of the most popular questions that people have about games to play at school.

What are classroom games?

Classroom games are what teachers use to supplement academic learning. They can sometimes be just for fun in order to build rapport and teamwork, but ideally, games are used to review key concepts.

Is Playing a game in class effective?

A question that people often have are whether or not games in the classroom are effective. My answer is that it strongly depends on the game chosen, and whether or not it has educational value.