Steal the Eraser, a Fun ESL Review & Vocabulary Game for All Ages

If you’re looking for a fun TEFL review game, then consider Steal the Eraser. It’s ideal for students of all ages but is best suited for beginners. Try it out and I’m sure your students will love it as much as mine do!

Steal the Eraser ESL Review Game

Skills: Listening/Speaking
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: 2 chairs, a table or desk, eraser

This game is a fun way to review grammar and vocabulary and makes an excellent activity for the class before a test. It can also be used as a class spelling game, if you require that students spell the word instead of just saying it.

Divide the students into two teams. Have two desks at the front of the class, facing each other with an eraser in the middle of the two desks.

One student from each team comes and sits in the hot seat. Rotate through the class so that all the students get a chance to play at least once.

Prepare Questions Beforehand

Ask a question of some sort, which you should prepare beforehand (one round = one question/2 students. Two rounds = one question/student. Include a few extras for a “bonus” round). The first person who grabs the eraser can try to answer the question.

One Important Rule

A helpful rule is that a student can take the eraser at any time, but the teacher stops talking as soon as someone touches the eraser. The student then has ten seconds to answer as you count down on your fingers. If the student is correct, he/she gets one point. If the student is incorrect, the other player gets a chance to answer the question after you repeat the full question one more time.

How to Make it Interesting!

To make it even more exciting (or if one team is behind by a lot of points), you can have a “Bonus Round” where the teams pick their best three players and each question is worth three points.

Steal the Eraser Teaching Tips

Emphasize that the first student to touch the eraser must take it in order to prevent any chaos. I also require students to keep their fingers on the edge of their desks when I begin the question.

It’s really important to stop talking the instant one student touches the eraser. If not, students will just grab the eraser and wait for you to finish the question, which is really unfair. It’s best to use questions that have very well-defined answers so you don’t have to make any judgement calls because half the class will be unhappy with you no matter what decision you make.

Procedure for Steal the Eraser

1. Prepare two desks facing each at the front of the class, with an eraser in the middle.
2. Divide students into two teams.
3. Each team sends one person to the front and they sit at the desks. I don’t let students choose the person for each round but instead make them go in the order that they are sitting.
4. Begin asking a question (prepare the list beforehand), but stop speaking once the eraser is touched. Alternatively, you can have each team appoint a captain who takes turns reading the prepared list of questions in order to increase student talking time.
5. The first player to touch the eraser must answer the question within ten seconds. Count down the time on your fingers.
6. If correct, he/she gets one point and the next two people come up to the front for another question. If incorrect, read the question (in full) one more time and the opposing player gets a chance to answer the question within ten seconds.
7. After that, if correct, he/she gets one point. If incorrect, both players sit down and the next pair comes up. You can share the correct answer with the class before saying a new question.
8. Continue until all students have had a chance to play at least once.

Did you like Steal the Eraser?

Yes? Then you’re going to love this book on Amazon: 39 ESL Review Games and Activities. The key to better English classes is a wide variety of student-centred, engaging and interactive games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Consider keeping a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide when planning your lessons. Or, take the digital version with you to your favourite shop for some lesson planning on the go.

Whatever the case, get ready to level up your ESL teaching. Find out more about it here:

Have your say about this Fun ESL Game

Did you try out this game with your students? How did it go? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2022-06-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API