Say one word game

A word association game is a game in which a word is given to a student and then that student must say an associated word or phrase. Word association games are a fantastic way to help students practice using their existing vocabulary and to learn new English words.

While playing word association games, students are likely to encounter words that they have not heard before. These words are associated with the vocabulary they already know, and so it is very easy for students to guess the meanings of these new words. This makes word association games fantastic for learning new words.

Let’s look at some different ways in which you can play word association games with your students.

Simple Word Association

The simplest way to play word association games in class is to simply give one student a word and ask that student to say the first thing that comes to mind. For example, if you say the word “drink” a student might say the word “juice”. Then, the next student should say the first word which comes to their mind, for example, “orange”.

If you’re playing this game with kids, then to make it even more fun you could get them to pass a ball as they play. When a student has the ball it is their turn, and once they have said their word they should pass the ball to the next player.

However, if you are playing word association games while social distancing in the classroom, then it is probably best not to pass a ball around. Instead, you could ask your students to stand up from their desks when it is their turn.

Word Association Topics

Another fun way to play word association games in class is to choose a particular topic and ask students to say words associated with that topic. Usually, when playing word association games, students would start at one word, and after a few turns, the words might become completely unrelated to the original topic.

But when playing a word association game with a particular topic, all words must be related to the main topic. For example, if you choose the topic ‘food’ then every word must be a kind of food. If a student says ‘milk’ for example, then that student would be out as it is a drink and not a food.

Here are some topics you could use for your next word association game:

• Types Of Food
• Types Of Drinks
• Countries
• Hobbies
• Sports
• Superheroes
• Colors
• Furniture in a house
• School Subjects
• Types Of Weather

Guess The Secret Word

A really fun way to get your students thinking while playing a word association game is to have them try and guess a secret word. Rather than have students say any associated word that comes to mind, instead think of a secret word and tell them some words associated with that.

Then students should try to guess what the secret word is. To make it more fun you could even ask students to guess other words which might be associated to the secret word.

For example, if the secret word was ‘yellow’ you could say the word “banana” to your students. Then they might guess something like “apple” and you can tell them it is not related. But when they say something like “lemon” you can tell them that it is associated with it.

After some time students will be able to guess the secret word. This way of playing a word association game is a fantastic way to get students to practice their thinking skills while learning new vocabulary.

Ryhming Words

This way of playing word association games can lead to some hilarious answers. Simply give students a word and ask them to come up with a word which rhymes. In this game, the words don’t necessarily have to be related. They just need to rhyme.

For example, you might say the word “cold” and students might say “old”, “mold”, “bold”, “told”, etc. The first student who can’t come up with a rhyming word is out.

Chain Game

This last word association style game is one you have probably played at some point in your life. In this game a student would say one word and then the next student must say a word which starts with the last letter of the previous word.

For example, if the word was ‘pizza’ then the next student must say a word beginning with ‘a’. Then, the next student might say “apple” and so the next student must say a word beginning with ‘e’. And so, on. The first student who cannot say a word is out.

Thanks for reading. I hope you found some inspiration for your next word association game.

Before you go, don’t forget to check out our free lesson materials, including ESL Games, PowerPoint Games, ESL Worksheets, ESL PowerPoints, and ESL Printables.

This telephone game is also known as ‘Broken Telephone,’ ‘Chinese Whispers,’ or ‘Pass The Message.’

Regardless of what you call it, it’s a fun game that you can play anywhere, anytime, and with any number of people.

It’s a simple party game, as you don’t need anything to play except a few good telephone game phrases to get you started.

The telephone game is a fun icebreaker activity, great to play at parties, and even a fun camping activity.

🤓 You might also like to check out these great word games for kids.

How to Play the Telephone Game

Step 1

Teens should stand in a straight line or form a circle. They should stand close enough to whisper in each other’s ear, but be mindful that other participants should not be able to hear them.

Step 2

Choose an appropriate word or phrase depending on the age of the group of people playing the game.

The first person must whisper the word, phrase, or sentence to the next person in line. They must try to say it as clearly as possible and may not repeat it.

The following person must then whisper what they heard to the next person in line.

Step 3

Each person will whisper what they heard to the person standing next to them until the message is delivered to the last player in line.

Step 4

The last person then says the message out loud for everyone to hear.

In most cases, the final message is very different from the original message.

The first player then reveals what the original message was.

The participants will find it hilarious to hear how the original phrase or word has been distorted.

🤓 If you have a small group, then you might like to choose some games to play with 3 people. 

Telephone Game Rules

1. Participants should whisper the word, phrase, or sentence only once and may not repeat it. Even if the next person could not hear or understand what was correctly whispered, make sure they continue playing because that is the point of the game.
2. Even though you should whisper the words, you should speak slowly and clearly so that the person can hear you.
3. Uncommon phrases or hard-to-pronounce words make the game more fun. The word or phrase should never be too familiar; you want to make sure it changes as it is whispered.
4. Words that rhyme and alliteration are great to use as well.
5. The original message should only be shared with the first player at the beginning and kept secret until the end of the game.
6. The facilitator of the game may wish to have the original phrase or word written down.

Where Can You Play Broken Telephone Game?

• at parties
• at a sleepover
• in the classroom
• at church youth group settings
• at a summer camp
• at home on family game night
• in a restaurant
• with friends
• at the office party
• at a team building
• in a language class
• waiting in lines
• on a road trip

🤓 You might enjoy reading: Road Trip Games To Play In The Car (with kids & family)

How Do You Choose a Good Phrase?

To make this popular game fun, it is essential to have some good broken-telephone game phrases.

It will be best to have a few phrases ready before the game starts.

If you want to make it even more entertaining, you should pick words and phrases that are challenging and easy to misunderstand when whispered.

Make the phrase silly enough for teens to have funny facial expressions as they pass the message along.

Alliteration, tongue twisters, rhymes, funny statements, or nonsense phrases are the best terms for children to use in telephone games.

However, when playing with tweens or younger children, make the phrases appropriate for their age. Don’t make them too long or complex for the kids to pronounce or remember.

Watch Jimmy Kimmel playing broken telephone with the Avengers:



Telephone Game Phrases & Sentences

It is best to start with easier words, phrases, or sentences before moving on to more challenging ones.

Here are a few telephone game starter ideas.

Easy Telephone Game Phrases

When playing telephone games with tweens and younger kids, it is best to use easy phrases to get them started.

Below are a few examples:

1.  Holy Night.
2. Topsy turvy.
3. Gobbledygook.
4. Baby shark.
5. Crazy fox.
6. Grumpy Grandpa.
7. Fairy godmother.
8. Dainty dishes.
9. Hugs and kisses.
10. Sparkling water.
11. Black crow.
12. Mickey Mouse.
13. Olive juice.
14. Hogwash.
15. League of legends.
16. Flabbergasted.
17. Bluebird blinks.
18. Salty and spicy.
19. Shark tank.
20. Greek grapes.
21. Eat Egg.
22. Taco Bell.
23. Snowflake Sunday.
24. Netflix and chill.
25. Just do it.
26. Angry birds.
27. Sugar and spice.
28. Jingle Bells.
29. Guinea pig.
30. Grain of salt.

Short Telephone Game Phrases

This is a list of short, simple, easy-to-guess whisper challenges for the beginning of the game.

After a while, you can shift to the funnier and more challenging phrases, which can be harder to guess.

1.  Jack and Jill.
2. Foggy London awaits.
3. It takes two to tango.
4. Stop screaming.
5. Speak louder.
6. She sells seashells.
7. Once in a blue moon.
8. Oh, never mind.
9. You are an angel.
10. I like you.
11. School is lame.
12. I like eggs.
13. It’s raining. It’s pouring.
14. Pickles on Buns.
15. I speak French.
16. Nice to meet you.
17. Let’s get fast food.
18. What do you do.
19. Sing a song.
20. Macaroni and cheese.
21. I got two pickles.
22. Cars for cash.
23. Pikachu, I choose you.
24. I’m growing old.
25. I don’t know.
26. Pretty pink Petunias.

Funny Telephone Game Phrases

Whether the final message passed along is correct or not, these hilarious whisper challenge phrases will make your teens laugh out loud.

These nonsensical phrases are some of the funniest game sentences we found.

1. Would you like to sign my petition to have “badminton” changed to “goodminton”?
2. Don’t worry, be silly.
3. Chocolates make my teeth hurt.
4. Swimming in spaghetti is fun.
5. These shoes don’t fit my hands.
6. The secret password is cock-a-doodle-doo-diddle-doodad.
7. Catch your fridge. It’s running away.
8. Is my breath awful right now, or is it just me?
9. I have an itch that I can’t scratch.
10. Oh no, I dropped all my gizmos!
11. I’m sending a silly message.
12. Would you rather put toffee in your coffee or brie in your tea?
13. Don’t move! There’s a massive spider behind you!
14. If you kiss me, I’ll turn into a frog.
15. I have no idea what I’m doing.
16. Ghostly gum tastes gooey.
17. A camel cannot see its own hump.
18. Restless roosters sit on yoga mats.
19. Do you believe in love at first sight, or should I walk by again?
20. I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell!
21. Minions must wear very large contacts.
22. Don’t worry, I know how to speak llama.
23. Do you know the muffin man?
24. My underpants are funderpants.

Watch how quickly the game can go horribly and hilariously wrong:

Hard Telephone Game Phrases

This is one of the few games that becomes more enjoyable and exciting when the phrases seem impossible to understand.

Complex lines are much more difficult to remember and can be easily distorted.

Here are some more challenging alliterations phrases for you to try.

1. The angry birds ate candy and crushed the subway surfer.
2. Jokers, jesters, and jugglers jingled, jumped, and jigged for the King of Jordan.
3. Rabbits rumble, giants grumble, dogs bark in the dark and the cat sat in the hat.
4. Did you order dark drool or Jamba juice for lunch?
5. We need moldy mothballs to keep the moody mummies quiet.
6. I have four fine fresh fish for you.
7. A dog named Moose ran loose through the spruce forest chasing a goose.
8. Your pet guinea pig ate my pink balloon on a rainy afternoon!
9. Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows!
10. Musical mice made the muffin mix while humming a melancholy melody.
11. The entrance is guarded by a fire-breathing, near-sighted dragon with a fear of heights.
12. Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
13. Brave soldiers in a blue coat on a blue boat shouted bing bong.
14. A pink pig and a pesky donkey flew a kite at night.
15. Ice cream, candy floss, and colored candies.
16. Black mice chased Micky Mouse into loose piles of leaves.
17. Two-colored cans of sweet sugar.
18. White flowers smell wonderful.
19. Purple plum people pulled potatoes.
20. Fit flamingoes ate fat flying flies.

Dirty Telephone Game Phrases

Although these phrases sound a bit awkward, they are difficult to guess.

1. I’m sorry I haven’t changed my socks in days.
2. I farted, and it smells like a cheesy burger.
3. Can you tell me where babies come from?
4. He left me high and dirty.
5. Eat your heart out.
6. Can I nibble on your earlobe?
7. Ride him, cowboy!
8. I want to lick your toes.
9. Coming in like gangbusters.
10. I can’t feel my lips. Can I feel yours?
11. Knock your socks off.
12. Walk softly but carry a big stick.
13. Stick it to the big man.
14. Can you rub this oil in my back?
15. What do you want me to do to you?

Cool Telephone Game Phrases

There is nothing more fun and interesting than games with cool and funny ideas.

You can use some of these cool and funny phrases while you play the broken telephone game.

1. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I know I’m doing it well.
2. When I grow up, I want to be a pokemon trainer.
3. I only Riverdance when I’m happy.
4. The best chips are chocolate ones.
5. Minions would look weird wearing contacts.
6. Kaleidoscopes, Calliopes, and Christopher Columbus.
7. Koala bears are cute, and pandas are cuddly little bears.
8. The only thing better than a tall, dark, and handsome man is one carrying a pizza box.
9. Dumbo’s real name is Jumbo Junior.
10. A Taco Bell chicken quesadilla with extra creamy jalapeno sauce.
11. Wednesday is hump day but is the camel happy about it.
12. Lightning McQueen likes loaded lunches.
13. Education is important, but big muscles are importanter.
14. Can you catfish a cactus for practice?
15. Bob The Builder couldn’t fix Noddy’s car with a toy robot.

Best Telephone Game Phrases

In a telephone game, the best phrases are those that are difficult, hilarious, and bizarre.

The weirder a phrase sounds, the funnier the responses at the end of the round.

The following are some of the challenging yet interesting phrases you can use in your next game:

1. Forsooth! What ho! Hey, nonny nonny! Prithee! Yowzers!
2. The sound of a raspberry is pppphhbbbbhhtttt.
3. I like to read in the shower.
4. Get high, climb a tree.
5. Don’t move! There’s a gigantic spider behind you!
6. The Eagle has landed.
7. When I was six, I had a pet guinea pig that I named “Sir Piggysworth.”
8. Chinese food is made with sugar and spice, and lots of rice.
9. I was voted most likely to become a cat lady in high school.
10. Nobody’s favorite food is cabbage.
11. I’m growing parsnips, rhubarb, zebras, and hairbrushes in my garden.
12. Candy crunching coconut lovers eat tons of toadstools.
13. Too blue to make it through to you too.
14. I had to fight thorny kumquats with thorny stems all my life.
15. Who put a raw fish in my suitcase?

Extra Tip: To make the game more challenging or exciting have players whisper the phrase in a different language or add sound effects to the message.

One Word Telephone Game Phrases

You might think that playing the game only saying one word will be easy. However, I’ve found some pretty tricky words to pronounce.

When playing one-word telephone games, one thing to consider is that words should be relatively long and open to misinterpretation.

Here are some one-word broken telephone game phrases that are hard to say:

1. Extraterrestrial
2. Proposition
3. Courageous
4. Sequacious
5. Triumphant
6. Enthusiastically
7. Dissimulation
8. Eloquent
9. Subterranean
10. Manipulation
11. Edinburgh
12. Abibliophobia
13. Obsolete
14. Murmured
15. Pauciloquent
16. Regulator
17. Typical
18. Qantas
19. Hypochondriac
20. Mitochondria
21. Yarborough
22. Autobiography
23. Anticipation
24. Momentarily
25. Marrakech
26. Bloviate
27. Capitalization
28. Incredible
29. Flibbertigibbet
30. Impignorate
31. Comeuppance
32. Erinaceous
33. Absquatulate
34. Whitsuntide
35. Snickersnee
36. Quire
37. Loanword
38. Anglicized
39. Taradiddle
40.  Encyclopedia
41.  Bumbershoot
42. Saqqara
43. Gardyloo
44. Bibble
45. Hogwash
46. Nasdaq
47. Pentecost

Telephone Game Variations

It can be boring to play the same old game repeatedly. While it is fun to play broken telephone, some players might want to try something different.

If you want to add a fun twist to the game, try one of the following variations!

Rumors

There is a variation of the telephone game called Rumors, in which players intentionally alter one or two words.

Watch how the words become twisted as they spread, just as a rumor does!

Team Telephone Game

The Telephone Game is great for large groups, especially with many players. It works well as a team-building activity.

You can either give both teams the same word or phrase, or you can let them choose one themselves.

Whoever ends the sentence closest to the original will win.

Read My Lips Whisper Challenge

In this version of the telephone game, players must wear noise-canceling headphones so that they cannot hear what the other players are saying.

The first person gets a word or phrase and says it out loud to the next player.

Each person repeats out loud what they think they said until it’s revealed in the end.

Watch BTS play the Whisper Challenge Game in this video below:



Charades Telephone Game

Here’s a wacky version of the game that combines charades with a telephone game. In this variation, the person must act the word or phrase with body language and facial expressions instead of whispering the word.

Watch how to play Charades Telephone Game in the video below:



Drawing Telephone Game

With this variation, the first player selects a word and begins the illustration of that word by drawing a single line.

The next player is quietly informed of the word and must continue drawing with just one line.

At the end of the round, the word is not revealed to the last player, and they must guess it from the drawing!

A board game version of this Telestrations.

Every player gets a sketchbook and has to sketch a word from their card. The sketchbook is then passed to the player next to them and they have to guess and write down what they think the drawing is. This process of drawing and guessing continues until you get your original sketchbook back. Then you go through each sketchbook together and see where it went wrong.

Telestrations Family Board Game

Watch how to play Telestrations in the video below:

Text Message Telephone

This is the modern spin on the old-fashioned game of telephone.

Instead of whispering phrases to each other down a line, players send text messages instead using their phones. 

The first person writes a short message on a piece of paper and shows it to the next person in line.

The recipient has fifteen seconds to memorize the message.

Then they write a text message, trying to make an exact copy of what they just read.

The first player then shows the message to the second player on their phone for 15 seconds, then takes it away.

Each person gets a turn to read and type the message. Finally, the last person reads their text message aloud.

The group then compares their texts with the original message.

Online Telephone Game Translations

You can download apps for Apple and Android devices that will translate your original phrase into different languages. When it eventually comes back to the original language, you’ll get some hilariously incorrect translations.

Interference on Google Play or Pass It On! on App Store 

Teaching vocabulary to preschoolers is not just about giving the definitions and some examples, but about creativity and fun techniques to practice the words with them. One of the best and practical ways to teach them vocabulary is using games. Here are some of them.

Categories

This game helps children to categorize the words in the columns, to get their meanings and to find a relationship between these words. For each category, you can use flashcards (fruit, vegetables, clothes, sports, etc) and give a list of different words to your kids (banana, skirt, apple, tomato, tennis, baseball, shirt, shorts, kiwi, etc.).

out the odd word

This game is a bit similar to the previous one because it is again related to categorizing. Here the teacher gives a list of words, asking kids to cross out one odd word from each line. For example:

1. November, July, September, October
2. Cold, snow, January, summer
3. Monkey, banana, apple, kiwi
4. Run, tennis, baseball, football
5. Taxi, car, bus, house

How many?

Here all you need is to show a picture of different things (animals, fruit, vegetables) and to ask your younger learners to count how many things there are in the picture.

2-litre jar

This is a fun game to play with your kids. You show them a 2-litre jar and ask to come up with words that can be placed in this jar. For example, they can say coffee, candle, but they cannot say happiness or animal, because they cannot be placed in this jar.

I spy

One might call this game an old one, but my younger learners adore it. To begin the game choose an object and give some hints to your kids, such as: “I spy something that is big and blue”. The pupil that guesses the word takes a turn to spy something and let other kids guess.

Apple Pass

Get your kids to sit in a circle. You can use a real apple or a fake one. While you pass the apple to the next student, you must say one English word. The student then throws to another student and says a different English word. The student who fails to catch the apple or to say a word is out. And the game continues until you have one winner. It can be played with different categories, such as fruit, vegetables, animals, etc.

Touch

This game is all about giving some instructions. The teacher says: “Touch the board”, “Touch the chair”, “Touch something black”, etc. And young learners go around the classroom to find the appropriate objects and to touch them.

Basketball

Make a paper ball and prepare a box where your kids can throw an imaginary ball. Show a flashcard to the first student. If they say the right word and throw the ball into the box, they get two points. But if they fail to do one of these things, they get just one point. The person who gets the most points is the winner.

Pictionary

This is a nice activity for recycling vocabulary. You can play this game in groups. Tell one of the students a word and ask him/her to draw a picture of it on the board. The first student to guess, what the picture is, gets a point and takes a turn to come up to the board and to draw the next picture.

Line True or False

Put a line of tape on the floor and make appropriate signs for «True» and «False». Show a flashcard and say its word (you can say a wrong word).  If students think that you have said the correct word they jump on to the True side, if not they jump on to the False side. The student who gives the wrong answer is out.

What games do you play with your preschoolers?

Варианты игры:
Say Out Bingo Word Game — быстрая игра на внимательность: кто первым найдет совпадающие слова на двух карточка. На каждой карточке 8 слов разных цветов и размера. Всего в наборе 60 существительных и прилагательных: train, red, bat, heart, zoo, shoe, father, friend, pencil, peacock, hair, foot, owl, box, school, deer, water, frog, bike, clock, sun, tree, eye, ghost, mother, student, face, house, world, smile, moon, cat, bee, worm, hat, flower, boy, bird, ball, apple, green, toy, cup, teacher, foot, bug, bunny, duck, dog, fish, sun, kite, girl, bus, driver, hand, family, star, panda, boy.

Варианты игры:

Игра 1: Собери все карты.

1) Раздайте всем игрокам по 1 карте.

2) Все оставшиеся карты положите стопкой на середину стола.

3) Начало игры. Игроки ищут парное слово с верхней картой в стопке и своей карточкой.

4) Если один из игроков нашел пару, он называет парные слова и забирает верхнюю карту из стопки себе.

5) Если игрок забрал парную карточку из стопки себе, он кладет карточку поверх своих карт (также перед собой). Далее играет верхней картой у себя (ищет для нее пару)

6) Игра заканчивается, когда все карты на середине стола разыграны.

7) Побеждает игрок, который соберет наибольшее количество карт.

Игра 2: У кого меньше.

1) Раздайте игрокам поровну карты (количество карт любое)
м2) Остальные карты положите на середину стола

3) Игроки по очереди ищут парные слова на своей карте и верхней карте в стопке на середине стола.

4) Если игрок нашел пару в свой ход – скидывает карту на середину стола (в стопку), называя при этом парные слова.

5) Игра продолжается по часовой стрелке.

6) Игра заканчивается, когда определяется победитель – первый игрок, оставшийся без карт на руках.

Игра 3: Кто быстрее.

1) Раздайте все карты игрокам.

2) Каждый игрок кладет свои карты перед собой в стопке рубашкой вверх.

3) По команде все игроки открывают верхнюю карту и кладут на середину стола.

4) Задача – найти парное слово на своей карте и на карточке любого игрока.

5) Если игрок нашел парные слова – называет их и отдает свою карточку тому игроку, с кем совпала пара.

6) Побеждает игрок, который останется без карт.

7) Также можно играть в обратную сторону (кто соберет больше карт): когда игрок называет парные слова – забирает карточки себе. В этом варианте игры победит игрок, собравший все карты себе.

Игра 4: Переведи слово. Играем в парах или между двумя группами.

1) Один из игроков берет карточку из стопки и читает любое слово (либо все слова) на карточке.

2) Второй игрок из пары должен перевести названное слово (слова).

3) Если второй игрок верно перевел слово, забирает карточку в виде балла.

4) Затем участники меняются местами.

5) После нескольких раундов определяем победителя по баллам.

Игра 5: Объясни слово.

1) Один из игроков берет карточку из стопки и читает любое слово.

2) Второй игрок из пары должен объяснить слово на английском языке.

3) Если второй игрок верно объяснил слово, забирает карточку в виде балла.

4) Затем участники меняются местами.

5) После нескольких раундов определяем победителя по баллам.

Игра 6: Гонка. Игра в командах

1) Разделите игроков на команды.

2) По одному представителю от каждой команды берут по 1 карточке.

3) За определенное время (30 секунд) каждый игрок должен объяснить своей команде как можно больше слов на карточке на английском языке. Остальные участники отгадывают слова.

4) Каждые 30 секунд игрок от команды, который объясняет слово, меняется.

5) За каждое отгаданное слово команда зарабатывает 1 балл.

6) После нескольких раундов определяем победителя по баллам.

Коммуникативное задание 1: Любимое слово (игра для 2-3 игроков)

1) Первый игрок берет карточку и объясняет любимое слово на этой карточке. Например, My favourite pet is cat because I it is furry. Если игрок смог дать объяснение, оставляется карточку себе.

2) Далее игроки дают свои ответы по часовой стрелке.

3) После нескольких раундов определяем победителя по баллам.

Коммуникативное задание 2: Расскажи историю (игра для 2-3 игроков)

1) Первый игрок берет карточку из стопки, выбирает любое слово и начинает рассказывать историю. Например, слово BIKE: ONCE UPON A TIME I BOUGHT A NEW BIKE.

2) Следующий игрок берет следующую карту из стопки, выбирает любое слово и продолжает историю.

3) Ход продолжается по кругу. Игрок, который не может продолжить историю (не получается составить ни одного предложения для логичного продолжения), выбывает.

4) Для определения победителя игроки начинают составлять новую историю.

Есть такой же товар дешевле! Уцененная игра Say Out Bingo Word Game

ВАРИАНТЫ ДОСТАВКИ:
Почта России — 180-400* рублей. Точная стоимость рассчитывается автоматически при оформлении заказа. Зависит от веса, объёма и расстояния. Срок — 7-14 дней

СДЕК (до пункта выдачи) — 210-500* рублей. Точная стоимость и сроки доставки рассчитываются автоматически при оформлении заказа. Зависит от веса, объёма и расстояния.

DPD (до пункта выдачи) — 180-500* рублей. Точная стоимость и сроки доставки рассчитываются автоматически при оформлении заказа. Зависит от веса, объёма и расстояния.

Курьер до двери — 350-800* рублей. Точная стоимость и сроки доставки рассчитываются автоматически при оформлении заказа. Зависит от веса, объёма и расстояния.

FAQ: Vocabulary Games

Here are answers to common questions about vocabulary games and activities.

What are vocabulary games?

Vocabulary games are word and language games you can play with students, coworkers, or family and friends. These games challenge players to hunt for words or definitions, brainstorm terms, deduce phrases based on clues, or create words under certain conditions. Language games are a great way to teach new vocabulary and help students practice recognizing and using new words. These activities are also known as “vocabulary building games” and “vocab games”, and are similar to “word games” and “letter games”.

What are some fun word games for groups?

Some fun word games for groups include Pictionary, Tree or Bob Ross, and word scrambles.

What are some online vocabulary games?

By using virtual meeting software like Zoom, you can play any word game online. Some good virtual vocabulary games include Scrabble, Scattergories, and online crossword puzzles.

What are good ESL word games?

The best ESL word games are easy to understand and play yet expand the vocabularies of participants. Good ESL word games include word association, word searches, and hangman.

What are fun ways to teach vocabulary?

Word games are one of the most fun and easy ways to teach vocabulary. While some kids get frustrated with straightforward reading or language exercises, word games disguise vocabulary lessons as a fun challenge. Plus, playing language games together is a great teamwork exercise.

A list of fun English word games for kids to help improve children’s spelling, reading, and vocabulary. This list of word games for kids includes word games that encourage conversation and early literacy that you can play on the spot or prepare yourself with just some paper and pencil.

Why are Word Games Good For Kids?

Word games and vocabulary games for kids are great because they get kids talking and using language while having fun. When you make a learning activity fun, kids don’t realise they are learning.

For reluctant learners, playing these word games can help and motivate them to want to play and learn more.

*This post may contain affiliate links, read more here.

10 Fun Word Games for Kids

Many of these word games for kids can be prepared easily at home with materials you already have. However if you don’t have time to prepare your own, you can also purchase a range of fun word games for kids HERE.

1. Hang Man

Probably one of the most popular word games for kids is the popular Hang Man. Player 1 thinks of a word and Player 2 has to guess it before they get “hung.”

Player 1 writes spaces for letters are written on the page so they know how many letters there are in the word. Player 2 proceeds to choose a letter they think may be in the word.

If it is correct Player 1 writes the letter down where it goes. If it is incorrect Player 1 draws part of the “hangman”. If the drawing is complete by the time Player 2 guesses, then Player 1 wins.

2. I spy

A really easy and fun word game for kids is I spy. You don’t need anything for this game except your imagination.

Player 1 thinks of a word and tells the others the first letter. “I spy with my little eye, something beginning with __” The other players need to guess the word. Whoever wins gets to be the spy!

This is a really great car game for kids too and helps to build vocabulary.

3. Bingo

Such an easy word game to prepare for kids. There are some really good versions on Amazon HERE. You can purchase the game, or use it as an example to make your own.

Draw a square grid on a page and choose a theme. Write out some words using the theme. Eg, beach: swimming, sand castles, water, sea shells, dolphin, sunbeds, picnic etc.

Make an extra copy of the words ensuring there are a few extra than the amount on the page. Cut them up into squares and put in a bowl scrunched up.

Take turns in pulling out a word and reading it out loud, then finding it on your page. The first person to find all of the words calls out Bingo and is the winner.

This fun word game for kids helps with reading and talking aloud.

4. Word Family Game

This game requires children to rhyme. Select one word and everyone needs to write as many words as they can that rhyme with that word. Eg. If the word is “Cat”, answers could be: hat, bat, rat, sat etc.

This is a great word game to help build kids vocabulary and help their language skills.

5. Word Search

Another fun but challenging word game for kids is a word search. Draw a grid of 10 x 10 squares and place as many words as you can within the grid. Words can go up, down, or diagonal, and letters can overlap to be used more than once.

Create a list on the side or bottom of the page of the words you have entered. Then once you cannot fit anymore words in, fill the blank boxes with random letters.

Kids will need to find the words as quick as possible. This can be a fun word game to do individually or as a team. For kids who like to compete, you can make identical grids and see who finishes first.

This word game encourages persistence and helps to improve their literacy skills.

6. Unscramble the words

A simple word game for children that will get them really thinking! Write a list of words down on paper but scramble the letter order while writing. Kids will need to look at the letters and try to work out what the word is and guess it.

This can be quite a competitive word game, but it helps to really get their mind ticking.

7. Scategories

While this is also an official board game, (which you can find online here) you can also make it yourself quite easily. Each player has a piece of paper and pencil.

Select 10-15 categories. These can be anything you like but remember they should be popular enough that you can guess something with most letters. Eg. Country, Movie, Body Part, Actor or Actress etc.

Once you have your categories it is time to choose a letter. Without a dice, the easiest way is to write the letters randomly on a piece of paper.

Then one person closes their eyes and points to a letter. When the letter has been chosen, players have 2 minutes to fill in the gaps with something in each category starting with that letter.

Winner is the one with the most filled in at the end, or the first to finish.

This is a really fun and competitive word game for kids that helps to improve their vocabulary, spelling, and conversation skills.

8. Words within a word

This word game requires kids to create their own words. Choose one really long word with at least 8-10 letters. The longer the better.

The aim of this word game is for kids to try to make a list of small words out of the letters of the long word. So for example the word COMPUTER includes: put, cot, term, core, mop, top, pet. Etc.

This is a really fun word game to help children’s spelling skills.

9. I am going on a picnic

A fun word game to help with your child’s memory and to get them talking.

One person starts and says “I am going on a picnic and I will bring some… fruit”

The next person says what the first person said, and adds something of their own. “I am going on a picnic and I will bring some fruit, and some sandwiches.

The next person says what the first, and second person said, and adds something of their own. “I am going on a picnic and I will bring some fruit, some sandwiches and some ice-cream.

You continue on and on and it gets more difficult to remember everything. We usually can get to at least seven or eight, and surprisingly my pre-schooler can often remember more than me!

This conversational game helps with memory, and also learning new vocabulary.

10. Story prompts

This word game involves making up a story by taking turns in saying sentences. One person starts the story, and says the first sentence. The second person continues the story with another sentence, and so on.

The stories can become very interesting as each person has different ideas. Bilingual flashcards are great for this or you can find a great version online HERE.

This conversation activity helps kid’s imagination, as well as building their vocabulary.

Other Fun Learning Resources for Kids?

If you love these English word games, check out these posts!

English Classroom Games – To play in class or at home
Knock Knock Jokes – To get the kids laughing
Best Board Games for Kids – Educational and fun
Top Book Sets for Kids – For all ages

Which English word games do you play with your kids?

These fun English word games for kids can be played with children of all ages and also with adults just by adapting certain aspects of the game to suit the age of the player.

This list of word games for kids will keep kids entertained for hours on end without feeling like they are actually learning.