Word game odd one out

Odd One Out is one of my favourite ESL warm-up activities. If you’re looking to get your classes started off on the right foot, then keep on reading to find out more about it.

The best part is that this vocabulary warm up exercise requires no materials and you can make it up in a minute or two before class starts. Every English teacher should have at least a few of these activities in their back pocket. Keep on reading for all the details you need to know about Odd 1 Out, one of the best games to play in class.

Odd One Out Game for English Learners

Skills: Reading/speaking or writing

Materials Required: Groups of words

Level: Beginner to Low Beginner

Time: 5 Minutes

If you’re looking for an ESL warmer to review vocabulary, then consider Odd 1 Out. It’s easy to set up, the students like it and it works equally well for children as well as adults. You can even use a simple version of this for an ESL Kindergarten game.

Learn More about Odd One Out

Odd One Out is an ESL warm-up game that can be used to review vocabulary from the previous classes. You can write up a few sets of vocabulary words on the board or put them up on the PowerPoint.

I use 4 in each group, with one of them being the odd one out. Some examples:

orange, yellow, apple, banana              Yellow is the odd one out because it’s not a fruit

table, book, chair, desk                          Book because it’s not a piece of furniture

fish, cat, dog, zebra                                Zebra isn’t a pet. Or, a fish doesn’t have legs

Then, the students have to choose which one doesn’t fit, and then explain why it doesn’t. You can do this just for fun, or make an element of competition to it. If a competition, you can have students write down the odd word, and then the explanation. When done, they put up their hands and you can check. This makes a nice trivia type of warmer activity.

Procedure for Odd One Out Games:

1. Before class begins, make 4-6 groups of 4 words, with one of them being unlike the others. You may want to come up with some groups of words that have more than one possible answer.

2. Put students in pairs and they have to choose the odd word from each group and also write (or say) why they chose it. Example: Yellow-not a fruit. I don’t require full sentences for the explanation but just a word or two.

3. Have students raise their hands when they complete all the sets and the teacher can check their answers. If correct, that group is the winner. If not, they are out of the running.

4. I usually make a rule that I’ll only check each group once in order to prevent random guessing.

Odd 1 Out ESL Worksheets

Do you want to give your students some additional practise with this kind of ESL activity? There are a number of worksheets that you might want to consider. Why reinvent the wheel if other teachers have gone before you and done the hard work, right? Here are some of the best Odd 1 Out worksheets to consider:

ISL Collective

ESL Printables

Fun English Games

Online Practice for Odd One Out

There are some fun online games for choosing the one that doesn’t match. Here are some of the best options:

ESL Kids Games

Hello Kids

Lagged

Did You Like this Odd 1 Out Game?

Do you like this ESL warm-up game? Then you’re going to LOVE this book: 39 ESL Warm-Ups for Teenagers and Adults.

It’ll help you get your classes started off on the right foot, guaranteed. It really does make a difference to your students whether you start with a warm-up, of if you just jump into the heart of the lesson. Keep in mind that some of your students may have spoken a single word of English since your last class! Ease them into things with a quick warm-up.

Most of the ESL Warm-Ups in this book can be used to review material from previous classes, similar to how this activity can be used to review old vocabulary words. It’s an ideal way to keep things fresh and interesting in your classes for teenagers or adults.

39 ESL Warm-Ups is available in both print and digital formats. The (cheaper!) digital copy can be read on any device if you download the free Kindle reading app. It’s easier than ever to have almost 40 top-quality warmers at your fingertips wherever you might be planning your lessons.

You can check out the book for yourself over on Amazon. Click the link below to learn more about it and also to check for the best prices on ESL activity books like this one:

—>39 ESL Warm-Ups for Teenagers and Adults<—

Have your say about this Odd 1 Out ESL Activity? 

Do you have a favourite warm-up game or activity that you like to use with your students? Or, how do you review vocabulary with your students? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts with us. We’d love to hear from you.

Also be sure to give this article a share on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter. It’ll help other busy teachers, like yourself find this useful resource.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Have you ever played the Odd One Out Game with your preschoolers or kindergarteners?

This fun game is educational for so many reasons and your kids will love it.

It’s also easy to play at a moment’s notice. Grab a few objects from around the room or organize a set of words in your mind to get started! 

Also called “odd man out” or “what’s my rule,” the Muppets on Sesame Street even sing a song to accompany this game: “One of These Things (Is Not Like the Others).” 

To play this game, you’ll need to gather a set of four objects (or think of four words) and challenge kids to identify which one has different characteristics or features and does not belong with the others in the group. 

For example, gather and show your child the following: a banana, a lemon, a golden delicious apple, and an orange. 

Ask, “Which is the odd one out?” The best answer is ‘the orange’ because while they are all fruits, the orange is a different colour from the others. 

Ask, “What’s my rule?” and see if your kids can state that the fruits must be yellow. 

Children should be able to classify these particular objects by concepts they know (fruits and colours), in order to compare them. 

Besides type and colour, other concepts to introduce are size, use/functionality, material and shape. 

Different Ways to Play Odd One Out 

Instead of using real objects, you can print or design your own worksheets with pictures or words. For the previous round of the game, for example, the sheet could show coloured pictures of the four fruits. 

You can also find apps and computer games with the same types of activities. 

Depending on the ages of your children and the skills you wish to address, the worksheets could also just show the words or words paired with pictures. 

For example, you could show “star,” “sock,” “stop sign” and “ball.” The odd one out is “ball,” which begins with the letter “b.” The rule is that words must begin with the letter “s.” 

This can also be played as a listening activity, where you say the words, “star,” “ball,” “sock” and “stop sign,” asking children to listen for the similar/different beginning sounds. 

You could also use this method to practise the pre-reading skill of recognizing rhyming words. Say, “sheep,” “jeep,” “kite” and “sleep,” urging kids to identify the word that does not rhyme with the others. 

Extend this by asking if they can think of other words that rhyme with “sheep,” “jeep” and “sleep.”

For younger preschoolers, don’t focus on the sounds at first as this is an advanced activity, but rather on listening for categories, such as “monkey, bear, elephant, dolphin”. 

Benefits of Playing Odd One Out with Kids

Whether you choose to play this game orally or visually,  it has many benefits besides the fun of a shared experience. 

Here are some of the reasons this game is educational and not just fun:

1. Critical Thinking 

While playing odd one out, kids dig deep into their knowledge about patterns, word meanings, language rules, differences and similarities. 

They learn the skill of sorting as they identify how objects are grouped together by a condition (all are vehicles, all are round, all can be eaten, etc.) as well as how to spot an item that does not share the characteristic.

They also think about how to explain their choice verbally to the adult or to a group. 

2. Listening 

When playing this game orally, kids must listen carefully to hear the words being said by the leader. They also need to listen closely for any other directions such as, “Tell me which word is different and does not rhyme with the others.”

Learning to listen in early childhood is crucial and playing games (such as musical statues or broken telephone) is one of the best ways to develop this skill. 

Two other great ways to build listening skills in early childhood are to give children 2-step directions or to try a ‘following directions’ drawing activity.

3. Vocabulary 

This is a great way to build vocabulary. Children learn new words or practise words they have already been exposed to.

For example, play a round that includes the vocabulary of the seasons, such as “fall,” “autumn,” “summer” and “rain”. 

Explain that “fall” and “autumn” are alternate names for the same season; although “rain” has to do with weather, it is not the name of a season like the other three. 

Build vocabulary with these word games to play in the car.

4. Pre-Reading/Phonological Awareness 

Let your kids practise listening for words that rhyme and also distinguishing words with beginning sounds that match (alliteration). 

In written words, they can also practise letter-sound correspondence by looking at words and listening to pronunciations.

Here are more activities to build pre-reading skills.  

5. Attention/Focus 

Playing fun games of any kind is a good way to build your child’s attention span.

While playing odd one out, kids need to block out other things going on around them, such as sounds from background music or the visual of fish swimming around in the tank nearby. 

Their attention needs to be focused on the four things being presented to identify which one is different.

Games like Simon Says are also great for building concentration.

6. Speech/Oral Language 

When children play the odd one out game they hear the words being said and learn how they are pronounced. They also have opportunities to practice saying the words aloud.

As an adult, it’s your responsibility to model good speech and sentence construction for your child.

Odd One Out Game Examples 

Here are some odd one out game ideas to get going. 

Can you find the odd one out? 

• Apple, tiger, cheese, cracker

• Sailboat, canoe, jet-ski, train

• Ball, wheel, pyramid, coin

• Christmas, Thanksgiving, Saturday, Easter

• Blender, spoon, microwave, toaster

• Flashlight, circle, triangle, square

• Sad, tall, happy, excited

• Green, blue, red, pretty

• Laugh, leg, hand, finger

• Like, bike, Mike, love

• See, eyes, bee, me

• Hat, broccoli, coat, shoes

• Skunk, dirty diaper, perfume, garbage

• Little, big, tiny, small

• Pig, pretty, pan, kite

• Bump, trash, sash, mash

• One, five, round, three

• Computer, yesterday, today, tomorrow

• 4, A, 2, 9

• dog, bird, mosquito, butterfly

• Comb, brush, shampoo, clock

Starting with this list should inspire you to make up your own odd one out examples. Use it as a guide to practising the words and skills that your kids need most. 

Odd one out activities for preschoolers can grow and evolve with your kids as they mature and expand their vocabularies, sound awareness and understanding of the world around them.