Hand-Clapping Chants- learn hand-clapping chants.  Practice them daily so campers learn to do them on their own.

Outdoor Games- learn popular games from the teacher’s country or play a game campers already know (soccer, hopscotch) but with the new vocabulary from the target language

Scavenger Hunts- In a scavenger hunt, the teacher creates a list of items to go out and find.  For example, if you are practicing colors, the teacher would write all of the colors on a piece of paper.  After, the class would walk around the school or outside together to try and find as many green, blue or yellow items as possible.  Kids can work in pairs to see which group can locate the most items. 

Stories- Bring in books in the target language to share with the class.  Tell stories using puppets.  For the Blue and Yellow camps, tell the students stories and fairy tales that they are already familiar with (Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood) but in your own language.  Share popular stories and folktales from your country.

Whispering Game- Divide the class into two teams. Line up the players. If there is an odd number of players, one can be the teacher's "helper". The teacher or his helper whispers a message to the first person of both group A and group B. The game only starts when both players know the message. Then each player whispers the message to the next player in his group successively until the last player gets the message. The team which can repeat the message first and correctly receives a point. This can be a good way to learn “common phrases.”  For a bigger challenge in the Green camps, have the last person in line write the sentence or phrase on the whiteboard.   Start the game over with the second student of each group becoming the first ones in line.  From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Role Playing- Set up role playing activities that use the vocabulary you are studying in class.  For example, help the students set up a restaurant (older kids can create their own menus) and then act out/play restaurant using the vocabulary for food, taking orders, and paying the check. 

Act Out an Activity-This is a game-like activity to teach verbs of movement (run, jump, laugh, speak, read, etc) in the target language.  One student simply acts out some activity (e.g. cooking) and the other students guess what that student is doing. The student who guesses correctly acts out another activity.  From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Flashcards- Use picture flashcards to practice new vocabulary.  Have students help you make the flashcards. For example if you are learning the names of places in a community (school, bank, post office, police station, etc), have one child draw a picture and, if they are older, write the name of each place.  Then collect the pictures and use these as flashcards to review the vocabulary as a class.

The Hokey Pokey- Translate this song into your own language.  This is a fun way to practice the names of different body parts.  All kids stand in a circle while they sing.  They follow the movement instructions in the song. Repeat the song with different body parts. “You put your ARM in.  You put your ARM out.  You put your ARM in and shake it all about.  You do the hokey pokey and you turn yourself around.  That’s what it’s all about!”

Simon Says- One child or the teacher is the leader.  In the target language he/she says “Simon says touch your arm.”  Everyone else copies the leader.  The leader continues to give commands that the group follows.  If the leader gives a command without saying the words “Simon says” and someone does the command, he or she is out.  This is a great game for practicing body part vocabulary or verbs (dance, stretch, sign, sit down, stand up, etc.).

Commando (similar to “Simon Says”)- The teacher is the commando and gives commands to the class and/or individual students. This is a great energy burner as well as review of actions colors, numbers or anything else you can throw in. E.g. "Jump 10 times", "Touch your (body part)", "Touch (classroom object", "Turn around", "Stand up / Sit down".

Bingo- A great game to practice a lot of different vocabulary- numbers, letters, shapes, colors, etc. For example, if you are studying animal vocabulary, have each student create a unique bingo card with a picture of a different animal in each square.  Have students take turns being the “caller” and calling out the vocabulary words.

Ball Games to Learn New Phrases- Everyone (including the teacher) sits in a circle.  The teacher has a ball or other item in her lap.  She introduces a new phrase to the class (for example “my name is ---”).   The teacher says the phase and then passes the ball to a child. The child repeats the phase, adding his or her own name, and then throws the ball to another child.  Each child repeats the phrase until the ball comes back to the teacher.  At this point the teacher can introduce a new phrase (for example, “I am --- years old”).  The game continues with the new phrase.   This can also be used with questions “Do you like----?”  “Yes, I do./No, I don’t” or “Can you -----?”  “Yes, I can./No, I can’t”

Journals- On the first day make a journal where campers can record the new vocabulary words that they learn throughout the session.  Campers can take time to decorate the cover to make it unique/special.  Each day they can write the new words that they learn in the journal.  Green campers could write stories or poems that incorporate some of the new vocabulary they learn.

Jump Rope Games- Campers learn a jump rope chant in the target language and then practice it together outside.  For example, this jump rope chant in Spanish which practices counting:  

Line Activities- Use this game to practice a new phrase (for example:  “How old are you?”  or “When is your birthday?”).  Introduce the phrase to the students.  Practice it a few times together. Then tell the kids that they must make a line in the order of their birthdays from January to December.  The child with the earliest birthday in the year will be first, while the child with the latest birthday will be last.  Children must ask and answer the question “When is your birthday?” until they correctly get themselves in order.

Tongue Twisters- Learn and practice a tongue twister (a rhyme or sentence that is difficult to say) in the target language.  Here’s an example of a tongue twister in English:

Paper Airplane Game- Draw a target (with points - like a dart board) on the white board or use a cardboard box in the middle of the room. Then, students make paper airplanes and launch them after they answer your question in the form of a sentence. Correct the students’ sentences as needed. Often kids will repeat the sentence several times to get it right just so they can throw their airplane.  From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Guess the Letter on Your Back- This game is used to practice the alphabet or characters. Divide students into groups and ask them to stand in line and give the students in the front of the line a piece of chalk to write on the blackboard. Then write with your finger a letter on the back of the students at the end of the line. They must do the same with the student in front of him/her and so on. The students with the chalk try to guess the letter or character and write it on the board. From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Describing Appearances & Characteristics of People-Each student is given one sheet of paper. One student sits at the front of a room.  He/she describes a person and the rest of the class draws the person being described. Once the student has finished describing that person, each student shows his/her drawing. The laughter from this is hilarious as the impressions tend to make the character in question look funny.  Students can get creative by saying (in the target language) that the person has “three, long arms” or “six big, green eyes.” From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Guessing the Word from a Drawing- Ask one student to be in front of the class. Give him/her a word that can not be seen by other students. He/she will draw (on the blackboard) a picture expressing the concept of the word.  The rest of the class have to guess the word. If you are keeping score, the one who drew the picture gets the point if the class can guess the word. From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Market- Talk about some famous markets in your country and how they might be different from a market here. What kinds of things can people buy?  When are they open?  Do you bargain? Create and set up a market in the classroom.  Have some kids be the “vendors” and other kids the “shoppers.” Give the shoppers some pretend money to use.  Have them practice phrases and numbers that you have learned to “buy” different items at the market.  After a while, have children switch the role of vendor or shopper.

Mixed Up Stories- Take a simple story in the target language and cut it up into different sections. Mix up the sections of the story.  The child can work with a partner or a small group to put the story together.  Follow up this activity by looking at new vocabulary in the story, asking comprehension questions, etc.

Stories or Comic Books- Have the campers write and illustrate a story or draw a comic book using new vocabulary or related to one of the themes of the unit.

Song Fill in the Blank- Choose a popular song from your country.  Print out the lyrics and white out 10 or so words from the song.  Have the students listen to the song several times to see if they can figure out the missing words.  Afterwards, review the song together and then sing it as a group.

Words Beginning with a Given Letter- The teacher chooses a letter from the alphabet. Then each student must say a word that begins with that letter. If a student repeats a word that has already been said, then he/she is out of the game. The game ends when only one student remains. That student is the winner. You can increase the difficulty by adding a timer. Only allow each student 5 seconds to think of a word. From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Catching up on your ABC's- This game is short and simple. Write the alphabet on the board. Throw a bean bag to someone and say a word beginning with the letter A. This person must catch the bean bag, say a word beginning with the letter B and then throw it to another person This third person says a word beginning with the letter C and so on. Obviously the game is meant to be played fast. If played with higher level students you may not want to write the alphabet on the board. There are many ways to change the game to make it adaptable to your level of students. From- http://iteslj.org/games/

Alphabet Writing Relay-  Divide and line up the students into two teams. Divide the board into two halves.  Call out an alphabet letter or character that the students know.  Have the first person in line run to the board and draw the letter/character.  Continue...

Basic Flashcard Fun- The teacher simply holds up a flash card and elicits the answer from the students. This can be done in teams with points awarded for correct answers.  We have flashcards for things like emotions, nouns, common verbs, etc.

Beat The Clock-  Time the students as they race to put alphabet, days of the week, or month flashcards in order. Have them try again to see if they can beat their fastest time. 

Bluff-  The object of the game is to be the first student to get rid of all his/her cards. Divide the students into small group and deal flashcards to each student. Player 1 chooses a card from his/her hand and throws it face down on the table saying, for example, "I have (a cat)". Player 1 may be telling the truth or bluffing. If player 2 has a 'cat' in his/her hand then there's a good chance player 1 is bluffing. Player 2 should say "No, you don't". If player 1 was bluffing, player 2 gives player 1 a penalty card from his/her hand. If player 1 was telling the truth then he/she gives player 2 a penalty card from his/her hand. Continue until one student is out of cards. 

The Bomb- Pass a ball, object or a flash card around a circle of students. When the timer rings, the student holding the ball must answer a question, make a sentence or say a word. 

Car Race- Arrange the flash cards in a long line with starting and finishing points. Give each student a counter. The first student throws the dice and moves. The student must say the word on the flashcard he/she lands on. If the student makes a mistake, he/she goes back to his/her original place. Add colored paper between cards to represent 'Take Another Turn', and assign a crash number e.g. #4 on the dice which means the student must return to the beginning. 

Concentration / Memory-  Have the students sit in a circle. Spread out the flashcards (2 sets) face down. Students take turns flipping over two cards and saying the vocabulary. If the flashcards are a match, the student keeps the cards. If they are different, they remain face down. The student with the most pairs is the winner. 

Conversation Relay- Line up the students in two teams and have the last student in each team tap the shoulder of the student in front and have a conversation E.g. "What's you name?", "How are you?". The student answering then starts the same conversation with the student in front, and so on. When the conversation reaches the front, the student at the front must run to the back and continue the procedure. The first team to get all the students back in their original positions wins. 

Crazy Train- Students line up behind the teacher in a choo choo train line. Give commands such as "faster", "slower", "turn left", and "stop". 

Draw It Relay- Divide the students into two teams. Whisper a flashcard to the first member of both teams and have them run to the board and draw the word as fast as possible. Award points to the fastest team. 

Duck Duck Goose- Students sit in a circle and the teacher starts by walking round the outside of the circle tapping the students on the head saying "duck". When the teacher says "goose" the student whose head was touched must jump up and chase the teacher round the circle. The teacher must sit down in the student's spot before being tagged. If tagged, the teacher must continue tapping heads. If not, the student walks around the circle touching heads. It might be easier to use vocabulary like "cat, cat, dog" or similar, or even "duck, duck, dog" to practice awareness of 'u' vs 'o' and 'g' vs 'ck' sounds. 

Find It-  The teacher holds up a letter flashcard. The students must search around the room to find either a corresponding object/picture that begins with that letter or find that same letter written somewhere in the room. The purpose of this game is letter recognition. It can be played as a relay race with two teams racing to find the letters first. 

Flash Card Act Out-  Choose one or more students to come to the front. Show a flash card or whisper a word, and have the students act it out. Reward the first student to guess the correct answer. This can be used with many subjects (e.g. sports, actions, verbs, animals, etc.) 

Jumping The Line- Put a piece of tape across the middle of the floor or draw an imaginary line dividing the room. Designate ones side as 'true' and the other side as 'false'. Line up the students on the line, hold up a flashcard and say a word. If the students think you said the word that matches the flashcard, they should jump to the 'true' side, otherwise they should jump to the 'false' side. Students who make a mistake should sit out until the next round. 

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. 

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 Tray (good for practicing vocabulary for food, clothing, animals, etc) 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. 

Pass It-  Have the students sit in a circle. The teacher holds up a flashcard or object (e.g. ball, pen, eraser, etc.), says the word and passes it to the next student. That student holds up the card/object and says the vocabulary and passes it on. After a couple of rounds start the flash cards/objects going in the opposite direction. Also try a speed round. 

Ship In The Fog (for practicing directions)- Make an obstacle course, put a blindfold on a student and have the other students verbally help him or her through the course. For example: Take 2 steps, turn left, one small step, etc. 

What’s Missing?- Scatter 8-10 flashcards face up on the table. Give the students a minute to look at them, then have them close their eyes and take away one flashcard. Tell the students to open their eyes and ask, "What's missing?". Reward the student that guesses correctly. 

What Time Is It, Mr. Fox?-  Have the students line up against the back wall. The teacher should stand with his/her back turned to the class. The students must ask the teacher "What time is it, Mr. Fox (or teacher's name if easier)?". The teacher answers with a random time, e.g. "It's four o'clock" - the students take four steps toward the teacher. The students should move the corresponding number of steps. If the teacher says "It's lunch time!", the students must run to safety at the back wall. The teacher chases the students and if tagged, the student must sit out until the next round.