Basketball

Materials: a small ball and a basket – either a (clean!) wastebasket or a large water jug cut in half – whatever you can find, really

Description: Students line up in a single file line in front of the basket. To start with, the front of the line is pretty close to the basket, but I move it back after every round. Students then take turns trying to shoot the ball in the basket. If they make it, they’re safe and they move to the back of the line. But if they miss, they have to answer some sort of question. (It depends on what you want to study. I’ve used this game for Bulgarian-English vocabulary review, correcting grammar mistakes, conjegating verbs, or even just for spelling.) If they get the question right, they are still safe and move to the back of the line. But if they’re wrong, they are out, and have to go write sentences or new words at their desk until the game is finished. I usually put some kind of activity like this on the board for kids who are out early. The game continues on, moving the shooting line back farther and farther in each round. Last man standing is the winner!

-Abeth S.