Name of Game:
Shiritori
Target Students:
Elementary School
Target Students:
Middle School
Target Students:
High School
Duration:
10-15 minutes
Number of Students:
2 groups of at least 2 students
English Skills:
Writing
English Skills:
Vocabulary
Objective:
Make word lists by using the last letter of the previous word - Divide the class in half
- Divide the blackboard/whiteboard in half with a line
- Students all stand up and form lines on opposite sides of the room and can only write on their side of the board
- Provide a first word in the middle of the board
- The
first student in each team writes a word to follow the first word- The
word must start with a letter that is the same letter as the last
letter of the previous word - For example, if the first word is "dog," then the next word is "good"
- The list goes one: dog->good->deer->read...
- The
- Each student takes a turn and opposing teams attempt to make the longest list
- Set a 5 to 10-minute time limit
- Words cannot appear twice on the list
- Have several 4 to 5-minute game "rounds"
- In the first round, all team
members participate - In the second round, both teams choose their best
member and those two students square off in a one-on-one match with
teams providing support by shouting out words - In the third round, two
of the from each team square off
- In the first round, all team
This game is derived from a Japanese game of the same name. "Shiri"
means "end" and "tori" means "take." The basic idea is to take the end
of a word and use it as the start of another word. A Japanese example
would be sake -> kendo -> dorobo -> boku -> kusuri, etc.
A big thanks to Ogedei for this ESL/EFL game!
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You can also change the
You can also change the game in a couple of ways:
1) Each letter counts for 1 point. This encourages the students to think of more difficult words. If you have a large class, divide them into 2-4 groups. The students take turns being the "talker". His or her team mates can help the "talker" but the talker must say the word.
I usually play to 100 points with mid-level students, 50 for low, and 150-200 for higher levels.
2) Have the student think of the SHORTEST word they can. There IS a way to win this game and if a class figures it out, you can never play it again! By putting an X at the end of a word ( fox, box,) the lowest lettered word is "x-ray and the number of letters only gets higher after that.
Lowest score wins.
Variation for speaking
You could easily make this a speaking game by having teams go back and forth against each other. Each team has to say a word (beginner) or sentence (advanced) that begins with the last letter of the word or sentence that the opposing team just said. Give them a time limit to think, and a minimum number of words for a sentence.
Speaking English Game Variation
Great idea to expand the game finityjm...thanks for sharing!
I play a spoken variant of
I play a spoken variant of this game. I randomly select either a student (or a team of students if the level is rather low) and have them give me a word.
Then I spell it out for them (usually quickly, and keeping a rhythm) and then repeat the last letter for the next student so they have three chances to hear the final letter. At the start of the game I'll wait for answers, but after a few rotations I start 1 second claps. 5 claps and you're out.
It has gone over quite well with my students.