Kids Camp: English Activities & Ideas (ESL)

Games & Activities for English Kids Camp (Beginner ESL)

I recently taught a three-day English camp to elementary grades 1 & 2 (combined) and grades 3
& 4 (combined). It wasn't really a 'camp' but additional English classes held in the gym during
the school break. Here are some ideas I used:
Greetings (or Introductions) with Ball-Catching
Have the students make a circle. Pick a student and say "Hello Kenji, how are you?". Throw
Kenji the ball. Kenji then does the same thing to another student. If they don't drop the ball, add
more balls.
Sit on Each Others' Laps in a Circle (without chairs)
This can be a good teamwork-building exercise. Try to get the children to sit on each other,
without chairs, in a circle. Explaining it in English is a challenge but that's what communication
is all about. The end result should look like this (note: these aren't my students):

Blindfolded Fukuwarai with Obstacle Course
This is a combination of two activities. Put students in groups of 3. At the end of the room (or
field), draw a large circle on the chalk board or whiteboard. If you are outside, lay a hula-hoop
on the grass. Tell your students that this is a face, and that they will have to draw the eyes, nose,
and mouth, while blindfolded. Teach your students 'up', 'down', 'right', left'.
Put them, in groups, on the other side of the room/field. In between them and the circles, place a
bunch of obstacles (e.g. a vacuum, ropes, chairs, etc.). Blindfold one of the students in a group.
Spin him around 4 times and face him in a random direction. Tell his partners that they'll have to
give directions to the student so he can get to the circle and draw the first body part (eyes).
Review giving directions ("Go straight. STOP. Turn right. Turn left." etc). When ready,
blindfold one person from each group and have them start. If they touch an obstacle, make them
go back to the starting point.
Once they get to the circle at the other side, give them a marker (or a ball if you are making eyes
in a hula-hoop on the ground) so they can 'draw' the eyes. Once done, unblindfold them, and
have them go back to the start. Blindfold the next kid, who will be responsible for drawing the
nose. Continue until the face is drawn. When done, compare faces and have a good laugh.
Banana Olympics
I found this activity on another site. Basically, it's a relay race involving bananas. Put the kids in
groups of 3 or so. Give each group a banana. Have them do a series of races to one end of the
gym (or to a determined spot about 4 meters away) and back. Variations include:
1. Run with the banana in your armpit to the line and back. Then hand it to your partner.
Once everyone has gone, give a point to the winning group.
2. Run with the banana between your ear and neck (telephone style).
3. Walk with the banana balanced on your head.
4. Walk with the banana between your knees.
5. Crawl with the banana on your back.
Et cetera. In the end, I regretted using real bananas because they got smushy and got in the
clothes (and in the hair!) of a few of the little kids. It was fun though =). If you use real bananas,
use the relays in which the banana is likely to get smushed towards the end.
Marco Polo-style "Where Are You?" Game
Delineate a small area for the game (e.g. a 3m squared area, but it depends on how many kids
you have). Get everyone to go into the game area. Blindfold yourself. Ask "Where are you?" to
the students. Tell them they must answer "Over here!" Continue asking "Where are you?" until
you are able to tag one of the students by using the sound of his/her voice to pinpoint his/her
location. The tagged student is then blindfolded and becomes 'it'.
Notes:
It can be pretty hard to tag someone. To make it easier for the blindfolded person, I told
my kids that they couldn't run and that they had to stay within the defined area.
Even with no running, it was pretty hard. So I gave the non-blindfolded students a spoon
with a bean on it. I told them that if they dropped the bean from the spoon, they were out.
This slowed them down a little.
Spelling Words with Body
We didn't do this but there are probably several great activities that involve children using their
bodies to make the letters in the English alphabet. For example, you could put the students in
groups of 4 or so, and see which group can spell their names out using their bodies the fastest.
There are probably other (better) ideas.
What Time is it Mr. Wolf
Put the students behind a line at one end of the gym (or area). You, Mr. Wolf, should go to the
other end of the gym. Turn your back on them. Have them ask you "What time is it Mr. Wolf?"
Turn your head, take a look at them and say "6 o'clock" (or whatever time you want). If you say
6 o'clock, that means the students must take six steps towards your end of the gym (and you).
After answering, turn your head back and face the opposite direction. Let the students ask you
again. Repeat the process, making the kids step closer and closer towards you. Finally, when you
think they are close enough to tag, respond to the question with "Lunch time!!" and then turn
around and try to tag one of the kids. If they kids succeed in running back to their start position
without being tagged, they are safe. The kid who is tagged must be the wolf next.
There is also a version of this game where the kids are "safe" if they manage to get to your side
of the area (to the wall, or past a certain line) before "lunch time" is called out.
Obstacle Course
We built a circular obstacle course in the gym for the kids to run around. We used a balance
beam, a vaulting box, etc. To make it more educational, I put flash cards that they had studied
already (e.g. weather, colors, fruit) in the course. The kids had to say the flash cards when they
walked on it.
Duck Duck Goose
This is a traditional kids game. Have the students sit on the ground in a circle, facing inwards.
Walk around the outside of the circle. Each time you pass a student, tap him or her on the head
and say 'Duck.' At some point, pick a student and say 'Goose' instead of 'duck.' The goose must
then stand up and try to tag you. Your goal is to run around the circle and sit down back in the
goose's place before the goose tags you. If you succeed, you can sit and the other student
becomes the one who stands and says "duck, duck, goose."




Some unconventional intro activities:

Materials: digital camera
Activitiy: Put kids into groups of 8/10. The students have to work together to spell there names using
their bodies. For example, for a kid called Tony, one student in the 'T' - standing straight with their arms
out wide; the 'O' requires two kids to face each other, toes touching and heads touching then sticking
their ass out etc etc. Its a very good teambuilding activity and the kids have a lot of fun - inadvertantly,
they all learn each others names very well. Once the kids have spelt the name, a teacher or student
takes a photo. You can make a good collage of the photos or give them oout after camp as
souveniers.........

Activity: To start have all the kids standing. Teacher instructs: Sit down if you have a pet dog. (students
with pet dog sit down)......Sit down if you have a boy or girlfriend.....Sit down if your name has an 'A' in
it.....and so on until you have one kids left standing who is the winner. Then put the kids into groups of 6
and they play this amongst themselves. This is another way the kids find out some information about
one another in an uncontrived way and have the opportunity to be silly with their English.

Activity: Making groups
Procedure: You give an instruction and students have to make groups of 4 that satisfy your instructions.
Kids who dont make group sit down do forfeit (say the alphabet, sing - whatever works with your kids)
For example - "make a group of people the same age as you" (at this point the students need to
communicate, in English, of course, inadvertantly finding more information about each other). "make a
group of people who are wearing the same coloured shoes as you" - "make a group of people who have
the same number of brothers and sisters as you" etc etc

Talent Contest

It being only a 2 day camp, the talent contest will be difficult for the kids. It requires a lot of prep time to
get the acts together. Usualy Id spend an hour or so a day over 2 weeks to get this together and give the
kids time to build confidence in their performance. However, if the kids already have a talent they wish
to display, then great, but Id be suprised if many kids volunteered themselves forward. These things
usually work better when groups perform - which takes time.

With limited time I would go for a more structured talent contest that involves all the kids. For example,
give them an hour to go off into the woods, or raid the cupboards, to find material to make instruments
(shakers, bangers) and then have them come up with a song. The primitive instruments lend to simple
beats and chants which arent too hard to come up with in a short time. Some kids might sing, others
might dance, others play the instrument - perfect for mixing shy with extrovert kids. It also allows kids
with talents already to implement them (juggling, ballet etc can all be incorporated into 'the song')


Re: English Camp Activities
We've just had an English Camp at our school. It was lots of fun. One activity we did - which I
use on an almost daily basis with my Pratom 2 kids - is a version of the classic UK kids
gameshow Runaround (where kids had a few seconds to choose a 'Zone' -A, B or C - from three
choices corresponding to answers to a question). The question of course can be any area of
grammar or vocab you wish. Those that got it wrong in the original Runaround were eliminated,
though we gave the kids three bits of straw (to represent lives) and made sure we started with
some easy questions to give them all a chance to 'achieve' as it were.

I play this game at least once a week (using points accumulation as opposed to elimination) with
my Pratom 2 (usually as a lockdown-type activity on Fridays, using that weeks' TLs). The kids
ask to play it every lesson. They love piling on to the circles in a heap (you need to try and make
it so that the circles are just big enough they can all squueze on in a huddle)

Usually I just do it with three circles on the classroom floor, boarded options and counting to ten
but this time I managed to rig up a projector and some up-tempo music in the meeting room.

It's not an 'introducing' game but it's a definite winner.



Have a bunch of alphabet cards made up (at least 4 per letter for words with more than one vowel or
consonant). Make up two teams (basically half of one class). Use Scrabble letter values for score
keeping. Assign a letter (or letters) to each student of the first team.
The second team arranges the first teams players into a word; add up the word score and do it again for
a given amount of time (15-20 minutes works). Things will move very fast and when the time is up;
switch the letters to the second team and go again.
I've used this and the kids just loved it (M3's and M6's) and the time flew. It got pretty crazy but well
within the fun zone.


Teams of 5.

Each team has one page with A-Z on it.

They have to run around the school and school grounds for 30 minutes writing everything they see and
putting it onto the sheet.


Body parts.

Teach various body parts.

Into teams of 5.

One from each team has to stand at the front. the others are given blank cards and tape.

You shout a body part, they have to write it on the card then run and stick it onto the person at the
front, on that particular bodypart (knee, elbow, nipple etc.)


A talent contest.

Treasure hunt

Skits (Maybe Lord of the Flies, Watership Downs)

Comedy show (imitate their teachers)

Pre-teach vocab via flash cards.

Have another copy of them hidden around the area with numbers on them (1-10).

give students paper with numbers 1-10 on them, or get them to write each number with a line after
each one.

Make fake money. Have students rent each other pretend jetskis. When they return them, have the
students accuse the others of damaging the jetskis and try to extort money from them. It opens up a
wonderful dialogue! (Pretend machetes make the extortion more fun).

Singing Competition
We always start the camp with this activity as it is a great team building exercise. Its a good
listening and talking activity and its also lots of fun for the students who get confidence from
singing. Modern teaching methods show music and singing are an excellent way to remember
and learn a foreign language.
Scavenger hunt
This game is designed for listening, speaking and imagination. We give the students a list of
items that they have to find, such as a glass of water, a snack, a buffalo and even an alien. The
students then have a certain amount of time in which to collect these items. They cannot of
course bring back some of the items so they must use their imagination. A lot of dressing up is
involved and it tends to be a very funny activity. This is one of the most popular activities we do,
students talk to their camp teacher and ask advice and suggestions. This activity is a lot of fun!!!
Its also a great chance to get some wonderful pictures.
Rotation activities
We have many rotation activities that the students do for 30-45 minutes, these cover all the 4
language skills, listening, writing, speaking and reading. These will be run all through the
camp and will give the students time to learn from each teacher individually. These are great fun
for the students and a major part of every camp we do!!!
Bring Me Game
The Bring Me Game is designed to help student to learn how to work as a team, confident and
imagination. We will split the student into 2 teams or 3 teams. Student have limit of time to
make or be it, then present to all their friend.
Mini Olympics
The Mini Olympics is the students chance to get some exercise and run around. Our games are a
far cry from the real Olympics but they are a lot of fun and involve much speaking and reading
English.
The Temple Festival
Each group of students has to make an event which could be seen at a temple festival ( ). Each
activity must attract students to play and award points players that win. The students have to
include some kind of English in their activity. An Everything Activity
Meet your teacher
This activity gives you the chance to get to know your trainer a little better. We will give the
students a list of interview questions to use, or they may use their own. A Listening and
Speaking Activity
The Treasure Hunt
The Treasure Hunt is designed to help the students with reading and sentence structure. We
give the students a selection of words which will form together to make a clue. The clue will tell
the students to go somewhere or do something. One clue will lead onto another selection of
single words which will make another clue to another clue and so on and so on. At the end of the
Hunt we place a bag of sweets for the winning group.
TV Game and disco
The TV show requires the students to create their own TV station. The groups will either be
producing a News report, a weather report, a music video, a TV show or an interview. When
they have finished preparing they will have to show in front of the whole camp. Throughout the
evening, we will also liven things up with a disco!!! An Everything Activity
Story Time
We like to tell a story to the students at some time during the camp. This has a special suprise
ending!!! A Listening activity.

Usually you have the camp broken up into groups. Say 10 groups of 10 students each.

I have pictures of 30 different sports mounted on cards. A member of group one picks out a card at
random. He tries to act out the sport until his group guesses what sport it is. On to group two, etc. This
can be timed and turned into an elimination type contest with the fastest three groups getting a good
dobee award of some kind.

Students often seem shy in the classroom and having an English Camp allows them to step out of the
"me teacher-you student" mold and show off. You may be surprised at how much English they know in a
more relaxed setting.


This game is an elimination game (if you can't find a group you must sit down). A "bridge" is
formed by two students. A "traffic light" is formed by three students. A "traffic jam" is made
with four people. A "flower" is four people forming a ring and one person standing in the
middle and an "octopus" is a formation consisting of eight people. When a command (e.g.
"traffic jam") is given, the students must abandoned the previous formation and make the
new formation, unfortunately abandoning someone who cannot find a group. We eliminated
112 students leaving one group of 8 forming a giant octopus. The 8 students received a candy
treat from the teachers. The real purpose of the game is to teach auditory discrimination
skills. When Bob announced "traffic light" many students heard "bridge". The consonants and
vowels are difficult to discern. For example, when we say "hot" they hear "hard".


Shop Til You Drop! (Food from Australia)Materials NeededDetailed InstructionsBrief Outline of
ObjectivesAt this station, students will be expected to exhibit their knowledge on the topic of food.
Activities will include: Unscrambling a variety of food vocabulary into appropriate food groups (fruits,
vegetables, meat, and drinks) Relay race to obtain a number of ingredients from a given shopping
listPurpose of activity: To review commonly used food vocabulary To practice making and receiving
requests (i.e.: Do you have any broccoli?Step-by-StepStudents will enter station and sing team cheer
(5 minutes)Unscrambling Activity: (2 minutes)Students will each receive a food vocabulary word. The
entire group will be asked to sort and stick the vocabulary words to the correct boards. Relay Race
Activity: (5 minutes)Students will be divided into four groups and matched with a particular food group.
One student from each group will be selected as the clerk and the rest of the students will be
shoppers. The shoppers then run one at a time (relay style) and give the five vocabulary words to the
clerk. After relay, Kali will take away two or three vocabulary words randomly from each clerk.Shopping
Activity:(15 minutes)Paige will explain instructions and reinforce phrases such as Do you have any ___?
No, I dont have any ___, etc. Clerks will be told to answer Yes or No, but not actually give them
the vocabulary words. Shoppers to run one at a time (relay-style) to ask the clerks if they have a
particular food item. If NO, they are finished and can sit on the ground. If Yes, they can get behind
another line to ask a different clerk. If a student is able to buy all items on his/her list, then they win the
game. The number of winners who are awarded prized will be at the discretion of Paige (perhaps
determined by speed of completion). Materials Needed:Vocabulary words(5 from each group), written
on note cardsVelcro and/or tape (if tape, several rolls will work best)Four poster boards labeled Fruits,
Vegetables, Meat, and Drinks25-30 Shopping lists which contain one food item from each group
Board explaining instructions (if needed)Marker (if needed)


Match Up:
A small group of players are blindfolded or close their eyes. The group is given three or four
balloons of different sizes and colour. The objective of the game is for the players to correctly
match the sizes and colours of each balloon in the quickest time. They do this by asking a
question to an outside player who can see. However, the sighted person can only answer, yes or
no.
Laughing Matter:
All players stand side by side. One player is chosen to be the laugh maker and stands facing one
player in the line. That players objective is to make that person laugh as fast as possible. When
successful, that player joins the laugh maker and they attempt to make others laugh. The
objective is to have all the players become laugh makers in he shortest time possible.
Back to Back:
One player is designated as runner while the other players pair up back to back with elbows
Interlocked. At the call of ALL CHANGE players must leave their partner and find another.
The runner attempts to get another partner and the remaining person becomes the new caller.
Animal Farm:
Whisper the name of an animal to each player. On a given signal players must make the noise of
the animal they are assigned for a set time period, approx. one min. see how many animals
players can identify.
Barnyard:
All players are divided into three or four animal categories (i.e. wolves, chickens, pigs). All
players scattered randomly about the playing area, close their eyes and attempt to get into groups
of similar animals only using their appropriate animal sounds.
In a second round allow sight but no soundplayers can make the actions but are not allowed to
make noise.
A Hat & A Cat:
Players sit in circle and the leader begins by passing a ball to the player on their right while
saying this is a cat. The person will ask, a what? and the leader replies a cat. The second
player the passes the ball to a third player and says this is a cat and the third player will reply
a what? and the question gets passed back to the original leader. Each time the ball goes as far
as one more player, and then the question returns to the leader. (everyone has to say a what? all
the way back to the leader and then a cat all the way back to where the ball was before it can
be passed on again). Start a hat going the other way for a challenge.


Battle For Freedom:
The majority of players crouch on the floor pretending to hide an object which only one player
actually has. Five Freedom Fighters run from player to player asking, have you got the
Rhune? as soon as they locate the Rhune, they attempt to hit the two Warlock Lords, (use a
foam ball) who in turn have been trying to hit the freedom fighters from the start of the game.
Once a player is hit they are immobilized.
Hop Along:
Players stand in pairs face to face. They then lift their right leg straight up and allow their partner
to grab it under their left arm. In t his position they must hop to a designated spot and then run
back to allow the next pair to go. This game may be done in threes or fours and also it can be
done as a relay race.
Belt Loop Ball:
Divide the players into teams of 10 people. Each team competes with itself to play the game
successfully. It is fun to have different players make up each team every time the game is
repeated. Each team stands in a straight line; they are tied together by passing the rope through
the left loop of every players belt. The object of the game is to guide a soccer ball (players use
only their feet) from one side of the playing area to another. However, the only players who are
allowed to kick the ball are those holding one of the two ping-pong balls. Every time the leader
calls SWITCH the people holding the ping-pong balls pass them on to different members of
their team. Only one kick per time holding the ping-pong ball is permitted. After each team
becomes adept at completing the run across the playing area, competitions between teams can be
organized.
Clap It:
All players sit in a circle except for one player who stands out of hearing and faces away from
the group. Quietly the group picks out something someone is wearing and the first player returns
to the group. As they walk around the circle the players clap, louder when he is near and quietly
when they are far away. Once the right person is located, the object must be found the same way
as they more their hands about the persons body looking (listening) for the object.
Confusion:
Players stand in a circle and face each other with hands raised waist high. A ball is thrown to one
person who in turn throws it to another and so on to establish as pattern. Once youve caught the
ball, put your hands down until everyone has caught the ball. The key point is to remember the
person you threw the ball to. When the ball gets back to the person who originally started it, the
same sequence is repeated. To add excitement put in a couple more balls and speed things up.
Try doing it backwards too.
Cone guard:
Toe teams compete by passing a ball between team members to the opposite end of the playing
area. When a team member drops a pass or it is batted away, the other team takes over that spot.
The object is to hit the other teams pylon with the ball. Players cannot encroach on a three foot
diameter goal area which a goalie stands in. If the goalie touches their pylon the other team is
given a point.
Hungry Animals:
Players are divided into different animal groups. Each group has a collector. In the playing
area there are treasures (i.e. Bean bags, candies) which animals try to find. Once treasure is
found, the animal makes their

Back Words:
Divide the group into teams of 5 people each with pencil and paper. Call out a word which has
four or more letters. Each team writes the word vertically down the left side of the paper, and on
the right side write the word vertically backwards. Then they have to fill in between the letters to
form new words.
Bed Sheet Ping Pong:
Form two teams. Each team holds an opposite end of a bed sheet. A ping pong ball is placed in
the middle of the sheet. The object is to get the ball to fall off of the other teams side, for a point.
The sheet can be raised and lowered as needed but remind the players to be careful not to
launch the ball as they will be very
Clothesline:
players are formed into teams of equal numbers. Each person at the front of the line is given a
roll of cord with a spoon attached to the end. At a signal, the front person takes the spoon and
puts it down their top and pants, the next person takes the spoon and cord and puts it up their
pants and top. This goes on, until the whole team is connected. Hey collectively move to a line
50 feet and reverse the sequence to get the spoon back to the roll.
Kuzit:
Players stand in a circle. One player is in the middle with a ball. While music is playing the
centre person passes the ball back and forth between players. When the music stops the player
who last touched the all must run around the circle and get back to their spot before the person in
the centre can name all the colours the runner is wearing. If they name all the colours they then
switch places with that player. An alternative instead of playing music is to get the group to sing
a song together.
ENGLISH CAMP ACTIVITIES
1. Singing and Dancing. English teachers showing
students how to sing and dance in the English traditon.
2. Writing. Students learning to write simple
sentences. The Kindergarten students learning how to
draw their A.B.C.'S..
3. Purzzles and Crosswords solving. Students learn to
read a sentence, or an animal name, and fill in the
blank puzzles.
4. Pictionary. Students look at the pictures and
identify the object in the pictures.
5. Scavenger. Students learn how to navigate from
place to place, and help each other stay sale. They
learn both English and survival skills.
6. Sports. Students learn how to play Volleyball,
Dogeball, and Basketball.
7. Watching English Cartoons. First and Second
Grade students watched English cartoon. This help
them learn English, while still having fun.


Games Descriptions

Fastest is the Winner
Work with your team, and think fast!
Find words and the meaning to be the winner!

Game Zone
How good is your acting? Youll need to mime the vocabulary for your friends to guess! Funny gesture
and movements will help you win!


Eng & Art
How is your drawing? You will need to draw funny pictures about vocabulary for your team to win!
Unity, teamwork and enjoyment are the idea of this game!

Find It
Can you speak English? This game has you speaking and listening. Saying words clearly can help your
team win! Work with your team and enjoy speaking!

Dont Stop the Music
Can you sing? Enjoy English songs and music. Recognize lyrics and tunes and see if your friends can
guess the songs.

What is it?
How good is your vocabulary? This game aims to test your vocabulary skills. You will be asked to look at
some drawings and guess the vocabulary words.

Give me a name- Or Hangman
It is simply the hangman game. Each group has to compete over vocabulary hidden on the chart
provided.

Gossip Game
This game is to practice your listening and speaking. One student in each group will hear phrases or
sentences and has to pass them along to his or her friends by whispering and last student in the group
will have to say it out loud correctly.