Do your Spanish students LOVE playing games? Mine too! I use that enthusiasm to my advantage to get them using the target language and they play independently! How can that be? Read on to get my step by step directions to create your own board game that gets your students practicing circumlocution skills. (Bonus– Students can play this game by themselves because 1 student is the question master!)
Step One: Get or Design your Board
Your board should be a simple path that students follow from start to finish. Something similar to Candy Land. The board doesn’t have to be fancy. When I started playing this game I drew my own version that looked like a snake and called it “la culebra.” You can also find tons of templates online and on TpT. Here is an example of one I made for family vocabulary.
Step Two: Write the Question Master Clues
Create a two column chart with a series of clues with the corresponding answers. This is a fabulous way to get them practicing circumlocution and you can make clues about the vocabulary students are learning. Depending on how long you want the game to last, create two or three sets of 10 clues. For example, a clue would be “Ella es la madre de mi madre” and the answer is “la abuela.” Here is an example of what a game about family looks like.
Step Three: Find Playing Pieces
First, you will need something to determine how many spaces the students will move. I’ve found dice at the dollar store. There are also a multitude of spinners online. Then, you need playing pieces for the students. They can use coins, make little markers out of paper (which is super cute if they personalize them and you laminate them for future use!), tiny legos, or find little figures at the dollar store.
Step four: Time to play!
Put the students in groups of four.
- Each group will choose a question master. This person has all the questions and answers.
- The other members of the group will play. The person with the next birthday starts first. The first student rolls the die and the question master asks the first question. If they get the question right, they get to move the number of spaces that were on the die. If they get it wrong they stay where they are at.
- First person to reach the end wins.
- Then they switch roles and a new question master is selected.
Have you tried playing board games with your students in class? My students love them so much that I created a whole bunch to play throughout the year: family, food, & house. I would love to hear all about your experience! Connect with me on Instagram or Facebook and tell me about your experience.
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