I see a beach ball as an essential tool for games.  So far I haven’t had any accidents and even if a kid gets bonked in the head, it’s an air filled ball.  It isn’t going to hurt too much.  I used to use a smaller nerf type ball about the size of a baseball.  It worked okay for the older kids, but the little ones didn’t have the manual dexterity to throw and catch it.

Any how, back to using a ball.  Currently we use both the “Let’s Go” series and the “Tops” series with the majority of our students.  I’ll write a future post on how I use a ball with “Let’s Go”.  I generally don’t use it with “Tops” because it’s more grammar and writing focused.

On to games.  One is just asking open-ended questions.  It’s best for mid to upper level students who have a good vocabulary and good grasp of how to form questions.  The questions can range from the mundane such as “What’s your name?” to the complex such as “If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?”  You can also practice specific sentence structures.  With a lower level class one day, I did “I like _____.” where they could fill in the blank with anything.  I was trying to practice using the plural form (yes, I know there are exceptions) for things you like.

All of these things are really boring activities on their own.  But add in the fun of throwing a ball around the classroom and suddenly they’re the best things ever.

My ball is on the smaller side.  I’d be surprised if it were a full 6 inches in diameter.

If you try it in your classroom, let me know how it goes!