English Games for Elementary Students

Letter to Santa

Subject: Creative writing

 

This game can be great fun in the last lesson before Christmas. But, in order not to cause offence, it would be better to carried it out in a mature class, where the students know each other very well.

Skills: Writing, Speaking, Listening

Level: Elementary

Recommended Age: 16+

Participants Number: 4-12 players

Time: 15-25 minutes                              

Place: Classroom

Equipment: Not required

Materials: Not required

Preliminary Preparation:  Not required

Immediate Preparation (2-3 minutes).

1. If possible, arrange the game participants so that they are sitting or standing in a circle or a semi-circle.

2. Invite each student to write in their notebook a letter to Santa Claus on behalf of the person on their right, i.e. Player A writes for Player B, Player B for Player C and so on. Allow them a reasonable amount of time for completing this task. While the students are writing, circulate, monitor and assist, if necessary.

How to Play. When everyone is ready, bring the class to order. Next ask the participants to hand the letters to 'their authors'. To start the competition, invite Player A to read aloud the letter to Santa, written for them by the last player. After finishing, Player A estimates this letter. This time, it is Player B, whose turn to reads aloud their false letter and so on. The player, who gets the highest mark, becomes the winner of the game.

Advice. To make the game even more competitive, you may wish to invite the other students in the class to vote for the best letter and then award a bonus point to its author.