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ESL Battleships
In this popular game, students attempt to work out what their partners have marked on a table by asking questions. This game is based on the popular game of the same name that has been played for more than a century.
- Focus: Grammar, Speaking, Young Learners, Online
- Level: Any
- Age: Primary+
- Target Language: Any
- Time: 10 minutes - 15 minutes
- Preparation: To prepare grids according to the language point
Procedure:
PRE: Prepare tables for students to use. Each student will need two copies of the table so that they can use one to mark their answers and another to mark their partner’s answers.
1: Provide students with copies of the table. If teaching online, this will need to be editable, so is best provided as a worksheet.
2: Tell students to choose an answer for each question in the first table by placing a tick. They should not do anything with the second table at this point. If doing this offline, tell students not to show anyone else their answers.
3: Show students how to play by showing them the second table. Elicit the questions to find out if a student put a tick in the first row. Demonstrate asking and answering with a student. Put ticks and crosses in the appropriate boxes
Example:
Using example grid below
S1: Does Mark have a pencil?
S2: No, he doesn’t. Does Lisa have a ruler?
Variations:
Example Grid:
| James | Helen | Mark | Lisa | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pencil | ||||
| Ruler | ||||
| Notebook | ||||
| Eraser |
Example Language:
has got/has … got?
like/dislike/love/hate
never/rarely/sometimes/often/always
jobs
can/can’t
