Ask the Right Question

An excellent oral language game that I've used in my reading group is called "Ask the Right Question".

Students play in a group and each person is given a card with a word and picture related to the word on the card. To get the point, students need to ask a question to their group to have students say the word on their card. Almost similar to a Jeopardy, the word on the card is the answer to their question.

For example, if the word on the card is "Olympics", the student may create the following question: "What international sporting event was held in London in 2012?"

This is an excellent game to play with all students but primarily works well with EAL students in your classroom. Many students try to simply give clues, instead of asking a question, so this game forces students to improve their questioning skills.

My students have loved playing this game although it seems like such a simple concept. It can be change for any topic or book that you are studying at the time. Vocabulary cards can then be re-used for other oral language games, such as 20 questions and charades.