Categories

Aims of the game:
This is a game that is good for revising lexical sets.
Playing the game.
Basic procedure:

• Choose five categories of lexix that you would like to practice with the children and then show the children how to play the game.
• Either draw a grid on the board and ask the children to copy it into their exercise books, or give the children a photocopied grid.
• Give an example of what they have to do. Elicit from the class one word for each of the categories, and write them in.
• animal    food    family    color    sport
• fish         bread  mum      red      tennis
• Then give the children three minutes (or however long you think the children need) to fill in as many words as they can. Allow them to use their coursebooks or dictionaries to help.
• Let the children compare their answers with a friend, and fill in any gaps they may have. Check the answers with the whole class and see how many words they found for each category.

Adapting for older children.

• Older children might like to play the game in teams. Divide the class into pairs or teams of four. Give each team a grid to complete.

Adapting for higher levels.

• Higher-level students might like to play the game using sequential letters of the alphabeth or even words with 2, 3, 4, etc. letters in them. Let the children use plural forms, but if you play the game this way, tell the children that not all letters have appropriate words.