If your students are reviewing for a test, then they probably have some worksheets or workbook pages that they’re supposed to complete, but which will be met with cries of, “Boring!”

A simple way to make those exercises more exciting are by playing Grammar Casino!

Note: The game is called Grammar Casino, but it could be used in any class where students have a lot of worksheet questions that they have to answer.

Before class:

Before class make sure you have a worksheet or book page with lots of exercises on it. Make sure that you have enough copies so that each group will have one copy of the worksheet or book.

For Grammar Casino to work, you need several “exercises” on each worksheet. Grammar Casino is ideal for book review pages with multiple activities. For example, a perfect book page to turn into Grammar Casino would be a review page with 5 fill-in-the-blank exercises, followed by 10 “correct the sentence” exercises, 7 multiple choice questions, and 5 unjumble the sentence exercises. In this case, you would be able to play four rounds of Grammar Casino.

Make sure you have the answers to the exercises before class because you’re going to need to check the worksheets/pages quickly.

Step 1: Put students into groups and give them “money”

Put students into small groups of 2-4. On the board, give each team $200. (This is even more fun if you have toy money, like Monopoly money, which you can hand to the groups.)

Step 2: Explain the concept of betting

What is betting?

It’s when you gamble money that someone is going to win or succeed. Your students will probably know some examples. Explain that you won’t be using real money in class.

Step 3: Explain the rules

How do you play?

Here are the rules.

After completing a grammar exercise, but before the teacher gives feedback, students are going to bet money on how well they did the grammar exercise. The maximum bet they can make is $100. This is to prevent teams from losing all their money on the first round. If students get 100% correct, then they can add their bet to their teams’ money. If they miss 1-2 questions, they can add 50% of their bet. If they miss more than 2, then they will lose the money they bet.

Need an example?

For example, let’s imagine a team with $200 bets $50. When you check their work, they’ve made one mistake. That means they’ve earned $25. Now they have $225.

Another team with $200 also bet $50. When you check their answers, they’ve made 3 mistakes. They’ve lost the bet, so they now have $150.

Step 4: Let students complete the first exercise

Give students time to answer the first exercise in their groups. It’s best to set a time limit so students don’t take too long. When the time is up, ask for each groups bet. Note their bet on the board.

Step 5: Check their work

Make sure you have the answers to all the grammar exercises because after students make their bets, you have to quickly check each group’s exercises. The best way to do this is by calling one “team leader” up from each group. That student brings the exercise to you. You can check all of the teams’ answers quickly this way.

Step 6: Add or subtract their bets

After you’ve checked everyone’s work, add or subtract their bets to their group’s total money on the board.

Step 7: Complete the next worksheet exercise

Repeat!

Students love this game and get super competitive, but at the end of the day they’re still doing the “boring” grammar exercises that they have to complete for the class. Also, by quickly grading and handing back their answers, students get instant feedback which is great review for an upcoming test.

Did your students have fun with grammar casino? Next class try 10 Quick Fun 5-Minute ESL / EFL Activities.