TEACH

Build a Board Game

Building English vocabulary through board games and play

Four images of students playing and making board games. The photos are in black-and-white and the faces have colored circles over them.

Lesson Objective

Club students design and build a board game to help their fellow sixth-grade classmates study past English lessons.

Curriculum Overview

Students design and role-play a cooking show in order to learn common cooking vocabulary and phrases.

I made a rough curriculum plan knowing things could change week to week based on my students’ progress. However, every week, I made a detailed lesson plan.

The original lesson and game pieces were created and designed by Prince Padania and purchased and modified for my lesson.

Role
ESL English Teacher

Grade / Level
Elementary, Grade 6
Art Express English Club
Low-High Beginner ESL

Lesson Idea Modified From
Prince Padania

Lesson Timeline
September - November 2021
(10 weeks)

Design Thinking

The goal was to get students to use design thinking methods and work through the design process as they made their board games.

Phase 1: Research
Students researched and played American games, learned vocabulary and new game rules.

Phase 2: Ideate
Students worked in teams to ideate game themes, layouts, and instructions.

Phase 3: Prototype
Game cards, boards, and tokens were prototyped and designed.

Phase 4: Test
The game was tested with the club members, and later played and tested for class feedback.

A lesson plan for learning how to play the card game Uno.
A lesson plan for mind mapping and brainstorming a semester review board game.

Examples of my detailed lesson plans. Each week, I would create a detailed version of my plans to help class time run smoothly.

Research = Play

According to Albert Einstein, “Play is the deepest form of research.” To learn new vocabulary in English, my club students played a few different American board and card games. We learned game vocabulary and rules, and reflected on what made the game fun and successful after playing.

Students cover their clue sheet with a book and determine where on the game board they want to go and what clues they want to guess.
Students gather around the board game Clue and work on worksheets reflecting about their experience playing the game.

“I think it was _____ (용의자의 이름) in the _______ (방 이름 / 장소) with the ______ (무기).”

Worksheets and Game Reflections

Before each game new vocabulary and rules were taught. Worksheets were given to help recall and memorize what was learned. Teaching aids were provided during the game for trickier English sentences and vocabulary. At the end of each game, students were asked to reflect on what they learned, liked, disliked, and what they could improve or use when making their own game boards.

Three worksheets that help students learn, play, and review the board and card games.

Ideating and Prototyping

After our research stage, my students collectively brainstormed and mind-mapped game themes, rules, and ideas before spending the next few weeks implementing our designs into prototypes. Before the students played their game with the rest of their sixth-grade classmates, they played a test round, and filmed how-to-play videos.

Students gather around a mind map and work on reviewing and adding to it.
Students sit at their desks and work on prototypes for the board game. The photo is taken from behind so you can see the research and notes on the board.
Students sit at their desks and work on prototypes for the board game. The photo is taken from in front so you can see the students’ work.
A bird’s eye view of students working on the game board pieces and dice.
A close-up shot of students testing out the board game.
A photo of the classroom that shows a table of materials students can use to help them ideate and create their prototypes. Students are working with their backs facing the camera.
Students gathered around a table to work on the layout of the game board.
A bird’s eye view of students playing their board game and testing out the experience.

Playing and Testing the Game

It’s Game Time!

The final result of the project was a board game that my club students tested and played with the rest of their sixth-grade classmates during regular class time. 

Before letting the students play the game, we learned about design thinking. This primer into the activity helped non-club students understand how the board game was designed and made. They started thinking like designers and feeling less shy about providing helpful and constructive feedback.

At the end of the game and lesson, all students took a feedback survey about the board game, which my club students later reflected on.

An angled shot of students gathering around the finished board game and playing it.
A frontal shot of students gathering around the finished board game and playing it.

Key Takeaways

TAKEAWAY 1

Invest in More Research

Plan extra time in the research phase for students to test out more games and better understand various types of games, rules, etc.

TAKEAWAY 2

Good Directions = Successful Outcomes

Provide more direction around writing the game’s question cards and game rules. Have students understand what is a successful question to ask for gameplay, and what might be too hard or confusing for others to answer. Let them modify directly from the textbook. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! 

TAKEAWAY 3

Test Your Ideas

Allow students more game-testing time and allow them to incorporate these changes.

Create a Cooking Show

Workshops