esl worksheets for middle school

  • Teaching Tips

96 Free TEFL and ESL Worksheets You Can Use Today

Quincy Smith

  • March 17, 2021

OUR TOP PARTNER COURSES

esl worksheets for middle school

120hr + Full Tutor Support

10% off with ESL102021

teachaway logo

120hr Online TEFL Course

Best Online Option!

esl worksheets for middle school

120hr Digital TEFL Course

15% Discount!

esl worksheets for middle school

120hr Online TEFL Class

Most Reputable!

This post may contain affiliate links (at no extra cost to you). Please read  our disclosure  for more information.

Teaching English isn’t all glitz and glamour and most ESL positions often demand a good deal of legwork from teachers. Depending on the level of preparation required for lesson planning , the curriculum, and the availability of materials, you may find yourself scrambling to come up with effective lesson plans on your own. Worksheets have historically been — and to this day remain — important staples of the ESL classroom, whether in-person or digital. While it’s certainly possible to get “carried away” with worksheets by becoming over-reliant on them, in moderation they can be immensely beneficial for driving home important terminology and concepts in the minds of ESL learners.

Fortunately, the web is chock full of high-quality ESL worksheets that are totally free. We’ve listed the best here, broken up by category.

ESL Conversation Worksheets

High-quality conversation worksheets touch upon the four pillars of ESL: listening, speaking, reading, and writing.

Here you’ll find a wide range of topics that will get your classroom chatting. Students will be able to ask well-structured, relevant questions, hold a conversation with one another, and formulate and express their opinions.

Speaking practice is arguably one of the best methods for students to acquire a second language and conversation is a great way to practice speaking the language in a non-intimidating way.

  • The History of Communication
  • Birthday Survey
  • Conversation Fill in the Blanks
  • Your Last Holiday
  • Let’s Talk about the Universe!
  • Shopping Conversation
  • Travel Questions

ESL Family Worksheets

The family is the most basic human social unit. Even the youngest learners will have their own well-developed conceptions of the family and, chances are, they’ll be enthusiastic to think and talk about their own in the classroom.

All levels and ages of learners can benefit from practicing family-related vocabulary. Luckily, there are worksheets for all ages and skill levels in this category.

Below, you’ll find beginner-friendly worksheets to introduce vocabulary about family and relatives, as well as advanced worksheets that cover more thought-provoking topics such as conflicts between family members and differences in cultural traditions.

  • Writing about Family Members
  • Family Traditions
  • Create Your Family Tree!
  • Spot the Differences — Family Portraits
  • Conflicts Between Teens and Parents

ESL Alphabet Worksheets

Learning the alphabet and the corresponding phonics is one of the most foundational aspects of a young learner’s initial ESL education.

These worksheets are targeted at a younger audience of English language learners, however, included in this list is also some vowel pronunciation practice that is suitable for all ages.

Even a student who has been studying English for years can still struggle with vowel pronunciation, often confusing once vowel sound with another, similar one. Revisiting the fundamentals of the alphabet can help.  

The younger crowd will also benefit from these fun activities, which not only introduce them to the alphabet but increase their vocabulary as well.

  • Single Vowel Practice Test
  • My English Alphabet
  • Big Letter Tracing

ESL Reading Worksheets

Reading comprehension is an essential skill that not only benefits ESL learners in practical terms, but is also a central component of most standardized English tests like the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) .  

The ESL worksheets below offer a great opportunity to reinforce lessons, evaluate comprehension, and work together to answer the questions (for example, you can have the students take turns reading and then pose each question or exercise to the entire class).

You can tailor your reading material to meet the current lesson content and/or interests of your students. If you already have a story or book you’re working with, feel free to adapt these worksheets to fit by modifying the questions, wording, or exercises.

  • Life in the Future
  • Reading Comprehension by Grade Level
  • A Taste of Nature
  • Unhealthy Breakfast
  • Silly Bear Story
  • Harry Potter (School Timetable)

ESL Grammar Worksheets

Because English grammatical structure is dramatically different compared to the grammar of other languages (especially those from totally foreign linguistic families such as East Asian tongues), ESL students often struggle with mastering this aspect of English.  

These grammar worksheets are a great way to get creative with how you reinforce your lessons. Veteran teachers might find it valuable to adjust these to fit their own classes while less-experienced educators may find it more useful to rely on these as the main focal point of their lesson.

  • To Have (Present Tense)
  • Command Verbs
  • Adverbs & Frequency
  • 8 Parts of Speech
  • Verb Tenses
  • Article or No Article?
  • Infinitives
  • Indefinite Articles

ESL Pronunciation Worksheets

Depending on your students’ level of skill, the following ESL worksheets can really help reinforce your pronunciation and phonetics lessons ( as can these pronunciation exercises ).

When you use these worksheets optimally as a teacher, you are able to not only demonstrate the correct sound but also how it will look on paper in a word or phrase.

Usually English phonetic sounds — even vowels and their combinations – have recurring patterns that, once identified and retained through practice, make bridging the gap between written and verbal word much easier.

These worksheets are more interactive than some of the others. In the past, I’ve taken one of these worksheets and transferred some or most of it onto the board – this not only encouraged the class to work together in sounding out the words, but made it easy to understand how to do the rest of the tasks in the worksheet on their own.

  • The Final ‘S’
  • ‘Ed’ Endings
  • ‘T’ and ‘Th’ Sounds
  • ‘O’ and ‘U’ Vowel Sounds
  • ‘Ou’ and ‘Oo’ Vowel Sounds
  • ‘Oi’ and ‘Oy’ Vowel Sounds

ESL Preposition Worksheets

Like other challenging aspects of English, other languages often lack prepositions. This makes acquiring native-level understanding of the structural form and function of prepositional phrases difficult. Proper preposition use into flowing conversation is even more challenging.  

I’ve found preposition worksheets to be invaluable in driving home the correct use of prepositions.  The simplicity of most sheets means they aren’t so intimidating to students. They are also easy to do on their own as they often only require filling out or circling one word or phrase.

  • Where Is the Cat?
  • Mixed Prepositions
  • Fill in the Correct Preposition
  • Proposition Gap
  • In, On, or Under
  • Prepositions of Time

ESL Worksheets for Beginners

For students young and old, beginner ESL worksheets are an important tool for drilling home the basics. They should be both easy to understand and engaging enough to command and hold attention.

Even among the most thorough and time-thrifty instructors, the beginner level is where ESL teachers tend to become over-reliant on worksheets. Don’t make this mistake. The best rule of thumb in this regard is to keep worksheets as tools of review rather than the main “bread and butter” of the lesson.

Feel free to borrow aspects of these worksheets that work, adjust those that don’t, and try to not lean too heavily on them at the risk of frustrating your beginner students.

  • Animal Match
  • Alphabet Fun
  • Months of the Year
  • What Do You Want to Be?
  • Body Parts – Crossword
  • Countable vs. Uncountable Nouns

ESL Worksheets for Adults

Despite the perception of worksheets being useful for younger students only, adult learners actually engage effectively with worksheets – when they are strategically included as part of an overall lesson .

Regardless of skill level, most adult students will expect a bit more depth from their ESL worksheets than young learners. With that in mind, we have included some more adult topics like idioms, parties, and a science story.

The best adult lesson plans utilize these worksheets as part of the journey instead of the destination. Accordingly, work to incorporate them into your lesson and see if they might spur additional conversation or activities or lend greater context to the lesson.

For some of these ESL worksheets, such as the one covering speed dating and party expressions, think of them as a way to “spice up” your lesson and get some creative interaction going.

  • Back to the Board
  • Advanced Reading & Comprehension
  • Changes in Science Story
  • Using Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots
  • Understanding Expressions
  • Party Time Expressions
  • Speed Dating

ESL Worksheets for Kids

ESL worksheets are effective natural fits for kids’ lesson plans. Chances are high that your primary-level students are already well-accustomed to worksheet activities by the time you get them in your class. And, if the worksheets are high-quality, they will engage kids’ attention to the material at hand.

As with other age groups, ESL worksheets for kids should never be the focal point of your lesson – their attention spans are too short and how their learning styles are too varied to rely entirely on a worksheet.

Instead, use these worksheets during the last few minutes of your class or as homework (depending on their level) primarily as reinforcement mechanisms to maximize your students’ retention of the material.

On the web, you can find free age-appropriate ESL worksheets for kids on virtually any topic. Here is a small sampling of a wide array of subjects.

  • Find Someone Who Bingo
  • Places/Giving Directions
  • Match the Animals
  • Hidden Classroom Objects
  • My Day/Daily Routine

ESL Vocabulary Worksheets

When it comes to retaining English vocabulary, the key to success is repetition. Only after continual practice using a term or phrase will it become permanently etched in the mind of the learner for fluid recall in everyday conversation.

In that pursuit, ESL worksheets are crucial when looking to reinforce new vocabulary or practice old lessons – the beauty of these sheets is that they can be edited to fit any lesson with minimal effort.  

Consider having your students work together on a sheet and play around with pairing stronger speakers with weaker ones to see how it works – these worksheets aren’t too intensive and are great for partner exercises.

  • Cooking Vocabulary
  • At the Airport Role Play
  • Interviewing Lady Gaga (a Perennial Favorite of Asian ESL Leaners)
  • World Cup Map
  • Feelings & Emojis

ESL Writing Worksheets

English writing is a tough skill to learn (and to teach) effectively. Nonetheless, mastering writing, even as a non-native learner, is possible. Expertise in writing should be one of the long-term ultimate goals of any language training program.

These writing worksheets are aimed at making this essential skill easier (or at least more fun).  

Before handing out these ESL worksheets, I’d recommend practicing a few examples on the board (you can even make a game out of it) to ensure everyone understands the instructions.  

Rather than relying on these worksheets alone, instead incorporate them into your lesson to practice and reinforce the aspect of English writing that is the focus of your overall lesson.  

  • Ordering Food at a Restaurant
  • Comparatives and Superlatives
  • A Short Story about Autumn
  • Writing Test
  • Creating Persuasive Leads

ESL Past Tense Worksheets

Mastering the foundational aspects of English, such as switching between tenses, is a challenge because of the language’s unique grammatical structure.

In fact, many of your students may not be used to conjugating verbs at all – it’s entirely possible that their native language does not require altering the form of the verb to match the tense at all.  

Given the unique challenge of tenses in ESL learning, one of the strategies to help your students should include practice, practice, practice. Worksheets are a great way to drill home verb conjugation. Here are some of the best.

  • Past Simple Conjugation
  • Past Simple (Irregular Verbs)
  • Past Continuous
  • Past Perfect
  • Mixed tenses

ESL Money Worksheets

Financial literacy education – such as how to manage money wisely and how to convert currencies, for example — is an essential (and, all too often) overlooked subject that has real-world benefits. You can give your students a head start in their financial literacy with hearty helpings of economic education.

Add these handy worksheets to your lesson plans on money.

  • Money: Vocabulary Quiz
  • Phrasal Verbs Related to Money
  • Fractions and Percentages
  • American Currency
  • Making a Budget

ESL Clothes Worksheet

Virtually everywhere in the world, fashion is likely to be an area of intense interest for a large subset of your students – especially among adolescent and young adult learners.

As such, teachers often find that lesson plans (when they are well-developed) that center around fashion and clothes elicit the most engagement and participation from their students.

Here are some of the top ESL clothes worksheets to include in your clothing lesson plan.

  • Clothes Maze
  • Clothes and Seasons
  • Clothes and Colors
  • The Weather and Clothes
  • Fashion and Style

ESL Food Worksheets

If Anthony Bourdain and other culinary-anthropological entrepreneurs have taught us anything with their world eating tours, the central takeaway is that food is a universally relatable subject that is central to our identities and even to our basic survival.

Everyone understands food as an important, fundamental subject. In many ways, we orient ourselves in the world and within our societies by the foods and meals that we share. This is why ESL education focused on food can be so effective for learners of all ages.

Here is a sampling of the best ESL food worksheets.

  • Let’s Talk About Food
  • Food Boardgame (Adaptable)
  • Food Likes and Dislikes
  • Yummy Breakfast
  • Food Wordsearch

Want more?  Here are some of the best online resources we found for ESL Worksheets & PDFs:

  • iSLCollective
  • ESL Kid Stuff
  • Easy Teacher Worksheets
  • ESL Printables
  • Live Worksheets

Quincy Smith

Quincy Smith

We* made a tefl.

*Made with love by the same people who run ESL Authority!

esl worksheets for middle school

  • 120hr Online Course with 11 Modules & 85 Lessons
  • Full Tutor Support - All Questions Answered in 48hrs
  • Fully Accredited and Valid Anywhere
  • Perfect for online and classroom teachers

9 Responses

Hello, I was wondering if there would be any problems if I printed ( into posters) a few grammar Anchor sheets I found on your site, to hang on my classroom wall. Thanks, Ann

Hi Ann – we don’t own any of these worksheets so your best bet is to contact each host and ask them – hope this helps!

A really good resource. Congratulations for sharing your (probable) experience and knowledge with those, like me, that sometimes struggle themselves a lot to get the work done in a loneliness and stressed way. I really appreciated your job! Thank you!!!

are we allowed to use these free class plans in the schools that we teach at abroad? For example, I was thinking about using some of them as a backup resource for teachers who need a class plan on the fly. It will not be apart of the curriculum, it will just be helpful resources for times when we are not using the books at our school. Would this be a violation of any copyright laws? We would not take any credit for the class plans themselves. Great stuff by the way. Thanks so much

Hi Andre – this is just a curated list of available resources – we didn’t create any of these so it’d be better to ask actual owners of the material.

Hi, I created about 20 ESL ppts for adults/ teens, focusing on cool topics with interactive kagan structures. Can I send them to u by email as a donation? Regards, Mary

Absolutely! You can send them to [email protected] – thanks!

Mary, I am teaching many one on one in my Job Readiness Class at a local community college. I am interested [email protected] if you are willing to share!

That is a great resource for English teachers. I loved all the materials shared. I’m also an English teacher and I design similar worksheets on my blog. Good luck

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

THE ONLY TEFL YOU NEED

  • 120hr with 11 Modules & 85 Lessons
  • Full Tutor Support
  • Immediate Digital Certification

esl worksheets for middle school

FOR TEACHERS

  • HIRING GUIDES
  • TEFL COURSES

FOR COMPANIES

  • SUBMIT A COURSE
  • GET IN TOUCH
  • PRIVACY POLICY

JIMMYESL

Ideas & Materials for ESL Activities

There are a few things on earth of which you can never have enough: Ideas for ESL activities, games, and exercises are certainly among those things. Having the right ESL activities prepared will empower you to engage your students and deliver lessons which are effective and fun.

The good news: We do the heavy lifting for you, collect and put together all ideas we can find. Just browse this section, select the ESL activities you want to use, and incorporate them into your lesson plans. Happy teaching!

Must-Read Books for ESL Students

10 Must-Read Books for ESL Students (Elementary & Middle School)

ESL Running Dictation: The Instructions

ESL Running Dictation: a Fun Activity to Practice Writing

ESL Vocabulary & Conversation Worksheets

Free ESL Vocabulary & Conversation Worksheets

Artificial intelligence: ESL questions

41 Artificial Intelligence Discussion Questions: Personal, Legal and Ethical

Information Gap Activities for ESL Lessons

10 Great Information Gap Activities for ESL Lessons

esl worksheets for middle school

12 ESL Pronunciation Activities to Practice With Your Students

esl-listening-worksheets-thumb

Free ESL Listening Worksheets for Your Lessons

Cooking vocabulary: free ESL lists and worksheets

ESL Cooking Vocabulary: All Resources You Need for Your Lesson

Free ESL noun worksheets for all ages and levels

Free ESL Noun Worksheets For Your Lessons

Community building activities for the classroom

15 Engaging Community Building Activities for the Classroom

51+ Technology ESL Questions for Your Lessons

61 ESL Technology Questions for Exciting Conversations

Icebreaker Activities for your ESL Lessons

ESL Icebreakers: 8 Games & Activities For Students of All Ages

Warm Up Activities & Games for ESL Lessons

Fun ESL Warm Up Activities & Games for Adults & Kids

Fun ESL Speaking Activities for Teens and Adults

12 Fun ESL Speaking Activities for Teens or Adults

ESL Vocabulary Games for Adults and Kids

17 Fun ESL Vocabulary Games for Adults and Kids

120 would you rather questions: ESL conversation

120 Would You Rather Questions to Start an ESL Conversation

Classroom objects ESL flashcards and worksheets

School & Classroom Objects – ESL Vocabulary Worksheets & Flashcards

Shape Names – ESL Flashcards and worksheets

Shape Names – ESL Vocabulary Worksheets & Flashcards

More on jimmyesl …, esl worksheets, teaching tips, teacher supplies.

ESL Worksheets

ESL Worksheets

These are practical, printer-friendly ESL worksheets (most with teacher's notes and answers) that you can use in any English language class.

Worksheets by Topic

  • Conversation Worksheets
  • Find Someone Who Worksheets
  • Learning English Video Project Worksheets

Worksheets by Skill

  • Grammar Worksheets
  • Vocabulary Worksheets
  • Pronunciation Worksheets
  • Listening Worksheets
  • Speaking Worksheets
  • Reading Worksheets
  • Writing Worksheets

Matt's ESL Games and Quizzes - for immediate download

Make your own matching, sorting and unscrambling worksheets using the free TEFL.net Worksheet Generator !

All ESL

43 Free ESL Worksheets for English Teachers

43 free esl worksheets

Free ESL Worksheets to Engage Students

Today, we’re going to share with you 43 free ESL worksheets .

They’re free to use, easy to get started, and help engage your students.

No permission is required to use any of them in your classrooms.

Let’s get started.

1. Emotions in Emoticons

Emotions Worksheet

Emotions are a common theme in these ESL worksheets because students have a hard time expressing themselves! This simple ESL activity gets students to match emotions with emoticons.

2. Pronunciation Pyramid

Pronunciation Pyramid Worksheet

Start at the top of the pyramid and work your way down. The teacher says a word and the students circle it. Where do you end up at the bottom of the pyramid?

3. Sounds of English

Sounds of English Worksheet

Of all ESL worksheets, this one gets most surgical for pronunciation showing students exactly where to place their tongue. Place emphasis on each challenging sound.

4. Top 10 Jobs

Top 10 Jobs ESL Worksheets

A Family Feud-style ESL worksheet that helps kids reflect on their future jobs. Let them guess the top 10 jobs students in North America want to be. They might be surprised.

5. Occupations Match

Jobs Match ESL Worksheet

In the same theme of exploring students future, they associate jobs with pictures in this one.

6. Minimal Pairs

Minimal Pairs Worksheet

As an ESL teacher, your biggest asset is how well you can pronounce the sounds of English. On this note, have them circle the words you say aloud.

7. Rhyme Time

Rhyme Time Worksheet

Bring out your stopwatch. In groups, get your students to think of as many rhymes as possible. The group with the most rhymes wins.

8. Picture Rhymes

Picture Rhymes Worksheet

This is one of the most fun ESL worksheets in here. Not only does it help students practice pronunciation, but they also learn to rhyme. Each picture is a rhyme, what is it?

9. What is Halloween?

What is Halloween

It’s October, which means it’s Halloween. Teach your students what Halloween is all about with this ESL worksheet.

10. Halloween Emotions

Halloween Emotions

Halloween is a scary, yet fun time. These are two contradicting emotions and there’s no better way to teach them with emotional jack-o-lanterns.

11. Christmas Crossword

Christmas Crossword ESL Worksheet

Some say crosswords are non-educational ESL activities. But I disagree. Not only do students learn to improve their vocabulary, they learn to spell holiday words.

12. Christmas Untangle

Christmas Untangle

A surprisingly difficult activity where students get to decipher words from a bunch of letters. Luckily, we provide answers at the bottom of the ESL activity.

13. Jingle Bells Order

Jingle Bells Song Order

Students listen to the classic Christmas song “Jingle Bells” and order sentences when they hear them.

14. What’s the Question?

What's the Question

Moving out of the holiday theme, we get into asking questions. For each word in the list, make a question. Get creative and think of more.

15. Einstein’s Riddle

Einstein Riddle ESL Worksheet

THIS is the most difficult of all ESL worksheets. Students have to use logic to solve a riddle that Albert Einstein made at his young age.

16. Your Dream Dog

Your Dream Dog Worksheet

It’s the memory type of game, where students have to ask questions about something they are thinking of. Who wouldn’t want one of these cute dogs?

17. Spot the Differences

Spot the Differences

Two pictures look identical, but they’re not. Students have to find 10 differences in both scenes.

18. Similar Sentences

Similar Sentences

How much do your students pay attention to detail? You read one of the sentences and your students circle the one you said. Sounds easy? Not so much for your class.

19. Maze Directions

Maze Directions

The blind following the blind? Let’s hope not. A twist on the maze game, where one student closes his or her eyes and the other tells the way using directions. I’d be surprised if anyone got it perfectly, but that’s why this activity is so good. It’s challenging.

20. Compound Words

Compound Words

A two-word combo in one (compound words) gets students thinking of the origin of English words. Figure out each compound word and then draw one of your own.

21. Preposition Practice

Preposition Practice

Where is the apple? In this ESL worksheet, students practice prepositions by writing down the location of the apple in each scene.

22. Comic Book Creation

Comic Book Creation

Every kid loves comic books. But what if they didn’t have any words in them? Let’s fill in these speech bubbles with an interesting story.

23. Charades for Kids

Charades

Charades only work when you have outgoing students. But in groups of two, they feel a bit more comfortable and less stressed out. Go through the worksheet with more words to act out.

24. Emotions Spin

Emotions Spin

Of all ESL worksheets, this is the most in-depth vocabulary for emotions. Because students always need help explaining how they feel, their arsenal of emotions will at least triple with this ESL activity.

25. Word Chain

Letter Connect

In pairs, connect the last letter of a word by thinking of a word that starts with that letter. It’s the English version of Karuta – a popular Japanese game.

26. Teacher Quiz

Teacher Quiz ESL Worksheet

If you want to get your students out of their chairs in your first class, then this should be your go-to activity. Find clues around the class and match answers with the clues.

27. How’s the Weather?

How is the Weather

In this ESL activity, students remember the weather for the past couple of days. You can pair them up to talk as a large group.

28. Why Learn English?

Why Learn English

There are tons of benefits to learn English. As the true language of globalization, how can English help them in the future?

29. Your Superhero

Your Superhero

If you’re in Asia, it’s almost like every one of your students has a hidden talent as an incredible artist. This activity is good for superlatives and classes with mostly boys, what would be your ideal superhero?

30. Text Message Translations

Text Message Translations

From their native tongue to English, translate a typical text message they would send with their friends. Or better yet, make it up if you don’t feel comfortable sharing.

31. Pizza Recipe

Pizza Recipe

Have you ever made a pizza? Which ingredients would you add? Practice imperatives and transition words as they explain step-by-step their pizza creation.

32. Valentine’s Day Cards

Valentines Day

Who knew rhymes could be so much fun? Finish the rhyme of the classic poem “Roses are red, violets are blue…”. I love Valentine’s day and so will your kids with this ESL activity sheet.

33. Phone Emoticons

Phone Emoticons

Kids use a ridiculous amount of emoticons in phone conversations nowadays. What do they all mean? How do you associate an emoticon with an emotion? Cut out a select few, and use them in a written conversation.

34. Birthday Match

Birthday Match

Get your students off their feet to search for clues around the classroom. The detectives pass the information to the secretary and match birthdays with some of the most prolific figures in history.

35. The Obstacle Course

The Obstacle Course

One blindfolded student gets directed where to go in a classroom obstacle course. The blind leading the blind? I don’t think so, as they improve directions in real-time.

36. Cultural Differences

Cultural Differences

The fine line between cultures across the globe is thinning because of globalization. However, some key cultural differences still remain. What are they?

37. Country Outlines

Country Outlines

I love geography. Who doesn’t? Match the country with its outline, then draw a country. How close are you to the real thing? One of my brightest students always loved drawing country outlines for fun so I dedicate this one to him.

38. Your Satisfaction Level

Satisfaction Level

Explore your innermost satisfaction. What makes you happy and sad? A lot of ESL worksheets focus on feelings. And this one registers at all levels extreme happiness to sadness.

39. Connect the Dots

Connect the Dots ESL Worksheets

If you are empty-handed with 5 minutes to spare, this is a time filler for the end of a kids’ class, Admittedly, not much value here for English, it’s your desperation move that runs parallel to tic-tac-toe in terms of beneficial value.

40. Minimal Pairs Listening Test

40 Listening Test ESL Worksheets

Test your students listening skills with these minimal pairs. Can they differentiate some of the sounds unique to English? Mix up the minimal pairs five times each and correct their papers.

41. Alphabet Story

Alphabet Story

Create your own story with consecutive letters from A to Z. For some of these letters, this will challenge their ability to formulate sentences… But that’s OK.

42. Halloween Bingo

Halloween Bingo

Get your students to put the Halloween vocabulary anywhere in the Bingo sheet. As you read any word in the sheet, they cross it off. The first one who gets a line wins.

43. Simon Says

Simon Says

Practice imperatives with “Simon says”. Or better yet, get one of your students to lead giving instructions to the class if they are familiar.

What’s in your free ESL Worksheet arsenal?

We’ve shared our ESL resources.

They’re 100% free to use when you teach English abroad .

Now, it’s time for you to put on your thinking caps.

Which ESL activities work in your classes? Is it a wide range of ESL discussion topics ?

Let us know with a comment below.

Here’s more from us:

  • 67 Free ESL Games to Teach English Like an All-Star
  • 13 Free ESL Lesson Plans to Master Your ESL Classes
  • 101 ESL Conversation Topics to Break the Silence

Here are some external websites with great worksheets:

  • British Council (BBC) – Short activities for secondary classrooms
  • Easy ESL Games YouTube Channel – A page devoted to ESL and EFL teachers abroad.

Very Useful and interesting worksheet. Thanks If I need in Hindi it will be good.

These helped us with kindergarten innovative work sheets and lesson plan games

Thanks. Really cool and helpful

What a great site. Thanks for sharing. We are working with a family from Syria.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

EL Civics for ESL Students

Free ESL Worksheets

By www.elcivics.com.

Short Stories

More Downloadable ESL Worksheets

  • List of US States and Capitals
  • State Nicknames - Flash Cards
  • State Flowers - Flash Cards
  • Most Common English Words - Cursive
  • State Dates Admitted to Union - Flash Cards
  • US State Capitals - Flash Cards with Maps
  • Advanced Skills
  • Roots & Affixes
  • Grammar Review
  • Verb Tenses
  • Common Idioms
  • Learning English Plan
  • Pronunciation
  • TOEFL & IELTS Vocab.
  • Vocab. Games
  • Grammar Practice
  • Comprehension & Fluency Practice
  • Suggested Reading
  • Lessons & Courses
  • Lesson Plans & Ideas
  • ESL Worksheets+
  • What's New?

ESL Worksheets & Lesson Packets

These ESL worksheets and lessons can save busy teachers planning time. They also provide useful practice to supplement the lesson’s main activities. They can be especially helpful to teachers who don’t have a textbook, or need to teach areas the text does not cover well.

cover pictures for some ESL Worksheet pdfs: a games packet, The Impact of Disease, Medical Mysteries, Word Roots, Basic Academic Vocabulary, Word Detective, & Learn English with ...Cognates

Most ESL worksheet packets include lesson planning suggestions and integrated lessons.

They have  ideas for class discussion and games as well as worksheets. 

Some also include  links to reading or listening practice or to videos. 

Jump straight to the different  worksheet page links  (including individual free printable worksheets-- see end of list)

More details:

All are printable pdfs for English language learners from high beginner to advanced.

Most will work in general classrooms for ELL students, or in ESL or EFL classes from 4th or 5th grade up. (They were designed with middle school, high school, or sometimes adult classes in mind.)

Some worksheet packets (like those for prefixes, suffixes, or roots) can also be used for individual study. Others with lesson plans have related packets for individual rather than classroom study.

To use these ESL worksheets you will need a pdf reader. If you do not already have one, you can download the Adobe Reader for free  here . (Be sure to uncheck the McAfee Security Scan if you already have a system you prefer. It conflicts with some other systems…)  

Please remember that these worksheets are under copyright. As the copyright holder, I am giving you the right to use them for your classroom . You may not share or redistribute them without permission. 

(Contact me if your school needs several sets or there’s economic hardship, and we can work something out.)

EnglishHints.com Return Policy

Your satisfaction guaranteed. Please contact me if you have any problems or questions. If you are not happy with any worksheet, contact me for a full refund.

If you find the worksheet helpful, please share that information too!  (Leave a note on Facebook comments below or let me know.)

Types of ESL Worksheets Here:

  • Academic Vocabulary Worksheets   (The page explains why it's important to teach academic vocabulary. It includes a free pdf on scientific method vocabulary and a pdf on goals and words for success. It also links to other pages with vocabulary packets.)
  • Basic Academic Vocabulary (for writing & test prompts)
  • Learn (or Teach) English with Spanish Cognates  *
  • Common Phrasal Verbs  (explanations, examples, and practice for 7 short lessons. It introduces almost 100 very common phrasal verbs.)
  • Root, Prefix, and Suffix Worksheets  
  • Roots, Prefixes, and Suffixes: Worksheets for Individual Study *
  • Reading Comprehension Lesson Plans :

        >> 3 free reading comp lesson plans 

       >> The Word Detection packet teaches inference, prediction, and word analysis skills +. It also provides lots of academic vocabulary practice. The Word Detection bundle includes the packet plus the root and affix packets above.

     >> Medical Mysteries has a unit of lesson plans on the history of diseases. The Impact of Disease in History, a Disease Webquest, or the History of Scurvy are individual lessons from Medical Mysteries.

  • Reading Comprehension Worksheets  *
  • Grammar Worksheets  has free individual tense worksheets & paid packets of past tense worksheets. *
  • Essay Writing Practice  *
  • Printable Classroom Games  has free games & puzzles, plus paid packets with games to practice irregular past tense verbs.
  • Free Printable Worksheets   links to many of the free individual worksheets above. Many of the vocabulary and quiz worksheets on that page are for advanced students. (Some of them review a lot of vocabulary at once.) *

* Pages marked with asterisks at the end have pdfs for individual study as well as classroom practice. (The Roots+* page is only for students.) 

Using ESL Worksheets for Personal English Study

Many of the packets listed above are designed for classrooms. The ones that have an asterisk (*) at the end also have some pdfs made for individual study.

ESL worksheets can be a useful way to gain confidence with new vocabulary and structures. Remember that the most important practice of all is to use those new words in real communication. 

That’s why teachers often have several lessons on related subjects. Extra lessons review some of the same newly-learned structures and words. It’s also why I give links to related reading or listening materials. Use them-- and practice with someone else when you can (if you are not in an English class).

(See Practice English Conversation and Learn English Free   for ways to find a study partner to practice with.)

Try writing your opinion about something new you learn. That will help you remember it as well as increasing your fluency.

The more you use what you learn, the better you will keep it and the easier it will be to improve your English. 

  • ESL Worksheets

Didn't find what you needed? Explain what you want in the search box below. (For example, cognates, past tense practice, or 'get along with.') Click to see the related pages on EnglishHints.

esl worksheets for middle school

New! Comments

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  • Click on the HTML link code below.
  • Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Teacher-owl with glasses and a pointer  sitting on a computer (logo for EnglishHints)

What's New?-- site blog

Learn about new and updated pages on EnglishHints, with just enough information to decide if you want to read more.

a teacher helping his students who are working at a table 'ESL Lesson Plans & Resources Communicative lessons, activities, & planning for adult ESL classes' This image links to the page.

ESL Lesson Plans includes my best advice for new ESL teachers, as well as links to useful resources, planning ideas, and some of my classes' favorite, highly engaging lesson plans. 

4 professionals looking at documents on a table. Text: 'Each advanced English student has a unique set of skills & needs.'

Do you already use English in your profession or studies-- but realize you need more advanced English or communication skills in certain areas?

I can help-- with targeted suggestions & practice on EnglishHints or with coaching or specialized help for faster results. Let me know. I can suggest resources or we can arrange a call.

Vocabulary in Minutes a Month

Sign up for our free newsletter, English Detective .  In a few minutes twice a month you can: 

  • Improve your reading fluency with  selected articles & talks on one subject (for repeated use of key words)
  • Understand and practice those words using explanations, crosswords, and more 
  • Feel more confident about your English reading and vocab. skills-- and more prepared for big tests & challenges

For information (and a free bonus), see Building Vocabulary 

XML RSS

Home  |  About me    |   Privacy Policy   |     Contact me   |  Affiliate Disclosure  

Reading Worksheets, Spelling, Grammar, Comprehension, Lesson Plans

6th, 7th and 8th Grade Worksheets

The 6th-8th grade band materials support student learning for students at the sixth, seventh and eighth grade levels. Many items can be used to teach basic skills that will be necessary for sixth through eighth graders to master reading, writing, and spelling skills. Locating materials by grade band can help you with students who are progressing more quickly than their grade level with their skills mastery, but it can also help with students who are still working on the core skills from a previous grade, as well as a mixed classroom of multiple learners. Below are free, printable worksheets, which are ready to be used or duplicated for home or classroom.

Abbreviations and States

Abbreviations and States

Now it’s time to turn the state abbreviation into the full name.

Back to School Activity – What I Like

Back to School Activity – What I Like

Explore the interests of your new students by having them participate in this fun back to school activity.

Cielito Lindo Pretty Darling Reading Activity

Cielito Lindo Pretty Darling Reading Activity

The famous Mexican folk song, Celito Lindo, became popular in the late 19th century. It is now considered the official anthem of Mexico, and it has been recorded by many popular artists. In this printable Hispanic Heritage activity, students will read through an English translation of the words and answer comprehension questions about the passage.

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Adjectives, Adverbs and Articles

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Adjectives, Adverbs and Articles

This sentence diagramming worksheet focuses on adjectives, adverbs and articles.

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Conjunctions

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Conjunctions

It’s all about conjunctions in this diagramming sentences worksheet!

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Direct and Indirect Objects

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Direct and Indirect Objects

Time to diagram sentences with direct and indirect objects!

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Prepositional Phrases

Diagramming Sentences Practice: Prepositional Phrases

In this diagramming sentences worksheet, your student will practice with prepositional phrases.

Find It! Quotation Marks

Find It! Quotation Marks

Students will practice identifying correctly used quotation marks by completing this printable activity. The directions ask students to read through the given sentences and circle the number of the sentences in which quotation marks are used correctly. Ideal for 3rd – 6th grade students, but can be used where appropriate.

Haiku: Write Your Own!

Haiku: Write Your Own!

This worksheet features the Japanese poetry style haiku.

New Year’s Day Crossword Puzzle

New Year’s Day Crossword Puzzle

What comes every four years? A Leap Year! Students will be asked to answer a series of questions related to New Year’s in order to solve this Holiday Crossword Puzzle Activity!

Properly Capitalized Nouns

Properly Capitalized Nouns

Can you correct the capitalization errors on this printable nouns worksheet? Some of them are tricky! Start practicing with our printable noun capitalization activity. This capitalization worksheet is ideal for 3rd – 6th grade students who are working to improve their reading and writing skills, but can be used where appropriate.

Sentence Diagram Practice: Compound Subjects, Compound Predicates, and Compound Sentences

Sentence Diagram Practice: Compound Subjects, Compound Predicates, and Compound Sentences

There are a lot of compounds in this sentence diagram worksheet!

Sentence Diagramming Guide

Sentence Diagramming Guide

A helpful sentence diagramming guide for students to use at home or in the classroom.

Sentence Diagramming Practice

Sentence Diagramming Practice

Now it’s time to practice diagramming sentences!

Sentence Diagramming Practice: Subject and Predicate

Sentence Diagramming Practice: Subject and Predicate

Here’s a practice worksheet for your beginning sentence diagrammer that covers the subject and predicate.

Sentence Diagramming: Basic Practice

Sentence Diagramming: Basic Practice

If you’re looking for a basic sentence diagramming worksheet, this is it!

Sentence Diagramming: Complex Sentences

Sentence Diagramming: Complex Sentences

This worksheet focuses on diagramming complex sentences.

Sentence Diagramming: Compound Predicates

Sentence Diagramming: Compound Predicates

Compound predicates are featured in this worksheet on diagramming sentences.

Sentence Diagramming: Compound Sentences

Sentence Diagramming: Compound Sentences

Let’s diagram some compound sentences!

Sentence Diagramming: Compound Subjects

Sentence Diagramming: Compound Subjects

In this worksheet your student will diagram sentences with compound subjects.

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Teaching Expertise

  • Classroom Ideas
  • Teacher’s Life
  • Deals & Shopping
  • Privacy Policy

50 Fun and Easy ELA Games For Middle School Students

May 1, 2023 //  by  Jessica Wallace

How do you keep your students engaged in their favorite activity; gaming, while also engaged in your favorite thing – learning?

For some middle school students, books and schoolwork are something of a chore, and games are something to get engrossed in for hours at a time.

What are Language Arts Activities?

Improving grammar skills and learning English in all its many peculiarities becomes fun when we incorporate interactive games into learning.

1. Charades

Both middle school and elementary school students will have a blast playing this fun game of charades. Write vocabulary words on individual sheets of paper and place them in a box. Divide the class into teams, and have your kids pick the pieces of paper one at a time and act out the words to have their classmates guess what the words are.

15-30 minutes of this engaging game will give your students the much-needed brain break while they still learn.

Learn More: Get Charades Ideas

2. Balderdash

TUoGt1GTbmZ1xsVVWred

Even if you don’t have a board game, your school students can still play Balderdash. Divide your class into four groups and have them write five words from the dictionary on individual slips of paper. Place the pieces of paper in each team’s bowl.

The game is simple to play and fun ; one team member reads out a word from the bowl and their team members write down what they think the word means – encourage your students to be as silly and creative as they can be with the writing prompts. The reader gets to select the team member who had the best definition.

Learn More: Ultra Board Games

3. Reading Bingo 

Include some interactive language arts games and grammar activities in your lesson plan to make learning fun. Create fun Bingo cards and keep students motivated with exciting prizes to be won.

Learn More: On Our Minds Scholastic Blog

4. Mr. Nussbaum Language Art Games 

Mr. Naussbaum features games and learning activities from every subject for various grade levels. The site offers language art games as well as lessons in punctuation, sentence puzzles, text structures in history, spelling, and much more.

Learn More: Mr. Nussbaum

5. Discussion Questions

esl worksheets for middle school

Improve your pupils’ critical thinking skills with this classroom go-to. While they’re engaged in reading a text, encourage them to write down any questions that may come up when they read it. Afterward, have them share their questions with their classmates to facilitate a discussion that’s geared toward familiarizing them with the process of reading to understand.

Learn More: Lumen Learning

With a prize attached to these classroom activities, expect your students to dive fully into completing the hunt. Make the activity fun with puzzles to engage their critical thinking skills , and team exercises to build their communication and listening skills.

Learn More: Hey Natayle

7. Explore Haiku 

Have your middle school students improve their poetry skill levels by including creative writing in your classroom lessons . They can try their hands at writing their own haikus, identifying themes in literature, and building language arts skills.

Learn More: Read Write Think

8. Create Word Clouds

FCmA7MwPQwWWuN38E9Qz

Give students a time in history, and ask them what words come to mind when they think about that time. Now, you can build word clouds that capture your students’ thoughts and feelings about this historical event.

Learn More: ELearning Industry

9. Writing Games

Play a fun game with your students by asking them to get creative with their writing. Give them the freedom of writing on whatever topic they want, and attach a perk for the winner to keep them motivated.

Encourage them to write sentences with correct letters, and watch out for comma placement.

Learn More: Ms. Jordan Reads

10. Pictionary 

j9rzYd4cSO2u8reLhtuH

A classic game of pictionary never gets old; this fun game requires enthusiastic participants and very few resources. Your students’ basic grammar skills will be put to the test as they draw their best interpretations of vocabulary words for members of their team to guess.

Learn More: We Have Kids

11. Parts of Speech Bingo 

This excellent game will challenge your middle school students’ understanding of the parts of speech. You will need a sheet with the different parts of speech. Your students can select the part of speech (noun, pronoun, verb, adverb, adjective, etc) that corresponds with the words you read aloud.

Learn More: 123 Homeschool 4 Me

12. Sentence Games

Engaging grammar games make for fun classroom activities. Students will have a blast seeing who can make up the craziest sentence, correct sentences, and identify basic sentences.

Learn More: Classroom Synonym

13. Board Games 

Kids can take a break from online games with fun board activities such as Scrabble, Scattergories, and Buzzword. These interactive language arts games will sharpen their basic skills in spelling, and also broaden their vocabulary.

Learn More: Teachers Pay Teachers

13. Quiz Games 

Engage your students with critical thinking games in your English classes. To make the games more fun, you can separate your class into teams and determine how many answers per game each team can give.

Learn More: Mom Junction

14. Story Telling 

Your students can have the time of their lives telling creative group stories. Ask them to tell interactive stories to which their classmates will be able to ask questions.

Learn More: Cambridge

15. Spin the Word Wheel!

hluBdoCMTqeH2Whz9Zzq

This activity can be used to develop students’ parts of speech recognition skills . Write out a few words and put them in a sorting hat. Have a student randomly pull a word out, then get them to spin the wheel and answer the question it asks.

Learn More: E is for Explore

16. Simon Says

8fBXztZSQi6WYNzgUmdg

This light-hearted game is a classic. It’s perfect to get sleepy kids going on a Monday morning because it gets them up and moving. Come up with a series of random instructions and test their listening and comprehension skills in a fun way!

Learn More: Fun ESL Games

17. Scrambled Words

9hAUBaVzR86wSr8Z2uND

This game is adaptable to all age groups. Pick out a few difficult vocabulary words and write out their letters on small post-its and scramble them. Divide the class into teams and turn this into a competition about which team can unscramble the words the quickest.

Learn More: TenTen 4 Kids

18. Beach Ball Fun

Get a cheap, inflatable beach ball from the dollar store. Write out different questions on the ball depending on the topic that you’re trying to teach/reinforce. Get students to (gently) pass the ball to each other. The person who catches the ball reads the first question he/she sees, and the class answers it as a group.

Learn More: Cook And Craft Me Crazy

19. ELA escape room 

This next activity is a little time-consuming, but it’s bound to be a lot of fun. Transform your room into a themed escape room . The “clues” can be based on language learning. Divide the class into groups the the first team to correctly find and interpret all the clues needed to escape wins!

Learn More: Ms. KC Potter

20. Hangman

zjrtgTwhQx2Hl3xGTNh9

Old is gold! This is another favorite classic that helps students perfect their spellings. It requires absolutely no prior preparation as all it needs is a whiteboard and marker, which are already staples in each classroom. Students draw blanks, representative of letters of a certain word. They give their classmates a hint about the category that the word comes from. The classmates try to make calculated guesses about the word until their turns run out.

Learn More: Mike’s Home ESL

21. Two Truths and a Lie

xs4O45csT8mSUl3Ayv3H

This is a fantastic game to play as an icebreaker at the start of term. Ask students to make three statements about themselves, two true and one false. The rest of the class can try to separate the truth from the facts.

Learn More: Easy ESL Games

22. Group Spelling Challenge

Opi76JWiRNOkiGlvffph

Write two versions of a commonly misspelled word on the board. Divide the class into two teams. Each team will collectively discuss and then identify the incorrectly spelled word. Keep a scorecard. At the end of class, the team with the most points wins. This game is also available online!

Learn More: English Club

23. Guess the meaning!

IJTwAFhQ9oybcLfXbLxg

Draw out a basic story template on the whiteboard. Invite each member of the class to come and write one sentence on the board. The student who comes after the first one must continue from where the other left off. The aim is to form a coherent story by the time the last student is done with their turn.

Learn More: Buzzfeed

24. Create your own story!

GMDIkVwMTn2nfO06A7H0

This game is a simple but entertaining way to build students’ vocabulary . Write out a unique word on the board (or project an online version of this game, as above), one that is less commonly used. Ask your students to guess the meaning. The person who guesses the right meaning first can get a small edible treat! Use the word in a sentence so students are able to remember it and add it to their everyday vocabulary.

25. Weekly Reading Challenge 

MQBKuOpmQ2KjmOU5HDK2

Make reading a competitive sport by having a weekly reading chart that you track. Again, this is going to be more interesting if students are incentivized to read by a small prize- may be an age-appropriate book !

Learn More: Just Add Students

26. Encourge discussion questions

7qpnicQQzmxLFvMxFt1P

In order to truly understand the curriculum, it is important to teach students to ask the right questions. After you’re done teaching a topic, ask them what potential questions can be asked about that topic. Then test them to see if they can answer them.

Learn More: Now Spark Creativity

27. Create Your Own Board Game

dtNh1LWLTa2YaBdM8P65

Ask your students to design and build a board game around a book that you’re reading in class. For example, if you’re reading Pride and Prejudice, they could potentially create a game where the players look for attractive suitors to get married to.

28. Madlib Stories

esl worksheets for middle school

A madlib is an interactive story that you add words to. Write a template or download a ready-made one online. Leave out key sensory details for the students to fill in with their own vocabulary. Do not give them a vocabulary bank and let the story and blanks be open-ended. You’ll be surprised at the sheer variety of different directions that each of their stories takes.

29. Review Jeopardy

q4XzVfu1RKCyiuqyPYEB

Have a test coming up? Spruce up your revision by conducting it in jeopardy format. It’s quite possible that most middle schoolers will be too young to remember the beloved game show that this activity is based on, but that’s all the more reason to try and revive it! For more details, click on the link above.

Learn More: The Classroom

30. Line it up 

zNXwVj2QSKK82EB4ANAE

Tell a complex, multi-part story and tell your students to listen carefully. Before you do this, write out the main events of the story on notecards. The complexity of the story can vary based on the target age group. After you are done telling the story, jumble the cards up and tell the students to arrange them based on the correct order in which they heard the story.

Learn More: Lexia Learning

31. Picture Perfect 

St6SWoASTzSq7s69dsMb

Ask students to draw a picture of a concept they’ve recently learned in class. Once everyone is done, you can show the best illustrations to the whole class and ask them what concept they think it represents. A great way to encourage creative learning!

32. Reverse Game Show

Start off your lesson with a review-focused game show. Ask your students gameshow-style questions to reinforce the concepts taught in the previous lesson. This quick five-minute activity will not only pep the students up but also give you an idea about their level of understanding, and in turn help you determine which subject areas to spend more time on.

33. Missing Persons

photo-1497514440240-3b870f7341f0?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=326&q=80

After reading a story out loud, pick a couple of volunteers to leave the room. Give them 5 mins and ask them to return impersonating any of the characters in the story. The rest of the students can try to guess which character the student is trying to portray. This helps develop students’ theatrical and observational skills.

34. Public Speaking 

Get the whole class to practice their public speaking skills by picking a random topic for them to speak on for two mins. This will be impromptu. You can write out the topics beforehand on pieces of paper and let students randomly draw any one piece of paper.

Learn More: ELA Today

35. Play-Doh Fun! 

prEkGb9bQ3iWWarl1mDj

Who said Play-Doh was for elementary schoolers only? You can use Play-Doh to create an interactive activity that teaches the students about the many different stages of the writing process. For more information, please follow the link above.

Learn More: Reading and Writing Haven

36. Last Person Standing 

Decide on a theme. Have students stand in a circle and pass a baton to each other. With each baton pass, the aim is to try and come up with different words that fit that theme. Anybody who repeats a word or is unable to come up with one has to sit down. Last person standing wins!

Learn More: Opportunity China

37. Board Race 

Ocm1iUhmQqSuEVS5hi4e

Somewhat similar to the previous game, but to be played on the board and in a group. Choose two different colored markers and randomly assign the two teams two different categories. Each time will be tasked with collectively coming up with as many words pertaining to that particular category within the span of a minute. The team with the most words wins.

Learn More: ESL Active

38. 20 Objects

Test both memory and vocabulary by showing students 20 objects related to the topic you’re teaching. Give everyone a piece of paper and tell them to write down as many objects as they can remember. The person who manages to remember the most items gets a small treat!

Learn More: Discovery Express Kids

39. Hot Seat 

Divide the class into two teams. The students should be facing the board, and there should be two chairs with their backs to the board. One member from each team will sit on the chair (the “hot seat”). Their classmates have to make them guess the word that has been written on the board(and is not visible to them). The first team to guess correctly wins!

Learn More: Teaching English

40. Whiteboard Acronym

Teach students what an acronym is by writing out a word on the board vertically. Then ask them to provide you with a word starting with each letter of the vertical word.

Learn More: Daily Teaching Tools

41. Agree or Disagree

esl worksheets for middle school

Write a controversial statement on the board and ask your students to either agree with it or disagree with it. Then make those who agree to engage in a short debate with those who disagree.

Learn More: Centervention

42. Tell Me Where to Go 

This activity involves turning your class into a maze and dividing your students up into multiple teams of two. Within a team, one partner will be blindfolded and the other partner will tell his/her blindfolded buddy where to go using prepositions.

Learn More: Go Overseas

43. 15 Questions

15fOyaRkS6yAId0u6ehx

Learn More: Games 4 ESL

44. Top 5 

y5c2Cn3yTaylpAqzlFWc

Ask any question and ask the students to guess what the top 5 answers to that question were. This game works well for reviewing vocabulary and expressions. If they write any one of the top 5 answers, they get points. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins!

45. Stick it!

Write down key concepts from your lesson onto sticky notes. Get a volunteer student. Stick the post-it onto his forehead without letting him see it. Let him try to guess this with the help of his classmates.

Learn More: Vocabulary Luau

46. What Would You Rather Do?

NMh6Xw3ZQZKQ02hsaxPW

Break your class up into groups of 3-4 students. Compile a list of “Would you rather…?” questions. The funnier, the better. For example, “Would you rather smell like feet or smell like eggs?”. Once they make their choice, ask them to discuss why they chose what they did.

47. Riddles

8SZCHgcCTZ6SHwrm5FnV

Riddles are a great way to compel students to think out of the box and sharpen their creative skills. Follow the link above for 10 relatively simple but interesting riddles to use for your middle schoolers.

48. Mystery Box 

ihv9PYzTlqLT9nxJkpOw

Divide the class into two teams. Take turns asking both teams questions. Whenever each team gets an answer right, they get a “mystery box”. They can either choose to open the mystery box or pass it on to the next team to open. The mystery box can either contain positive points (+100) or negative points (-100). At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins. To download a PPT template of this game, follow the link above.

49. Sentence Relay

LreEhj8Q9ij1rBscDAbg

It can be tricky finding English language arts activities to keep older children engaged. Many websites and online resources are more focused on learning activities suitable for elementary kids, but everyone loves playing!

50. Spelling Bee 

photo-1472737817652-4120ab61af6c?ixlib=rb-1.2.1&ixid=MnwxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8&auto=format&fit=crop&w=870&q=80

Give students a list of spellings to memorize. On the day of the Spelling Bee, divide the class into teams. Call students from each time forward and randomly assign a word for them to spell. The team with the most words right can get a treat at the end!

Learn More: Prodigy Game

  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Let’s take your classroom from turbulent to thriving >>

The Classroom Community Copilot

Start with the Heart

in Student Engagement , Uncategorized ·

Five Engaging ESL Games for Middle School

esl worksheets for middle school

Games4esl logo

7 Reading Games For Middle School Students

Fostering a passion for reading is one of the best ways to help middle school students improve their reading skills. If reading is seen as boring or as a chore, then students are unlikely to be motivated to read. This is where reading games can be particularly useful!

Just like younger learners, middle school students learn best when they are interested and having fun. So, if you’re looking for ways to make reading more fun for your students, check out these seven fun reading games for middle school students .

Fun Reading Games For Middle School Students

1. jump and read.

Middle School Reading Games

This first reading game is a great way to get your middle school students warmed up and ready for class. First, write a sentence on the board. The longer the sentence, the harder the game will be.

Next, instruct students that they are all on the same team and that their challenge is to read the sentence on the board one word at a time. However, the rules are that only one student at a time is allowed to read, and the student reading the word must jump up from their seat as they read it. Any student can choose to jump up and read a word at any time, but if two students jump up at the same time, they lose.

So, here’s how a game would play out. The teacher would say “go” and then one student would jump up and read the first word. Then, another student would jump up and read the second word. And so on. If at any point two students jump up at the same time, then they lose and must start again. If they manage to get to the end of the sentence, they win. Change the sentence and start again.

2. Reading Race

Middle School Reading Games

For this reading game, you’ll need a long passage. This can be from a book you are reading as a class, from a newspaper/magazine, or you can simply create your own passage.

Display the text on the board/screen and tell students that they will take turns reading the passage. Next, show students the order in which they will take turns reading. When it’s their turn, a student must choose whether to read one word, two words, or a maximum of three words. The student who reads the last word in the passage loses and must do a forfeit. The forfeit can be that they must do a silly dance, do five-star jumps, high-five the teacher, etc.

This activity is a great way to get students to focus on the text while having fun at the same time. The best part about this game is that it requires no prep and can be played at any time during your reading lesson. So, if you notice your students are losing focus or need something to wake them up, why not try the reading race game?

3. The Jigsaw Game

Middle School Reading Games

For this game, students will be in small groups of 3/4. Before the class, you’ll need to prepare a set of ‘jigsaw’ pieces for each group. These jigsaw pieces are strips of paper with different sentences on them, which together make up a whole passage or short story. Give one set to each group and ask them to place the strips of paper face down and mix them up. Now the game can begin.

Choose one student from each group to come to the front of the class and show them the completed passage/story. Students must read and try to remember as much of the text as possible and then go back to their group and tell them the passage/story. The other members of the group must then try to put the sentences in the correct order to complete the passage. If at anytime the student can’t remember what’s next, they can return to the teacher to look at the passage again. The first team to place all the sentences in the correct order is the winner.

4. Sleeping Beauties

Middle School Reading Games

This next reading game is another group activity that middle school students love to play! Before the game, prepare 5-10 different reading passages and divide each text into four parts. Next, put students in groups of 4 and give each group a whiteboard and a board marker. Then give each student a number 1-4 and tell them to remember their number.

To begin, tell all students to “ go to sleep ” (i.e., put their heads on the desk and close their eyes). Then, tell number 1 students to “ wake up “. The number 1 students from each group should then open their eyes and look at the teacher. The teacher should then show them the first part of the text. Students should read it and try to remember it.

Next, tell the number 1 students to go back to sleep, and then tell the number 2 students to wake up. Show the number 2 students the 2nd part of the passage, and then tell them to go back to sleep. Do the same with number 3/4 students.

Once all four students have seen their part of the text, tell them all to wake up. They must quickly tell their teammates what they read, and they must write down the completed passage on the whiteboard. The first team to write the whole passage correctly is the winner.

5. Reading Detectives

Middle School Reading Games

In this activity, students will be ‘reading detectives’ trying to find words in a text. This game is great for practicing the reading skills of scanning and skimming. The idea of the game is simple. Using a page or two from a text that you are reading, ask students to find all the instances of a particular word or word class.

For example, you can ask students to find out how many times the word ‘summer’ appears in the text or how many adjectives they can find. Give students a few minutes and then ask them how many they found. If they found the same amount as the teacher, they get a point.

6. Find Your Partner

Middle School Reading Games

As the name suggests, in this activity, students must find their partners. Before the game, prepare some game cards. Depending on the level of your students and the lesson content, the cards can include words, sentences, or whole paragraphs of text. Ensure to make two sets so that there are two identical cards for each word, sentence, or paragraph.

To play, ask students to put their hands on their heads and close their eyes. Then, walk around the class and place one card face down on each student’s desk. Next, tell students to open their eyes and pick up their cards. Instruct students not to show the card to other students in the class. Now that game can begin.

Students must walk around the class reading what’s on their cards in an attempt to find someone else with the same card. Once they find their partner, they should both go to the teacher, read out what’s on their card, and then sit back down at their desks.

7. The Spy Game

Middle School Reading Games

This next game is a fun twist on the above find your partner game. As in the above activity, you’ll need two game cards. Again, you can use words, sentences, or short paragraphs for your game cards, depending on what you are teaching in your reading class. For this activity, you’ll also need to create 3 ‘Spy Cards’. These are blank cards with the word ‘Spy’ on them.

Give each student a card and tell them not to show their card to anyone else. 3 students should have received a ‘spy card’. Tell students that if they received a spy card, then they can be a partner with anyone. The Spy’s job is to try and convince another student that they have the same card as them. The other students’ job is to find their partner without partnering with a spy.

This reading game is a lot of fun, and students will ask to play it time and time again once they get the hang of it. To ensure this game runs smoothly, we would advise first playing the simple find your partner game and then introducing the spy cards.

Thanks for reading. I hope your middle school students have lots of fun playing these reading games in class. Before you go, be sure to check out the following related resources: 50 Debate Topics For Middle School Students 10 Classroom Games For Middle School Students Reading Comprehension Worksheets For Middle School Students Flashcard Games For Middle School Students Classroom Games For High School Students PowerPoint Games

ESL Activities

ESL Games, Activities, Lesson Plans, Jobs & More

in Icebreakers + Warm-Ups · Listening · Speaking

ESL Activities for Teenagers | Fun Games for Teens English Learners

If you’re looking for some of the best ESL games and activities for teens, then you’re in the right place. Keep on reading for everything you need to know about ESL activities for teenagers to make your English classes even better.

ESL-activities-for-teenagers

ESL activities for teenagers

Boring ESL activities=bored students. Avoid this by mixing it up with these fun, interesting games and activities to do with your teens. Check out my top picks for ESL games for teens that can help to create a positive language learning environment.

129 ESL Games and Activities For Teens: Fun and Interactive Ideas for the English Classroom...

  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Bolen, Jackie (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 273 Pages - 09/27/2023 (Publication Date)

Fun ESL Activities for Teenagers

If you’re looking for some fresh, new ideas for your English classes, check out these ESL games for teens. They’re guaranteed to be fun, engaging, and interesting. These fun ESL games for teenagers cover a wide range of skills, from speaking to writing to listening and reading, and many of them cover more than one skill at a time. Your students will love your classes if you use some of these learning games for teens!

Try out some of these activities and games for teenagers today. Oh yeah, and these ESL activities for teenagers will also work for any foreign language teaching. Even more ideas here: Fun activities for middle school students .

#1 Team Games for Teenagers: Running Dictation 4-Skills ESL Activity

If you’re looking for an active, 4-skills ESL activity that teenagers will love, look no further than running dictation! It’s competitive, fast-paced and students always demand to play it again. Running dictation is the perfect ESL activity for a case of the Monday morning or Friday afternoon blues. It’s guaranteed to get a bit of energy and excitement back into your classes.

The basic way it works is that there are sentences (from a dialogue or story) around your class. You can make your own, or find some articles related to your topic in the textbook you’re using or on the Internet.

One student has to read it, memorize as much as they can, and then come dictate it to their partner who writes it down. At the end, the team has to put the sentences in the correct order.

This is a very good activity for intermediate language learners, although can also work for high beginners or advanced. The main requirements are basic reading and writing skills.

Including all four skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) within a single activity is the kind of like the holy grail of language teaching. This one is one of the best for doing that well.

In addition, there aren’t that many writing games for teens (or kids or adults too). They are just harder to design and make them fun. However, running dictation does have a serious writing element to it, which makes it a nice choice for a writing game.

101 ESL Activities: Games, Activities, Practical ideas, & Teaching Tips For English Teachers of...

#2 Communication Games for Teens: Board Games for ESL Students

Board games are one of my favorites for teenagers because they can be tailored to any grammar or vocabulary point that you’re teaching. They’re also extremely student-centered when played in small groups of 3-4 students. Make sure you bring in a little prize of some kind for the winner in each group to add a small element of competition.

The best part about board games is that they’re very easy to design yourself. Once you have a template down, it takes only about 10 minutes to produce a board game for just about any vocabulary set or grammar point. You can also find some materials for board games in a teacher’s resource book for the textbook you’re using.

#3: Apples to Apples ESL Vocabulary Game

One of my favorite vocabulary games for ESL students is Apples to Apples . You can make your own decks of cards to suit any level or target vocabulary. Get the students to help you out—they’ll have fun doing it, and will also enjoy playing it all the more! Kids love this one too.

Or, you can check out Apples to Apples Junior on Amazon if you want to use it as a party game.

Have some fun with your students while they practice English vocabulary. You can teach new words, or students can have fun while working the language themselves. I know which one I’ll choose every single time.

ESL for teens : Make it more fun with a game like this one. It’s also one of my top picks for team games for teenagers.

classroom-games-for-teenagers

Classroom Games for Teenagers

#4 ESL Activities for Teenagers: Password

This is one of the best ESL vocabulary activities for teenagers because it’s challenging. You can play password with the entire class, but it’s best in smaller classes of 10 or fewer in order to increase student talking time.

Or course, if you have a large class, you can break it up into smaller groups to play this as well.

#5: Concentration ESL or EFL Memory Game

Concentration is one of my favorite ESL games for teenagers because it’s an excellent way to calm a rowdy class. You won’t believe how quiet your students will be when playing this one! A sign of a good activity is when the majority of the students are focusing deeply on it, and this one is one of the best.

It’s adaptable for all levels and ages, including young children, up to high school, and adults.

Concentration is played in groups of 3-4 students and doesn’t require a lot of talking. I use it mostly for matching vocabulary words with definitions, but you can adapt it to suit lots of other stuff as well. The best part about this one is that you can adapt it for any age, or level of students.

For higher-level students, you can match the word to definition, opposites, or problem and advice. These are just a few examples so get creative!

Oh yeah, it’s one of the best memory games I can think of. Not only does it challenge the brain, but it helps our students remember English vocabulary as well. After all, students should be doing the hard work, not you!

And this simple activity is a favorite of many of my teenage students. It also lends itself well to holiday-themed classes. Check out this article for even more ideas: Christmas Activities for ESL Students .

Try out one of the best learning games for teenagers today.

49 ESL Conversation Games & Activities: For Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want to Have Better...

  • 146 Pages - 06/18/2020 (Publication Date)

#6: Surveys for ESL Students

If you ask your students what they want to get out of your class, they’ll often say they want to speak English better. Surveys are an excellent way to help them do that.

With big classes of adults, surveys are one of my go-to ESL classroom activities because they’re student-centered, engaging, and cover all 4 skills (reading, writing, listening, speaking). They are still an excellent ESL activity for teenagers, but you need to judge whether or not they’re mature enough to do it.

Most classes are, but be sure to set the ground rules before you set your students loose to do the activity. I usually say the following:

  • Talking only 1-1 and not in groups of three or more.
  • The goal is not to finish first. The goal is to have lots of mini-conversations in English with a lot of different people.
  • Speak only in English. The goal is not to finish quickly! The goal is to practice speaking English.
  • Also, write down notes about the answers in English only. Remember that the goal is language learning, not simply to get it done as quickly as possible.
  • Only take notes for the answers. You don’t need to write detailed sentences.

The bottom line? ESL surveys are amazing and I hope that all teachers are using them in their classes!

#7 ESL For Teenagers: Vocabulary Auction

Try out vocabulary auction if you’re looking to introduce an element of competition into your classes. Your students will have so much fun that they’ll forget that they’re learning English at the same time! If you want to review new terms or words that students have been learning, this should be your go-to activity.

It can take a while to get this ESL vocabulary activity organized and it’s certainly not one to prepare in the few minutes before class is starting. However, it’s worth it, especially if you teach multiple sections of the same class because your students will love it!

Seriously, it’s one of the most exciting classes of the whole year. It’s a top pick for an ESL classroom game so try it out today with your students! But, it’s best for 13 and up. It’s definitely one of the best learning games for teens so be sure to give it a try.

#8 Charades: One of the Best Interaction Games for Teenagers

If you’re having a party day, charades make an excellent ESL activity for teenagers. It’s really fun and also a great way to review vocabulary. You can build your own words or phrases, or get the students to help you out with it.

The way I get students to help is to go in groups of 3-4, look through their textbooks (only what we’ve studied together), and choose 10 vocabulary words that were new to them. Then, collect the papers and compile your own master list to play with from there.

Then, put students into teams and have some fun with this ESL vocabulary game. The team with the most points wins. It’s one of my favorite classroom games for teens.

Alternatively, you could have students do the simple version of this with a partner for a quick lead-in or warm-up. For example, they have to describe a room in a house to a partner who guesses what it is.

For example, “This is where you cook food and eat.”

Answer: Kitchen.

“This is where you stay at night time.”

Answer: Bedroom.

#9 ESL for Teens: English Central Videos

Teenagers love videos, but it can be hard to find ones easy enough for your teenage English learners on YouTube. Check out English Central for help in finding ones that are the right level for you. It’s one of the best online resources for your English classes.

You can do so many things in your ESL lesson when using videos! Discussion, comprehension question, a focus on grammar or vocabulary, etc. Get creative because the sky is the limit. It’s English teaching made easy!

There is a huge range of fun ESL topics covered as well. You can find videos about: friends, jobs, school life, movies, dates, family , trips, etc.

#10: Discussion Topics

#11 Learning Activities for Teenagers: Conversation Starters

I know I promised to give you 10 of the best ESL games for teens, but here’s an extra one! These conversation starters work well for teenagers or adults, but you should only use them with high intermediate or advanced students. Beginners usually don’t have the English grammar or vocabulary necessary to talk about one of these questions for more than 10 or 20 seconds.

You can check them out here:  https://eslspeaking.org/conversation-starters-adults/

For a more extended activity related to this, have students work in pairs to plan a day walking around their city. For example, would they go to a park or museum? What food would they recommend eating? Then, each group can do a quick presentation to the class and the rest of you can follow along with them!

Another good one is what students see when they walk to school. Encourage them to dig a little bit deeper below the surface. Are there any ways that they go where they can see something a bit out of the ordinary? Do they walk with friends or alone?

#12: Interactive Games for Teenagers

I’m ALL about interaction in my classes. I mean between myself and the students if fewer than 5 people in the class. Or, between students, if it’s a bigger class.

It’s through interacting that people get better at languages. It’s for this reason that I carefully design my games and activities so that they facilitate this.

Check out some of my top ideas for fun activities for teenagers here: Interactive ESL Games and Activities .

#13: Fun Things to with Teenagers on the First Day of Class

#14 Fun Activities for Teens: Drawing a Picture, ESL Speaking Style

Another fun English activity for teenagers is drawing a picture, but with a twist. The way it works is that one student is looking at a picture of something (something like an alien usually works well). Then, they have to describe it to their partner, in English but the one who is drawing can’t see the picture.

They may have to say things like:

  • The alien has a very big, square head.
  • It has 7 arms, coming out from all around the body.
  • There are 4, small eyes at the top of the head.

In the end, you can compare pictures with the class and the results are usually hilarious.

A quick tip: Choose something silly, and not a real person in the class. If you do this, someone will almost always end up feeling insulted!

More details about this warm-up activity for teenagers here: Drawing a Picture, ESL Speaking Style .

67 ESL Conversation Topics with Questions, Vocabulary, Writing Prompts & More: For English Teachers...

  • 279 Pages - 07/12/2020 (Publication Date)

#15: ESL Whiteboard Games

I don’t know what it is, but most students seem to love writing on the whiteboard. Teens of course are no exception! The good news is that there are a ton of fun whiteboard activities you can try out with your students. Think relay races, error correction, flyswatter games, and more.

Here are some of our top picks:

ESL Whiteboard Activities .

#16: A-Z Alphabet Game

Try out this quick warmer activity if your students have studied the topic of the day before. It’s ideal for helping to activate prior knowledge before jumping into the heart of your lesson. For example, even before teaching the unit, most teenage students will know lots of vocabulary for things like jobs, weather, animals, etc.

The way this game works is that in pairs, students write the alphabet down on a piece of paper. Then, they have to think of a word that starts with each letter according to a certain topic. For example, jobs.

A = astronaut

F = firefighter

The key is to just allow one job for each letter and also that not all letters need to be filled in. The winner is the team with the most words done at the end of 2-3 minutes. You can find out more information right here:

A-Z ESL Warmer .

#17: Jigsaw Activities

#18: Postcard English Writing Activity

If you can get your hands on a bunch of blank postcards for cheap, then consider this simple but fun writing activity that works well for beginners, intermediates, or more advanced learners. Check out all the details about it right here:

Postcards ESL Writing Activity .

#19: 3 Things

If you want to have some fun with English writing with teens, then consider 3 Things. The way it works is that students choose three things for their partner. They can be totally random and unrelated. Then, their partner has to write a story that connects them all together, but it can be silly.

Learn more here: 3 Things English Writing Activity .

#20: ESL Games for Teenagers

Even more fun ideas here:

#21: Me Too!

This is a simple TEFL speaking and listening activity that requires nothing in the way of preparation or materials. Sounds like some ESL teaching gold, right? It is. It’s also a nice choice to use as a  day of the week activity .

The way it works is that each person says a fact about themselves to see which of their classmates has it in common with them. Learn more about how it all works right here:

Me Too! ESL Activity .

#22: Presentations

Group presentations in English can be a fun task-based learning project for teenage students and it’s a nice break for you! They’re ideal for language learning because they offer some serious speaking and listening practice.

Okay, so they’re not really in the category of “fun activities.” However, they can be quite a useful exercise and it’s for this reason that I like to include at least once per semester for most of my classes. Although you might get some initial groans when first telling your students about this, they usually don’t mind in the end so push through the initial resistance!

You’ll get the best results if you give students plenty of support and instruction on how to give an effective presentation. The key to this one is allowing lots of preparation time in class, as well as giving detailed feedback throughout the process.

39 Task-Based Language Teaching and Learning Activities: A Very Practical Guide to Using TBL in the...

  • 81 Pages - 06/22/2021 (Publication Date)

Also, be sure to make your expectations clear so that you get the best results. For example, are students…

  • Allowed to read from a paper?
  • Able to have a wall of text on the PowerPoint?
  • Allowed to have one person in the group do all the talking?

As you can see, it’s worth it to think through your instructions clearly before getting started with this.

Oh yeah, you can turn this into more of an interactive activity if you require the people listening to do something. Perhaps you can put the students into groups of 4 and each group has to ask 1 follow-up question. Or, you may want to consider peer grading. It’s not exactly a presentation game for class…but it’s kind of fun!

If you teach ESL online , you may want to consider this activity. It’s a nice way for students to work on their speaking skills in a huge way.

#23: Sentence Building Activities

Time spent on making better English sentences is never wasted time! It’s key to English writing and speaking and the good news is that it doesn’t have to be super boring. Check out some of the recommendations here:

ESL Sentence Structure Activities .

#24: ESL Food and Drink Activity Ideas

#25: TV ESL Lesson Plan

If you want to get your teens talking, then choose a topic that is relevant to them! Chances are that most of them watch at least a few different TV shows which makes this a perfect topic.

The even better news is that you can use this complete lesson plan that includes a warm-up, conversation questions, vocabulary, and writing prompts. It’s ideal for intermediate-advanced teenage learners and takes 1-2 hours.,

If you’re looking for something to just print off and take to class with you, then don’t pass up this resource. Have a look here:

TV ESL Lesson Plan .

#26: Word Challenge

A fun relay race type of game that’s heavy on the spelling and listening skills is word challenge. The way it works is that you can say a vocabulary word and students race to spell it correctly on the whiteboard. Simple but fun! Learn more about how to play it here:

ESL Spelling Word Challenge .

39 ESL Icebreakers: For Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want to Start their English Classes Off...

  • 54 Pages - 11/10/2015 (Publication Date)

#27: Word Association

This is a nice warmer activity that helps students activate prior knowledge that they have about a topic. It’s basically a mind map of vocabulary words about a certain topic that students can make with a partner or small group, or you can do it together as an entire class as well. Find out all the details:

Word Association ESL Warmer.

#28: Twenty Questions

#29: Man/Woman on the Street Interviews 

Check out this interview-style activity that’s heavy on the questions forms, as well as listening and speaking. It’s the perfect way to elicit some opinions from your teenagers about current events or controversial topics. It can be easily adapted for big or small classes and works for a short, or long amount of time.

You’ll certainly want to try out this extremely versatile ESL activity for teenagers (it works for kids or adults too!). Find out more here:

Man/Woman on the Street. 

#30: ESL Conversation Questions

1005 ESL Conversation Questions: For English Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want to Have...

  • 86 Pages - 07/02/2020 (Publication Date)

If you teach conversation, free-talking, or speaking classes, then I’m sure you’re always looking for good sources of questions. Sure, you can make your own or find them on the Internet but that takes time. The better solution is to just copy some, take them to class, and let your students get to talking. Here is my favourite source:

ESL Conversation Questions.

#31: Show and Tell

I love to use show and tell in my classes! It’s a fun activity for all ages. If you have a large class, consider doing 1-2 students a class as a nice warm-up activity. Find out more about it:

#32: Current Events Lesson Plan

A nice activity for intermediate or advanced students is to talk about current events. Here’s a complete lesson plan for current events that contains the following:

  • Warm-up question
  • Vocabulary challenge
  • Idioms and phrases
  • Conversation questions
  • Writing prompts

Have a look here:

Current Events ESL Lesson Plan.

#33: Dictogloss

Try out this challenging listening and speaking or writing ESL activity with your teens today. The way it works is that you find a passage to read out (or write your own). Put students into pairs and then read it at a faster than normal pace. Students take notes to try to recreate what they heard with their partners.

Then, read it out again and students add more to it. Finally, they compare what they have with the original version. Want to give it a try?

ESL Dictogloss Activity .

#34: Use a TEFL Warm-Up

#35: ESL Daily Schedule Activities

A nice topic for teenagers is about daily schedules. Depending on sleep schedules and how strict parents are, I find that they can vary widely even in a small class. Here are some of the best activities for talking about this:

ESL Daily Schedule Activities.

#36: More Idea for Teaching English to Teens

#37: saint patrick’s day esl classroom games.

A nice holiday to celebrate with teens is St. Patty’s Day. There’s an interesting history, plus some fun, current-day traditions. It also makes a nice break from the usual stuff in ESL textbooks! Here are some of my creative ideas for how to plan this kind of lesson:

ESL Saint Patrick’s Day .

#38: Five Senses

#39: ESL Role Playing Activity

A nice activity for beginners is this role-play one. It’s a great way to get students to practice speaking and having conversations but it doesn’t require students to have a lot of language skills. There are a variety of topics, ideas and situations that you can use this activity for. Find out all the details:

Role Play Topics and Ideas . 

#40: Dialogue Substitution 

#41: Scatter Sheets ESL

If you want an easy solution for TEFL lesson plans for teens, then look no further than these scatter sheets. They are all-in-one lessons that you can just print off and take to class. They’re ideal for high-beginners to low-intermediates. Find out more about them here:

ESL Scatter Sheets .

#42: Teaching Conditionals

A nice activity for teens is to teach them how to use conditionals. They are useful for a variety of situations and what teenager doesn’t want to learn how to express themselves? Have a look here for my recommendations:

Teaching the 1st conditional

How to teach the 3rd conditional

#43: All About Me Activities

Help students get to know each other with some of these fun ideas:

All About Me . 

#44: Hot Potato

#45: ESL Feelings Activities

It’s never wasted time to teach teens about how to express their emotions. Check out some of my favourite TEFL games and activities to do just that:

ESL Feelings Activities . 

#46: Round Robin Story Writing

Have a look at this fun speaking/listening or writing activity that’s ideal for teenagers:

Round Robin Story Writing .

#47: Fun Ideas for the Last Day of Class

There are so many great things you can do with teens on the last day. Have a look here for some of my favourite ideas:

Last Day of School Games .

#48: Speaking Fluency Activity

#49: There Is/There Are Activities for Teenagers

There is and there are. They are key concepts for all English learners to master and they can get a little bit tricky when you take into account things like uncountable nouns. Have a look at my favourite review games and activities for teaching them:

There is/there are ESL .

#50: Fun Guessing Games

There are lots of fun guess games that you can do with teens. They love the element of mystery to it! Have a look here for some of my top recommendations:

Guessing Games .

More Ideas for Games and Activities for Teenagers

101_ESL_Activities

101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults is a new book from Jackie Bolen and Jennifer Booker Smith that’s now available on Amazon. It’s designed to make life easy for teachers!

The key to a better English class is a variety of engaging, interesting, and fun activities and games. But, it can be difficult to come up with fresh ones for each class, especially if you see the same group of students a couple of times a week over the course of a semester. However, with more than 100, you certainly won’t be at a loss for some new things to try out in your classes.

Here’s how 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers will help you:

On the fence about whether or not this book is right for you? Here are just a few of the reasons why you might consider picking it up:

Save time lesson planning

Maybe you’re tired of wading around the junk on the Internet to find some ESL games or activities that you can actually use in your classes. We were too! That’s why we wrote this book. Just open it up, go to the section you’re looking for (4-skills, listening + speaking, writing, reading, or warm-ups/icebreakers) and find quality ESL activities that are easy on the prep.

You’ll find a brief description of the activity so that you can get the big picture. Then you’ll find the step by step instructions for how to set up and do the activity in your class. Finally, there are some helpful teaching tips so that you can make the activity even better and also avoid some of the common things that can go wrong.

Your students will love them too and will definitely appreciate the variety in your classes. And, you can have more time to do the stuff you really like to do! No more wasting time lesson planning ever again. There are enough ESL games and activities to last you an entire year or more!

If you teach private classes, these activities will keep your students coming back for more! Fresh and interesting? That’s some ESL gold right there, isn’t it?

Stuck in a rut?

Do you do the same things over and over again in your classes? You’re probably so bored with them and I’m sure your students are too. Make things interesting and fresh with some new ESL games and activities. The students will love your classes (and you too!). No more sleeping at the back of your class for your students!

Make your lessons student-centred

The activities and games in 101 ESL Activities are all student-centred so you can put the focus back on your students. The only way to get good at a language is to practice it! Help your students learn English effectively by using an ESL activity in this book. We guarantee that they’ll be speaking, listening, writing, or reading English like stars!

Want to Check it Out?

101 ESL Activities: Games, Activities, Practical ideas, & Teaching Tips For English Teachers of...

  • 148 Pages - 03/09/2016 (Publication Date)

Saving time lesson planning, getting unstuck out of your rut, making your lessons student-centred sound good to you? It sounds really good to us! Seriously, it is and if this book doesn’t make your ESL classes better, then get in touch and we’ll happily refund your money.

That’s why we wrote the book. It’s the one that we wish we had years ago when we first started our teaching careers. I wasted so much time searching around the Internet for a fun activity I could use in my class. Avoid this same mistake and get your copy today.

It’s really easy to get 101 ESL Activities: For Teenagers and Adults on Amazon by downloading the free Kindle reading app. This book belongs on every single ESL teacher’s personal bookshelf.

Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office as a handy reference guide for when you plan your lessons. Or, you can take the book with you on your phone or tablet for easy lesson planning at your favourite coffee shop.

Click the link below to get the book on Amazon today. But, only if you want to get yourself some ESL lesson planning awesome in your life.

check-price-on-amazon

Tips for Teaching Teens

When you teach English to middle school or high school students, it can be quite challenging. However, here are a few tips to make sure your classes go as smoothly as possible.

Use General Feedback

Teens usually don’t like it when you point out their behaviour, either good or bad in front of the whole class. Praise, or scold a group or the entire class rather than an individual.

Don’t Put Students on the Spot

This can often end in disaster! Instead, you can:

  • Ask for volunteers to give an answer (it works best if you give some incentive for doing so)
  • Require that each group give an answer instead of an individual
  • Tell a student during the practice time that you’re going to call on them during them to answer the question in front of the class so they have a bit of time to prepare something

Small-Group Interactions

Be sensitive about partners and small groups and who ends up working with who. It’s best not to make random partners, but it’s fine to do with groups of 4 or 5 for example.

Also, be on the lookout for mean spirited behaviour and clamp down on it hard so that everyone can have an enjoyable class experience.

Use Routines

Most people like it when they know what they can expect so have some routines. For example:

  • Check or hand in homework
  • Warm-up activity
  • Work on 2-3 pages from the book in partners
  • Small group activity or class game
  • Assigning of homework

You can also make routines for things like handing out worksheets, collecting papers, making groups, marking homework, etc. so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every single time.

Start your class off on the right foot by setting up routines so that students know exactly what they can expect.

39 Awesome 1-1 ESL Activities: For Teachers of Teenagers and Adults Who Want to Have Engaging,...

  • 55 Pages - 01/19/2016 (Publication Date)

Get Feedback from Students

I’ll sometimes put these questions (as a bonus point) on a quiz or test a few weeks into the semester:

“What do you like best about the class so far?”

“Is there an activity in this class that you don’t like doing?”

You’ll often get some illuminating answers. Take the feedback seriously, especially if you see the same thing over and over again. Maybe the students hate doing dictation, or they LOVE your board games. You won’t really know until you ask them.

Be Sensitive About Groups and Pairs

With university students or adults, you can put students into pairs without really thinking too much about it. Usually, they’re reasonably happy to work with just about anyone.

However, with kids, it’s usually more complicated, especially in middle school. Usually, the boys won’t want to work with the girls and vice-versa.

Although I generally like to mix things up with partners or groups to keep things fresh, with teens? I’ll usually let them sit with who they want. Or, I’ll assign groups of 3-4 students at the beginning of the course and they’ll stay with that group until the end.

Only 1 Person Talking During Group Activities for Teenagers

If there’s one rule that I’m very serious about in my classroom, it’s this one. There is only ONE person talking at a time. That applies to me, or if a student is giving a presentation or answering a question. Or, if we’re doing a game or activity that requires listening.

I often find that I have to come down very hard on this at the beginning of the semester, but that it gets much easier as the course goes on when the students know I’m very serious about this.

ESL Activities for Teenagers: Use a Variety of Them

I’m sure you know this already, but the key to interesting, engaging classes for middle or high school students is a variety of things to do. Use different games and activities for each class.

As a general rule, I try not to repeat them more than once a month to keep things fresh.

Where Can I Find ESL Lesson Plans for Teenagers?

Are you looking for some lesson plans for your teenage students? Then you’ll want to check out some of our favorite recommendations right here that will work with teens around the world:

Lesson Plans for Intermediate/Advanced Students

The Ultimate ESL Lesson Planning Guide

How to Plan an ESL Reading Lesson

ESL Games for Teens FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about teaching English to teens. Here are the answers to some of the most common ones.

How can I make English lessons for teens interesting?

There are a number of ways that you can make English lessons for teens more interesting:

  • Use a variety of games and activities
  • Don’t repeat topics
  • Allow students some choice for things like groups, topics, etc.
  • Use technology
  • Focus on interactive lessons
  • Have some fun
  • Take English outside the classroom whenever possible
  • Use interesting textbooks
  • Find some authentic materials

What are language games in English?

Language games are useful for helping motivate students to make and sustain efforts in learning a new language. They are motivating, encourage communication and interaction, and finally, bring some fun into the English classroom.

How can I give teens choices in my classroom?

If you’re giving homework like a written essay, for example, let them choose from a list of topics. Or, if they’re doing a speech, allow them to choose just about anything as long as they check with you first before starting.

For a group project, give them guidelines and recommendations but don’t micromanage how they get it done. As long as the final result is what you’re looking for, it doesn’t matter how your students get there. Their process may be different from yours, but that’s okay.

What are some common challenges when teaching ESL to teens?

Some common challenges when teaching ESL to teens include dealing with varied language proficiency levels, managing behavioral issues, addressing teenage distractions, and motivating reluctant learners.

How can I address different language proficiency levels in a teen ESL class?

To address different language proficiency levels in a teen ESL class, you can differentiate instruction by providing varied tasks and materials based on individual needs, offering extra support or extension activities, and promoting peer collaboration and assistance.

What are some effective assessment strategies for assessing teens’ progress in ESL?

Some effective assessment strategies for assessing teens’ progress in ESL include using a variety of assessment methods such as presentations, projects, written assignments, and oral interviews, providing constructive feedback, and involving students in self-assessment and reflection.

How can I promote speaking and communication skills in teen ESL learners?

To promote speaking and communication skills in teen ESL learners, you can provide ample opportunities for speaking practice through discussions, debates, role-plays, and presentations. Encouraging participation, active listening, and providing constructive feedback also contribute to their development.

Have your say about the best ESL Games for Teens!

Do you have any go-to activities for teenagers who are English learners? Do you have any ideas for making your lessons for teenagers more interesting? Please leave a comment below and let us know what you think.  Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about teaching English.

Also be sure to share this on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. This will help other teachers, like yourself find this useful teaching resource guide.

Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

esl worksheets for middle school

About Jackie

Jackie Bolen has been teaching English for more than 15 years to students in South Korea and Canada. She's taught all ages, levels and kinds of TEFL classes. She holds an MA degree, along with the Celta and Delta English teaching certifications.

Jackie is the author of more than 60 books for English teachers and English learners, including Business English Vocabulary Builder and 39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities for Teenagers and Adults . She loves to share her ESL games, activities, teaching tips, and more with other teachers throughout the world.

You can find her on social media at: YouTube Facebook Pinterest TikTok LinkedIn Instagram

Top Selling ESL Activity Book

39 No-Prep/Low-Prep ESL Speaking Activities: For Teenagers and Adults (Teaching ESL Conversation and...

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

More ESL Activities and Games

present continuous games

Present Continuous Games, Activities, Worksheets & Lesson Plans

making-predictions-activity

Making Predictions Games, Activities, Lesson Plans, Worksheets & More

herbivores animals name chart

Herbivores Animals Name List in English | Herbivorous Animals

esl-teaching-videos

How to Use Video in the ESL Classroom | Videos for ESL Students

About, contact, privacy policy.

Best-selling author and English teacher Jackie Bolen has been talking ESL activities and games since 2015. The goal is to bring you the best ideas, lesson plans, and activity recommendations for your TEFL classes.

Get in touch: About + Contact

Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Email: [email protected]

Address: 2436 Kelly Ave, Port Coquitlam, Canada

IMAGES

  1. Free ESL, EFL printable worksheets and handouts

    esl worksheets for middle school

  2. Technology and free time worksheet

    esl worksheets for middle school

  3. Free Printable Middle School Reading Comprehension Worksheets

    esl worksheets for middle school

  4. Middle School Esl Worksheets

    esl worksheets for middle school

  5. MY SCHOOL worksheet

    esl worksheets for middle school

  6. ESL Worksheets

    esl worksheets for middle school

COMMENTS

  1. 51 Middle school English ESL worksheets pdf & doc

    51 Middle school English ESL worksheets pdf & doc SORT BY TIME PERIOD sasu exam for middle school pps The first term exam 307 uses sasu test for middle school pupils It contains two parts:reading comprehension and mastery of language 256 uses NazarethZuniga Middle School 2 Speaking & Listening This series focuses on middle school second graders.

  2. Printable ESL Worksheets for Teachers (Word & PDF)

    Lesson Plans (coming soon) Below, you'll find all our worksheets sorted by student level. ESL Worksheets for Adults and Teens (Intermediate to Advanced Students) These are our available worksheets on different topics for higher-level students, like adults and teens. You can download, edit and print them all for free.

  3. Free Reading Comprehension Worksheets For Middle School Students

    Simply download one of the PDF worksheets below, print them out, and distribute them to your students. Table of Contents Reading Comprehension Worksheets For Middle School Escape Rooms TikTok BTS The Solar System The Immune System The History Of Baseball Volcanoes The History Of Basketball Thomas Edison Elon Musk More Worksheets

  4. ESL Worksheets

    Welcome to our ESL worksheets page. On this page, you can find many printable ESL worksheets on many topics for English language learners and teachers. All the worksheets on Games4esl are absolutely FREE to download and use in your English classes. ESL Worksheets For Teaching English The ESL worksheets on this page are arranged by topic.

  5. 64 Free ESL Lesson Plans and Templates You Can Use Today

    You could even create a fictional hurricane for your lessons. If you are looking for a specific topic, one of these plans just may be the right model for you to write your own lesson plan off of. Breaking Hurricane News. Brain & Senses. The Problem with Robots. Space - the Sun, Moon, Stars and Planets.

  6. 96 Free TEFL and ESL Worksheets You Can Use Today

    High-quality conversation worksheets touch upon the four pillars of ESL: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Here you'll find a wide range of topics that will get your classroom chatting. Students will be able to ask well-structured, relevant questions, hold a conversation with one another, and formulate and express their opinions.

  7. ESL Printables

    Save time on lesson prep with these free ESL Printables. Below, you'll find links to all our printable resources, including ESL worksheets, flashcards, board games, reading comprehension worksheets, and English grammar Worksheets. As always, these are FREE to use in your lessons. Simply download and print, and you're ready to teach!

  8. ESL Activities: Free Materials for ESL Teachers

    10 Must-Read Books for ESL Students (Elementary & Middle School) Read More » ESL Running Dictation: a Fun Activity to Practice Writing Read More » Free ESL Vocabulary & Conversation Worksheets Read More » 41 Artificial Intelligence Discussion Questions: Personal, Legal and Ethical Read More » 10 Great Information Gap Activities for ESL Lessons

  9. ESL Worksheets

    Reading Worksheets. Writing Worksheets. Make your own matching, sorting and unscrambling worksheets using the free TEFL.net Worksheet Generator! EnglishClub : Teach English : ESL Worksheets. Printer-friendly free ESL worksheets and printables for TEFL teachers to use in English class. With KEYs and Answers. For EFL, ESL learners of English.

  10. Esl Worksheets Middle School Teaching Resources

    $5 - $10 $10 and up On Sale Results for esl worksheets middle school 18,000+ results Sort: Relevance View: Grammar Worksheets ESL Levels 1-3 Middle and High School by

  11. 43 Free ESL Worksheets for English Teachers

    23. Charades for Kids. Charades only work when you have outgoing students. But in groups of two, they feel a bit more comfortable and less stressed out. Go through the worksheet with more words to act out. Charades for Kids. 24. Emotions Spin. Of all ESL worksheets, this is the most in-depth vocabulary for emotions.

  12. ESL Worksheets

    ESL Worksheets eBook - These free eBooks have 10-20 printable worksheets with short stories for beginning to intermediate level ESL students. All the images are black and white so they print clearly. The books are being released under Creative Commons License 3.0, so you are free to make photocopies or even upload them to your own Web Site as ...

  13. ESL Lesson Plans

    Welcome to our ESL Lesson Plan page. On this page, you can find many ESL lesson plans on many topics for kids and beginner English language learners. All of these ESL lesson plans are complete with games, activities, and printable materials. You will also find links to other useful resources at the bottom of each lesson plan.

  14. Fun Activities for Middle School Students: Games & Lesson Ideas

    81 Pages - 12/19/2022 (Publication Date) Check Price on Amazon #5: Concentration Try out this fun game that is a serious test of memory! Concentration Game. #6: Two Truths and a Lie #7: Riddles Who doesn't love a good riddle, right? Here are some of the best ones (with answers!). Riddles for Kids. #8: Triva for Middle School Students

  15. Middle School Reading Comprehension Worksheets

    Use the worksheets below to start to invigorate your learners. Reading should be not only a skill, but one that you enjoy using to learn more about everything. There are five sheets for each separate reading passage, so be sure to print them all (we have numbered them to help out). Answer keys have also been provided for instructors.

  16. ESL Worksheets, Lessons, and Classroom Activities

    Most will work in general classrooms for ELL students, or in ESL or EFL classes from 4th or 5th grade up. (They were designed with middle school, high school, or sometimes adult classes in mind.) Some worksheet packets (like those for prefixes, suffixes, or roots) can also be used for individual study.

  17. 6th, 7th 8th Grade Worksheets

    6th, 7th and 8th Grade Worksheets The 6th-8th grade band materials support student learning for students at the sixth, seventh and eighth grade levels. Many items can be used to teach basic skills that will be necessary for sixth through eighth graders to master reading, writing, and spelling skills.

  18. 10 Super Fun Classroom Games For Middle School Students

    1: The 20 Questions Game The 20 questions game is a great ESL speaking activity for middle school students. If you're not familiar with this game, the rules are simple. One student thinks of a secret object and doesn't tell anyone. The only thing they tell the other students is the kind of thing it is.

  19. 50 Fun and Easy ELA Games For Middle School Students

    1. Charades Both middle school and elementary school students will have a blast playing this fun game of charades. Write vocabulary words on individual sheets of paper and place them in a box.

  20. Five Engaging ESL Games for Middle School

    Finding ESL Games for middle schoolers can be a challenge, depending on the levels of your English Language Learners. These ESL activities are proven to increase engagement and language learning! They would work great for high school ESL or upper elementary English Language Learners too! I teach ESL to 4th-8th graders in Tanzania, and it […]

  21. 7 Reading Games For Middle School Students

    2. Reading Race 3. The Jigsaw Game 4. Sleeping Beauties 5. Reading Detectives 6. Find Your Partner 7. The Spy Game Related Fun Reading Games For Middle School Students 1. Jump and Read This first reading game is a great way to get your middle school students warmed up and ready for class. First, write a sentence on the board.

  22. Esl Middle School Worksheets

    Esl Middle School Worksheets - TheWorksheets.CoM - TheWorksheets.com TheWorksheets.com Search 50,000+ worksheets, curated by experts, created by teachers and aligning to mainstream curriculums. Esl Middle School Worksheets Results READING COMPREHENSION PRACTICE TEST

  23. ESL Activities and Games for Middle School & High School

    Try out some of these activities and games for teenagers today. Oh yeah, and these ESL activities for teenagers will also work for any foreign language teaching. Even more ideas here: Fun activities for middle school students. #1 Team Games for Teenagers: Running Dictation 4-Skills ESL Activity