The following is a list in-progress of fun games that can be played in the German classroom. The games are for different German language levels.
- Der-Die-Das-Klatsch
This is a fun game for reinforcing articles of vocabulary learned.
Aim: To practice recalling nouns with their given article
Level: Beginner
Number of Players: The entire class
Needed: Nothing
Students sit in a circle and clap a beat to a predetermined sequence of hand gestures, such as four claps, left-finger snap, right-finger snap. The goal is to keep the beat going as a player calls out the name of another player and then an article, for example die all within the counts of the sequence. The next person must then reply with a noun to go with the aforesaid article within the sequence of beats. If he/she says a correct noun, then he/she proceeds with the naming of another player and an article. If she/he is incorrect then she/he has to be "punished", such as doing five sit-ups, before he/she can join the circle again. This game can also be played by having the noun stated first and the next player to give the correct article.
- Categorie Lists
This is a good vocabulary review and also a fun way to fill up those spare five minutes of time.
Aim: To recall as many words as possible that belong to a certain category
Level: Late Beginner - Intermediate
Number of Players: Partners
Needed: Nothing
Two players play against each other. The teacher chooses a category, for example the workplace and then in turn the players have to state a word that falls within the subject matter. The face-off ends when one of the players can't think of anymore words that fit into the category.
- Es war einmal…
This a fun activity that helps the teacher see at a quick glance where students struggle with sentence formation.
Aim: To tell a made-up story. (With a less-advanced class, have students retell a well-known story instead.)
Level: Late Beginner - Advanced
Number of Players: The entire class
Needed: Nothing
Depending on the level of your class, have each student in succession say either one word or one sentence to create/retell a story. Either way, the class can end up with funny stories.
