Brainstorm Activities and Games for ESL | Brainstorming Lesson Ideas

If you’re looking for some of the best brainstorming games and activities to help students build their vocabularies and encourage creative thinking, then you’re certainly in the right place. Keep on reading for the best brainstorm activities to try out in your classes today.

Brainstorm Activities

Let’s get into the best brainstorming activities to try out with your students today. Have some fun with these creative brainstorming ideas.

#1: Hot Potato

This is a fun game that kids of all ages love! To make it into a brainstorming game, students pass around a potato (or another object) and when the music stops, they have to say a word within a certain category (vegetable, sport that needs a ball, etc.).

If the student can’t do this, they are out of that round. If they say a repeated word, they are also out. Find out more about it here:

Hot Potato Game.

#2: Word Association

A nice way to get students brainstorming vocabulary words and ideas is through this simple activity. Find out more about it here:

#3: Whiteboard Race

This is a simple whiteboard game to try out with your students. Students line up at the whiteboard, in teams of 5-6. Then, the teacher calls out a category and the first student has to write down a word in that category. If the spelling is incorrect, it doesn’t count.

The next student can correct a spelling mistake, or write a new word. The first team with 10 words in that category is the winner.

#4: 5 Senses

This is a simple activity that is ideal for working on adjectives. Students have to describe an object using the five senses. By putting students into groups to do this activity, it can be a brainstorming kind of activity as you can challenge students to come up with a set number for each sense (3 for beginners, 10+ for advanced). Find out more about it:

ESL 5 Senses Activity.

#5: Brainstorming English Games

#6: Mind Map Activity

This is a nice way to introduce a topic that students are already familiar with such as weather, hobbies or jobs. It’s ideal to help students activate prior knowledge they may have about a topic before teaching new things. Put students into small groups, or do it with the entire class if fewer than 6 students.

Then, put the topic of the day (weather) in the middle of the board with a circle around it. Students have to shout out words and the teacher can organize them into various categories and connections, making a mind map as they go. Or, students can do this themselves in small groups.

#7: Brainstorm Race

Put students into groups of 3 or 4, with a piece of paper and a pen. Then, put a thing that students need to brainstorm five things about on the PowerPoint slide. Some examples:

• 5 things you do before coming to school.
• 5 hobbies that don’t cost any money.

The first team to write down these 5 things puts up their hands and gets a point for their team. Keep playing until the time is up or a team has a certain number of points.

#8: Shout it Out

Make up a list of popular words in certain categories (sports, food, hobbies, jobs, animals, etc.). Each category should have 10 words.

Divide the class up into teams. Each round is 1 minute. Say the first category and the team has to shout out words in the category to the teacher. The teacher can cross them off the (secret) list as they hear them. The goal is to get all 10 of them.

#9: Alphabet Brainstorm

This is a simple activity to review almost any topic. Put students into pairs and have them write down the alphabet in a column on a piece of paper. The goal is to think of one word that starts with each letter of the alphabet, in a certain category within the allotted time.

For example, jobs.

A = Astronuat

C = Cook

F = Fisherman

T = Teacher

The winner is the team with the most jobs at the end of the time. To encourage creative thinking for higher-level students, you can only give a point if another team doesn’t have the same answer.

#10: Many Uses

Try out this brainstorming activity to encourage creative thinking. Bring in a common object such as a potato, or use an eraser. In groups, students have to think of as many uses for it as possible within a certain amount of time. For example, a potato could be a

• food
• paperweight
• face mask
• etc.

#11: English Shiritori

Shiritori is a popular Japanese game where you have to think of a word that starts with the last letter of the previous one. Put students into pairs and give them a word to start off the game then. Then, students have to build a word chain. The team with the most words in 1-2 minutes is the winner.

#12: ESL Warmers

#13: Name 5 Things Brain Stroming Game

This is a simple activity where students have to brainstorm 5 things, according to a certain category. It can be done individually, or in small groups. For example, students may have to name 5 things that . . .

• they can eat.
• they can see in the classroom.
• people use when they play a sport

They can write down these things on a piece of paper and it could be competitive, or not. Check out this simple quiz online:

#14: How Else Can I Say That?

Give students a common phrase or word for which there are a lot of other words or expressions. For example, hello. Then, students have to come up with as many as other ways to say this as possible (what’s up? hey, hi, how are you?, etc.).

#15: A-Z Alphabet Game

Try out this fun brain storming game and let me know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Brainstorm ESL Worksheets

If you’re a teacher, then you already know how much time it can save to use resources that other teachers have created. That’s where these ESL brainstorming worksheets come in. Here are some of the top options:

ISL Collective 

ESL Printables 

Did you like these Brainstorming Games and Activities?

Yes? Then you’re going to love this book you can find on Amazon: 39 ESL Vocabulary Activities for Teenagers and Adults. The key to better English vocabulary classes is a wide variety of interesting and engaging games and activities and this book will help you get there in style.

Pick up a copy today and get ready for better English classes tomorrow:

Brain Storm Activities: Join the Conversation

Do you have a brainstorm game or activity that you’d like to suggest? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think about it. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2025-04-09 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API