If you’re looking for some of the best conjunction activities and games, then you’re certainly in the right place. We’re going to give you the rundown on the best 20 of them to try out in your English classes today.
ESL Conjunction Activities
Without further ado, let’s get to the conjunction games and activities. They are one of the key parts of speech!
#1: Conjunction Hot Potato Game
If you want to have some fun with your students then consider trying out this hot potato game. There are a number of variations but the general gameplay is the same. Students pass an object around the classroom and when the music stops or the timer off, the person holding it has to do something.
In this case, you may want to show students two flashcards and have them make a sentence using a conjunction. For example:
- Pizza/carrot (I like pizza but I don’t like carrots.).
- Shirt/shoes (I’m wearing a red shirt and brown shoes.)
Do you want to find out more? Check it out here: Hot Potato ESL.
#2: Conjunctions Quiz
Try out this fun conjunction activity for all ages.
#3: Rock Scissor Paper Conjunctions Activity
This is a fun ESL game for kids or adults that’s perfect for conjunctions. The way it works is that you can make a bunch of sentences that use this grammar concept.
For example:
- I like steak but I don’t like chicken.
- My favourite hobbies are soccer and watching TV.
- I love to sleep is so I’m often late to school.
Then, cut the papers into strips, separating the first part of the sentence with the conjunction from the second. It’d look like this:
- I like steak but / I don’t like chicken.
- My favourite hobbies are soccer and / watching TV.
- I love to sleep is so / I’m often late to school.
Make enough so that each student in your class can have 4-5 pieces of paper. Then, they have to go around the class talking to their classmates to find their match. When they do, they play rock, scissor, paper and the winner takes both pieces of paper and gets 1 point. The winner is the person with the most points at the end of the allotted time.
Want to know more? Check out this fun game here: ESL Rock Scissor Paper.
#4: Conjunction Songs and Chants
A fun way to teach kids about conjunctions is to use some songs and chants. Not musical? Not to worry! There are a ton of great options for you on YouTube. Have a search and you’re sure to find something that will work in just a minute or two.
#5: Dialogue Substitution Conjunction Activities
In many ESL textbooks, transitions and conjunctions are often introduced through a dialogue of some kind as a form of “noticing” activity. But, it’s often the case that students just blow through it without really paying attention to them!
As a way to combat this tendency, I’ll remove some of the key words. Then, students have to read it together with a partner while filling in the blanks at the same time. Want to give it a try in your TEFL classes? Find out more information here:
#6: Conjunctions Board Game
In my real life, I love to play board games. Of course, I like to get my students playing them as well but I make my own to suit the topic, vocabulary set or grammar point of the lesson. In this case, I’ll fill my board with a bunch of sentence starters that have a conjunction in them:
- I like to ______ and ______.
- I play ______ but I _______.
- Etc.
Then, students have to play the game together and fill in the blanks. It’s a fun way to give students some serious practice with conjunctions! Find out how to make and play your own ESL board games here:
Conjunction Activity
#7: Sentence Building Activities and Games
Conjunctions are a key part of building better English sentences. The good news is that there are a ton of great activities and game ideas for helping students with sentence structure. Check out some of the top picks right here:
ESL Sentence Building Activities.
#8: Conjunction Listening Lesson Plan
For my conversation classes, I love to include some dedicated class time to work on listening. After all, this is half of the conversation but we often neglect it to focus on speaking.
If you want to focus on conjunctions, then you could consider finding a listening passage with lots of examples. A simple exercise is to get students to listen and note examples of its usage. Of course, there is a lot more you can do. Here’s how you can plan a complete ESL listening lesson:
ESL Listening Lesson Plan Template.
#9: Error Correction Relay, A fun Conjunction Game
Try out one of my favourite conjunctions game for ESL. Learn more about it here:
#10: Flashcards and Conjunctions
I love to use flashcards in my TEFL classes for kids. They are a versatile teaching tool and I try to never set foot in a classroom without some! There are lots of different ways you can use them but for conjunctions, you may want to allow students to select two cards and then make a sentence combining them. Or, you could select two cards for them and do the same thing.
There are lots of ideas here for conjunction games:
Flashcard Activity Ideas for ESL.
#11: How to Teach Grammar
Conjunctions and transitions are a key part of English grammar. After all, they’re required if we want our students to be able to build good sentences and then join those sentences together in a cohesive way.
I know that many teachers are intimidated by teaching grammar. But, you don’t have to be! Just follow this template and your transition lesson plan will be planned in no time at all!
#12: Disappearing Sentence
If you want to do a quick review at the end of class, then consider using this activity. It’s also an excellent time-filler for a couple of minutes!
The way it works is that you write a sentence on the board that contains a conjunction. Then, students say it out loud together. After that, erase 1-2 words and have students say the sentence. And so on it goes until nothing is left! Check it out here:
ESL Disappearing Sentence Activity.
#13: Vocabulary Auction
If you want to have a fun, exciting class then consider doing this game! It does take a while to prepare but it’s totally worth it if you can use it for multiple classes.
The gist of it is that students have to bid on various words to make sentences. Then, they can trade and negotiate with other teams to get even more words that they may need.
In this, I require that all sentences need to have a transition of some kind in order to qualify as a point at the end of the game. Want to try it with your students? Here’s how to set it up:
#14: Got to Hand it to You
This is a quick review activity that takes what’s old (error correction) and makes it new again by making it into a team game. It’s possible to use for just about any kind of grammar or vocabulary, including as conjunction activity. Find out more about one of the best conjunction games here:
#15: Running Dictation
I love this game! It’s ideal because it covers a range of skills and it’s perfect for sleepy classes who need an infusion of energy and fun.
The way it works is that you can find a dialogue with lots of examples of transitions in it. Then, paste the sentences around the classroom and students have to work in pairs to copy them all down. When they’re done that, they have to order the sentences to make a conversation.
Try it out today as it’s one of the best conjunction activities and I think you’ll love this game as much as I do:
#16: Conjunction Songs and Chants
If you teach kids, then you’ll definitely wants to use some songs and chants in your classes. If you’re kind of like me and aren’t that musical, I have some good news for you. There are lots of songs on YouTube that are designed for this very purpose.
#17: Treasure Hunt Conjunction Game
A fun activity for older students and conjunctions is to do a treasure hunt picture quest. In groups, they have to take a picture of certain things and of course, the sentences should contain conjunctions. For example. Take a picture of…
- something blue but not black
- something yellow and green
- a pen and pencil together
- something you can use or something you can eat
- an eraser or person
#18: The Conjunction Detective
Conjunctions for kids can be fun if you play this “detective” game. Find a story, newspaper article or other written text and remove the conjunctions or transitions. Then, students have to play detective and try to figure out the words that belong there. For lower-level students, consider including a word bank of possible choices to help them out with this task.
#19: Dictogloss
Try out one of my favourite conjunctions activities here. It’s a challenging listening exercise that can be used for just about any topic or grammar point, including this one.
#20: The Telephone Game
I’m sure you’ve played telephone before. The way it works is that each team has to pass a sentence from person to person down the line. Then, in the end, they compare what they have with the original. The results are usually hilarious!
Of course, you’ll want to choose some original sentences that have lots of conjunctions in them. Find out more here about this fun conjunctions game: ESL Telephone Game.
#21: More Ideas for Teaching English
#22: Likes and Dislikes ESL Activities
One of the best contexts for teaching words like and/but/or/so is with likes and dislikes. There are just so many possibilities like the following:
- I like soccer and tennis.
- My dad likes fruit but he doesn’t like vegetables.
- I like to eat sandwiches or pasta for lunch.
- I like tennis so I play at least twice a week.
Here are some of the top recommendations: ESL Like/Dislike Activities.
#23: Sentence Correction Activity
Try out this very simple error correction activity. It’s a nice option for a conjunction activity for kids, as well as adults.
Conjunction Online Games
If your students want some extra practice with this, then you may want to recommend the following conjunctions online games:
ESL Conjunction Worksheets
It’s possible to save a ton of time and not reinvent the wheel by using some of these ESL conjunctions and transitions worksheets. Don’t make your own when other teachers have done the hard work for you! Here are some of our top picks:
Conjunction Games and Activities
ESL Lesson Plans for Teaching Conjunctions
If you want to save time in a big way, then consider using these lesson plans for conjunctions that you can just print off and use. Here are some of the best resources:
Did you Like these Conjunction Activities?
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- Bolen, Jackie (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 87 Pages - 10/24/2019 (Publication Date)
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Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide. Or, consider taking the digital version with you to your favourite coffee shop on your phone, tablet, or laptop for some lesson planning on the go. It’s super easy to do with the free Kindle reading app.
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Teaching Conjunctions FAQs
There are a number of common questions that people have about using conjunctions. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.
How do you teach conjunctions in a fun way?
You can teach conjunctions in a fun way by using a variety of games and activities. Some of the best ones include the following: the hot potato game, conjunctions songs/chants, ESL board games, treasure hunt, telephone, or a vocabulary auction.
What are some examples of a conjunction?
A conjunction is a word that joins phrases, clauses or sentences. Some examples of a conjunction are as follows:
- He bought a shirt and pants.
- She went to work today but probably not tomorrow.
- He didn’t study so he failed the test.
What are the 7 Conjunctions?
The 7 conjunctions are: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. These are known as coordinating conjunctions and to remember them, you might want to use the acronym, “FANBOYS.” These kinds of words join words, phrases or clauses.
What are the 3 most common English conjunctions?
The 3 most common conjunctions in English are: and, but, so.
How do you explain conjunctions?
You can explain conjunctions as follows: They are words that join words, phrases or parts of a sentence together to show some type of relationship. The three most common ones are and, or, but.
Have your say about the Best ESL Conjunction Activities
What’s your top pick for a conjunction activity for English learners? Is it one of the options from this list or do you have your eye on another one? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.
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Last update on 2022-10-15 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
Very nice and informative.