ESL Body Parts Games, Activities, Lesson Plans and Other Resources

If you’re teaching the parts of the body to your English learners, then look no further! This is the ultimate resource that you’ll want to check out. There are plenty of ESL body parts games, activities, worksheets and lesson plans to try out. Keep on reading for all the parts of the body EFL you need!

ESL Body Parts Activities and Games

Are you ready to get into the best parts of the body ESL activities? Read on my teaching friends for all the details you need to know to make your lesson plans even more awesome.

#1: Hot Potato Body Parts Game

If you’re teaching beginners, this is one of the best games for parts of the body if you want to inject some fun into your classes. The way it works is that students pass around an object of some kind and when the music stops, the person holding the object has to do a task of some kind.

In this case, it would be naming the body part that they see on a flashcard. Or, touch the body part that you say out loud to them. Or, ask another student to do something. There are lots of variations and it really depends on the age and level of the students. Find out all the options here: Hot Potato.

#2: Comparative and Superlative Activities and Games

Comparatives (His arms are longer than hers), and Superlatives (My hair is the longest in the class) along with parts of the body are like two peas in a pod and they’re just a natural fit with each other. In fact, many ESL textbooks often teach this vocabulary set and grammar point together.

For some top recommendations, check this out: ESL Comparative Superlative Activities.

#3: Drawing a Picture While Someone Else is Talking

One fun way to get students using parts of the body vocab is to get them to draw a picture of something that their partner is describing to them. In this case, I generally select silly alien pictures that have 4 eyes, 2 mouths, and 6 arms for example. Then, without looking, one student tells the other one what to draw. The results? Usually hilarious!

Find out how to do this ESL speaking activity in your classes here: ESL Drawing Activity.

#4: Human Body Trivia

If you’re looking for a quick review or warmer related to ESL bodyparts, then consider doing some trivia. It’s a fun challenge for students who are in elementary school. Check out this worksheet we put together for you that you can just print out and use in your classes:s

Human Body Trivia.

Do you like this body part trivia? It’s from this book:

#5: Would you Rather? Parts of the Body EFL Activity

Would you rather is a kind of fun party game, but you can also use it for teaching parts of the body or physical characteristics. Here are some examples of questions to ask your students (or they can make their own to ask a partner):

• Would you rather break your arm or leg?
• Would you rather be tall or short?

Do you want to learn more? Check out all the details here: ESL Would you Rather?

#6: ESL Body Parts Flashcards

In my opinion, flashcards are one of the most under-utilized English teaching tools for children. There are just so many things that you can do with them and body parts are certainly one of those topics that lends itself particularly well to this. For some of my best ideas, be sure to check this out:

Using Flashcards in the ESL Classroom.

#7: Body Parts ESL Songs and Chants

If you take a look on YouTube, there are a ton of songs and chants for just about any topic or grammatical point. They’re perfect for teaching kids and I usually find my students singing along with them even after class is over!

#8: Charades Body Part Activity

For some serious fun in your ESL classes, consider playing charades. The way it works is that students have to select a piece of paper with a word on it. In this case, you’d want to go heavy on the body parts vocabulary, but you could also include some other words that students are familiar with too.

Then, students have to act it and their classmates have to guess what it is. Want to try it out? Find out all the details here: ESL Charades Game.

#9: Dialogue Substitution

It’s very common in many English textbooks for new vocabulary to be introduced in a dialogue of some kind. After all, new words need a context in which they can be used, right? Keeping this in mind, you may want to try out this activity that turns just reading a dialogue without much thought or care into something far more challenging.

Simply remove the key vocabulary words from a dialogue, in this case, it’d likely be the parts of the body. Then, students have to read it together with a partner while filling in the blanks. Does it sound like the challenge for your students? Learn more about it here:

ESL Dialogue Substitution Activity.

#10: Category Games and Activities

There are plenty of big categories of vocabulary that you’ll want to teach your beginner students, including food, sports, hobbies, animals, and of course, body parts. There are lots of activities that you might want to use when teaching these bigger categories of words. Here are some of the best ones:

ESL Category Activities.

#11: Picture Prompt

I love using picture prompt as a way to activate my students’ prior knowledge if I know that they’ve studied about parts of the body before. Find a picture that lends itself well to the topic or vocabulary of the day. And then depending on the level, there are a number of things you can do:

• Get students to name things that they see
• Ask questions that students have to answer
• Get students to talk with a partner about what they see
• Etc.

For even more ideas, be sure to check this out: Picture Prompt ESL Warm-Up.

#12: ESL Vocabulary Activities

There are even more ideas here for how to help students remember new words like parts of the body:

#13: ESL Taboo Variation

I’m sure you’ve played the party game Taboo before? The way it works is that you have to describe a word but you can’t use another set of words. I play this game with my students but with an easier variation. They simply have to describe a word to other students who guess what it is.

For example, if the target words is eyes, students could say something like, “I can see with them.”

Do you want to give it a try in your classes? Find out all the details here: ESL Taboo Game.

#14: Include Body Parts in your Class Routine

I love to have a routine to start my classes off with children or adults. I usually do things like talk about the day of the week and the month, or ask students about how they’re feeling. However, you could also consider incorporating some ESL body parts things too. For example, have a quick, “Touch your left arm. Stand up on 1 leg, etc.”

More details here: ESL Classroom Routines.

#15: The Memory Circle for ESL Body Parts

An easy way to get students using new vocabulary is the play the memory circle game. In this with ESL body parts, the first person says a word and touches it. For example, head. Then the second person says head while touching it and adds their own while touching it (arm). And so on it goes until someone can’t remember and they’re out of the game.

Find out more details here: ESL Memory Circle Game.

#16: I’m an Alien

One fun thing I like to do with my students is pretend that I’m an alien who has just come to Earth for the first time. Then, I get them to describe what people look like to me. If you think about, it’s the ideal way to get students using a ton of body part vocabulary.

Learn more about how to use it in your TEFL classes here: I’m An Alien TEFL Activity.

#17: Got to Hand it to You

If you’re looking for a way to make what’s old new again, then look no further than this review activity. Instead of just powering through a worksheet on their own, students have to work together to get the job done.

Learn more about it here: ESL Worksheet Review Activity.

#18: What Am I?

You know that party game where you tape a famous person on your body somewhere that you can’t see it and then you have to ask questions until you discover who it is? You can also play this game with your TEFL students using parts of the body or other things like animals.

Learn more here: What Am I ESL Speaking Activity.

#19: Running Dictation

If you’re teaching ESL body parts to more advanced-level students, then you might consider using this activity. It’s challenging, hits all 4 skills and is a fun way to inject some energy and excitement into your classes.

Find out how to do it here: Running Dictation ESL Game.

#20: ESL Body Parts Worksheets

Sometimes you just need to do a good worksheet, right? The good news is that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel because there are a ton of great bodyparts worksheets online that you can just print off and use in your English classes. Here are some of my go-to resources:

ISL Collective

ESL Tower

English Worksheets

#21: Dictogloss

If you’re teaching about body parts to more advanced level students, then consider using this challenging listening activity. Find (or write) a passage using the target vocabulary.

Then, put students into pairs and read it out loud at a faster than normal pace. Students take notes and then attempt to recreate what they just heard. Do the process again and in the end, each group compares what they have with the original.

Learn more about it here: Dictogloss.

#22: Role Plays

A common way to teach body parts to higher-level students in ESL textbooks is to have them do a role-play where they talk about an injury or illness to a friend or a doctor. It’s a natural fit!

Find out all the details you need to know about this popular ESL activity here: ESL Role-Plays.

#23: Simon Says

I’m sure you’ve played Simon Says before. It’s the ideal body parts activity for kids.

#24: Task-Based Learning for Body Parts ESL

I love to include some task-based activities in most of my classes. They’re a nice change of pace from the usual communicative style activities found in ESL textbooks these days.

For body parts, a natural fit is to put students into small groups and have them do some research about a system within the body or a body part. Then, they can make a poster and do a short presentation to the class about it.

#25: Guessing Game ESL Parts of the Body Activity

I generally use this activity for famous people but it can certainly be adapted to work with body parts as well. On a PowerPoint slide or handout, have lots of various body parts. Then, put students into pairs and they can take turns describing one of the body parts to their partner who has to guess what it is.

Here are some examples of things students could say:

• I have two of them.
• You use these to see.
• They are very long.
• Etc.

Find out more about this quick ESL warm-up: Guessing Game.

#26: Typhoon Game

Use this game to review just about anything, including parts of the body!

Body Parts ESL Lesson Plans

Another huge timesaver can be these lesson plans for ESL body parts. If you’re short of time, just print them off, take it to class and use them! Awesome, right? Here are some of the best ones to consider using with your English learners:

ESL Kids Stuff

Games4ESL

TEFL.net

Did you like these ESL Body Parts Ideas?

Yes? Thought so! Then the book you’re going to want to take a look at is this one over on Amazon: 39 ESL Vocabulary Activities For Kids 7+. There are dozens of ESL games and activities you can use to teach and review new vocabulary words with your students. Make learning fun again with these engaging, student-centred activities.

The best part is that you can cut down on your prep time. Just open up the book and choose a couple of activities that you can get ready to do in just a few minutes, using whatever vocabulary you’re teaching. It really is that easy to have better English classes for kids!

You can find the book in both digital and print formats. Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference when planning your lessons. Or, take the digital version on your phone, tablet or computer to your favourite coffee shop for lesson planning on the go.

You can find out more about the book over on Amazon:

Have your Say about Teaching ESL Body Parts

What’s your top activity, game or teaching tip for teaching ESL body parts? 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