Only Connect – fostering thinking skills

only connectLarry Ferlazzo tweeted about a new BBC game called ONLY CONNECT. I tried it and found it terribly difficult! Too difficult for EFL students. However, it reminded me of my “One of these things is not like the other” game. and got me thinking that it would be a great concept as a thinking game.

Thinking skills are an essential reason why kids are in school. Our job is all about fostering them and getting students  to think and develop, “creatively”. Recent studies in America have shown that children since the 90s have stopped progressing in the realm of creativity. (see Po Bronson’s  Newsweek expose or watch the famous Ken Robinson TED video). We need to do more in our classes to foster this precious skill.

So in that vein, I offer some nice ONLY CONNECT games I made and which can be used as a template for you and your students to make their own. Even better if they make their own games and then challenge others to “connect” . 10 min. to make the game – 10 min. to play!

The games I made highlight 3 variations of the basic game.

1. Student / teacher created (either draw or spell)

2. Picture only

3. Word only (students draw the word too)

One good idea is to also have students cut and make cards. Then, the cards are simply put into categories, groups.
Get all the games on EFL Classroom in our Resources area. Enjoy and feedback always welcome. Please share your own games here too!

Only Connect

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ddeubel

Teacher trainer, technology specialist, educational thinker...creator of EFL Classroom 2.0, a social networking site for thousands of EFL / ESL teachers and students around the world.

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