TRY THIS The Happiness Game: A Board Game for Almost Any

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TRY THIS

The Happiness Game:

A Board Game for Almost

Any Classroom

by DANIEL CLAUSEN

LEVEL: High Beginner and above

TIME REQUIRED: Approximately 15 minutes

to introduce and demonstrate the game;

thereafter, game time is highly flexible

GOALS: To have fun playing a game; to feel

happy and to talk and think about happiness;

(optional) to review vocabulary or other

targeted language elements

MATERIALS: For each group of students,

a Happiness Game board, a die or coin (or

something similar), a set of prepared Happiness

Question Cards (and/or blank cards for students

to create their own game cards), and a set of

prepared Free Question—also called Review

Question—cards; players should have their own

game piece to move around the board.

BACKGROUND: Whenever I teach mixed-

level classes, I look for themes of nearly

universal interest. Everyone I know wants to

be happy. Everyone I know is interested in

finding ways of being happier. So, what better

topic than happiness?

In this article, I will introduce a game

designed for mixed-level classes. The game

was created using Canva (www.canva.

com), a design website. While the website

charges money for the use of some elements,

this board game was designed using a free

account and free, non-copyrighted materials.

This same game can be created using hard

construction paper, markers, and flash cards.

See Figure 1 for a Happiness Game board that

I have used with my students.

Step One: Introducing the Topic

I usually start the class by asking students

about happiness. My initial question is

typically something like this:

• What are some ways we can be happy

every day?

I might follow up with more questions:

• When you are sad, what makes you

become happy?

• What kinds of foods make you happy?

What kinds of drinks? What kinds of

music?

For advanced learners, I might ask a more

difficult question:

• Is happiness due more to perspective or to

environment?

During the warm-up stage, I often go to the

board and write phrases or new vocabulary

items that students might find useful while

they are playing the game.

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Figure 1. The Happiness Game board. Players start in the upper left-hand corner and move around the

board in a clockwise direction.

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After the warm-up, I tell the students that we

will be playing a game about happiness.

Step Two: Making Materials

During this step, I introduce students to

example cards at different levels. The question

cards that are included in my example are

color-coded and graded by level. I read the

cards with the students—and then ask them

to write five more cards of their own.

The cards we create during this step are the

cards that will be drawn when players land

on the Choose a Happiness Question Card! spot

on the board. Samples are shown in Figure 2.

But there are many possibilities, so teachers

and students should feel free to create their

own cards. Just remember that the theme is

happiness!

In addition to these questions, I include

questions that review aspects of English

conversation that we have already covered

in the course. These are the cards that

players will draw when they land on Free

Question! If the course has a more formal

atmosphere, a teacher can label the space

Review Question! These cards can be prepared

by the teacher or by the students prior to the

game. However, if preparation time is short,

teachers can have students write review cards

as they play or spontaneously make up their

own questions.

When the cards and board are prepared,

the teacher and students will need to create

game pieces and find a die. If game pieces are

hard to create or if there is a time constraint,

simple classroom items such as paper clips,

erasers, and pen caps can work well as game

pieces. In my classes, I sometimes use coins

I have collected from different countries as

game pieces. (They encourage students to ask

about my travels!) If a die is not available, a

coin is a great substitute (heads = move one

space; tails = move two spaces).

Step Three: Explaining the Rules

The rules for my version of the game are

simple. Roll the die. (Or flip a coin.) Move

your game piece the designated number

of spaces. If you land on Choose a Happiness

Question Card!, you must choose a Happiness

Question Card and answer the question

or solve the challenge. If you land on Free

Question!, you must choose a Free Question

card and answer the question. All other

spaces have fun happiness challenges such as

“Create a new high five” or “Make a silly face.”

I recommend doing one practice trip around

the game board in order to model the rules

for students.

Players take turns and move around the

board as many times as they like or until the

challenge cards have all been used up.

My version of the game is noncompetitive.

The point is to learn about each other and

have fun. However, a teacher who wants to

make the game competitive can have the

students count the number of challenges they

have solved simply by asking students to count

their cards at the end of the game.

Step Four: Following Up

The teacher has options for following up after

the game is finished:

• Presentationsandspeeches. For large

classes, the teacher can have students form

small groups to give a short presentation

about what they have learned. For small

classes, individual students can give a

speech about what they have learned.

• Additionalgamecards. The teacher can

have students write more game cards for

the next time the game is played. (Highly

recommended!)

• Writing. The teacher can have students

write short answers or essays for any

challenges or questions that were

particularly hard, such as, “What’s your

happiest memory from childhood?”

• Discussion.In groups, students can

discuss questions such as, “What question

was the hardest for you to answer?” and

“What happiness challenge did you enjoy

the most?”

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Variations: Ways to Modify the Game

The game described in this article is

designed for mixed-level adult students.

However, it could easily be modified for

children. For children, the teacher will need

to make cards that reflect the abilities of

young learners.

For example, the teacher can have cards that

give spelling quizzes or ask basic questions.

One card could read, “Spell the word happy.”

Another could read, “Which is a happier place,

a park or a zoo?”

For more-advanced adult classes, the teacher

can design cards with role plays or scenarios.

A card could read, “Your friend is feeling

down. Try to cheer him or her up.”

Other modifications can make the game even

more fun.

• Music: The teacher can play music in the

background to create a party atmosphere.

• Happinesstokensorpunchcard:

The teacher can create some kind of

reward system for good responses,

such as happiness tokens or stickers.

Or the teacher can create a challenge

punch card and punch a hole every

time the student gets a challenge

correct.

Notes on Materials and Game Boards

Teachers can create their own Happiness

Game using free resources on the American

English website. Free templates for creating

board games, along with many other ready-

to-go games, are provided here: https://

americanenglish.state.gov/resources/

activate-board-games

• A blank board-game template can be

downloaded at https://americanenglish.

state.gov/files/ae/resource_files/board_

game_template_0.pdf

• A template for dice can be downloaded at

https://americanenglish.state.gov/files/

ae/resource_files/dice_template.pdf

If game boards, game pieces, or other

materials are not available, the teacher may

turn the classroom into one giant game board.

Any classroom materials may be used to

signify board spaces in the physical classroom,

including desks or notebooks. The students

may play “rock, paper, scissors” with the

teacher to advance. When a student wins,

they move ahead three spaces; when they

lose, they move ahead one space. The teacher

can pull a happiness question, free question,

or happiness challenge card randomly from a

box or have a student do so. If cards are not

available, the teacher can make up questions

on the spot, based on their knowledge of the

student’s level.

Please remember: the main point of the game

is for all players (including the teacher) to be

happy!

Conclusion: Teaching Should be a Happy

Profession!

I designed this game during a holiday from my

teaching job. I designed it at a happy moment

in my life with the simple insight that teaching

should be a happy profession and that learners

should come out of the classroom with a smile.

Since that time, I have played the game with

all manner of learners: elderly students,

adults, younger learners, and children. Though

it didn’t always work to perfection, even

when it worked imperfectly it never failed to

produce a smile on my students’ faces.

Don’t believe me? Well, you just rolled a 2!

Move your game piece two spaces. Try

smiling, laughing, and snapping your fingers

for 15 seconds. See what happens!

DanielClausen has taught English language learners

in the United States, Japan, and Saudi Arabia. He has

also conducted research in the field of international

relations. His work has appeared in The Diplomatic

Courier, E-International Relations, East Asia Forum, and

The Korean Journal of International Studies, among other

journals and magazines. He currently works as an

English language lecturer for Nagasaki University of

Foreign Studies in Japan.

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Figure 2. Samples of Happiness Question Cards, organized in four levels of diculty—the easiest to

answer are on the left, while the most challenging are on the right. Teachers should use cards that are

appropriate for their learners’ language level. Teachers and learners are encouraged to create new

cards, which can be retained for future use.