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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.
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