Scattergories: A Low‑Prep ESL Warm‑Up

Looking for a low‑prep warm‑up to get students centered for English class? Scattergories is a great go‑to. With a few small tweaks, it can be easily adapted to match your learners’ language levels.

Start by writing four to six categories on the whiteboard (virtual or in person). Choose categories that feel accessible to your students. For lower levels, think foods, places, or everyday objects. For more advanced classes, you might use categories that push vocabulary a bit more—like colors, animals, or even parts of speech.

Next, use a “letter picker” (like this one) to choose a letter.

Give students a time limit, usually two to three minutes, to write at least one word for each category that starts with the letter selected.

How you measure success can vary by level. In lower‑level classes, success might simply mean how many students were able to fill in all (or some) of the categories. In higher‑level classes, you can award points for unique answers, similar to a traditional game of Scattergories.