Scavenger hunt

If the weather’s good, why not send your students out to get some fresh air. Give pairs or teams of students a list of 10 to 20 items which must be found (and if possible photographed). Set a time limit, I usually give my students 30 minutes and then meet up again to compare answers.

The list of things to be found can be quite vague, for example: something tiny, something old, something scary. Or the list can be more specific, for example: a road sign, a take away food menu, a policeman on rollerskates.

Here are some items you could put on a list.

Vague list

  • something old
  • something smooth
  • something shiny
  • something beautiful
  • something expensive
  • something yellow
  • something made in another country
  • something tiny
  • something that’s alive
  • something dangerous
  • something horrible
  • something you can eat
  • something you also have at home
  • something that smells bad / good
  • something made of wood
  • something damp

Specific list items

  • a menu
  • a truck
  • a doorbell
  • a garden ornament
  • a flag
  • a clock
  • someone wearing a hat
  • a man with a beard
  • a spider web
  • a poster for a forthcoming event
  • a loaf of bread
  • a vending machine
  • someone wearing a uniform
  • a rose

Teaching Online

This is also a great activity for teaching online, give students a list of things which they must fetch from their home or immediate environment. Then you can spend some time looking at whichever objects the students present.


4 thoughts on “Scavenger hunt

  1. I’ve just found your page while looking for online strategies for my adult students.
    Thank you so much for sharing this material!

  2. Can’t thank you enough. It is one of those days when you totally don’t know what to do with the students on their last day. You provided this lovely idea that just made their day and mine.
    Thanks so much

  3. I’ve just found your page while looking for materials to do with my students for their 1st week as an ice breaking activity in order to make ‘learning English is fun’. Can’t thank you enough. I am so grateful for the idea. Thank you so much.

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