This is a variation on a quick Number game that I have previously written about (instructions here).
I learned of this version at an AIM gesture method conference for French last year.
The idea is to get whole class participating in giving a word for each letter of the alphabet in order - but with a catch...
You start off with one person (and only one person) standing up and giving a word that begins with A. Then they sit down and someone else stands up and gives a word starting with B - BUT only one person can speak at a time, and no organisation of who will
speak when is allowed. If two or more people stand up or speak, then it's back to the start again. No taking turns in a neat, organised way; no
pointing or otherwise indicating who should speak... Yes, there will be a
lot of times that the class won't get past the letter B - so you may
want to have a rule that students may not use a word that has already
been said for the letters you've covered in earlier attempts on the same
It was suggested that it's helpful to have a count-down from 5 if no one is offering a word for a particular letter - and if you get to zero, then it's back to A. Sound frustrating for the kids? Yes, but they do really want to get there and will keep trying and trying.
Time is an important factor here - have a clear time limit (eg play with only 5 mins left of class once everyone knows the rules) and see how far into the alphabet your class can get - Keep a scoreboard and see if they can beat a previous record - or it's also great for inter-class competition - have fun!