The M&M Game - an ESL warmer for all ages
One of the world’s biggest selling, and most recognisable chocolates, is the famous little bag of M&M’s. This little bag of M&M’s contains small chocolates covered in a sugar shell and there are six colours in total: red, blue, brown, orange, green and yellow.
The different colours in an M&M bag, and the fact that everyone knows and loves M&M’s makes them perfect to play lots of M&M games. Here is a super-easy M&M ESL warmer for both kids and adults. All ages can play this M&M game and you’ll get all of your students speaking and warming up for class.
How to play the M&M Game
Buy a packet of chocolate M&M’s, if you have a large class, then buy two packets of M&M’s. Just make sure that you have one M&M for each student in your class. Don’t buy or use the peanut M&M’s for this ESL warmer, in case of any unknown nut allergies among your students…chocolate M&M’s are the way to go.
Open the packs and tip your M&M’s into a bowl. Walk around the class and ask every student to pick one M&M. Don’t let your students eat it just yet…that comes later!
Different coloured M&M’s
Depending on which colour M&M each student has chosen, your students must say different things. I’ve made below a different printable guide for what each student should say according to which colour they’ve chosen. You can use the TEFL Lemon guide for the M&M game or you can make your own questions, it really doesn’t matter. This is what makes the M&M warmer for English classes so awesome! Whether you teach in a kindergarten, a public school with older children, or you are teaching adults, you can simply adjust your questions to make the M&M game work for your class!
To download the free PDF’s of all these sheets in full quality, click the download box below
Ask your students questions according to the colour they picked
Once all of your students have one M&M in their hand, ask what colour M&M they chose. Now ask each student a question according to the downloadable M&M question sheet, or any question you would like. Before asking, you can write what the colours mean on the board as well.
Once each student has had a try of answering, then they can eat their M&M! Lovely!
TEFL Lemon tip
Don’t take back the M&M if a student gets it wrong, let them eat it! Simply give lots of encouragement and make them feel good about themselves. Make your questions achievable.