10 Ways to Use Would You Rather Questions in Your Classroom

One of the activities that I have found that always excited my students is the game Would You Rather?  I use this game often in my classes both in-person and online and have created several versions available on Teachers Pay Teachers.  In this article, I will share ten different ways you can use Would You Rather questions in your classroom.  These activities can be adapted for use with elementary students, high school language learners, or even adult students.  This fun activity can be a great attention-grabber for students of all ages.

My Would You Rather activities on Teachers Pay Teachers are available as Google Slides Activities or a printable version which includes poster size and task-card sized questions.  I also have them available in English and Spanish. I have several different bundles available as well.

1. Getting to Know You Activity

This is a great activity to get students talking.  I often use these questions during my first class to get the students laughing and comfortable talking with me and each other.  If it is a brand-new class, I will find some of the silliest, grossest, or craziest questions possible!

2.  Morning Warm-Up

Would You Rather questions are a great way to start the day.  There are several ways that you can accomplish this.  You can project a question and have the students respond on paper or let them discuss it with a partner.  You could have a question listed on chart paper and let students write their response on a sticky note and place it on the chart.

3.  Brain Break or Early Finisher Activity

If the class has finished a strenuous project or piece of learning, this is a great time to pull out a fun would you rather question.  This could also be an option for students who finish their work early.

4.  Compare and Contrast

This game provides a natural conversation that can lead to compare and contrast.  You can record the students’ answers and/or reasoning and even fill in the information on a Venn Diagram.  This is a great way to get them comfortable with using compare and contrast skills in a variety of situations.

5.  Graphing Activity

Make this activity into graphing practice by tallying up the number of votes for each choice and creating a graph.  You can make bar graphs or even pie charts with the data collected.

6.  Persuasive Speech

Use these questions as a starter for a short persuasive speech.  Teach students to give reasons for choosing the answer they did.

7.  Opinion Writing

Besides speaking about their choices, students may also write about their choices.  This is a great activity to get students used to writing and explaining their reasoning behind their choices.

8.  Learning Centers

Print the cards on cardstock and laminate them for a durable learning center.  You could include a writing sheet for students to record their answers or this can be a verbal activity.

9.  Divide the Class

If you need to divide the class for a particular activity and having equal sides is not a major concern, you can use a would you rather question to separate the class.

10.  Conversation Practice in Another Language

This is my personal favorite since I teach bilingual students.  Use the would you rather questions as fun conversation practice with students of any age.  For the students who are just beginning, they can simply choose one of the options.  The more advanced students can explain their choices in the target language.  These are a great time-filler for online ESL teachers if you are struggling to find a conversation started with your students.

You can see what our latest Would You Rather products are by clicking on this link:  My Bilingual Life Would You Rather Products