Guess the Animal in 20 Questions

One student thinks of an animal and the class asks yes/no questions to guess what it is within 20 questions.

Procedure

1. Model the activity: think of an animal and have students ask yes/no questions. Elicit questions and write them on the board. Decide whether to use "it" questions (Can it fly?) or "you" questions (Can you fly?) and keep the pronoun consistent.
2. Choose a student to come to the front and think of an animal. Check it is suitable for the game.
3. The rest of the class asks questions to guess the animal.
4. Whoever guesses correctly gets the next turn. If nobody guesses in 20 questions, the student at the front wins a point.

Sample question stems: Do you live...? Do you eat...? Do you have...? Can you...? Are you...?

Tips

• Practises yes/no question formation, present tense verbs, and animal vocabulary.
• Requires clear pronunciation from questioners and careful listening from the student at the front.
• Can substitute any category: foods, places, people, objects, professions, sports, colours.
• Works well with young learners but engaging for all ages.