Conjunction Games + Transition Activities for English Learners

Are you looking for some of the best transition and conjunction activities and games for your English learners? Then you’ll certainly want to read more! We have our top ESL games and activities to out, along with worksheets, online conjunction games + practice and lesson plans for this important English grammar concept. Who says that school has to be boring?

Let’s get into the top-rated conjunction activities and transitional games to consider using with your students.

What is a Conjunction or Transition?

Conjunctions and transitions make writing easier to read. Essentially, they show the relationship between sentences and parts of sentences.

Conjunctions connect two clauses and add, compare or contrast information. They can also show sequence (check out: sequence/transition words), give an example or show another relationship.

Transitions are quite similar, but instead of joining clauses within a sentence, they join sentences and paragraphs together. Do you want to find out more? Then you’ll need to check this out:

How to Use Conjunctions and Transitions in English Writing

TEFL Conjunction Games and Transition Activities

Are you ready for my favourite ESL games and activities that you can use with your students to work on conjunctions or transitions? Then keep on reading! Practice and games are key for improving skills related to conjunctions so help your students out with some of these top ideas and also have some fun at school in the process!

Also, check out the top writing topics and writing prompts to use in your writing classes.

#1: The Flyswatter Game

If you want to have some fun while working on this important English skill, then consider using the flyswatter game. The way it works is that you write a bunch of transitions and conjunctions words randomly on the board. Divide the class up into two teams and one student from each team comes to the board.

Then, you can say a sentence, leaving the conjunction out. For example, “I stayed up late ____ I was very tired today.” The first student to slap the correct word, “so” with their flyswatter gets a point for their team. Then you can erase the word chosen and fill in the blank with a new one

Learn more about this conjunction game here. It’s the perfect way to have some fun at school while learning how to make sentences!

Flyswatter ESL Game.

#2 Conjunction Activity: Is that Sentence Correct?

This is a simple English grammar activity where students have to decide if a sentence is correct, or not. In this case, you’d want to focus your errors on conjunctions. Use “and” instead of “but” for example. Find out more about this simple activity for teaching English grammar here:

Is that Sentence Correct Activity

For more advanced level students, you could make errors with multiple words in a sentence instead of just a single one.

#3: The Conjunction Quiz

This is a fun conjunction quiz that your students can try out!

#4: Concentration Memory Game

Concentration is ideal for students who are learning new vocabulary, but you can also use it for conjunctions. On one set of cards, you’ll want to write sentences but leave the conjunction blank.

For example, “I want to eat Mexican _____ Italian for dinner tonight.” Then, the corresponding card will have “or” on it. Students have to find the match and once they do, they take the two cards and get one point.

Learn more about how this great, interactive activity works right here: Concentration ESL Memory Game.

#5: Proof-Reading and Editing

These are extremely important skills in writing that shouldn’t be neglected, but the good news is that they are also very easy to practice! It’s too easy to get into the cycle of where students write, and then the teacher corrects. This does nothing to help students take responsibility for their learning.

Avoid this by teaching proofreading and editing skills. One area that you can get students to take a close look at is their transitions and conjunctions.

Can they join sentences together with a conjunction to make their writing flow more easily? Is there a transition sentence at the end of a paragraph to introduce the next one? You can see more details about this here:

ESL Proofreading and Editing

#6 Conjunction Game: Error Correction Relay Race

This fun ESL game takes something old (error correction) and makes it new again by turning it into a game. Students have to work together to find all the errors in a piece of writing. In this case, you may want to focus the errors on conjunctions with this simple game.

Do you want to try it out with your students? Check it out here: Error Correction Relay Race. 

#7: Fun TEFL Games for the Classroom 

#8: Conjunction Games with Flashcard Sentences

If you’re teaching beginners about common conjunctions like and/but/or/so, then you may want to consider pulling out the flashcards! In my opinion, they’re one of the most under-utilized English teaching resources.

In this case, you’d want to show students two cards. For example, and apple and a banana. The student could make a sentence using a conjunction. For example, they might say:

• I like to eat bananas, but not apples
• For lunch, my Mom gives me a banana or apple.

Do you want to find out more about how to use them in your English classes? Check this out: Flashcard ESL Activities and Games.

#9: Conjunction/Transition Videos

There are a ton of great videos on YouTube and English Central that can be useful for teaching just about anything! They are a nice way to mix fun, play and learning while at school and there really are some great resources out there. You can use them in a couple of different ways for this grammar point.

First of all, do your students get tired of hearing you talk? I know that mine certainly do! That’s why I like to mix things up a little bit and let them listen to someone else. There are mini-lectures that you can show your students instead of explaining things yourself.

Secondly, you can show students a video and get them to know all the examples of conjunctions and transitions that they hear. They can write them down as they’re used. You’ll find that most videos have a large number of them as it’s very common in English to use them.

Do you want to know more about this? More information here: Videos in the ESL Classroom.

#10: Mixed Up Sentences Game

This is a simple warm-up or review activity that can help students figure out the word order in sentences. It can be useful for helping them figure out exactly where the conjunction goes. It can be a little bit tricky because conjunctions go in the middle of the sentence, and depending on the conjunction used, the first or second clause can be quite important.

The way it works is that you scramble up some sentences and students have to work together to make grammatically correct sentences. Find out more about this simple English grammar activity right here:

Mixed up Sentences.

#11: Brochure Scanning Reading Activity

A great reading activity can be a nice lead-in, or way to introduce transitions and conjunctions to your students. Just be sure to choose it well. A brochure or some kind (travel for example) is usually ideal. The vocabulary isn’t too difficult, but there are enough transitions/conjunctions in them for your students to understand how they’re used in English.

Find out more about it here: Brochure Scanning ESL Reading Activity.

#12: Dialogue Substitution

A short dialogue is a very common way to introduce transitions or conjunctions in ESL textbooks. Have you ever noticed that students just read these mindlessly and don’t really focus on what they’re reading? This is similar to what happens when teaching comparatives and superlatives.

An easy way to combat this is to take out the conjunctions and transitions. Then, students have to fill in the blanks as they’re reading them with their partners. Simple, but effective. Find out more information here:

Dialogue Substitution Activity.

#13: Hot Potato Game

If you want to have some fun with your English students, then you’ll definitely want to try out the hot potato game. The way it works is that students pass an object around the classroom. When the timer goes off or the music stops, the person holding that object has to do something.

In this case, you may want to show students two flashcards. Then, they have to use a conjunction to join the two things together. For example, “A horse is big, but a cat is small.”

You can learn more about one of our favourite conjunction games right here: Hot Potato for ESL.

#14: Disappearing Text Conjunctions Game

This is a simple ESL activity that can help students with remembering how to use conjunctions. The way it works is that you write a sentence on the board and the students have to say it out loud together. Then, you can erase some of the words at the beginning or end and students have to say the entire sentence. Continue until the entire sentence is gone, including the conjunctions.

This simple interactive game is a fun way for students to get some practice by saying complete sentences that include a conjunction in it.

#15: The Memory Circle ESL Game

I like this simple, fun memory game for working on conjunctions with kids. The way it works is that students have to say something they like and something they don’t like, or two things they like, or two things they don’t like. For example, “I like cats but I don’t like dogs.” Make sure that students make full sentences for this game in order to practice conjunctions.

Then the next student has to say, “He likes cats but he doesn’t like dogs,” and then they add their own, “I like cats and fish.” The game continues until everyone has had a chance to play, but if someone can’t remember, they are out. It’s one of the best, simple conjunction games you can play at school. It’s a fun, interactive and challenging game that lends itself to a ton of grammatical points and topics, not just conjunctions.

#16: Running Dictation 

#17: Sentence Structure Activities

Time spent helping students build better English sentences will never be wasted time in our classes! It’s key to writing and speaking and the good news is that is doesn’t have to be boring!

There are lots of fun, engaging activities and games that are ideal for working on this and of course, you’ll want to include some conjunctions and transitions into these activities too. Learn more here:

ESL Sentence Structures Activities and Games.

Are you looking for more than just fun conjunctions games? Then keep on reading for more useful language learning resources.

#18: Dictogloss, a Fun Conjunctions Activity

I love to use this challenging ESL activity with my more advanced-level students. Find, or write a passage filled with lots of the target conjunctions or transitions. The course textbook may be a good source for this.

Then, read out the passage at a faster than normal pace for the level of the students. They have to take some brief notes about what they heard. Then in partners, they work together to recreate the passage. Read it again and students do the same. At the end, they can compare their version with the original.

ESL Dictogloss Activity.

#19: Dialogue Substitution 

#20: Ball Toss ESL Conjunction Game

A fun review for either conjunctions or transitions is to use ball toss. Write a bunch of target words on the ball. Then, students toss the ball to each other and when someone catches it, they have to use the word under their right thumb.

In the case of a conjunction, they have to make a single sentence. With a transition, it’d be two sentences. Find out more about this fun review activity:

Ball Toss ESL Activity.

#21: Vocabulary Auction

#22: Eliciting Techniques with Conjunctions

Unless your students are absolute beginners, it’s likely that they’ve already studied conjunctions before, or at least seen them in reading passages. Words like and, but, or, so are very commonly used in the English language.

In this case, it’s possible to elicit some information from your students. For example, talk about things they like or don’t like. Then, find out two things someone likes and use “and.” Or, one thing a students like and one thing they don’t like. This lends itself to “but.”

It’s a nice way to introduce these words in a natural way. Find out more about this:

ESL Eliciting Techniques.

#23: More ESL Grammar Activities and Games 

Conjunction and Transition Worksheets

Sure, your students need some extra practice with conjunctions, right? After all, telling them something once isn’t going to get you the results you want! For something to become more automatic, students have to practice it multiple time with games, worksheets, and more. Conjunctions and transitions are the same.

Do you want to find some conjunction worksheets? Then look no further! Here are some of our go-to sources for transitions and conjunctions worksheets:

AgendaWeb

Education.com

Super Teacher

ESL Flow

Learning how to make sentences is key for English learners and these resources will help them practice that.

Conjunction and Transition Online Practice

There are a ton of online practice options for transitions or conjunctions. Here are a few conjunction online games that I recommend to my students who request some additional practice. Or, consider giving them some homework!

Grammar Quizzes

ESL Games World

Do you have a great source for online practice to recommend? Please let us know!

Lesson Plans for Transitions or Conjunctions

If you’re looking for a complete lesson plan for transitions or conjunctions lesson plans, then you can check out some of my favourite ones here:

Education.com

Study.com

ESL Library

List of Conjunctions in English

It’s not all about the conjunctions games! Here are some details about the nitty-gritty grammar.

In case you’re wondering what some of the most common conjunctions are, here’s a quick list for you to refer to:

Coordinating Conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

These link two or more words of equal importance. They join independent clauses in a compound sentence.

Subordinating Conjunctions: although, as, because, if, since, until, unless, while, when, though, whenever, whereas, whether

These link a dependant clause to an independent clause in a complex sentence.

Do you have any favourite conjunctions that you like to regularly use? Leave a comment below and let us know!

List of Transitions in English

Some of the most common transitions in English include the following:

Demonstration: Specifically, truly, to demonstrate

Addition: Furthermore, also, moreover

Clarification: To put it another way, in other words

Summary/Conclusion: As can be seen, in the long run

Comparison: In the same way, likewise, similarly

Concession: Granted, naturally

Consequence: Accordingly, as a result, for this reason

Space: Below, in the distance, off to one side

Emphasis: Above all, certainly, in fact

Teaching ESL Conjunctions FAQs

There are a number of comm0n questions that people have about teaching conjunctions and transitions to English learners. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

How do you teach conjunctions to ESL students?

There are a number of ways to teach conjunctions to ESL students. Students can notice conjunctions in a reading or listening passage or a video. They can also do targeted practice through controlled writing or speaking exercises. Finally, there are a variety of ESL games and activities that can help students practice conjunction usage.

What are the four types of conjunctions?

Conjunctions can fall under one of these four types:

• Coordinating
• Correlative
• Subordinate
• Adverbial

What are the seven coordinating conjunctions?

The seven coordinating conjunctions are: and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. They can be easily remembered with the acronym “FANBOYS.”

How do you teach conjunctions in a fun way?

It’s possible to teach conjunctions in a fun way by using a variety of games and activities. Some of the best ones to consider are concentration, the flyswatter game, mixed up sentences, videos, songs, or chants, dictogloss, the memory circle game, and more.

What are the most common English conjunctions?

The most common conjunctions in English are the following:

• And (joins equal things).
• But (joins two words, where one thing is positive while the other is generally negative)
• Or (joins two words and implies a choice between the two).

Here’s a quick, easy way to improve yourwriting: use conjunctions and transitions to connect your thoughts together. It’s simple, easy to do and will make a big difference!

English Writing Tip: Don’t Forget Conjunctions + Transitions

Do you want to improve your English writing? One quick way to do that is to review conjunctions and transitions. They can connect clauses (parts of a sentence), sentences, or paragraphs.

If you don’t use them, your writing will not be connected, and won’t “flow.” All good writers, in any language, use these kinds of words to help their readers out! Are you ready to level up your English writing? Let’s go with this English writing tip!

Remember “FANBOYS” for Coordinating Conjunctions

There are four types of conjunctions: coordinating, correlative, subordinating, and adverbial/linking conjunctions.

You probably learned FANBOYS to remember coordinating conjunctions (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

These words can join nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, phrases, and clauses. These come in quite handy for joining short sentences to make longer ones.

If you want your writing to “flow,” then you’ll need to make some longer sentences instead of all short ones. You can easily join some sentences together during the proofreading stage of your writing process.

Correlative Conjunctions for Relationships

Correlative conjunctions are pairs of words used to emphasize the relationship between two items. Note: the items can be nouns, verbs, adjectives, or adverbs, but both parts must be the same.

The five correlative conjunctions are:
both _____ and _____
not _____ and _____
either _____ or _____
neither _____ nor _____
not only _____ but also _____

All about Subordinating Conjunctions in English Writing

Subordinating conjunctions are used to create subordinate clause. These must be paired with a main clause to make a complete sentence. These words include: after, although, as, as much as, because, before, how, if, in order that, since, than, that, unless, until.

Learn More About Using Conjunctions

Joining 2 Sentences

Finally, linking adverbs, like coordinating conjunctions, join two sentences. The difference is that they show more types of relationships between the two clauses. The two clauses can show continuation, contrast, sequence, cause and effect, and result.

You can show continuation with these words: also, beside, further, furthermore, in addition, and moreover. For example, you can show contrast with these words: conversely, however, instead, nevertheless, nonetheless, on the other hand.

Transitions can be used to show addition, comparison, contrast, summary, condition, cause and effect/result, or time/sequence.

Additive transitions are used when adding similar ideas or information.

Comparative transitions show similarities. Adversative transitions are used to introduce ideas which contrast with or do not agree with the previous ones.

Causal transitions show cause and effect or reason and result.

Sequential transitions show the chronological (time) or logical order.

Other transitional words and phrases indicate some condition, such as: whether, otherwise, and however+adverb.

Others can summarize previous statements, such as: finally, in other words, and therefore.

Practice English Writing with Conjunctions + Transitions

Did you find this English writing tip useful? Then, take it to the next level by checking out the link below. To review as well as practice conjunctions and transitions, check out our PDF worksheet: www.jackiebolen.com/conjunctions

Did you like these Ideas for Teaching Conjunctions and Transitions?

Yes? Did you like these conjunction games and transitions worksheets? Thought so. Then the book you’re going to love is this one over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults. The key to better English classes is a wide variety of interesting, engaging activities and this book will certainly help you get there!

The best part is that the book is well-organized into various sections. This means that you should be able to find what you’re looking for in just a minute or two. If that’s not some ESL teaching awesome, then we’re not sure what is.

You can get the book in both print and digital formats. Take a copy with you on your Phone or Tablet to your favourite coffee shop by downloading the free Kindle reading app. Or, keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office to use as a handy reference guide when planning your lessons. It really is that easy!

Check out the book for yourself on Amazon but only if you want some serious ESL teaching goodness going on:

Have your say about these Conjunction Games and Activities

What are your thoughts about these conjunction and transition games? Have you tried out something from this list, or do you have another conjunction activity that you’d like to recommend? Any go-to sources for practice and interactive games? Do you have any tips for teaching conjunctions?

Leave a comment below and let us know. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API