The Ultimate ESL Marble Run Game ๐จ๐
Looking for a fun, high-energy way to review colors with your students? "Rainbow Race Rally" combines vocabulary practice with the excitement of a marble race! Perfect for 3rd-grade ESL learners or older special needs classes, this game gets the whole class cheering while reinforcing color words, including โdarkโ and โlightโ shades like light blue or dark green.
How to Play ๐ฎ
Prep Your Teams ๐
Split your class into teams (3โ8 works best, but any number is fine).
Learn to Cheer ๐ฃ
Teach students simple cheers like:
- โGo, red!โ
- โBlue is the best!โ
This adds extra excitement and makes the game feel like a real competition.
Review the Colors ๐จ
Show the slide with the marbles. Have students name the colors they see on the screen.
Race Time! ๐
- Have each team take turns choosing a color they want to cheer for. (The teacher can make a note on the classroom scoreboard to track each teamโs choice.)
- Use your SPACEBAR to play the marble race video.
- Watch the marbles zoom down the track together and cheer along!
Score Points ๐ฏ
After the race, award points on your classroom board for everyone to see.
Scoring is simple. If there are 6 marbles in the video:
- 1st place marble = 6 points
- 2nd place marble = 5 points
- 3rd place marble = 4 points, and so on.
Have Fun! ๐
No negative points hereโitโs all about celebrating participation and fun.
If You Want to Make Something Similar ๐ ๏ธ
I got all my videos from TikTok:
- @jellesmarbles
- @marble_race_123
- @fubecarace
- @pinball.track.cus
- @marbleracingmayhem
- @marble.track.game
- @cactus.canyon.marblerace
My criteria for the videos was:
1. Must be basic colors
2. Can't be over 10 marbles in a race
3. Video needs to be under 1 minute
Download the Game ๐ฅ
Iโve uploaded the full PowerPoint with embedded videos to Google Drive. If you have an ALTopedia Premium account but no access to Google at school, Iโve split the game into two smaller files so you can combine them on your PC.
(UPDATED Dec 13th; Answer section was wrong on the old PowerPoint)
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1zWwPZlYmC70Clm-T145pWO_o54CSLHXQ/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=106686849020877927715&rtpof=true&sd=true
Happy teaching,
CarpenterBee
One of my special needs JHS classes is very behind my other special needs class at my other school. I can actually see them really enjoying this! Thank you
As always, a brilliant activity. Will be perfect for my 1st year Elem kids. Thanks again.
Thank you so muchhh. Can't wait to use this in my classes. You're the best!
Is there no end to your creative talent? There's no beginning to mine - so thanks again!
Fantastic activity, but be careful because some of the results are incorrect.
The students were quick to point it out.
@crayonnickchan OMG How embarrassing! Thank you for catching those~ I have updated it. THANK YOU THANK YOU~~