Fun Alternative To Hangman Game – Save The Teacher

Hangman is one of those classic ESL classroom games that all teachers have used at some point. If you’re not familiar with Hangman, it’s a guessing game where the teacher would think of a word and then draw a line for each letter of that word. Then students would try to guess what word it is by calling out letters of the alphabet.

If students guess wrong, the teacher would draw part of the man on the board. If they get the answer wrong too many times, the completed picture would show a man ‘hanging’ by his neck. Although this is just a simple stick figure drawing, the concept seems quite gruesome, and in my opinion, not suitable for kids.

That is why we created this fun alternative to Hangman. ‘Save the Teacher’ is a fun hangman style game in which students must guess correctly to save the teacher. If students guess incorrectly too many times, the rocket and the teacher will blast off into space. But don’t worry, by the end of the video the teacher arrives safely back on earth, although a little angry. This alternative to hangman will have your students falling off their chairs with laughter.

Alternative To Hangman – Save The Teacher

How To Play

The same rules of the regular hangman game apply. Only this time, instead of drawing a man on the board, you should play and pause the video to see the fuse get closer to the rocket. As the fuse gets closer, the tension rises, which makes this hangman game incredibly fun. 

Choose a word or phrase from the lesson you are teaching and write the corresponding number of blank spaces on the board. Students must then guess what letters are in the word. If students get it wrong too many times, then the teacher will ‘Blast off’ into space. 

TIP: You’ll probably find that students will get the answer wrong on purpose to make the teacher fly, but this is part of the fun! Play along and pretend to be sad/angry as the teacher blasts of into space. Alternatively, tell students that if they guess CORRECTLY, then you will click on the video.