Students: 30 | Time: 15min | Skill Focus: Speaking | Finished Game? 🔴

I used this for my Middle School grade 2s who loved it!! I thought it was going to be too "childish" maybe for them, but they had a good time once they got the hang of it. Even those who are more shy or reluctant to take part seemed to have a really good time. To add to the fun I added a couple tongue twisters too hahaha. - Anon

Students: 40 | Time: (remainder of class time) | Skill Focus: Reading | Finished Game? 🟢

I have used this activity to give the students practice reading aloud bits of their assigned reading. Before each round, I'll model the pronunciation for them and then start the round. My students are Japanese students in Senior High School, and most find it fun. - Anon

Students: 28 | Time: 15-20min | Skill Focus: Speaking | Finished Game? 🟢

The game took between 15-20 mins with my 3rd grade middle school classes. It even got my quietest class excited - thank you! :) - Anon

Students: 28 | Time: 15min | Skill Focus: Reading | Finished Game? 🟢

A big hit with my middle schoolers. - Anon

Students: 26 | Time: 15min | Skill Focus: Speaking | Finished Game? 🟢

We finished one round in 15 minutes, but the students loved it and wanted to play again, so we started a second round in the last 5 min of class and played until we ran out of time. - Anon

Students: 18 | Time: 12min | Skill Focus: Speaking | Finished Game? 🔴

Elementary school EFL - We only ran the game until 5 students were still standing instead of getting down to one, but we got through it very quickly. The students absolutely loved this! They keep requesting we do it again. Great game to wrap up a heavy new vocabulary day. - Anon

Students: 16 | Time: 10min | Skill Focus: Speaking | Finished Game? 🟢

My students LOVED this game - they wanted to skip lunch to keep playing. If a student with more emerging skills is starting, I did, read the sentence or word to help start the game off. - Anon

Students: 10-20 | Time: 15min | Skill Focus: Speaking | Finished Game? 🟢

Played with all grades (3rd-6th) with varying class sizes (10~20 kids) Very memorable, a lot of students ask to play this. - Anon

This is FANTASTIC and worked so well in my Zoom class with lower-level students. Thank you so much! - David

My sixth graders love this game so far! Fantastic idea :) - Rachel

My elementary and middle school kids all loved this game! I changed it up a little bit, I gave my kids lives and they crossed out a life when Billy got struck by lightning. More speaking opportunities for everyone! - Tireni

I played this game in my 5th grade classes and they all absolutely loved it. One class said it was the best game we ever played. Thank you for making these games and providing them freely. My students and I love them! - Grace

Thank you so much for your sharing. I and my students absolutely enjoy this game. - Sarah

My 5th graders are OBSESSED with this game. We played it a few times weeks ago, and my students ask me every day if we're playing the Billy game. I just entered a classroom to chants of "BILLY! BILLY!" so we're playing it next week... - Lauren

Such a fun game, really helps the vocabulary stick. Thank you! - PK

I love this idea and it will fit perfectly with my lesson for next week! Excited to use it :) - Danielle

This game is so fun! I've done it with 3rd through 6th graders and then all really enjoyed it. My coteacher and I modified it so that no one is "out". Instead, we play in teams because they sat in rows. If the person in your row got hit, your whole row has to write the word or phrase in your notebook. It helps to keep them all engaged. - Anon

This game is so much fun, and it's so cute! My students have really enjoyed this game! Thanks for sharing with us! :D I saw my co-teacher using the following play/score method with a different game, and it worked really well with Bad Luck Billy. So for anybody who wants to try this as a team game: Divide students into teams. The play is as normal, except that a lightning strike just means the end of the sound, nobody is 'out'. Each team automatically gets 1 point if Billy is *not* struck while their team is speaking. However if Billy is struck when their team speaks, that team gets 0 points. The team with the most points wins. In cases where you're not sure who was speaking, or the round ended during a pause, use rock-paper-scissors to determine who loses out on points. - Lindsey

This is an absolutely fantastic game, and every single one of my classes love it! Even some of my 6th graders who can be quite apathetic about class/participating haha. I sometimes play a variation of the game when a particular lesson needs them to practice writing, which I call the "Chain Lightning" version. Before the key phrase is shown (the one they'll be saying), I show them a selection of words/phrases. The students/teams chooses and writes down one of the words/phrases shown. When they've all finished writing, the speaking game begins. When Billy is hit by lightning, the student speaking at the time will be eliminated. But!! So does anyone who wrote down the same word/phrases as the eliminated student haha. Adding a writing element, as well as checking which students/teams wrote the same word/phrase as the eliminated student, adds considerable time to the game, so it can easily take up most or all of a class period if you need :) - Hara

I used this for the first lesson (listening) of a new chapter with my 6th graders. The sound effects had them laughing and they loved it. It's so easy to prep for any class, and easy to explain to students if I'm with them alone (ie afterschool). Thank youuu - Nat

My students love this game. It is hilarious watching the different tactics come out too. Thank you so much! - Kathryn

My students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade absolutely love this game! I can tell they are definitely more confident speaking the key expressions after playing this game! And it has helped a lot with their reading and speaking abilities. Thank you!! - Catherine

My middle schoolers absolutely love this game! Even the shyest of kids were actively participating, and kids who often don't speak out of fear or perceived inability were some of the most active participants. I will definitely be using this game a lot in the future to get them to practice speaking! - Shea

I just wanted to say this is such a fabulously designed game. I really haven't found anything that requires focus, participation, and speaking from each and every member of c lass quite like this. Thank you so much! - Anon

Time: 5-10min

Skill Focus: Speaking

Finished Game? 🔴

Time: 20min

Skill Focus: Reading

Finished Game? 🟢

Time: 15min

Skill Focus: Speaking

Finished Game? 🟢

Time: ~15min

Skill Focus: Reading

Finished Game? 🟢

Time: 20min

Skill Focus: Speaking

Finished Game? 🟢

Time: ~25min

Skill Focus: Speaking

Finished Game? 🟢

Time: 12min

Skill Focus: Speaking

Finished Game? 🟢

Time: 20min

Skill Focus: Reading

Finished Game? 🟢