My Pesantren Journey: A Simple Past Game
An interactive board game for Grade 8 students at Islamic boarding schools. Players move around a 24-space board, landing on spaces that prompt them to speak about their past experiences using simple past tense. Prompts focus on daily pesantren life: studying, praying, reading Qur'an, dormitory activities, helping friends, and school events. Players practice regular and irregular verbs through pair conversations, group discussions, mini-presentations, and action-based tasks.
A free Board Game for Teens at CEFR A2 level. Topic: Simple Past Tense – My Experiences at Islamic Boarding School.
Speaking prompts on the board
- Ask your partner what time they woke up this morning and what they did first.
- Describe what you ate for breakfast yesterday and whether you liked it.
- Ask your partner which class they attended last week and what they learned.
- Act out your morning prayer routine. Your team guesses what you did.
- Your team must agree: what was the best activity you did together last month?
- Explain how you helped a friend last week and why you helped them.
- Ask your partner about a book or article they read recently and what it was about.
- You have 30 seconds to present: describe your favourite day at pesantren last term.
- Stand up and mime cleaning your dormitory room. Your partner describes what you did.
- Compare your schedule last year with your schedule now. How was it different?
- Discuss with your group: what was difficult about your first week at pesantren?
- Ask your partner about a mistake they made recently and what they learned from it.
- Describe a time you felt proud at school. What did you do?
- Act out studying hard for an exam. Your team guesses what subject you studied.
- You have 45 seconds to convince your team: why was last month better than this month?
- Explain what you did during the last school break and where you went.
- Ask your partner about a problem they had and how they solved it.
- Your team must agree on the hardest subject you studied last semester.
- Stand up and show with your hands how you performed a task at pesantren yesterday.
- Describe a conversation you had with a friend last week. What did you talk about?
- You have 30 seconds to present: what was your most memorable moment this year?
- Ask your partner about an activity they joined and whether they enjoyed it.
- Explain what you did to prepare for your last exam. Did you study alone or with friends?
- Discuss with your group: what was the best thing you learned at pesantren?