ESL warmer games: hot and cold with words gets the quiet ones talking

The idea in one sentence

You think of a secret word, students guess any words they like, and you answer only with a temperature, from freezing to you’re burning up, until someone finds it.

It’s the classroom version of the old children’s game of hot and cold, played with a word instead of a hidden object. Because there are no wrong guesses, only cold ones, even the quietest students join in after a round or two.

Language to pre-teach

Spend two minutes on this the first time. After that, students will remember it.

• The scale: freezing, cold, cool, lukewarm, warm, hot, boiling (or scorching)
• Movement: You’re getting warmer. You’re getting colder.
• The finish: Found it! You got it!
• For students: Is it a…? Is it something you…? I think it’s… because…

Lukewarm is a lovely word to teach adults. Many intermediate students haven’t met it yet, and once they have, they use it all term.

Step by step

1. Draw a thermometer on the board. A tall line, freezing at the bottom, scorching at the top, the other words in between.
2. Think of a word. Write it on a slip of paper and fold it, so students know you can’t cheat. Pick a concrete noun from recent lessons.
3. Take guesses. Students call out single words. Let anyone speak, in any order.
4. Answer with a temperature only. Say it, and write the guess on the board at its height on the thermometer. In a couple of minutes, the board becomes a map of meaning.
5. Push for reasons. When a student makes a jump, ask: “Why did you try that?” A sentence like I think it’s something in an office because desk was warm is worth more than the guess itself.
6. Finish and swap. Whoever finds the word thinks of the next one, or you keep the role for the first few rounds while students get the hang of it.

What it sounds like

Here’s a round with an intermediate class, written as Warmer Warmer would show it. The secret word is stapler:

1. pear39 °FFreezing: “It’s not food, then.”
2. book86 °FCool: “Maybe something at school?”
3. pen118 °FLukewarm: “Something on a desk.”
4. desk131 °FWarm: “It’s in an office!”
5. office145 °FWarm: “What do you use in an office?”
6. tape165 °FHot: “Something that holds paper.”
7. clip187 °FScorching: “Very close. It joins pages.”
8. staplerFound it!

Notice how much language came out of a two-minute round: prepositions of place, uses, something that… relative clauses. And nobody said “I don’t know.”

Try it now: what’s your first guess?

Guess

Your word goes straight into today’s game.

Variations by level

Upper beginners (A2). Give the topic before you start: “It’s in the kitchen” or “It’s an animal.” Accept guesses in any form, and model the full sentence back: “A whisk? Warm, but it isn’t a whisk.”

Intermediate (B1–B2). Move to pairs. One student thinks of a word, the other guesses, and the thinker must use the full scale, not just “hot” and “cold.” Walk around and listen for getting warmer.

Advanced (C1). Use abstract nouns: freedom, loyalty, jealousy, honesty. They’re much harder, and the reasons students give become a small discussion of their own. Ban guesses from the same word family as the last one, so students have to look for synonyms and related ideas.

Exam classes. After each round, ask students to write the three warmest guesses and explain how each connects to the answer. It’s instant practice for vocabulary sections.

Why it works as a warmer

• Everyone can guess. There’s no wrong answer, only a temperature.
• It recycles vocabulary. Pick secret words from last week’s unit, and students pull the whole unit back out to find them.
• It practices reasoning in English. The because sentences are the real lesson.
• It’s infinitely reusable. Change the word and you have a new warmer for tomorrow.

Homework: today’s word, online

For homework, send students to the online version. Warmer Warmer is a free daily word game in the browser, with no app and no sign-up. There’s one secret word a day, the same for everyone, and every guess gets a temperature for how close it is in meaning.

Each student plays on their own at home. Next lesson, ask for two things: how many guesses they needed, and their funniest cold guess. Never the answer, so the late finishers still have a chance. It’s a five-minute speaking task that students actually want to do, and it keeps English in their day between lessons.

The game also plays in 21 other languages, so students from other backgrounds can play in their first language too. It makes a good conversation starter about how the same idea feels in two languages.

If you want more vocabulary games in the same spirit, have a look at word association games for adults, which work well as speaking activities too. And try today’s word yourself before you set it as homework.