← Back to Ages 7-10 Games
🕵️
Alibi Game
Two students leave the room. Class asks them questions to find differences in their stories.
⏱ 20-25 min⚡ Low energy👥 Whole class
📚 Vocabulary
• past tense
• question formation
• time expressions
• yesterday
• at 3 oclock
• I was
🛠 Materials
• No materials needed
• Optional: crime scenario written on board
📋 How to Play
- Set the scene — "A cookie was stolen from the canteen yesterday at lunch!"
- Two students are the suspects — send them outside together to create an alibi.
- They must agree on a story of where they were and what they did.
- While they are outside the class prepares questions to catch them out.
- Bring suspect 1 back in — class questions them for 3 minutes.
- Send suspect 1 out and bring suspect 2 in — ask the same questions.
- Compare the two stories — any differences mean they are guilty!
- Class votes — guilty or not guilty?
💡 Teacher Tips
✓This game is outstanding for practising past tense question formation.
✓Pre-teach question starters — Where were you? What were you doing? Who were you with?
✓Make the crime funny and silly — children are much more engaged.
✓Give the suspects 2-3 minutes outside to agree on their story.
🔄 Variations
→Use three suspects instead of two for more complexity.
→Students write their questions before the suspects come back in.
→Change the crime each round — stolen lunch, missing pencil, broken window.
Want full 50-minute lesson plans for Ages 7-10?