Family Feud

Family Feud is a game that encourages students to use English, it gives them opportunities to guess even if they don’t know the answer and it allows them to practice the vocabulary and grammar that they have been learning.

This PowerPoint template is based on an American TV show of the same name. The show would survey 100 people. They would then ask the same questions to two families. The families had to guess what they thought was the most popular answer in order to gain the most points.

I previously created a classroom adaptation of this game in 2015, but I want to update the template and resources for this activity.

The game can be played one of two ways.

The first way is for the teacher to choose the answers and give the students some thinking time with each question.
The second way is to conduct a student survey and use the students’ answers to play the game. The benefit to this is that the students are making material for themselves and are involved in the class. However, it requires more preparation time.

For the purpose of introducing the activity, we are going to look more closely at the first way. As an example, I wrote down a question and six answers on a preparation sheet.

Click on the image above or follow the link to download a copy of the preparation sheet.

The question is quite open and there are a lot of correct answers, however, I specifically chose six that I could focus on. The reason I chose these countries are as follows:

The Netherlands – to discuss the difference between Holland and The Netherlands.
The U.K. – to discuss the difference between the U.K. and England.
Hungary – to discuss the difference between Hungary and hungry.
Belgium – to discuss Belgium vs. Belge.
Germany – to discuss Germany vs. Deutsch.
France – provided as an easy answer.

My notes could then be used to produce the game template.

Above: Screenshot of the PowerPoint template of Family Feud. Some answers are reveal but some remain hidden.

The preparation sheet will also be useful when playing the game to remind me where each answer is located. That way I don’t accidentally reveal another answer by mistake.

During the game, the students can ask for clues or hints to help them if needed.

Download the Family Feud template

The template contains 2 slides – a title slide and a blank question slide. The blank question slide contains space for a question, six questions and an example. Copy the question slide as many times as you need to.

You can also copy the question slide into your own presentation

• Right-click on the slide and click on copy
• Change the window to your new template by clicking on the file open on the taskbar
• Right-click in the slide view pane on the left-hand side of your current presentation and click on paste (keep source formatting).

Editing the template

Example of a question written out on the Family Feud preparation sheet.

After having prepared your questions, you will need to add them to the PowerPoint template.

Watch the tutorial video below or read through the notes for information on how to edit the template.

Video tutorial on how to edit the template.
The video run-time is 2 minutes and 31 seconds.

• Download and open the template.
• Right-click on the blank question slide.
• Select duplicate. The slide and all its formatting will be copied.
• Use your preparation sheet and add your own question to the new slide.
• Add your six prepared answers to the new slide.
• Add an example structure that your students can use to answer the question.
• Duplicate another blank question slide and repeat these instructions if you need more question slides.
• Delete the original blank question slide when you have finished.

Playing the Game

• Divide your class into groups of 4-6 students. Each group represents a ‘family.’
• Ask each of the groups to choose a team name.
• The teams should use a signal or a buzzer sound.
• Write the team names on the board or a piece of paper to help you keep track of points.
• Start the PowerPoint presentation.
• Read the question out to all the students.
• The first team to buzz in can answer the question.
  • If the students provide an answer that is on your preparation sheet, left-click on the cover box to reveal the answer on the PowerPoint. The team will receive the numbers of points for that answer. Pause and allow a new team to provide a new answer.
  • If the students provide an incorrect answer, left-click on one of the red crosses in the bottom-right of the screen. The students will lose a ‘life.’ All teams (the entire class) only have three ‘lives’ so they can only give three incorrect answers.
  • After 3 incorrect answers have been given, the question is finished and the teacher can reveal the remaining answers.
• Read out the next question to all the students.
• That’s it! I hope you will enjoy playing Family Feud in your classroom.

Variation: Class Surveys

Family Feud was based on a survey, as a result it lends itself very well to class surveys. However, it can take a little bit more preparation, but the results would be worth it. The preparation time involved is dependent on your class size.

Class 1 – The Student Survey

Example of a student survey form. Click on the form to download the PDF template.

You may have to give the students some guidance on the type of questions you are expecting. Introduce a few examples on the board and give the students some thinking time in small groups. Allow them time to write down four questions in their groups. Elicit some of the questions from the students and provide some feedback.

Once the students are ready, model the activity with the students. Student A will ask their first question to student B and will write down their answer. Student B will ask their first question to student B and write down their answer. The students should repeat until they have asked their 4 questions. When they have finished they should find a new partner and write down their answers.

It is important that the students understand that each column does not represent one student, it represents one answer.

This example of the survey forms shows that 9 people were asked the first question until 6 different answers were found. Three people gave the same answer for dancing and two people gave the same answer for photography.

Once the activity is finished, collect all the survey forms and use the questions and answers to create your Family Feud game.

Class 2 – Playing Family Feud

Use the students’ questions and answers to prepare the Family Feud template.

There is no change to the game play. However, by basing the questions on the class survey, you are addressing the students’ own interests and personalizing the lesson for them.

Do you have any other suggestions for playing Family Feud in the classroom? Please leave a comment if you have any ideas you would like to share or if you have any questions about the template.

Alternatively, you can send me a message on my Facebook page or on Twitter.

Thanks for reading and take care!

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Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson where two families compete to name the most popular responses to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. It is considered a spin-off of Match Game, whose panel included original host Richard Dawson. – Wikipedia

This classroom adaptation of Family Feud was designed with Microsoft PowerPoint 2016. Animations and sounds may differ when opened in other presentation software.
Microsoft® Office® is a copyrighted product of the Microsoft® corporation. All images are for educational purposes only.

Sound effects used in Family Feud are available for download at SoundBible.com.

Correct Answer: Electronic Chime sound effect recorded by KevanGC. Used under a public domain license.

Incorrect Answer: Computer Error Alert sound effect recorded by Mike Koenig. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license.

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You may also like to read:

The original version of Family Feud that was released back in 2015. Family Feud is a great game to encourage the students to use English, give them confidence to guess answers and to practice the vocabulary and grammar they know. Follow the link for more information.