If you want to make the game a little more challenging after they have gotten used to writing the dates down, here's a game that I've used with both Junior High School students and 5th/6th grade elementary school students that's usually a hit, even with those not too energetice classes.

Prep:- find a one-page calendar of the year (you can find one on the back page of most calendars). Make enough copies so that each group of 4-5 students will have one. Now make a list of famous dates in that year, most notably public holidays, teachers' birthdays, etc.

Playing the game:- put the kids in groups. have them decide in their groups who will answer 1st, 2nd, etc. Have the 1st person in each group stand up. Call out a holiday/birthday/etc., the first student who can either call out the correct date (or you can have them race to the board and write it) gets a point.

A variation is to have the person stand at the board and his/her teammates have to call out the date and they have to write it.

Another variation I stole from Japanese game shows- once the student figures out the date, they have to come up to one of the teachers and whisper it to the teacher. If they're right, they get some points- the first team gets 10 pts, next gets 9, etc. If they're wrong, they can go back to their group and come back and try again. Personally, I like this version the best because it keeps the kids involved even after the fastest team has finished- they still have a chance at some points!

Since I'm in Japan, I tend to use the Japanese holidays to start, and then progress to Canadian ones to "level up" the game once it's going...and the teachers' birthdays are always worth extra points (but we usually have to give some hints)!

Here is a cool game for learning the days of the week and (low) numbers

need; this months calendar (ideally big enough for them to see), 1 to 31 number cards

This can be done in different ways but the basic Idea is for the kids to 1st choose/say a day of the week (they can choose any day)Once all the teams (if larger numbers) or students (for smaller groups) know their day.

Then get a student to choose a number card (they are face down) and ask the students “What day is this?” …. if the number coincides with their day they get a point

i.e. Using this months calender (December 06);
if a group chhoses Friday as their day and then either a 1,8,15,22 or 29 card comes up, they get a point. (since these days of the month are all Fridays for this month)

I think it will be more fun to give them say 3 chances to turn over numbers (more chances to get points) or give them 2 days (instead of one).

Another idea is for say 4~5 groups to have one person from each group choose a day each and then someone turns over the number cards

Because English months are so different from Japanese,
my students have a difficult time remembering and saying
them.
I do an easier version of the game mentioned in this thread.
I give them a calendar marked with the birthdays of famous
people. I then say the month and day and students race
to tell me the name of that famous person.

For days of the week, I copy the page of the month we are in
and say the date. Students race to tell me what dayof the
week it is.

I've posted this before somewhere, but this game is just so effective that I'm going to repeat it!

Download the month game cards from this site, and copy enough for each student to have a full set. Divide the kids into groups and have kids pass out 12 cards to each student (they don't have to have one of each month). Then have the kids play BS (or what they know as doubt-o) with their cards.

I've played that game but I call it, 'I don't believe you' or 'Liar.'

I also play 'speed' which they really like.

You need several decks for one group.

Shuffle the cards and deal them out to all of the players face down.

The teacher says, 'Go!'

The students all pick up their piles of cards and try to place the cards in order in one pile. The pile will be in the center of the group.

So the fastest person will put down Jan. Then, Feb., March and so on.

Only one card can be laid down at a time. So, if you're not fast enough, you have to wait for the next cycle.

The person to get rid of all of their cards first is the winner.

** Make sure they are saying the months as they put the cards down. You can disqualify a card if the person didn't say the month. Or make them sit out for one year (cycle.)**

Here's the other post on dates and months
http://www.mes-english.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=298

There are some good ideas there

I use regular playing cards for playing games with months. Ace is January, 2 is Febuary etc... King is the 'joker' and I usually tell the students they have to say their birthday month for that card. You can even divide the cards into the four seasons using the four suits.

That's a fantastic idea! Reinforcing all the basics in one go.

When I first start teaching months, I like to mix it up. It's very easy for students to repeat the months in order without thinking of the meaning behind them, and what it actually means.

What I do is hold up my fingers (any amount between 1-12) - for 11 adn 12 I hold up one finger on one hand and one or two on the other.

This means the students have to think about the month before they can answer.

I split the class into groups and give out points, which count towards a semester total...