Hey everyone. Thought I'd contribute a game I put together that went unbelievably well with my middle schoolers.

I'm doing a chapter on "Like/Dislike" and "Favorites." Basically I give them a ton of categories and they say their favorite. This earns them shots at a basket with a small ball I have in class. They loved to cheer and boo each other when they made shots and the language was practiced by everyone. They really got into it. The powerpoint explains itself, and it can be fairly easily adapted to other topics or language practice. The premise remains the same though. Feel free to use the PPT as a template.

Hope you can use it well!

I actually ran it for about 30 minutes straight and didn't run out of slides/interest/focus. The only reason I stopped was my co-teacher decided it was time to move on and had to cover some material herself. I could have easily ran it for the whole 45 minute class. What kept them riveted was the "Oh, is he gonna make the shot!?" factor. The English sort of came naturally and the motivation to say their bit was built right into the game. I found it sort of ran itself.

Take this with a grain of salt, however. Your group may be different than mine entirely, so give it a go and see how it runs.

Hello!

Thank you so much for this excellent game - I'm excited to play it! I've just got a few questions. How big is the ball you use is it football size or more like ping pong and where did you put the basket? Did one student hold it or did you put it on a chair? Sorry, I know these questions are pretty obvious but I'm just not sure of the answers :)

I wanted to thank you for this awesome game! My middle school boys AND girls loved it. Thank you so much!

I didn't use a ball. I did the first time, but it was too bouncy and the kids have too much fun with it. And I have to run alot to catch it before they do and do other things with it. So we ended up using a box, like the ones where the printer paper first comes in to the office, and a little stuffed dog for the ball. It was great. The girls thought the puppy was cute and the boys enjoyed throwing it and some thought it was cute, too.

And the puppy didn't bounce and I could keep up with it better.

The three rules I put up were:

1. Raise your hand. (Then I demonstrated what NOT to do)
2. You only get one shot.
3. DON'T throw anywhere else.

It went over remarkably well. If there is another lesson where they can just fill in the blank, I think I will use it again. Thanks so much!

Hey guys --

The ball I used was fairly small - perhaps 5 inches in diameter and it was made of like a nerf foam (it was actually a foam globe they sold at the stationery stores) and the "basket" was one of the knee-high waste bins. I stood it on a chair and placed it at the front of the room, then gave them sort of a "free throw line" at a certain point a few steps from the basket. I also set a "3 point line."

I'm a bit leery of having students hold a basket since they'd probably just start pitching it at the poor kid.

They also sell baskets for fairly cheap in a handful of the stationery stores if your school will budget for it (or if you're feeling particularly generous).

Thanks for the feedback!

Wanted to say thanks for the game. It was simple and very effective.  Got kids that usually say nothing raising their hand for a go. I had completely lost this thread after i downloaded it weeks ago and have since reposted the game in a specific book/lesson thread.  You will be acknowledged now. (everyone else on that thread says thanks too.)

I did it two ways -- one was in a really sporty class that could actually make the baskets well. They were suited with a normal shot at about halfway across the room and a 3-point tape line on the floor about two steps back. It was treated just like real basketball 3-pointers.

In another class they were GREAT at answering all the questions but couldn't make a shot to save their lives, so I just treated the 3-pointers as normal shots where bonus points were granted. Like a random surprise chance to pull ahead. Go with what works for you.