July 04, 2018, 03:35:02 PM

Author Topic: Game to end all games!  (Read 13629 times)

Offline hampyeong

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Game to end all games!
« on: November 26, 2009, 02:56:01 PM »
This is a game that can be worked into just about any lesson. It can be used to practice writing, speaking, and listening. It's better suited for small classes (<30). I probably got the idea from a Spanish class back in high school.

1. Split the class into about 4 groups. It's better to have groups with one less member than groups with one extra member.

2. Number off each student in each group. (ex: class of 24, 4 groups of 6, number off group members 1-6). If a group has a member missing let the students choose someone to be 2 numbers.

3. On the board write numbers 1-4, spaced out, and put markers/chalk under each.
 
This is where the game is different based on what you want to practice. I’ll give an example for teaching opposites and an example for teaching comparatives.
 
4. Tell the class a word (ex: hot) and then a number (1-6). I usually repeat the word a few times before saying the number so the students can quick look up the word or ask their teammates if they don’t know. Then, the student in each group with the corresponding number has to run to the board and write the opposite (cold) on the board. The first team to finish gets 2 points and the second team to finish gets 1 point. The students erase their answers and sit down. This continues until all 6 numbers have been called (I write it down so I don’t miss anybody).

The game can continue this way until you feel they have a good grasp of the vocabulary.

If you want to practice grammar, take it a step further:
Instead of just writing the opposite (ex: hot--cold), make them write a sentence (ex: hot--Hot is the opposite of cold).

For comparatives, during the first round I said an adjective and the students had to write the comparative (tall--taller). For the second round I drew sets of pictures on the board (two mountains, one bigger than the other, and labeled Jiri San and Mount Everest; two people, one taller than the other with a fat body, labeled Lee and Kim; two lines (long/short), an airplane and a jet (high/low; fast/slow)). Then I pointed to a set of pictures (ex: mountains), said an adjective (ex: tall), said a number (1-6) and the students with that number had to run up to the board and write “Mount Everest is taller” (for higher classes: Mount Everest is taller than Jiri San).

To practice speaking: For the third round I said the number first, had the students stand at the front of the class, and the instead of having them write I had them say the answer. Fastest one got a point for their team.

This game can be used in many different ways to teach different things. You can use pictures instead of speaking in order to practice vocabulary (show picture, say number, students have to write the word). Also, if your class has them, you can give a little personal white board to each group instead of using the big white board.

The reason I like this team game better than some others is because every student gets practice, and some students get a lot of practice whether they realize it or not (by yelling answers to their teammates at the board). They love Typhoon, Jeopardy, Pictionary, etc. but I feel like there’s always 1 or 2 dominant students on each team and the other members don’t participate or contribute.


Offline merle

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #1 on: December 03, 2009, 01:19:55 PM »
I thought I'd try this activity in class, and it worked very well!  Previously I had students construct sentences from a given word list.  They wrote and sorted sentences of varying lengths (4 words, 5 words... 8 words, etc) on paper beforehand.

During the game I would call ask for a sentence with... 5 words, and then a number.  Students with that number would have to race to the board to write their sentence, but it would have to be correct!  This would include spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation etc.

Sometimes I would mix it up and say the sentence must contain a particular word, such as "beside" and be 6 words long.

Sometimes we'd have a wild card rule, where the sentences could not be the same.

Or alternatively, I would have them do a non-speed round where they would have to write their longest correct sentence.

Or they could chose a team champion to do a dictation at the board.


This is a great activity that gets everyone involved.  Thanks for the idea!

Offline relj

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #2 on: August 26, 2011, 12:32:50 PM »
I love this game - it forces all the students to participate in a way that games like Jeopardy and Pictionary (as you mentioned) don't. There is nothing like a little competition  to loosen up my students' tongues and get them speaking!
Thanks!

Offline pauly

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #3 on: August 26, 2011, 02:42:20 PM »
like the others have said, this is a great way of doing things to make sure everyone gets a turn.

Offline Loudine

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #4 on: August 29, 2011, 11:23:14 AM »
What a great interactive game!  My first week, so I don't have to teach yet, but I'll definitely remember this for the future.  Also a great game to play when students need some kinaesthetic activity or there is total tech failure!

Offline bosephus98

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #5 on: August 30, 2011, 01:08:33 PM »
Has anybody tried this for high school students (low level)? I was just wondering how they did with the game.

Offline jayjayen

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2011, 12:06:16 PM »
Worked great with my low level high school students.  Everyone was actively involved and even the co-teachers seemed to be thoroughly pleased with the outcome.  This is working great as a filler before exams.

Offline Nishi

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2011, 01:30:41 PM »
It's a great game.
The kids loved it.
The co-teacher enjoyed it too.
Very engaging.
Thank you very much.

Offline Enders

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #8 on: December 16, 2011, 07:54:12 AM »
Thanks for sharing this game. It's great. I used it this week for my grade 1 classes and they loved it. It took me a few minutes to get everything explained, but once we started everyone really got into it. Even the really quite and shy kids were eager to take part!!!

Offline Steps

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2011, 12:15:13 PM »
Thanks so much for sharing!  When I started at my school, they asked me to focus more on teaching than on games/video clips/etc, so I think this is a nice activity to use.

Offline Warra

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #10 on: April 09, 2012, 02:45:54 PM »
I teach middle school and I've used this game about six times already. Every time it was a huge success.
Thanks so much for the idea!

Offline exlwhite87

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2012, 01:05:22 PM »
Did anyone have any problems with their classroom set-up interfering with the game? (For example, the team with students closer to the board was able to get there faster?)

Maybe it's just my set-up... I'd like to play this game, but I'm envisioning instant objections from the students about fairness.. haha

Any ideas how to get around that without losing the element of surprise that comes from calling out a random number? (It seems like it'd be a little lame to have to line them up at the board and say 'go'...) Thanks!

Offline bethinkorea

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2012, 01:39:38 PM »
This game is fantastic! Thank you so much. I've used it in after school classes and camps, and it was by far the biggest hit of all my lessons. I did opposites, comparatives, and also included geography (gave them capitals and they had to write the names of the countries - bonus points for spelling - on the board) and famous people (I gave them names and they had to write down the job of the famous person. I included lots of Korean authors, scientists, etc. on the famous people bit and my co-teacher was pretty impressed. :)

Offline matthews_world

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Re: Game to end all games!
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2012, 01:39:45 PM »
I do this with random on a PPT for my 6th graders.  They could be random or based on the unit.

Since our board is covered with lesson mumbo jumbo, they just use white boards that they pass amongst the members.

They can points by either matching the sentences that I've prewritten about each picture or coming up with their own.  If they are the same as another team, then those teams don't get credit due to lack of originality/simplicity.

This allows students to use their own creativity and experiences in using the language.

 



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