Hit

 Hit

This game is a secondary drill, testing how well the students have been learning the vocabulary as well as further drilling these language items. At this stage we are reaffirming what the students have learnt as well as giving the weaker students a chance to be taught by the stronger ones. The weaker students have a chance to catch up while the stronger ones remain engaged in the activity.

Flashcards are stuck to the whiteboard with Blu-Tack. Board magnets do not work well for this game because, as you may guess from the title, these flashcards are going to be hit by the students (often with some considerable force!)

Whiteboard

                            FC                      FC                      FC                  FC

                            FC                      FC                      FC                     FC

Teams A and B form two standing lines:

WHITEBOARD

Team A                                                  Team B

#1s     #1s

#2s      #2s

#3s      #3s

#4s      #4s

#5s      #5s

#6s      #6s

A soft hammer (or alternatively a plastic baseball bat, fly swatter, rolled up newspaper ...) is given to each of the #1 students. The teacher then shouts out one of the FCs that are on the whiteboard and the first #1 student to hit this FC gets a point for their team. The #1 students must then quickly pass the soft hammer to the #2 student of their team and run to the back of the line, effectively queuing up for their next turn while watching their #2 teammate race to hit whatever FC the teacher has called out next.

And so the game continues: Teacher says, [“Pillow!”] and the two students at the front of their line (who are holding the hammers) race to hit the [pillow]. The teacher awards a point to the student who hit the [pillow] FC first and then shouts, [“Curtain!]” while the next two students (who are now heading the line) race to hit the [curtain] FC.

As with the Association Drill, this game is of a fast pace so it is best to use a separate scoring system while playing.

For example:

A	B
1	1
1	1
1	1
1	1
	1
	1

With the above scoring system you write a mark each time that team is first. Finally when the team has [10] marks, they are the winners. Another idea is to draw a ladder and have magnets dropping down one rung of the ladder each time their team is last to hit. The first magnet to fall to the bottom (where a picture of a shark may be lying in wait) is the loser.

Often students will be shouting out to their teammates to help them. For example, Teacher says, [“Blanket!”] and the two students at the front holding hammers stand there looking confused, then hit the [sheet] FC. Their teammates behind them are screaming, “Blanket! Blanket! Blanket! Up! Left! Blanket! There! There! Blanket!” In this way, even when the students are queuing up waiting their turn, they are still paying attention, learning, and reaffirming their knowledge of the vocabulary.

Kids like to hit things and will enjoy this game a lot, but if your students get a little too enthusiastic and start whacking the FCs too aggressively, it is easy enough to set a rule of how much force they can put into their action. Students will understand the difference between hitting normally and hitting crazily. When they disobey your rule, simply award the point to the other team instead. If any one student gets too violent with the hammer you can punish them by making them ‘sit out’ the game. You can also give students the option of being the teacher, i.e., being the one who calls out the FCs that are to be hit.

Another version of the Hit game

In this version you put the two plastic hammers on the floor in the centre of the classroom. Drill the FCs, then call out a student number (e.g., #2 students!) and name an FC for them to hit. The two [#2 students] race to the centre of the classroom to pick up the hammers, then run to the whiteboard to hit the appropriate FC while at the same time shouting out this FC. Finally they run back to the centre of the classroom to put the hammers back and return to their seats. The first student to do all this is the winner. The teacher goes back to drilling for another half minute or so before selecting a different pair of students to hit an FC.