Pass the FCs

 Pass the FCs

Another Q&A game is Pass the FCs. This activity can get a little chaotic and is not exactly the best game for pronunciation, but it is nevertheless a fun way to drill home the Q&A and vocabulary you are working on.

The two teams get out of their seats to form two parallel standing lines along the centre of the classroom.

WHITEBOARD

teacher

Team A                                          Team B

#1s                                  #1s

#2s                                  #2s

#3s                                  #3s

#4s                                  #4s

#5s                                  #5s

#6s                                  #6s

The teacher now hands an FC to each of the #1 students. Let us say for example that the FCs are for personality adjectives and the Q&A is “Are you ...?”, “Yes I am/No I’m not.” The teacher hands an [annoying] FC to the #1s from team A and a [cheerful] FC to the #1s from team B.

“Are you annoying?” asks the #1s from team A to the #2s from team A while handing them the FC. “No, I’m not,” replies the #2s as they take the FC. The #2s now turns to hand the FC to the #3s, asking again, “Are you annoying?” “Yes, I am!” replies the #3s as they quickly take this FC from the #2s and turn to hand it to the #4s. And so it continues until the FC reaches the end of the line.

At exactly the same time as the above is occurring, the team B students are doing the same with the [cheerful] FC.

“Are you cheerful?” asks the #1s from team B to the #2s from team B while handing them the FC. “Yes, I am,” replies the #2s as they take the FC. The #2s now turns to hand the FC to the #3s, asking again, “Are you cheerful?” “Yes, I am,” replies the #3s as they quickly take this FC from the #2s and turn to hand it to the #4s.

The first team to get their FC to the end of the line is the winner. Another good idea is to have the student at the end of the line rush to the start of the line once they have received the FC. They run to the teacher, and hand the FC to them, asking the question as they do so.

Then for the next round that student stands at the start of the line and the others all shift down, thus giving another student a turn at being at the end of the line.

The teacher will be monitoring and may take points away from students that do not speak clearly or who decide to mumble out the Q&A too quickly. You can also pick on two students to, “Do it again!” if they do not say it properly.

Once you have given this game a few rounds, you can try playing it with more than one FC for each team. Three or four FCs can in fact be progressing down each line. This of course adds to the fun as well as keeping all the students busier. But be careful, using more than one FC at a time can get a little chaotic.

Another version of Pass the FCs

This version is better for accuracy and pronunciation because you focus on one team at a time – the teacher monitors the passing of the FCs carefully, making sure the Q&A is spoken clearly and correctly.

In this version one team forms a line and passes an FC along that line. The other team meanwhile are doing an activity that starts when the passing of the FCs begins, and ends when the passing of the FCs stops. For example, team A passes an FC along their line, the teacher monitors this and makes sure they are doing it properly. While this is going on, the team B students are taking turns to throw balls into a basket. When the team A students have passed their FC to the end of the line, the team B students must stop throwing. The balls in the basket are counted. The teams swap over and now it is the turn for the team A students to be throwing balls into the basket while the team B students pass an FC along their line. Swap over again; possibly give them two or three goes at each activity. Finally call the game to a stop and the team that has landed the most balls in the basket overall is the winner.

There is therefore the onus for students to pass the FCs quickly and say the Q&A well (otherwise the teacher will make them do it again) because the team passing the FCs must try to limit the amount of time the other team has to throw the balls.

For alternative versions, the students can be playing Jenga, trying to remove as many blocks as they can in the limited time; or you can have them trying to build a tower of blocks, making it as high as they can in the limited time.

To make each round last longer, you can have them pass more than one FC along the line, or make them pass the FC down the line and then back again.

Hunt the Flashcard

 Hunt the Flashcard

So, just like with the games Cards Up, Cards Down and FC Collector, the flashcards are handed out to the students who must hold their ‘cards up’ for all to see. This game, however, is an excellent way to practise the question and answer form (Q&A) of the target language you are teaching.

Two students are called to the front; one from each team. Let us say that the [#5 students] are chosen to play.

WHITEBOARD

#5s      #5s

Team A                                          Team B

#1s                                  #1s

#2s                                  #2s

#3s                                  #3s

#4s                                  #4s

#6s                                  #6s

To use an example of a higher level’s FC vocabulary, let us imagine that the FCs represent phrases used to answer the question of ‘What would you do if you won the lottery?’ The FCs are: Travel Around the World, Save Money, Give Money Away, Buy a Holiday Home, Buy an Expensive Car, Start a Business, Help a Charity. …

If there are not enough FCs of one set (i.e., one topic) to go round, do not worry: you can mix them up with another set (e.g., mixing the above FCs with some FCs for kitchen utensils).

As already stated, the teacher hands out the FCs to the students who hold their ‘cards up’ while the two #5 students scout around, trying to remember which student has what FC.

After thirty seconds or so, the teacher instructs the students holding FCs to put their, “Cards down!”

“Right,” says the teacher, talking to the two #5 students. “Which student would [travel around the world] if they won the lottery?”

The two #5 students now go up to various students, asking: “Would you travel around the world?” If they pick they wrong student, the response will be, “No, I wouldn’t.” If they pick the right student and the response is, “Yes, I would,” then they can collect this FC and hand it to the teacher. (If both [#5 students] go up to the correct student at the same time and collect the FC together, the teacher can call it even.)

Next the teacher poses a new question: “Ok, which student would [save money]?”

The game starts up again with the two #5 students going around the class asking their classmates “Would you save money? Would you save money?” to responses of, “No, I wouldn’t,” or, “Yes, I would.”

Once you have gone through this a few times you can let the two [#5 students] sit down again and call up a different pair of students to have a turn. The teacher takes back the FCs, shuffles them; hands them out, shouting “Cards Up!”

Actually, this is a good time to point out another version of the game. Namely that you can cut out the whole ‘cards up’ thing altogether so the two volunteer students have no clue as to which student has what FC. This will generate more Q&A target language as they randomly ask as many students as they can in hope of being the first to get an affirmative answer.

Of course this game is not only limited to the “Would you ... Yes, I would/No, I wouldn’t” Q&A. It is workable with various Q&As.

To give some lower level examples, this game could be used for colours: “Are you red?”, “Yes, I am/No, I’m not.” With animals: “Do you have a fish?”, “Yes, I do/No, I don’t” or for present continuous activities: “Are you listening to music?” “Yes, I am/No, I’m not.”

And of course there are many more examples as the list of Q&As that you will find yourself teaching in class goes on. ...

FC Collector

 FC Collector

This game has exactly the same set-up as Cards Up, Cards Down and as the following game, Hunt the Flashcard. Like with Cards Up, Cards Down, this is an excellent way to review old vocabulary.

The teacher calls for a volunteer student (e.g., the #4s from team A) to come and stand at the front by the whiteboard. Next the teacher hands out the FCs to the rest of the students ... with the usual example of your classroom set-up shown below, the students are handed an FC each. They then, while still sitting in their chairs, hold up their FCs for the [#4s] to see – the instruction for them to do this comes in the form of the teacher saying, “Cards Up!”

WHITEBOARD

#4s

Team A                                          Team B

#1s                                  #1s

#2s                                  #2s

#3s                                  #3s

#4s                                        

#5s                                  #5s

#6s                                  #6s

Looking at the above diagram, picture all of the students holding their ‘cards up’ while the volunteer student scouts around the classroom, trying to memorise which student has what FC.

Finally, after a half minute or so, the teacher instructs the students to put their, “Cards down!” and the students respond by putting their FCs face down on their desks (or under their chairs if they do not have a desk attached to their chair).

The [#4s] now has thirty seconds (you can of course experiment with the amount of time given) to go around the class naming the FC that each student has. When they guess correctly, they can ‘collect’ this FC.

Once the thirty seconds are up (“5, 4, 3, 2,1 ... stop!” says the teacher) the [#4s] must now hand the FCs that they have collected to the teacher who awards a set amount of points for each FC received.

Next a student from the other team (e.g., the #2s from team B) is chosen to be the volunteer. All the FCs are taken back by the teacher, shuffled and handed out again.

“Cards up!”

A half minute or so allowed for [team B’s #2s] to memorise which student has what FC.

“Cards down!”

The [#2s] has thirty seconds to go around the class naming the FC each student has, ‘collecting’ as many as they can. …

This game can take a while if you give every student a turn. Therefore, to reduce the amount of time, you can try letting just a few volunteer (maybe two or three students from each team). By telling the others that they can, “Play next time,” you may get a few disappointed faces, but if you keep your promise, then they will be happy enough. Plus, by keeping the activity short, the students will retain their enthusiasm for the game (which goes for almost all of the activities described in this book).

Ostrich Game

 Ostrich Game

Again this is a game that is difficult to explain the first time you play, but once you have done it a few times, it is fairly easy to set up.

For this game the students run around the class with the FCs behind their backs. The team A students try to see what FCs are behind the backs of the team B students. The team B students do the same. As they tentatively run about, bobbing their heads to look behind other students’ backs while at the same time not wanting to reveal what is behind their backs, the students look a little like ostriches.

So to begin the game, the [team A] students line up facing the whiteboard, while the [team B] students form a similar line on the other side of the room.

WHITEBOARD

#1s     #2s     #3s     #4s     #5s     #6s

Team A                                  Team B

#1s     #2s     #3s     #4s     #5s     #6s

The students are all facing away from each other, facing their corresponding walls. “No peeking,” says the teacher, as they walk around handing FCs to the students to take behind their backs. Usually the students will have their hands out ready to blindly take the FC as it is handed to them – the students will not know what FC they are holding; this is not important. “Remember, don’t cover the picture with your hands,” the teacher says. “Hold it like I showed you before.”

Once the teacher has handed out all the FCs, they shout, “Go!” and all the students quickly turn around to face each other. Subsequently the action commences.

When a student from one team catches a glimpse of what FC a student from the other team has, they shout to the teacher who acts as the referee.

“Teacher!” shouts the [#2s] from team B who has caught a glimpse of what FC the [#3s] from team A is holding. “He has [mountain],” the [#2s] shouts, pointing to the [#3s].

“Ok, stop,” says the teacher, and goes to check if this is correct. If so (i.e., the #3s is actually holding a [mountain] FC behind their back), the [#3s] from team A must return to their seat and is out of the game.

The first team to have all their members return to their seats is the losing team. The team with members still standing are the winners.

Sometimes you will inevitably have a student cornered against a wall, pushing their back against the wall so it is impossible to see which FC they have. The teacher must explain that this is not allowed (“No cheating!” says the teacher) and when this occurs the teacher can count down a “5, 4,3,2,1 …” to give this student a chance to move away from the wall. If the student fails to do so, they are out and must return to their seat.

The Ostrich Game can also be played with sentences. For example, if a student spots another student holding a mountain FC, they can say, “He has climbed a mountain!” or, “He is climbing a mountain!” etc. Simply give them a suitable question and answer form (Q&A) to use before you begin the game.

Finally note that the Ostrich Game does not have to involve the whole class at once. You can optionally play it as a 1v1 or 2v2 contest, picking the required amount of students to take part each time.

Basketball Race

 Basketball Race

This is similar to the Target game, but it is a little more complicated and is of a much faster pace. Once again the FCs are set up in a line along the centre of the classroom:

WHITEBOARD

basket/box

Team A                     ball      ball                      Team B

#1s                                  FC                                  #1s

#2s                                  FC                                  #2s

#3s                                  FC                                  #3s

#4s                                  FC                                  #4s

#5s                                  FC                                  #5s

#6s                                  FC                                  #6s

As you can see from the diagram above, for this game you need to set up a basket, a box, or a basketball hoop in front of the whiteboard, i.e., something for the students to throw their team’s ball into. A ball for each team is also placed in front of the whiteboard (if you are using a basket or box then these balls can be put inside).

So to give an example, let us say that we are using a medium sized box with two small balls (one for each team) inside. The FCs are for the following adjectives: exciting, interesting, boring, dangerous, scary, great, tiring. With the diagram above as an example, ‘exciting’ is nearest the whiteboard, while ‘tiring’ is furthest away.

The teacher explains the game: “When I say the student’s number, the student must run to the box and take a ball. Now, in this game you stand next to the flashcard, not on the flashcard,” says the teacher. They demonstrate doing this and run to the ‘tiring’ FC, standing to the right and explaining that this is where the team B student must stand.

“Tiring,” says the teacher, standing next to the ‘tiring’ FC. The teacher moves forward to the ‘great’ FC. “Great,” says the teacher and moves forward to the next FC, “Scary,” and the next, “Dangerous,” and so on until finally they are at the ‘exciting’ FC. “Exciting,” says the teacher, and now throws the ball in the box, making clear that once this is done, the student playing must quickly return to their seat.

The teacher demonstrates again to emphasise the rules, this time taking a ball and standing to the left of each FC in the team A positions. “So the team A student stands here,” says the teacher, and goes through the motions again (“Tiring, scary, great, dangerous, boring, interesting, exciting,”) before throwing the ball at the box and deliberately missing. This is when, as the teacher, you need to make clear that the students only get one chance to throw their ball (“You can’t throw again,” says the teacher. “You can only throw once. If the ball does not go in the box, then unlucky ... just go back to your seat.”)

Next the teacher introduces the final rule of the game: “Now,” says the teacher, taking a ball from the box. “If you want to stand here (teacher goes to the ‘tiring’ FC) and throw the ball from here, then that’s ok! “Tiring,” says the teacher, and throws the ball to the box and misses (usually to the amusement of the students). “Can I throw the ball again?” asks the teacher, concept checking this rule with the students. “No,” say the students. “How many times can I throw the ball?” “Once!”

“So,” says the teacher, “if the student from team B misses the box like this,” (teacher demonstrates again), “the team A student can take their time!” The teacher amusingly demonstrates doing this, slowly saying each FC, looking at their watch, moving forward to the next FC, finally getting to the ‘exciting’ FC, throwing the ball to the box and deliberately missing, usually to more laughter from the students. “Ok, if this happens it’s 0 – 0,” says the teacher. …

Once this game has been explained and played a few times, it is extremely easy to set up. Just get balls and the box, basket or basketball hoop in front of the whiteboard, place the FCs in a line along the centre of the classroom and say, “Ok, ready. Number [two] students go!” The action begins, with this mini-battle between the #2 students. Next it is the turn of the [#5 students] etc. Finally the points are tallied up and the team with the most points is the winner – I usually award three points for getting the ball in the [box] and sitting down first, two points for getting it in the [box] and sitting down second, and zero points for not getting the ball in the [box].

One problem with this game is that in the excitement of running along the FCs and saying each one, some students end up saying the FC vocabulary quickly but not clearly. You can overcome this problem by being strict and awarding no points (or minus one point) if a student does not pronounce each FC clearly enough. However, this game should be played at a stage where the students are already practiced with the vocabulary and works well as a warmer or change of pace activity. It is a fun review game, not a game to teach new vocabulary.

Crocodile

 Crocodile

This game is more suitable for younger students. As with Face-off, the students are again at a stage where they should know the FC vocabulary well, and just like with Face-off, this is again a ‘fun’ test of their ability to say each FC. This is a slower game however, and more attention can be focussed on pronunciation.

You begin by setting up a line of FCs along the floor, just like with Target, Jump and Run and Touch. Although for this game, make the line a little more disorganised:

WHITEBOARD

TA                                 FC                             TB

#1s                                        FC                          #1s

#2s                                  FC                                 #2s

#3s                                          FC                           #3s

#4s                                             FC                        #4s

#5s                                  FC                                  #5s

#6s                              FC                                      #6s

Next you explain the game on the whiteboard by drawing a picture of a river with some stepping stones. You point to the floor, saying that this is the, “River” or “Water” and make clear that the FCs are the stepping stones.

Then draw a picture of a crocodile in the river (usually the students get excited by this) and finally (often to more excitement) you explain that you are the crocodile.

Individual students now take turns to ‘cross the river’. Each time they step on an FC, they must say what this FC is. If they forget or mispronounce the FC, the teacher runs at them and ‘gobbles them up’ (usually using your arms as the crocodile’s jaws, you can mime gobbling them up without actually touching them – some teachers, if they have a good relationship with the students and the kids are young, may opt for picking the kids up or something like this; but be careful not to be too scary!)

If the student successfully ‘crosses the river’ without being ‘eaten by the crocodile’ they can receive an award of points for their team.

Just like the Target game, it is best to ask for volunteers to play Crocodile when you first introduce this activity to the class. It is a high pressure game and some of the more reticent students may need time before they are brave enough to try ‘crossing the river’.

Usually it works best if the teacher is the crocodile, although the option is always there to have a student taking up this role.

Connect

 Connect

Again, FCs are not necessary for this activity. Just write the words on the board. But for the sake of an easy explanation, we'll refer to the target language vocabulary as FCs.

To begin with the simplest version of this, we will have the flashcards lined up on the whiteboard in parallel to the letters A – G.

Whiteboard

FC         FC         FC         FC         FC         FC

A             B             C             D             E             F             G

Let us say that the FCs are for weather. The students raise their hands and the teams take turns to guess which letter [sunny] is connected to, which letter [raining] is connected to, etc. The teacher has already noted down the answers on their lesson plan or on a scrap piece of paper, just like in the Points Behind FCs game. If a student guesses correctly, they win points for their team. Each time a correct guess is made, the teacher draws a line on the whiteboard to show this connection. Once all the lines have been drawn, the team with the most correct guesses may be awarded some extra bonus points to round off the game.

Once you have played this simple version a few times you can start to experiment with replacing the letters with some other things that the FCs can be connected to. For example you could write the names of some people: “Whose [sunny weather picture] is it?”, “It’s [Alex’s]”, “Who likes [sunny weather]?”, “[Alex] likes [sunny weather].” Or you could write countries/cities: “Where is it [windy]?”, “It’s [windy] in [Canada].”

For lower levels you could be connecting animals to colours: “What colour is the [pig]?”, “It’s [purple].” And for higher levels the game works just as well: “What would [Jason] do if he won the lottery?”, “He would [buy a sports car].”