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This free game really works so
try it!
I'm a high school teacher in a
public school here in
the Philippines.
It's always a problem here
having
70-80 students per class and worse this school year our
freshmen classes have reached even 90s per class. It's
really tough handling big classes in a limited space.
I'm so glad that i come across with your games. I have
tried them in class and it
was really great fun and my
students have been motivated to speak.
I handle senior classes and they find the games very stimulating.
The latest game that i received from you is KIDNAP and
it's
really appropriate for big classes like mine. More power!
Ana
Lorgie
Philippines
I would like to say that
your "kidnap"
game had been a wonderful
activity yesterday in my Vietnamese class. You would be
surprise but it is
true. I'm teaching Vietnamese as a foreign language to students in an
international school.
The kids loved the game and
secretly tried to work
out in their team who would be the "kidnaper" in the other team to
avoid
being kidnapped. They were really engaged.
Thanks to the fantastic games.
Xuan
Tran Thi
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Kidnap!
An ESL Speaking Game
for Large Classes
Dear
Teacher,
I recently learned that in China classes can be as
large as 120 pupils!
Therefore I decided to do a game for big classes, which needs no space,
and no materials aside from pencil and paper.
In fact I have written a new special edition of games just for those
types of classes. Then as part of a continual drive to
improve and update I incorporated at least 60 games for large classes
into my primary book of classroom games.
Here is one of the games from the e-book. I think it'll be a
great game which you'll be able to use over and over
for any language or target structure.
To order the games with these special
large class games included
please go visit the ESL
games for large classes page or the order
page to go direct.
CONTENTS
1. How to Play
2. Language ideas to
use with this game
3. Materials for you
to use with this game
4. Tell me what you
think
Kidnap!
Category:
Speaking
Group size:
Any size class
Level:
Beginners to
intermediate
Materials:
Paper and pencil
Age:
5 to 12. Playable by teens &
adults
Pace:
Wake up - controlled and fun
This game is hard to explain if you cannot speak the native language
and your students understand no English. To ensure the game works the
first time you use it play just passing pictures as described in the
section 'The play'. When students successfully complete that part of
the game add in the 'kidnap' papers, as described below. That breaks
the learning of the game up into two simple stages. Teachers have found
that children absolutely love this game and it is worth learning.
Set up
Divide the class into teams and draw or stick up simple pictures of the
vocabulary you would like to use on the board. Tell each child to copy
one of these pictures and make sure that all the pictures are being
drawn more or less equally. One way to do this is to number the
pictures on the board and then count round the children. The children
draw the picture their number corresponds to. Children then write their
team name or letter on the picture.
In this game it is OK if the teams are not exactly even.
Use words instead of pictures if you are practising a sentence with a
target structure, but if you are working on vocabulary pictures are
much more effective.
While children are drawing write out the team names or letters in a
vertical column on the board and allocate nine lives to each team
horizontally. Each time a team loses a life in the game you will rub
one off the board.
By now each student has a piece of paper with a picture on it. Make
sure students have written their team name or letter on the paper. Ask
students to each take a second piece of paper and one pupil from each
team only draws a square on it, pressing lightly so the pencil line
does not show through the paper. The other pupils leave their paper
blank. Everyone now folds this second piece of paper in half.
Now all students pass the folded papers around until no one knows
who has the papers with the square on. Your pupils look secretly at
their folded paper to see if they have the square, and don't tell
anyone if they do.
The play
Now you are ready to play. Call out one of the words such as "bananas".
All those with a banana picture hold up their hands. Pick one and that
person stands up and is the collector of all the banana pictures. Do
the same for another picture, such as milk. You now have two students
standing, one who will collect in all the bananas and the other all the
milk.
You now give the word or sentence that is to be repeated on passing a
picture. A picture can only be passed when this word or phrase is
spoken otherwise it's cheating. You can use plain repetition of the
given vocabulary, or short sentences such as "I like bananas" if
passing the bananas, or "I like milk" if passing the milk.
Use whispering or murmuring only so you can keep a lid on the noise.
Anyone talking or saying anything other than the given vocabulary or
phrase loses a life for his or her team. You can rub out one of the
lives you drew on the board earlier.
Anyone with a banana picture must pass his or her paper along the line
in the direction of the collector, while the milk simultaneously makes
its way to the milk collector. Everyone passing a picture must say the
given word or phrase to the person he or she hands it to. The paper
must take the most direct line towards the collector and no one can be
missed out in the line of flight so to speak. Alternatively have a rule
that the paper cannot travel diagonally but can only go up or across
rows. Use whatever works best for your classroom configuration so that
the maximum number of people have to pass the paper to include as many
students as possible.
After a few goes ask if anyone has not yet had a go at all. Specify
that for the next round the paper must go via those people who have not
had a turn, and ask them to stand up so they can be identified.
The 'kidnap' papers
Now here's the snag! Those with the papers with a square can kidnap a
picture if it comes their way, and take it out of the game. If anyone
succeeds in doing this they shout out "Kidnapped!" and tell you the
team letter on the paper they have intercepted. This is like the
equivalent of a member of that team being taken hostage and that team
loses a life from a given number of lives. With older children they can
also write their name on their paper, along with their drawing and team
letter, so that specific class members are kidnapped. (The younger ones
won't really like this so for them keep it general.)
Continue to play using the other words. You may have a blank paper swap
every couple of rounds so that the square 'kidnap' papers can secretly
circulate. At the end you see which team has the most lives.
You can use this game for absolutely any language you like, and it's
great because everyone has a chance to speak and drill themselves in
the given words or phrases while having quite a lot of fun!
2. Language
ideas to use with this game
You can practise any grammar or vocabulary with
this game.
Here is an example to give you the idea. Let's say you want
to practise the past tense.
Use food vocabulary for the pictures for revision and use the target
structure:
"Yesterday I ___________ (past tense) + ____________ (food vocabulary)"
Round one could be "Yesterday I ate apples"
Round two could be "Yesterday I bought pears"
Round three could be "Yesterday I washed potatoes"
and so on.
Your class revise food vocabulary so that does not use up much of their
concentration, meaning that they can apply themselves fully to saying
the sentence with the new structure correctly.
As mentioned above, use either new vocabulary or a new target structure
- but not both. Revise vocabulary if using a newish target
structure, and vice-versa.
Play a couple of listening games with the new vocabulary or structure
before playing this speaking game. (See
my
book of games for
ideas).
3. Materials
for you to try with this game
For this game your pupils need a pencil and
two pieces of paper each.
4. Tell
me what you
think
I'd love to hear how you get on with this game, other teachers say it
works extremely well for them.
5. Download the full
ESL teaching resource with well over 160 games!
Order the full teaching resource with over 160 games and many great
bonuses to make your teaching more fun.
All
the best,
Shelley Ann Vernon
Teaching English Games
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