On the LOTE Games page of this blog, Jenny Ryan left this game description. I think it sounds like a great game so I’ve posted the description here as well:
Jenny writes:
I got this game at a PD in London and found that it works really well with all levels of ability and motivation! It’s called Poker Testing and can be used to reinforce vocabulary or introduce it.
1. Give the class a list of 10 words that will be used for the Poker Test. Put this list on the board. Give them 1 min to study the list (optional).
2. Get rid of the list and replace it with the numbers 1-10 down the board. Get the students to write the same down a sheet of paper, or piece of scrap.
3. Begin by asking a question about one of the words - it could be meaning, spelling, gender (if applicable), anything appropriate. Students must not call the answer out!
4. Tell the students to put up their hand if they think they know the anwer. Anyone who doesn’t put up their hand is to put a cross next to No.1 on their piece of paper - they cannot get a point for this question.
5. Next, choose one person to anwer. If that person gets the anwer right, everyone with their hands up gets a point and puts a tick next to No.1. If that person gets it wrong, they put a cross next to No.1 and you keep asking until someone gets it right.
6. It’s simple on the first question, but gets riskier from there. After the first question, if anyone gets the anwer wrong, they lose all of their points. They can start accumulating points again from the next question. Only the person who answered incorrectly loses their points.
7. Keep going in this manner until you have asked 10 questions. The student(s) with the most ticks, win(s).
8. Things to take into consideration:
* It’s best to ask easier questions towards the end, to encourage students to attempt to answer.
* Try not to make it too obvious that you won’t ask the same person twice to anwer - except if you run out of volunteers.
* Decide if you want to be nasty or nice - do you want to pick someone you know won’t know the answer, and who will lose all their points, to prevent them from winning?!
* You might want to point out to the class that they should all be putting up their hands for the first question - they have no points yet, so cannot lose any! - or you might let them work that out for themselves.
I’ve found that most students really enjoy this game, as they don’t always have to know the answers to win. I usually get 100% involvement.
If anyone else has any games they love using in their languages classroom, please leave a comment on this blog post or on the LOTE Games page, we’d love to hear from you!
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