What's in a Word?

Three contestants leave the classroom. The teacher now collects 10 to 15 words from one word field (or a particular unit) on the board. The contestants now stand in front of the board facing the class so that they do not see the words on the board.

The class now try to explain the meanings of the words through gestures or/and facial expressons. The contestant who guesses the word first gets a point.

Note: If you are the teaching type who enjoys a quiet and relaxed classroom atmosphere, this one is definitely not for you.
Naturally, the process can be reversed, i.e. the students up front do the gesturing while the class are doing the guessing.

Two pairs of students compete against each other. The contestants have to wait outside the classroom while the teacher collects the relevant vocabulary for a word fiele (or unit) on the board. Each pair gets exactly two minutes to guess as many words as possible. One student - he is allowed to see the word list - explains the word to his mate who is not allowed to see the words. If they seem to get stuck or just donīt get on, they can say "PASS" which means they will lose a point. It is quite important to set a time limit, so as to keep up enought interest among the rest of the class. Each word that has been guessed correctly gets the contestants a point. A "PASS" automatically sets them back one point. The team which has most points or alternatively guessed the whole list of words in a shorter time are the winner.

I guess you can see the range of possibilities this activity offers. You are doing the relative clauses in a class: why donīt you decide that each definition that has a relative clause in it gets the team a bonus point. The same applies to if-sentences, for example. Maybe YOU have got some great idea. Why donīt you send it to me with all speed a get an honorable mention somewhere on this page.

Age group: Grades 6 - 11

As happened before, this activity was christened in South America by a class of very charming girls. "Gusanito" is Spanish for little worm and thatīs a pretty descriptive word for the activity. Again the students work in two teams. Each team owns half the black board. Then the teams are given the word field which they have to find vocabulary for, for example "Summer in the city". I recommend giving them two different terms, so that they do not copy from each other. The first student of the team now writes down a word that belongs into the respective word field. The next student is handed the chalk by student number one. He now has to write another word at the end or the beginning of the previous word at an angle of 90 degrees. I am not going into any further explanations, just look at this:

It is important that the students can only add a new word either at the beginning or at the end of the word. The next person, for example, can only continue now under the S of SUNTAN. Also, important, the group must not write beyond the part of the board which has been assigned to them.

Try it out! It works well with most classes!

Of course, if you have got a better idea, or any idea, come to think of it, you may want to send it to me with all speed. If it gets published, the credits will be all yours.

This is a great way of revising any type of vocabulary. Barbara Fromme, a very nice colleague of mine suggested this game to me. Good on you, Barbara, and thanks heaps for not being a nuisance for a change :-)!
Keep the students busy while you are writing all sorts of vocabulary all over the blackboard. Two teams compete against each other. The idea is that two students who represent their respective teams try to be the first to circle a word or expression in order to score a point. The teacher (that is you, I guess) then gives definitions, paraphrases, anagrams, palindromes - you name it - of the word in question and the team reps will have to find it as quickly as possible and make a circle around it. The winner scores a point for his team. After three (or more) rounds two different representatives have a go.

Barbara has just pointed out that the two players have to use two different colours to circle their words, so that the scoring is facilitated. Thank you very much, Babs! (I hope you don`t mind if I call you Babs, do you?) You are ever so efficient!

This is a nice variation on the normal vocabulary checking procedure. Two or three students (they may come to the front of the classroom) have to speculate, if their fellow students know a word or expression asked by the teacher. If they guess correctly they get a point, if not they lose one. The procedure may look as follows: "I am going to ask Michael the German meaning of `attitudeī. Will he be able to give me the correct answer?". If Michael gives the correct answer the student(s) who guessed correctly (i.e. yes) wins a point, whereas a wrong guess sets him/her back one point. In any case, the level of attention of students is so high, that they really want to know, if the answer is correct, or what the correct answer is, respectively.
I christened the game "Poker Face", because it is essential that the student who has to answer the question keeps his feelings under control and betrays neither insecurity nor too much confidence. Try it out. It works even with classes whose motivation level has hit rock bottom.

Two or more groups compete against each other. Give a student who can draw reasonably well a list of 12 words or phrases (preferably from a word field). The student has to draw the words while his group has to do the guessing. It is important that the "artist" sticks to the order of the list. Set a time limit like 3 minutes. Then itīs the next groupīs turn. Obviously the group which guesses most words within the time limit are the winners. The number of variations to this game is only limited by your imagination. I usuall add a bit of spice to the word list by inserting a word which is totally out of place (a teacherīs or pop starīs name will do fine.)

Pairs of students alternately name as many words belonging to one word family/field as they possibly can in one minute. The class may support them silently through gestures and facial expressions. If you decide on the same word family for both teams, one team has to wait outside the classroom until it is their turn.

Does this sound stupid or meaningless? Maybe you are right, but I will keep on doing this with my students, because it makes for a nice change. How did the ancient Romans put it? "Variatio delectat".

Two pairs of students come out front. The first pair is given a word field (or subject area), while the others are waiting outside the classroom. They then have to tell in advance the number of words that belong to the respective category they will manage to come up with in a minute. If, in the subsequent stage, they reach the number, they get a point, if not, the point goes to the other team. After that itīs the other teamīs turn. After five or so rounds the points are counted.
It is quite amazing what range can be covered with this exercise. Take the subject of the American West, for example. It is very easy to find 5 sub-categories, which the students can compete at. (Indians, Whites, settlements, movies, frontier life).
This also works as a revision exercise, in which the teams can choose from a list of subject areas. As always, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

Two teams play against each other. The teacher asks questions on vocab (or any old topic, come to think of it) and the team that provides the first correct answer can decide where to place their respective mark ( a circle or a cross or a circled cross or different colours) in a grid that may look as this:

The idea to this variety of the original "Harry" game hit me, when I was listening to SWF 1 ("eins gehört gehört").
Two students or two groups of students play against each other. There is a set time limit of ideally 30 seconds.
The teacher first asks the meaning of any word. The answer to the first question is invariably "HARRY" (hence - you have already guessed it - the name of the game). Now it gets interesting. The teacher now asks the meaning of another word and the student (whose turn it is) has to answer with the solution to the first question, etc.

Example:
Q: What do you call a man who can't sleep at night?
A: Harry!
Q: What is someone called who has killed another man?
A: Insomniac!
Q: What is another name for teacher?
A: Murderer!

Got the idea? The fun depends greatly on the answers which go together with the questions, so it might be wise to compile your answers on a sheet of paper, before yo actually start the game.

The students or the group of students who get most answers right within the time limit are the winners. This game also lends itself to a recurring activity in which the final champion emerges at the end of term.