BOARD GAME Notes

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MAKING TEACHING FUN

Aims Speaking practice (giving extended answers; expressing opinions; giving and receiving feedback) Level Lower-Intermediate to Upper-Intermediate Time Approximately 30 minutes

Extra Materials Needed: One die for each group of two or three students; one sand - timer for each group of two or three students (optional)

NOTES: (1) Have your students sit in groups of two or three. Elicit from them and write the six W/H question words on the board: Who; What(Which); Where; When; Why and How. (3 minutes) (2) Distribute the board game and dice. Sandtimers are optional as students may use their own watches but sand-timers add a sense of novelty to the activity; as well, they can be easily viewed by everyone in the group. Model the activity by rolling a die twice (see the instructions at the top of each handout) and talk for one (lower intermediate level) or two minutes (upper intermediate level) about the question. Encourage extended answers. For example: Q: Do you like to travel by air? A: Yes, I like to travel by air (Why) because. (When) For example, last summer, I travelled to (Where) London and I . However, (Who) some people dont like to travel by air because. Also encourage use of new vocabulary, especially if the board game has been preceded by the corresponding Word Bank.

Note that there are no winners and losers. Instead, the players challenge themselves and compete against the clock or timer and against themselves as they continually improve their speaking ability. Encourage listeners to listen actively and ask their group speaker follow-up questions after each round. As well, they should give feedback to their partners (See the attached rubric Giving Feedback below.). Landing on Ask any question means that the other two students can choose any other one question from the board to ask the speaker. Play should continue with students having the opportunity to speak and answer several questions. Wrap-up by having a volunteer choose any question and talk about it for the allotted time. (25 30 minutes)

ALTERNATE VERSION: Alternatively, speakers can talk for one minute if they land on a gray square, and two minutes if they land on a white square.

IDEA! Let your students keep a copy of the board and practice answering these questions at home. Later on, randomly select a few of the questions to use as speaking test questions! Use the attached rubric below, or create your own.

Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use. www.esltopics.

GIVING FEEDBACK
Listen and use the rubric below to grade the speakers answer. Explain to the speaker his / her grades.

1st Speakers Name: ___________________________________

Organization
Organizes speaking by using main ideas along with examples and details; uses signal words and phrases such as: First of all; on the other hand; for example, etc. 5

GRADES
Excellent A Good B OK C Pass D Poor F

4 3 2

Vocabulary
Uses new words from Word Bank; uses other newly learned vocabulary.

Grammar
Correct use of verb tenses; subject-verb agreement; plural nouns; articles, etc.

Fluency
Appropriate speaking speed; emphasizes key words and ideas.

FEEDBACK: What can the speaker do to improve his / her speaking?

2nd Speakers Name: ___________________________________

Organization
Organizes speaking by using main ideas along with examples and details; uses signal words and phrases such as: First of all; on the other hand; for example, etc.

Vocabulary
Uses new words from Word Bank; uses other newly learned vocabulary.

Grammar
Correct use of verb tenses; subject-verb agreement; plural nouns; articles, etc.

Fluency
Appropriate speaking speed; emphasizes key words and ideas.

FEEDBACK: What can the speaker do to improve his / her speaking?

Permission granted to reproduce for classroom use. www.esltopics.com