The Gesturest Student
Submitted by: Matt Baumgartner Borrowed or inspired from: The far side of his head Date added: 01-24-08
Brief Outline: Students must gesture for each other while the lucky one in the group watches and picks the one which is ____~est of the group. Materials Needed
- TheGesturestStudent worksheet - one for each group
- Envelopes - one for each superlative/comparitives
Preparation Needed:
Print worksheets
Print and cut superlative cards, 8 in total, and put one inside each envelope. Number the envelopes from 1 through 8. Big, bold numbers work best because they are easy to see.
Teaching Suggestions:
Take time to do a thorough explanation so the kids understand exactly what they must do to play this game. Instead of putting the superlatives inside of an envelope, you can tape them to the underside of it, as this will speed things up.
Detailed Explanation:
Divide the class into groups of four. I find this number of students works best for this activity.
Give each group a worksheet.
Put the envelopes in order on a desk or designated space close to you and the blackboard.
Draw a grid on the blackboard, one space for each group. Write the numbers 1 through 8 inside of each box on the grid. (Any kind of scoring system where you can keep count of which group has done which envelope will work, so use the one which you are familiar with).
Now, after the scoreboard has been put up and the envelopes have been put out and each group has received a worksheet, you are ready to begin.
Students play Janken to see who is number 1 in the group, then number 2 , then 3 and finally 4. The number 1 student becomes the ‘lucky one’, and the others go up to the place you put the envelopes, and choose one.
The students read the superlative, but do not let the lucky one know which one they chose.- The three students must now gesture out the superlative in front of the lucky one.
The lucky one must guess which superlative it is (they are all written on their worksheet), and choose which of their classmates in their group is the ___~est of the group (ie the cutest, funniest, etc), and fill in the blank on their worksheet.
After that, student 2 in each group gets to be the lucky one, while the other three go and get another superlative to gesture out.- When a group completes a gesture and the new group of three comes up to you, they tell you which group they are and which number they just did. You then erase that number from the scoreboard. The first group to get them all done is the winner, and can receive a prize or something (perhaps the tastiest candy in the world).
- When the students are done, have them take turns writing out the sentences using the grammar point.
Variations and Options:
Tips or Cautions:
If you make groups too big, then there will be too many people for the lucky one to choose from, and it will take too long for a big group to all learn about which superlative to gesture.
Students tend to be very shy about gesturing, and often need encouragement. Threats can work well, or offer to gesture with them. The offer of some kind of special reward for the winning-est can also get them motivated. Once everyone in the room is gesturing, them the tension eases up and the kids will do it more freely.
Don’t make the superlatives too spacey and vague, which could be difficult to gesture out. Words like ‘wide’ should be avoided (how do you gesture ‘wide’?), as well ijime words (like ‘fat’, ‘stupid’, ‘dumb’, etc).
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