I've gotten practice over the years at making up games for various class stages, adapting different ones I've seen to fit my context. I often start my classes with a review game to warm up. This past week, though, I didn't have all the rules of this particular game completely figured out, and I was OK with that, because I wanted the students to be part of the process.
The topic of the unit for this A2 (pre-intermediate) class was busy schedules and prioritizing things. We were talking about school, sports practice, events throughout the week and how it's also important to prioritize sleep and time to yourself. The idea of the warm-up game I had was basically volleyball, with two teams hitting either a balloon or an inflatable globe back and forth. We discussed the dynamics of each object, and they decided the balloon would be better. To make the game relevant to what we were studying, I had put some vocabulary terms--categories such as doing something creative, hanging out with friends, or getting exercise into a web app that makes a spinning wheel, like in a game. (Check it out--it's fun!) The rule was that each time a team scored a point, the same rules as in volleyball, I would spin the wheel and get a random category. In order for the point to count, each member of the team had to give an example of that category. For example, for hanging out with friends, they could say going to the mall, playing video games, laughing, talking, etc.
Since we decided on the balloon, I also made the rule that players had to use a pencil to bump it, and if they spoke Portuguese during the game, they had to use the sharp end of the pencil. If it popped, the other team would win automatically. (I mentioned in a previous post that I typically avoid negative consequences, but in the context of a game, they seem to be effective in certain groups. No one ended up speaking Portuguese--at least no one that I heard--during this game, however.)
After a few rounds and a few points scored, I noticed we needed to make things more difficult, and I threw out some ideas for the students to consider. One was marking an out-of-bounds. We had already chosen a dividing line in the middle but we realized we should also mark the walls, the ceiling (but not the projector, as the group decided) as out-of-bounds, meaning a point for the other team if hit. A student also suggested that there be a limit of four hits to the balloon before it crosses the middle, otherwise, it's a point for the other team. It was more of a challenge, but everyone agreed.
All this time, I was reiterating the rules, emphasizing the verbs can't, have to, and has to, clarifying them by asking questions like, Can the balloon touch the walls? Do you have to use the pencil? Students were already well familiar with can and can't, and, although they hadn't yet studied have to in detail, they recognized it from previous exposure. My intention was that the game, though a review of vocabulary and a fun physical group activity, would be contextualization for the grammar of the verb have to, which I was going to teach next.
After the game, we looked at a few relevant examples of sentences with have to on the board, reviewed the meaning, examined the form (including has to in third person, plus negatives and questions). Students did a few exercises in the book, and then I set them up for a slightly gamified drilling practice.
I had set up another spinning wheel with things that are necessary or not necessary, depending on who we're talking about. The items that would appear were things like go to school, get up early on Saturdays, pay for Internet, take the bus, etc. Pairs were given dice to roll, and, on the board, we came up with a person or people corresponding to each number:
1. I
2. you..?
3. my [friend/brother/sister/cousin, etc.]
4. my parents
5. your [friend/brother/sister/cousin, etc.]...?
6. my friends
If students rolled 2 or 5, they used the prompt to ask a question--Do you/Does your brother have to get up early on Saturdays? For the other numbers, they would simply say a statement, affirmative or negative--My friends have to go to school; My sister doesn't have to pay for Internet; My parents don't have to take the bus, etc. These would mostly depend on the particular case of each person, as some folks have to get up early on Saturdays, but others don't. It was a meaningful interaction, because it was personal, and there was an exchange of information, but the answers were also fairly predictable, which enabled me to listen and make sure they were getting it right. If a pair finished their sentence before I spun the wheel again, they could simply roll again and practice another one.
Finally, for a more freer practice (which overlapped in a way with some more drilling), I put students in new groups and used the classic activity from Scott Thornbury where students have to complete the following with true information:
All of us have to
None of us have to
Some of us have to
One of us has to
I also added one more, more additional third person practice:
[student]'s [brother/sister/friend/cousin, etc.] has to
In order to complete these with true information, students need to ask and answer many questions--Do you have to...? Yes, I do; No, I don't. Does your [brother] have to...? Yes, he does; No, he doesn't. This gives them more essential speaking practice, especially when differentiating between do and does in the questions. It also allows them to use language a bit more freely, as there are multiple possibilities to complete these, and, in the process of completing them, they can incorporate other language into the mix--"We need one more. I know! Does your brother have to train for soccer every week?"
I make this activity a competition, as well. The first group to complete all five statements correctly, with true information, wins.
Not every lesson I teach has this many games, but I do believe it's important to include lots of dynamic--and even playful--activities, not just because they're fun, but because they motivate students, encourage teamwork and collaboration, and stimulate creativity. The late Dr. Karyn Purvis, an expert in child development, noted that, "Scientists have recently determined that it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain...unless it is done with play, in which case, it takes between 10 and 20 repetitions." In short, play stimulates the brain and helps us remember things. Play is never "just play," something light and fluffy, but something that involves experimenting, risk-taking, testing the boundaries, and adapting to challenges. The pioneer educator Seymour Papert, whose work at MIT in the 1960's can be seen as a precursor to what we know as the Maker Movement, used the term "hard fun" to describe just this.
The unit I am teaching is not complete. As students discuss the topic of busy lives, and add the modal verbs must, should, and had better to their knowledge, I plan to take the mini gamification of our last lesson a step further. My goal is for them to create a game in groups, using those modal verbs, fun objects I bring in, and their own ideas to make the rules for a new game that they will teach their peers. Giving them opportunities to help create and adjust the rules for these games will hopefully give them some experience and confidence in their own game making.
I've done similar game lessons in more advanced classes, and also with this same level. The results are always different and surprising, and a lot of hard work--and fun--goes into students' games. Of course, making a game itself is not exactly gamification--by definition, it is adding game-like elements to something that is not typically a game. And most of my gamified lessons don't involve students making their own games, but rather, playing and creating in other ways. What I want them to walk away with, however, besides the target language, are interpersonal, adaptive, and creative skills. Maybe with gaming or gamifying skills, they will be able to make some changes and take on some bigger problems.
What games have had the most impact on your life? What has been your experience with gamification? Where else can we add elements of play and hard fun to transform an experience and build essential skills? Follow me on Instagram @danimakerelt if you'd like to follow the results of this class's game-making. Let's gamify together!
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