Idea #94: JENGA or UNO? Group Speaking Games to Review
8May 7, 2012 by Kara
The time is near to start reviewing all of the wonderful lessons we have covered! I have several parts to the final, including an interpersonal speaking assessment. Generally students are the most nervous for this part, so I like to give them plenty of practice to calm their nerves. Here are two modified games to practice speaking.
JENGA
In small groups (3-5) they play JENGA using the standard rules. The only change is that every block has a number. They also have a paper numbered 1-54 with vocabulary or phrases. Since JENGA has 54 tiles, I find it works best for review.
I don’t want them translating, so I ask them to say three phrases about whichever one they pull. So if a student pulls out block 7 (the beach), then they could say “my favorite is Daytona, there is sand, I wear a bathing suit, it’s hot, I like to snorkel there (in target language). It helps to remind them of “who, what, where, when, why, how, etc.”
UNO
You can do a similar activity with UNO by assigning a word to the numbers. There are less numbers so this works better to practice new vocabulary. If they can’t do it, they could draw four cards.
I hope these will add some excitement to your reviews lessons this year!
Any other review games that they love??
Megan
rachel573
Kara
My classes love playing Jenga. I highly recommend that if you have more than one Jenga board out at a time that you either color coordinate the pieces or draw a symbol on them. This way if they fall on the floor and get mixed up with another group’s Jenga set then you know which ones go to which games. Also, the generic “Tumbling Towers” is a lot cheaper, but does not play as well because the pieces aren’t sanded enough to slide easily. Look for Jenga games online, Half Priced Books, yard sales, Goodwill, see if friends/family have them to donate, etc.
And many thanks to you Rebecca! I was chatting with Rachel about putting vocabulary labels on my Jenga and how much time it took. She told me about your numbering system, and then my student aide wanted to make it more challenging by writing the number out in Spanish. What an awesome collaboration of great minds!
Okay. That is BRILLIANT! To add numbers and tasks instead of words to translate. My jaw is still dropped open. That opens up a whole world of possibilities for every game I’ve ever designed. BRILLIANT!!!!!!
yay!! I’m so glad to hear that!
For a lively game, try Slap! (from grade school sight word game)…Each pair (across), gets a pile of cards with words on them…They spread out face up. When you call the translation, they try to grab the word before the partner grabs it. I tease at the beginning about not hitting the hand of the partner to make him/her release the card. When the cards are down to 3 or 4, I have them put their hands behind their backs before I call the word. I tried it for the first time the other day and they LOVED it.
Tthis summer I’m going to make pics for every unit so I have them for games like this. Or should I have my students do it as a review? Hmm…
You could also use flash cards. In the long run, less time and expense than making, printing and laminating. Especially If you purchase the cards from a Dollar store or Wamart
A game I learned about and am going to try this week is a dice game. You can do it with labeling pictures or maps or just filling in anything. I’m going to try it with an alpha grid…just words that begin with that letter. 2 people, 2 color pens, 1 paper, 1 die.
1 person writes while the other rolls…the roller gets to steal the paper when he/she gets a 6. Keeps going back and forth for certain amount of time or until everything is filled in…winner has most entries with his/her color pen. Another trick from pinterest…foil pie pans lined with felt. Keeps the dice confined and quieter.