I have a few class where I teach for a double period, meaning 50 minutes instead of 25. I had that today with my B1 math class. They’re “learning” subtraction right now. I put learning in quotes because the math book they’re using is ridiculously easy for them. They’re way past simple subtraction facts in their public schools. But the point of the school I teach at is to present many of the major subjects in English to reinforce what they’re learning in their English lessons.
Studying simple subtraction facts for 50 minutes when you already know them really must be a painful thing. So I decided to lessen the pain. I told them we had to work in our books for the first 25 minutes, but then after that we would play a game.
It was funny to watch their little faces light up. “Game?” “Teacher, Game?” But I also played mean teacher and wouldn’t tell them what the game was until it was time to play. I never saw 12 kids work more frantically to get their work done.
We played “Around the world”. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the game, I will describe it.
Have your students sit in a circle. You pick one person to start. Eeny- Meeny-Miny-Moe always makes the Korean kids laugh. That person stands behind the person next to them. The teacher then holds up a flashcard with a math fact on it. The two students race to see who can give the answer first. If the student standing gets it first, he or she moves to stand behind the next student. If the student sitting gets it first, he or she stands up and the other student sits down. The new standing student moves to stand behind the next student. And you just keep going around the circle.
I gave a sticker (they collect them to trade in for a gift certificate when they reach a set amount) to any student who could go all the way around the circle. If that does happen, once that student gets back to their starting point, have him or her trade places with the person who is sitting.
A fun thing to do once the kids get the hang of the game is to pick a student to be the “teacher”. I changed “teachers” after each trip around the circle. Warning, there will be extreme amounts of begging to be the “teacher” once you start this.
I’m going to try this with other prompts, things like phonics words, target vocabulary and clocks. I have a number of classes that would probably enjoy the game.
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