Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

I found out recently that I will probably be teaching a two-week middle school summer camp for 4 hours a day (2 groups, 2 hours each). Naturally, I went into panic mode trying to think of how to entertain students for that length of time and do something useful.

I found an activity on the Cookbook site about Classroom Olympics to teach comparatives and superlatives. I grabbed it for a one period activity and while I was using it found what I thought needed to be developed to make it a truly good lesson, and as I thought, I found the idea expanding and expanding.

So far, I've come up with about 20 'events' to demonstrate the following:

steady; full/empty; hard; strong; smooth; good/bad; fast/slow; heavy/light; big/small; loud; long/short; pretty/ugly; far; straight/crooked; lucky/unlucky; high; and slick. (Many of them require additional special vocabulary, so there is a lot of opportunity to do more than just teach comparatives.)


I have three questions at this point:

1. One event I'd like to have is a relay race for balancing a book on their head. My problem is that I'm not really happy using 'smooth' as a way of describing the skill. Joe walks 'smoother' than Tom...just doesn't do it for me. I'm brain dead on this one. Can anyone suggest a better comparative word to use?

2. I also haven't come up with any good events where we could use: clean, dirty, messy, quiet, noisy and low. Does anyone have a good idea for an 'event' where we could use any of these comparative words?

3. I'd also like any suggestions for other useful comparatives that I haven't thought of.

(I'd be more than happy to swap ideas with anyone who has something to share.)

[tzechuk]

1. How about steady?

2. Yes! Play happy family! LOL

3. I will get back to you on this one.

[Snowkr]

draw the tic tac toe game on the whiteboard.
Teach them how to play if they don't already know.

Put in 9 adjectives like big, long, short etc...
...
difficult, fantastic, amazing
(depending on the level)

set the class up into teams of two and have them choose a word. Then say superlative or comparitive and they should give you the word in the appropriate form. If they get it right, write their initial in the square. Of course, they have to use some strategy too but the point is to implement target language.
This is of course, assuming they know how to use superlatives and comparitives. I teach some pretty smart students. They love the "drama" of a competitive tic tac toe game.
Doesn't take much to rock the world of some of these asian kids!

[buster brown]

2. Messy: In a former class, we had a watermelon eating contest. Cut it so that you have circular slices. The students can't break the rind in eating the watermelon, so they'll have to shove their face into it. Loads of fun...maybe too expensive to do in Korea, though.

[tomato]

Ya-ta Boy, do you have access to a scanner, a printer, and a laminating machine?
Here is a game which will take you several hours to make, but it would be worth it.

Here is how you make the game:

1. Do a Google search for pictures of items which are big, bigger, and biggest, small, smaller, smallest, good, better, best, and bad, worse, worst.

2. If you have the right kind of software, adjust the sizes of these pictures so that they fit on cards of the same size.

3. Cut up posterboard to cards of the same size.

4. Paste.

5. Laminate.

Here is how you play the game:

Lay the cards on the table face down in random fashion.
The players gather around the table and take turns following the instructions:

1. Turn over two cards but leave them in the same places.
See if the two cards fit (i. e., good-better, good-best, or better-best).
If so, go to 2.
If not, go to 4.

2. Turn over a third card but leave it in the same place.
See if the third card fits also.
If so, go to 3.
If not, go to 4.

3. Take the cards.
Go to 1.

4. Turn the cards back over but leave them in the same places.
The next player gets a turn.

The winner is the card with the most matches.

[Ya-ta Boy]

[Ya-ta Boy]

PS: Please aim for low-tech activities. I keep things like plastic spoons, plastic bags, dice and handkerchiefs in my drawer.

[Novernae]