Korean Job Discussion Forums

[partymop]

So usually I can look at lessons and material it it comes fairly easily how I'm going to teach it, problems i might have etc but for some reason I can't see this one. Everyone talks about the "bomb" game so I wanted to try it. I realize the fact that I've never used it and am asking about it will probably draw the scorn of the forum community, but can anyone help me with the best approach in class. For example purposes, I took a ppt off the net that is a Simpson's bomb game with "Would you like to..." being the target language. Class is elementary public school.

what about?
-team sizes
-how to keep score effectively
-how to run the game
-problems you've faced when playing it an how to counteract it

A brief overview of how to run this class would be greatly appreciated. thnx!

[Morticae]

Hi.

My middle school students love the bomb game.

Team size: Any. Usually my students are in 3 big rows, so I make 3 big teams. Doesn't really matter to me. If you have a reward and want to limit how much candy you give, make smaller teams. But consider that there are usually 30 questions, so if you make too many teams, each team will get to answer fewer questions.

Keeping score: For this game, I just use a chalk board. Simple enough, always available. Write teams on the board, (1, 2, 3) and put a running tally of their score underneath.

How to run the game: I start with team 1. They choose a #, answer the question. If they answer incorrectly, no points/bombs. I just skip to the next team with a new question. I don't let them "steal" answers usually. They only get the "prize" (sometimes a bomb) for correct answers.

Problems: No problems. Well, my students get very rowdy and excited. Does this count as a problem?

[jrwhite82]

The bomb game is great for review or to teach language patterns.

I did a room bomb game. And the sentence pattern was, "The _______ is in the _______." So you click the box and a picture of a TV pops up. Then the students had to say, "The TV is in the living room."

I did another one for past tense and irregular verbs. I showed a verb and they had to change it to its irregular past tense form. To make it harder they had to use it correctly in a sentence.

If noise is a problem (a common one during bomb games, which can get pretty loud, I don't mind it, but the teacher next door might) try to enact a rule about noise volume. My students do "whisper cheers". They whisper, "WAY TO GO!". And instead of clapping they can snap their fingers or wave their hands. You have to constantly remind them before you show each answer the first 10 times for this. Then every 5 times after that. Don't expect them to be angles during bomb game. But don't let it get out of hand either.

Avoid doing penalties. First, you don't want to single out students in this kind of activity because it can lead to anamosity between classmates that will escalate quickly because of their competitive nature. Secondly, if you take away points from a team because of behavior, what do you do when there is no more points left to take? You kind of back yourself into a corner and are left powerless.

[lovebug]

in regards to trying to keep kids quiet, i add an option on some answers where you can reward another team with some points. the team who is up chooses which team gets them (this only works for 3+ teams). then i tell them to reward the team that's being the most quiet and well behaved. that way you can give points for the well behaved students instead of penalizing the bad teams.

[jrwhite82]

I like the positive reinforcement.

[Morticae]

I don't mind the noise during games, but it has annoyed me on occasion. By far the easiest way to stop it is to give everybody "the look." They will realize the game isn't continuing for some reason, they will see you are upset, and they will likely immediately understand what to do. This works very quickly, once everybody is quiet I explain to them they need to behave better or the game will end.

[oldfatfarang]

What's with all this formal 'too noisy' nonsense?

It's a Bomb Game. It's supposed to be noisy, happy and fun!

I do dialogs/acting/art/handouts/drills etc all year - and now it's Game Season. School's out (well, almost) and my kids are getting really excited during Game Season. Kids standing on desks - shouting - waving hands - calling out - laughing - Game Season is ON.

Good luck.

[partymop]

Thanks everybody, but I just said "the hell with it" and showed a movie

just kidding, thanks for the help. the classes went great

[Darkeru]

Another tip for this for future people, since you've already finished:

I like to give them cards, shaped like business cards. I explain to answer, they need to give me a card. No card - no answer, but they can help their teammates. Cards are non-transferable.

This usually works to make everyone speak, rather than the common situation of 3 of about 15 students answering each time for the team. When they get the idea and run out of cards for the better students, the students even run to each other and coach even the lowest ability levels on what the answer is and how to say it. They do try to cheat though, so keep an eye on them.

I like the Super Mario one with Mushrooms and no story. The one with story and question boxes looks better, but it doesn't work on the older Powerpoint versions for me, when I try to use them on my co-teacher's laptop.

Note: These can easily be made by printing off some business card shaped ones from Microsoft Publisher and laminating them. They do fall apart after a while though.

[lifeinkorea]

What is the bomb game you are referring to? I see this one online http://www.teach-esl-to-kids.com/time-bomb-game.html

However, it sounds different.

[Kaypea]

Oh, there's a myriad of bomb games! I find them particularily good for drilling, and sometimes I feel like a really bad teacher for using them because all they do is make mindless drill and repeat more *fun*. But, at least there's some real communication going on... kids tell you which number they want to choose, etc.

[lifeinkorea]

I am still unclear the steps. I play games like concentration and tic-tac-toe syle games.

You make a grid, 3x3, and put target vocabulary or letters in each cell.

Then they try to get all 3 in a row, across, or diagonally. Either divide into teams or play teacher against students.

How do you play Bomb? What is your favorite way?

[lifeinkorea]

[Fishead soup]