The fly swatter game is kids whacking the blackboard with (clean, I hope) fly swats. Every teacher knows this game and students love it. Good for reviewing vocab and just having a good time.
Basic Info
| Time: | 10 minutes |
|---|---|
| Level: | Elementary grade 1 - 6 |
| Works with: | Vocabulary sets |
| Class size: | Medium to large |
You will need:
- Fly swatters - enough for as many groups as you want. 2 is good, 3 ok, 4 maybe too busy *see warning below
- Flashcards - one of each vocab word (this is what the students swat)
- Magnets or something to put the flashcards up on the board
(If you don't have flashcards, you can just quickly draw something on the board.)
Lesson Description
- Introduce the new vocabulary. Put the flashcards on the blackboard.
- Make groups of up to 5 or 6 students. Assemble them into lines leading up to the blackboard.
- Give the first student in each line a swatter.
- When you call out the new vocabulary word, the students must run to the board and swat the correct flashcard.
Tips
- Before you call out the next word, make the class ask you a simple question to elicit your response.
ie. If you are doing fruit: "What fruit?"/ "What fruit do you like?"/ "What fruit is next?" - Alternatively, if you have a double set of cards, show the waiting students a flashcard and they all say the word for the swatters to hit.
- If you are looking for fly swatters, try your local supermarket or the 100yen shop, or ask at your school as they may already have them, specifically for this game.
Variations
- Rather than having the students swat the word you call out, try having them swat the word you don't call out. (Beware - this can get tricky if there are too many words on the board.)
- This game is really just a very exciting, play as a class instead of a group, version of snap - a.k.a. karuta.
Warnings
- Elementary school students of all ages can get over-excited playing this game and can get a bit rough with the swatters. You may need to calm them down half way through the game.
- If you have too many students/swatters at the blackboard, the violent action of energetically swatting the blackboard may result in inadvertent injury.