Perfect for the turn left, go straight (directions) English lesson, the maze game is a popular activity. Arrange the desks and have students directing other students through the maze to find their goal.
Basic Info
| Time: | 15 minutes |
|---|---|
| Level: | Elementary all ages |
| Works with: | Studying "go straight, turn left/right, stop" |
| Class size: | Small to large (minimum 3 students) |
You will need:
- Desks and chairs
- Blindfolds (see tips below)
Lesson Description
- Get the students familiar with the directions they will need to use. They should be familiar saying them and reacting to the verbal cue.
- Separate the students into groups if you need to (for larger classes).
- Arrange the desks and chairs into a kind of a maze.
- Select one student from each group, blindfold them and put them at the start of the maze.
- The rest of the students in the team give directions. (Either all calling out together or one by one - no Japanese! See tips below.)
- When the first student gets to the end of the maze, the next can start.
Tips
- The student receiving directions will probably mistake left and right at some point. Demonstrate how to react to this with the teacher. (You will have to plan this out before you start.) eg. You might show you saying "Turn left.", the teacher goes right, you say "No, no, no, left!"
- For blindfolds - you can ask to use a small towel from the school staff room, then the students use their personal handkerchief to place over their eyes before you tie the towel around their head (to avoid infecting the whole class with pink eye). (In place of personal handkerchiefs, I have used regular tissues.)
- The student wearing the blindfold often has little trust in their partners and will try to feel their way with their hands. This defeats the purpose of the activity so "Hands on heads."
- Once each student is blindfolded, you can let the rest of the team rearrange the desks and chairs to make a new maze. Give them a 10 second countdown so they don't take too long.
Variations
- In medium sized classes of about 12 ~ 20 students, you can make two groups and make the maze game a race to guide their blindfolded team mate through the maze. It's amazing how competition seems to remove inhibition and the students will happily yell out the directions in English to get the win.
Warnings
- Sometimes one or two students will dominate the giving of directions. It is important that all students give directions to use what they have just learnt. Making the students give directions one by one can be a solution.