Настольная игра "The Toy Soldier" для 3 классов ("Spotlight 3", Modules 1-2)

Activity type: Board game

Student grouping: Small groups of two or three pupils

Time: 10-15 minutes approx.

Skills practiced: Speaking and listening comprehension, vocabulary and phonetic training, production and accuracy

Materials needed: One copy of the game board per group, one dice per group, one counter for each student

Summary: This fast-paced speaking and listening game increases student awareness of topic-related vocabulary that helps with comprehension of both written and audio passages in everyday communication.

Preparation

Explain students that they are going to play a board game and the aim of the game is to be the first group to reach ‘finish’.

Put the students into groups of two or three, and give each group a copy of a board game, along with a dice and one counter per student. The students should put all the counters on the first square, which is marked ‘Start’.

How to play the game

Explain that the first student should roll the dice and name the object/answer the question given in the circle they have landed on (e.g. if they rolled a two, they move their counter two circles along from the start and make a sentence about the object in the picture (e.g. This is a teddy bear.) The next student then rolls the dice and continues playing by performing the task on their next circle.

The game continues with the students trying to name the objects/answer the questions properly until one student reaches ‘finish’ and completes the game. As each group finishes they should call out ‘The Toy Soldier!’ until they are all done. Then, the students could play the game again, either in the same or different groups.

Teaching notes

The teacher can play the game with a student or between teams competing to finish first. You may wish to demonstrate how to play with a confident student before the class plays in groups.

The game can be played as a fast-paced warmer, as a review at the end of the home reading lesson or to drill a topic-related vocabulary. You could write on the blackboard a list of words students should use when playing to make the procedure of the game less stressful, especially if you teach mixed-ability groups

To make the gaming activity more fun, you could allow students to have their own small toys as counters.