As
with the Floor Scrabble game mentioned previously, this is an
activity meant to fill up the last day of class in which the students are
expecting to spend the whole period playing games.
The
general knowledge quiz is a particular favorite of mine, because it requires
almost no preparation, and the students really enjoy it.
I
usually start out the class by giving some examples of General Knowledge
questions. (i.e. “What is the longest river in Egypt?”,
“Who is the Queen of England?”, “What is the capital of Germany?”). I’ve learned in the past that if I don’t give
clear examples of the type of questions I’m looking for, some of the students
will get confused later in the game and come up with very subjective or
personal questions (i.e. “What is your favorite color?”, “What is the most
important country?”).
Then,
once the students have got the concept, I divide the class up into 3 or 4
teams. I give each class a blank sheet
of paper, and they have to write down 10 general knowledge questions, with
answers, that will later be used to quiz their classmates.
Once
all the teams have completed their questions and answers, I collect the
papers. Each team chooses a name. I write the question categories up on the
board, but not the questions themselves.
For example, one team’s questions might get written up on the board like
this:
Team Cobra
1. Geography
2. Music
3. Famous People
4. English language
5. History
6. Science
7. Animal facts
8. Sports
9. Current events
10. Facts about our school
Et
cetera. Obviously I try my best to come
up with some sort of larger category that will fit all the questions on the
paper. The other teams can see the
categories, but not the questions.
Then,
the game begins. The teams are each
given 10 points to start out with. They
choose a question from somewhere on the board.
They can not choose their own questions (obviously), but they can choose
any question from any of the other teams.
They will bet the amount of points before hearing the question. They can not bet more points then they
currently have. After they place their
bet, I’ll read out the question. If they
get the question correct, they will double their bet. If they get it wrong, they will lose those
points.
(I’ll
also typically have some of my own questions up on the board that the students
can also choose from. In case all the
groups come up with ridiculously hard or obscure questions for their
classmates, this is a useful safety net to keep the game from falling
completely apart.)
There
are also some optional variations I will sometimes add. For example, the “secret double point questions”,
where each team will choose a secret question that will cause whatever points
are bet on that question to be doubled.
The double questions are revealed only after the points have been bet.
I’ve
used this game in 90 minute classes, and found that it fills up the whole 90
minutes quite nicely. It often takes the
students 40 minutes just to come up with a list of questions and answers in
their groups. For shorter classes, I
sometimes reduce the amount of questions each group has to write (down to 5
instead of 10, for example.) Or, I will
just prepare all the questions myself, and eliminate the part of the game where
students come up with their own questions.
Although
the game is designed to be mostly a time-filler, I think there is some
incidental learning going on. For
example, the groups are often seen to be consulting dictionaries as they come
up with their list of questions. Also
when I read out the questions, I will re-phrase any incorrect grammar. If the groups notice that I am altering their
syntax, this could also promote noticing.
(Although to be honest, probably more often than not they don’t notice
because they’re so caught up in the excitement of the game. But at least it’s a possibility.)
Update: Variation (September 6th, 2015)
Below is a variation of this game I've used when I wanted the classes to first use pre-set questions (to give them an idea) and then make their own up afterwards. The pre-set questions are recycled from the Hurricane game (which in turn were borrowed from a co-worker). Google: drive, docs, pub.
Update: Variation (September 6th, 2015)
Below is a variation of this game I've used when I wanted the classes to first use pre-set questions (to give them an idea) and then make their own up afterwards. The pre-set questions are recycled from the Hurricane game (which in turn were borrowed from a co-worker). Google: drive, docs, pub.
Directions: Read these questions to the other team. Read
out the four choices, but don’t tell them which one is the correct answer. (The correct answer is the one that is underlined.) Give the other team one chance to guess.
1: The penny farthing was an
early form of what?
a) car b) scooter c) roller
skates d) bicycle
2: What percentage of the Earth
is covered by saltwater?
a) 71 b) 61 c) 51 d) 41
3: How many bathrooms are in the
White House?
a) 2 b) 12 c)22 d)32
4: Who gave the Statue of Liberty
to the U.S.A.?
a) France, b) Italy, c)
U.K., d) Russia
Q5: What is the largest ancient
man-made structure?
a) A wall b) a tomb c) a temple d) a palace
Q6: What is the Persian Gulf
famous for producing?
a) films b) oil c) cakes d) water
Q7: Where is the Summer Palace?
a) Tokyo b) Beijing c) Xian d) Canton
Q8: What sort of paper is used to
test acidity?
a) news b) litmus c) blotting d) rice
Directions: Read these questions to the other team. Read
out the four choices, but don’t tell them which one is the correct answer. (The correct answer is the one that is
underlined.) Give the other team one
chance to guess.
Q1: What is the heaviest element?
a) lead b) gold c) uranium
d) feathers
Q2: Where was gunpowder first invented?
a) England b) Germany c) China
d) Spain
Q3: In which decade was the
Internet invented?
a) 1960s b) 1970s c) 1980s d) 1990s
Q4: What color is the famous
square in the middle of Moscow?
a) blue b) red c) yellow
d) green
Q5: Where is the United Nations
headquarters?
a) London b) Brussels
c) New York d) Moscow
Q6: Where would you find the
ancient city of Babylon today?
a) Iraq b) Ireland c) Belgium d) Argentina
Q7: What percentage of the
world's land is covered by desert?
a) 10 b) 20 c) 30 d) 40
Q8: Where is Loch Ness?
a) Sweden b) Spain c) Scotland d) Peru
Now, make your own questions. For each question, give the other team 4
options. You may use the Internet to
research if you like, or you can just use whatever knowledge you already
possess.
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