General Knowledge Quiz

(TESOL Ideas--Time Killers and Time Fillers)
Google: drive, docs, pub
Rules: docs, pub

            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.

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.

1.

a)	b)	c)	d)

2.

a)	b)	c)	d)

3.

a)	b)	c)	d)

4.

a)	b)	c)	d)

5.

a)	b)	c)	d)

6.

a)	b)	c)	d)

7.

a)	b)	c)	d)

8.

a)	b)	c)	d)