Hurricane

(TESOL Ideas--Time Killers and Time Fillers)
Normal Version: drive, docs, pub
Easy Version: docs, pub
Relative Clauses: docs, pub
IELTS Reading: docs, pub
Rules: docs, pub

            As with Floor Scrabble and the general knowledge quiz, this is another activity meant to fill up the last day of class when the students are expecting to spend the whole period playing games.

            This is NOT an original idea of mine.  I got it from a co-worker.  I suspect she herself got it from another source.  I’m not sure where it originated.  At any rate, I’ve used this game successfully in my classes, so I’m going to write it down here.

            This is a variation on the general knowledge quiz activity.  I typically use it in classes in which I’ve already done the general knowledge quiz, and so need a new and fresh activity.

            Basically, this game is a general knowledge quiz, but hidden throughout the grid are a few surprises. 

            The students are divided into 3 or 4 teams.

            I write a grid on the classroom white board, like this:

	A	B	C	D	E
1
2
3
4
5

            The students can only see the grid, but I have in my hands the “key” to the grid.  Some of the spaces in the grid are normal questions.  Other spaces are the surprises: Hurricanes, Rockets, or Arrows.  The students choose a space without knowing what it contains.  If it is a normal question, then they have a chance to answer it to gain points.  If it is a Hurricane, Rocket or Arrow, then the following happens:

Hurricane—the team loses all their points

Rocket—team has the option of destroying all the points of one of the other teams

Arrow—team has the option of swapping score totals with another team. 

            Sometimes I play where the Rocket and the Arrow are not options, but mandatory.  For example, if a team gets an Arrow, they must switch point totals with another team, even if it is to their disadvantage to do so.

            Another option is to either have a standardized point system (one question one point) or to have teams bet their points on the question, similar to what I do in the general knowledge quiz game.

            On the advice of the co-worker who gave me this game, I have been hiding 3 arrows, 3 rockets, and 2 hurricanes, and 17 questions  in every grid of 25 spaces.  It works fairly well, although to be honest it is perhaps bordering on too many surprises.  (It makes it hard for the teams to work up any amount of points when they are constantly hitting rockets and hurricanes.)  At some point in the future I may reduce everything by one—2 arrows, 2 rockets, 1 hurricane, and 20 questions.  However the sample board game below is based on the old style.

            Below is a sample game I’ve used.  The questions are NOT mine, but come from my co-worker who gave the game too me.  (She herself got them out of some quiz book, the origin of which I do not know.  I hope I’m not violating any copyrights by posting them here.)  These questions work fairly well in my context, since my students have limited world knowledge, but they may be too basic for more world-savvy classes.

            Below is a blank grid (what the students see), followed by the answer key (what I see.  There are two versions of the answer key—one is which the answers are written directly on the grid, and then a less cluttered version in which only the surprises are written on the grid, and the questions are listed on another sheet of paper.  All of this was designed for the “landscape” view paper (an A4 paper turned longways on its side) and so is a bit cluttered below when trying to condense it into blogger.  So it may be best to look at the Google Docs Version (drive, docs, pub) instead.

 

	A	B	C	D	E
1	ARROW	What is the largest ancient man-made structure? a) A wall b) a tomb c) a temple d) a palace	What sort of paper is used to test acidity? a) news b) litmus  c) blotting d) rice	HURRICANE	Where would you find the ancient city of Babylon today? a) Iraq b) Ireland             c) Belgium d) Argentina
2	The penny farthing was an early form of what? a) car b) scooter c) roller skates d) bicycle	ROCKET	What is the heaviest element? a) lead b) gold c) uranium d) feathers	In which decade was the Internet invented? a) 1960s b) 1970s c) 1980s d) 1990s	What percentage of the world's land is covered by desert? a) 10 b) 20 c) 30 d) 40
3	What percentage of the Earth is covered by saltwater? a) 71 b) 61 c) 51 d) 41	What is the Persian Gulf famous for producing? a) films b) oil c) cakes   d) water	ARROW	What color is the famous square in the middle of Moscow? a) blue b) red c) yellow d) green	ROCKET
4	How many bathrooms are in the White House? a) 2 b) 12 c)22 d)32	HURRICANE	ARROW	Where is the United Nations headquarters? a) London b) Brussels c) New York d) Moscow	Where is Loch Ness? a) Sweden b) Spain         c) Scotland d) Peru
5	Who gave the Statue of Liberty to the U.S.A.? a) France, b) Italy, c) U.K., d) Russia	Where is the Summer Palace? a) Tokyo b) Beijing  c) Xian d) Canton	Where was gunpowder first invented? a) England b) Germany c) China d) Spain	ROCKET	Atlantis was a legendary what? a)lost city b) temple   c) ship d) flying machine

Or

	A	B	C	D	E
1	ARROW	Q5	Q8	HURRICANE	Q14
2	Q1	ROCKET	Q9	Q11	Q15
3	Q2	Q6	ARROW	Q12	ROCKET
4	Q3	HURRICANE	ARROW	Q13	Q16
5	Q4	Q7	Q10	ROCKET	Q17

Q1: The penny farthing was an early form of what?

a) car b) scooter c) roller skates d) bicycle

Q2: What percentage of the Earth is covered by saltwater?

a) 71 b) 61 c) 51 d) 41

Q3: How many bathrooms are in the White House?

a) 2 b) 12 c)22 d)32

Q4: 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

Q9: What is the heaviest element?

a) lead b) gold c) uranium d) feathers

Q10: Where was gunpowder first invented?

a) England b) Germany c) China d) Spain

Q11: In which decade was the Internet invented?

a) 1960s b) 1970s          c) 1980s d) 1990s

Q12: What color is the famous square in the middle of Moscow?

a) blue b) red c) yellow d) green

Q13: Where is the United Nations headquarters?

a) London b) Brussels

c) New York d) Moscow

Q14 Where would you find the ancient city of Babylon today?

a) Iraq b) Ireland             c) Belgium d) Argentina

Q15 What percentage of the world's land is covered by desert?

a) 10 b) 20 c) 30 d) 40

Q16 Where is Loch Ness?

a) Sweden b) Spain         c) Scotland d) Peru

Q17: Atlantis was a legendary what?

a)lost city b) temple      c) ship d) flying machine