Pirates game
I plan my elementary lessons based on fun games I enjoyed as a child. This lesson is based on the game Port and Starboard that I often played at primary school. I've rebranded it as the Pirates game. This is one of my favorite ESL classroom games (actually played in the gym) as it doesn't feel like an English lesson as everyone is too involved in the game!
Following is a complete lesson plan for a 45 minute elementary school lesson that can be used for any year group.
Materials: pirate flashcard; students' coloured caps; access to the gym.
Phrases/words used: ship; island; three in a boat; attention; scrub the deck; shark.
Greeting: (1-2 minutes) "Stand up", "Hello" {students reply}, "Let's start" {students reply}.
Song: (< 5 minutes) For grade 1 and 2 I usually begin my lessons singing a song with the kids. Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is perfect.
Teacher note - rules of the game: Pirate captain shouts out commands and the pirates (students) have to do the action as quickly as possible. The slowest student each time is out.
Game introduction: (5-10 minutes) I use the Captain Jack Sparrow flashcard that I made in the How to make flashcards guide to introduce the game. Show the students the flashcard and ask "Who's this?"
Then draw an over head diagram of the gym on the blackboard and ask the kids to guess what I've just drawn. I keep adding bits until someone guesses correctly.
Next on one side of the gym I draw an island and ask "What's this?". Often the kids respond in Japanese. Someone may shout out "island". Whether they do or not, I drill the word a few times ensuring the students repeat it loudly. On the other side of the gym I draw a ship and repeat the process above.
Then I ask for a couple of volunteers and get them to come up the front of the class to be my helpers. Ensure everyone in the class can see the three of you. Then I introduce these commands.
Attention. I stand at attention with my hand at my forehead and get my two little buddies to do the same.
3 in a boat. The three of you stand in a line facing the same way and row your boat.
Scrub the deck. On your knees, scrub the floor.
For these commands, we usually play that the students have to do the action within the bounds of the basketball courts. This means that there is a bit of a race to get from the ship or island to the correct area to scrub the deck, etc.
The final command is what makes this game amazing. It ensures that kids that are out still play an important role in the game. Shark. Designate a safe area of the gym, I usually pick one end, where students are safe from a shark attack. Whenever someone is out, rather than sit out, they become a shark.
This is why the kids need their coloured caps. One colour for pirates and the other for sharks. We designate shark areas, usually the centre circles on the basketball courts where sharks wait. On hearing the command shark the sharks can leave their enclosure and go hunting. Any pirates that are capured before they reach the safe area also become sharks.
Move to the gym: (2-3 minutes) When the kids have played this game a couple of times I usually start the lesson in the gym simply becuase they already know how to play. The first two times I use this game though, I have found that the kids seem to remain calmer if I do the explanation part in the classroom then just get into the game when we reach the gym.
Start playing: Ensure that the kids know the orientation of the playing area, e.g. which side is ship and which island. Make sure everyone has their cap on the same colour. Issue a few practice commands, then start playing for real. The game ends when either there is only one pirate left or if all the pirates are eaten after a shark attack.
Continuation: After a couple of games playing captain, see if any of the kids want to have a go. I usually assign captain pairs. This gives more kids a chance to be captain, it's less stressful for them as they can help each other out with the commands and two sets of eyes are better for spotting who's to become a shark.
Extension: You can introduce any commands you think might work or even get the kids to suggest things. With the older students we sometimes use things like one legged pirate (stand on one leg) and the love boat (dance ballroom style with a partner).
Finishing: We play the game almost to the end of class just leaving a few minutes for the goodbye greeting.
Greeting: (<3 minutes) Call an end to the game, ideally when a game has genuinely finished. Get the kids lined up then say your goodbyes. I use "Attention" (game reference), "Thank you" {thank you}, "Let's finish" {yes, let's}, "See you" {see you}.
Warning: This is one of the more dangerous ALT Lessons we use. I don't think I have ever played this game without someone getting hurt but they keep coming back for more!
13.04.2009. 01:24
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