Activity

Why's the Odd One Out?

Students work together in teams to identify the thing that's different and give their reasons why.

I borrowed very heavily from Jake W for this activity and owe all inspiration to him.

Materials:

-Whiteboards
-Whiteboard markers
-Erasers
-PowerPoint

I start by reviewing the grammar in the textbook, reminding the students that they've practiced the "why - because" pattern several times over and are familiar with it. I ask them then to use "well..." in formulating their answers instead. This reflects the conversation in the textbook.

Once we've reviewed the textbook conversation and keywords, we switch focus to the PowerPoint and explain the concept of "odd one out". I use the first listing as an example, asking which is different "BASKETBALL / KENDO / BASEBALL / SOCCER". For most classes, one or several students will volunteer their answer. Once they've done so, I then ask them to give a reason and then share the slide with the answer to confirm.

Explain to the students that they will be shown several lists to identify the odd one out, using the answer pattern shown with the example to model their own answers after on the whiteboard.

Next, we form groups of four and hand out whiteboards, markers, and erasers to the groups. Each group should have one of each item.

Points Awarded:

-If their answers are perfect with no mistakes, 5 points.
-Answers good, but with some mistakes and errors, 4 points.
-Answers okay, but different from mine? 3 points.
-Bonus points for the addition of a cute or clever element. Because why not?

For each round, the OTE and I move through the class, giving the students time to think and write their answer. I also help groups if I catch small mistakes or to give hints or prompts. When ready for an answer check, I call time and do answer checks with each group while the OTE writes the points on the board. At the end, the winning groups get stickers.

The students really enjoy this activity. If there's extra time, I will ask the students to write their own list on their whiteboards and challenge the OTE and myself with finding the odd one out.

Please feel free to edit the PowerPoint or any aspect of this activity as you see fit. If whiteboards aren't available, I imagine blank sheets of paper might do the trick.

Files:
Medium files (requires an account to download) -
  • ODD ONE OUT (WHY).pptx (22.7 MB)
  • 17
    Submitted by righteousrose June 11, 2021 Estimated time: 25-35 minutes
    Inspired by Odd One Out
    1. Jake W June 11, 2021

      I just found Odd One Out on Englipedia all those years ago! I got a lot of mileage out of it over the years.

    2. UonumaRobert June 11, 2021

      It is a great discussion topic for lessons, if you do ‘odd one out’ as a google image search you can find a lot of good stuff.

    3. amykenn December 26, 2023

      I just stumbled across this! This will be great for my sannensei class. Thank you!

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