Test Your Strength!
Update - I have added a version with no questions for race and speak style activities
*Update 2 - Big Rob Uonuma made the great suggestion of putting a wireless mouse in your pocket so you can click it without the students noticing. Be sure to put some tape over the bottom so the mouse cursor doesn‘t move around on the screen. It really enhances the experience! *
A fun 10 question quiz (feel free to add more questions of course). It is best with one of those big comedy squeaky hammers from Daiso (tell the students not to hit it toooo hard as my hammer only lasted through about four classes before it broke!). Place an empty desk at the front with the Test Your Strength Hit Spot on it with the hammer at the ready.
-Students in groups in large classes.
-Janken to decide their order within the groups.
-Show the questions and the first to put up their hand can answer or all students can come to try for each question in a race and speak style.
-If they get the answer the student (or a different student from their team if they prefer) can come to the front to swing the hammer on the test your strength machine!
Be sure to hit the button on the computer/tablet at the same time as they hit the spot for the animation. I suggest you decide points beforehand (maybe 5 points for a hit, 3 for a near miss and 1 for a really weak one that is way off, etc), 1 point for a hit and none for a miss or whatever you choose. I also shuffle the slides before the activity so that I don‘t know what is going to happen either. If you don‘t want to use a hammer, you could get the students in the winning team to shout a vocab word or get the student to do an exaggerated high five motion from their place in the classroom or something.
This is part of another "funfair" activity that has a couple of other games the students can choose. I will upload that one too when I get chance.
I hope you and your students enjoy them as I spent a bit of time on them! Have a great day!
That trick with the bell is wild! Never seen it done before. You have made respect from me my dude!
The wobble? Yeah, I am quite proud of that one...
Very creative idea, combining real action with digital images. Almost like an AR game. It must look like a magic trick to the students.
I think it would work better if I had one of those bluetooth clickers to advance the slide rather than squatting down in front of the computer as they swing... (pay no attention to the man behind the curtain)
It would be great if the iPhones worked better with the projectors. I’ve found them hit and miss. Then you could secretly flick away.
repurposed this as a race and speak activity this week and it was a blast. That way every kid got at least two chances to come up answer the question and try the hammer. I paired a blue tooth mouse to my tablet, set up the screen before going to class and then taped construction paper to cover the bottom of the mouse. Kept the mouse in my jacket pocket. The perfect crime. I had everyone convinced there was a Bluetooth device in a pad under the spot.
I’d be very curious to see some of your other carnival themed creations.
This is some creative gold. Love the camera panning technique. Nice work!
Thanks Zurui! That is genious Mr Robert! I love that idea.... if only I had a bluetooth mouse....
I’m still playing around with this one. It really is great. No need for a wireless mouse although that is what I’m using. I put together a black box with the target on top and the mouse cushioned inside with lots of cardboard. This way the kids can hit the target and click the mouse without knowing there is a mouse inside in the box. I guess you could do this with a wired mouse connecting to a computer.
@UonumaRobert I bought a cheap ￥300 wireless mouse from Daiso and I can`t thank you enough for how awesome it is! It makes the activity so much better!
That's great. That black box really cut back on the stress for me too. Timing those clicks was really hard. A co-worker actually pointed out something you could get on Amazon. A giant plush enter key that can be connected to a computer. I haven't bought one but I think that might be fun. Bit pricy though, 1600 yen I think.
This activity was last years winner. When a teacher asked what activity his students liked best this was the one that got mentioned this quickest.
I am really pleased it went down so well. The plush key might cut down on daiso hammer wastage... One of my teachers said she is on her third hammer!
I learned pretty quickly not all pika pika hammers are made the same. The ones with the pika pika whistle part taped down tended to last longer.
Ended the year with a race and speak version of this with my new school’s 3rd years. Once again it was a huge it.
Great to hear thanks. Did you get the big enter key in the end? One of my JTEs is moving over to Uonuma next school year. I wonder if she will get to work with the famous UonumaRobert.... She said it is a smaller JHS (60 students or so I think).