First off this is a rough unit. There is a lot of target language in this unit. And the street directions are the toughest.
Normally for Race and Speak activities I follow the rule that the answers should be fairly simple. This way the groups that finish first don't have to wait too long for the slower groups. This activity violates that rule pretty brutally. It was still manageable because I have small classes and rather than each round having one kid come up to answer I cheated and allowed teams to decide if they wanted to send one kid, a pair or even the entire group.
The target language is broken down into three phases.
The first part just involves giving the first step of the directions (turn right at the first corner, go straight two blocks, etc). The idea of blocks and corners may be pretty new so I'd go over this stage carefully. Then it goes into the demonstration for the game. They will see the character move and one (or more members of the group) will come to a teacher and give the direction the character followed. If it is correct they pick or click on a point box to get points (I use a tablet so the students can click on the box themselves). The student then writes their points on the board. Every group should send members to a teacher to give the answer before you go onto the answer check. You click on the Game Center in the bottom left corner to see the answers. Then click on the answer to go to the next screen.
The second part introduces 'It is on the left' or 'It is on the right'. This is introduced and particed a few times before going back into the game. Now there are two sentences that must be spoken, for example 'Turn left at the first corner. It is on the right'. Again I let groups elect to send more than one student to the teachers with their answer. Continue until all groups have given an answer or a time limit is reached. The game center once again will show an answer check. There are four questions like this. In the answer check I wrote 'It's' rather than 'It is'. Force of habit. You might want to change that.
The third part levels it up. This time there are three steps. For example 'Turn left at the first corner. Turn right at the second corner. It is on the left .' Note I didn't include 'Then' for example 'Then turn left'. I did this because the textbook doesn't include it. Personally I think its worth introducing and including but that should be up to the teachers to decide. It is easy to add. As above go through the next four questions with the groups sending one or more members to teachers with their answers.
I've included a word document with the map. You can give this to the groups to help them plot the course. You can also let them use it for pair practice afterwards.
The End screen has a gif with music playing. If you click on the gif the music stops. I usually keep the music playing while I add up the points.
A few notes.
It is a night time scene since I originally made this map for a halloween game I haven't gotten around to using yet. That is also the reason I'm using monsters at this time of year.
This is a hard lesson. It worked fine in my small class but the students really had to support each other. Not all the students could produce the language on their own.
I used 'spot the dog' at the begining to review basic directions. They learned them in the 4th grade but it is worth going over again. You can find spot the dog at Altopedia. A search should reveal it.
This lesson has way too much going on in it. The activity worked in my class but my class is small, I let them support each other and they love games that have minus points.
If you can run it on a tablet I recommend it strongly. This way both teachers can either check answers or one can check answers and the other support slower groups. The students enjoy managing the points on their own.
Good Luck and let me know if you find any errors. I've edited this a few times so I may have messed something up.
I love this! I think it's very easy to understand the grammar points.
However, for the turning animation (turn left/right), I think that the man should ONLY turn. He shouldn't turn AND go straight.
My schools use New Horizon, so we already did this, but I'm looking forward to trying this out next year! Thanks!
Good Point. I took a listen and One World Smiles is also that pedantic. I shortened the turn but kept forward movement. I'm not adding the extra 'go straights' to the text in the game when I do it unless my teaching partner insists but with this note anyone else who wants to can easily add the extra line.
Amazing! I think the students will love this activity. And it's easy to understand! Thumbs up for making this awesome ppt!
I hope it works for you. Warning though, make sure your teaching partner is okay with how I've done the directions. It is more like the JH way of teaching them as opposed to the ES book that really does them one very small step at a time. I worked in a small school with small classes and an English Specialty teacher so he liked the added challenge. Might not suit all classes.
Hi ! I think this is so good and easy to understand for the students ( especially the beginner level type or learners). I appreciate you sharing this material. I might just add and use the "Go straight" phrase/expression. More powers to you!