2023 NOTE: I decided to reduce my presence on the site so I've removed most of the variants of my activities. Rather than posting a template or versions for multiple language points I'm just posting a single version. It's not hard to create one's own.
NOTE
I haven't updated or used this activity in awhile. If you are going to use it you should take a good look first for dated cultural references and stuff that doesn't suit the new teacher strategies. If nothing else I hope these older materials will give you some ideas for your own materials.
NOTE: I am looking for suggestions for the 'Showtime' challenges to modify this activity. If you have any newer ideas please share them in the comments. I'll check from time to time. pop culture stuff gets dated fast so new ideas are really appreciated.
I do this quiz game at the end of the year. It is based on the current 'Sunshine' textbooks.
It can be done as a 'quiz game' or a 'race and speak game'. I prefer the latter but I'll explain both.
Make groups and have the students select their order. The number one student stands up.
Click on a number on the main page. This will make the number turn purple. Click on it again to go the slide. The double click is necessary to avoid a glitch on powerpoints when used on a tablet.
On the slide you'll see the head banner. This tells you what type of question it is. Let the students know what they'll have to do. Maybe answer a question, put two sentences together, perform an action in the case of SHOWTIME, translate a word, etc. After you've told them what they'll have to do click that banner and the question or challenge will appear. Showtime challenge means the answering student copies the gesture or dance on the screen, usually along with the ALT or teacher. It’s always good for a laugh. A co-worker of mine came up with it. Really adds to the fun value.
'QUIZ GAME' the students raise their hands to try and answer. Select the fastest student and let them answer. If it's correct go onto points. If its not correct let another team have a chance.
'RACE and SPEAK' the number one students from each team rush to a teacher and try to answer the question. If correct the get a chance at points. Once every team has answered and gotten points do an answer check and go onto the next question with next set of students. This is much better than Quiz Game.
In both versions once the question is answered and the points are given click on the banner at the top again to see the answer and then click on the star. The star takes you back to the main page. The next student in each group stands up and you continue.
POINTS
There are two ways to do points with this activity. The boxes on the screen are point boxes. If you are doing QUIZ GAME then the student that got the answer selects a box and you click on it revealing how many points they get.
For RACE and SPEAK you can do it a few different ways. I generally don't use the point boxes on the screen. Instead I print out and laminate the Mario Point Cards. I make two sets, one for me and one for the teacher. I stand near the front and teacher near the back. The students can go to either teacher, give their answer and select a point card. The students record the points themselves.
Alternately in a smaller class I might use the boxes on the screen in one of two ways. Either one teacher handles points and the other handles answers. Students go to one teacher to answer the question and then to the next (Usually me) to get points. Either I write the points on the board or the students do. This is a bit slower.
Another method that works if you are using a tablet is letting the students take care of the points themselves. They go to either teacher with their answer then tap on the screen themselves and then record their points on the screen. I often use a tablet in class and with many of my activities I use this approach. The students love it. However it can lead to the game getting shut off by mistake. Most of my games that doesn't matter since you can just restart but with this one you lose the record of which questions were answered so I don't recommend it here.
When you are done you can click on Mario to go the the game over screen.
NOTES
You can use this link to see a presentation that can help with editing my activities and making your own.
https://www.altopedia.net/activities/866-how-to-make-a-powerpoint-point-game
I try to change the 'showtime' questions each year. Does anyone have suggestions for currenly popular dances, comedy expressions or poses? I used to use stuff like Picataro, Shimura Ken and Da Pump but they are all pretty dated now.
For dances, I'd go with the ones trending on TikTok. A lot of my JHS kids have been asking me about TikTok these days!
That's a thought. I wonder if I can check what's trending on TikTok without actually downloading TikTok.
You can usually find a lot of TikTok content compiled on YouTube (like, "Best TikTok Dances of ~," you know?). Some of the main k-pop or j-pop idol groups (if you can keep up with that, haha) often have trending dances. The NiziU song "Make You Happy" has a really viral dance recently.
Cool, thanks for the suggestion. I'll show my son some of the NiziU gifs. He has no interest in K-Pop but if he recognizes it then I'll know its universal enough.
the_een , Thanks. I asked my son and he knew it. The 縄跳 dance. I found a few gifs and I’ll sub it in tomorrow and see how it goes. Gotta say though it looks a lot harder than Da Pump’s USA dance.
The nawatobi dance was a hit. Thanks again the_een!
I did NiziU's "Make You Happy" dance, but downloaded a video of a member dancing to it so there's music to jog their memory. TikTok dances are really hard overall. I recommend Fortnite dances. Many kids will recognize it if they play but there are some that are pretty easy because it's mostly arms. I recommend "Poki" or "Deep End". I made my own Elementary review versions of this game and my kids loved it. JHS did too.
Thanks for the suggestions cheesechan. I'll check them on the weekend.