Activity

Shark Attack (Hangman Alternative)

An easy-to-understand spelling game to practice the alphabet. Instead of drawing a hangman, a looming shark comes nearer and nearer to a swimmer with every incorrect guess.

This game is played exactly like hangman except instead of a hangman, you draw a shark fin, waves, and a swimmer. The swimmer should be 5+ waves from the shark. As students guess letters, each incorrect guess brings the shark fin one wave closer to the swimmer.

I have the students use the question, "Do you have a _____?" since they learn that one early on. I also give a category relevant to the current unit or things they have learned before (weather, animals, body parts, jobs, etc.).

I bring the materials (see below) with me to every class though it's not hard to do if all you have is chalk. It's saved me a few times when I've suddenly been left alone in the room with the kids and no plan. The kids enjoy it and get really into it if you make the Jaws "duh-DUH" sound effects every time the shark comes closer.

Credit to TEFL Lemon for the idea; I simply renamed it and found license-free icons you can print, laminate, and add magnets to to use on the blackboard if you, like me, cannot draw on a blackboard. (It's much easier to move a little laminated shark picture instead of erasing and redrawing one repeatedly.)

Original creator: https://www.tefllemon.com/alternatives-to-hangman

Files:
Small files
  • Shark Attack.docx (231 KB)
  • 7
    Submitted by sbrshteacher July 7, 2022 Estimated time: 5 minutes
    1. VinShida July 11, 2022

      Nice! I'm always interested in hangman alternatives! I will use this.

      One thing about the provided images. They're facing opposite directions. It's no problem, I can search for my own, but thought I'd point it out. =)

    2. HTemple July 11, 2022

      Hey VinShida, there's also an image flip option in Word that let's you simply flip the image vertically or horizontally, so you don't have to find new images!
      https://www.howtogeek.com/682995/how-to-flip-a-picture-in-microsoft-word/

    3. sbrshteacher July 11, 2022

      Thanks VinShida for letting me know; I fixed it and added the fixed doc. And thanks HTemple for helping them out in the interim!

    4. VinShida July 12, 2022

      HTemple: I was trying to figure that out on my computer, but couldn't. X-p Thanks for the info!

      sbrshteacher: Thanks for the update. Makes it easier for me. XD

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