Betting on the Gee-gees! ("Gee-gees" is a slang term used for horses)
This is a fun quiz I made this week inspired by the horse racing evenings I went to sometimes in Britain. We would bet on old recordings of horse races in the name of a specific charity down the pub. It was great fun!
I have fake money printed I use for betting activities, so I use that for the teams to bet (simple template below, editable in Google Drawings. Just add some semi transparent landmarks from your local town then print double-sided). Alternatively you can use fake money from the 100 yen shop or just write how much money each team has in a table on the blackboard.
Before class;
-Print out the team number cards (slide 16), cut out, laminate and stick magnets on the back (for the students to choose their horse).
-Print out an A3 version of slide 16 for each team to place their bets on after each question (if you are using printed/fake money).
Class set-up;
I write the different colour horses on the board (Black, Red, etc...) with a space for the teams to put their team card. Also, a "Maximum bet" box with £10 to start. Then put the A3 print-out of slide 16 at the front of the class.
Process;
-Put teams into groups (up to 9 teams).
-Students decide their order within their groups.
-Distribute whiteboards or answer sheets and £150 if you are using printed money.
-Demonstrate the activity with just the ALT and JTE.
-Students write the answer, then call a teacher over to check.
-If they get the answer, they can go to the front to place their bet on the A3 printout and put their team card on the board next to the horse they want to bet on.
-Hit "Go" to start the race.
-Distribute winnings! (x4 bet amount)
Notes;
I really encourage the students to cheer for their horse. I write some ways then can cheer in English on the board ("Go [colour]!", "Go for it!", "You can do it!", etc...). But they can shout in Japanese too. It adds to the atmosphere. Some students get really pumped for it! Every couple of questions I will raise the maximum bet £10 to £20, £20 to £30, etc... I don‘t want the students to run out of money, so I go slowly. You should have an idea of what a team has to do in case they run out of money just in case. I usually tell them to pay the JTE a compliment or make them smile to get a £10 or £20 loan, but I haven‘t done this activity long enough for it to happen yet. Lastly, if you click on the crowd you can skip to the end slide.
Update: I started making a note of the how much they would have if they lost after each question in the corner of the blackboard. That way I knew if I could raise the max bet or not. Then I let them bet all their money on the last question (if they wanted). Also, added a 3rd grade Unit 3 Review
for New Horizon textbook
Have fun as always guys, I hope you have a great day. Just a bit more to the summer break! Hang in there!
This looks like great fun, will definitely try to use it. Nice work. Thanks.
This is a nice activity! great work! side note: I read this as "betting on the Bee-Gees" at first and was wondering what kind of activity it could be haha. to My surprise it was about horses :D
Successful clickbait name!
One of my favourite game sI have ever run! I just make grid of horses and teams on the blackboard. $1000 to each team, no maximum bets but if they run too low or even go bust they can take my shifty loan that has to be paid back before the game is done. I wish i had th epowerpoint skills to add more and more things to this! Like sudden random animals instead of horses. Or two horses start fighting. Or no horses win ect.
I love the no-limts 1000 dollar idea! I am going to use that next time.... I'll try and do some of your ideas if I ever update this one.