So of course Christmas is long gone now, but I figure I might as well share this in case I don't get around to it next holiday season, or if someone wants to use the same concept for a different topic! I'm also a first year ALT, and this is my first totally self-made lesson so I'd like to share!
The Powerpoint consists of a basic presentation about American Christmas traditions, some fun facts, and a sing along of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. The main focus of the Powerpoint is the game after, so feel free to edit or remove the presentation entirely. The video is embedded (I think?), and I know that sometimes causes issues for people, so let me know if anyone needs a link.
Lesson Outline:
1. Presentation: Discuss Christmas traditions in America.
2. Sing along: Distribute lyric sheets. Play the video once in its entirety, full speed. Then, play again at .75x. Finally, attempt to get students to sing along with the song at .75x.
3. Guessing Game: Divide students into teams as you see fit for your class size (mine was 5-6 teams). The explanation slides may be complex for some students, so personally I paraphrased the information and had my JTE confirm everyone understood the rules.
The first team will choose a present using the phrase "I choose the _______ present." There is a slide explaining "good and bad" examples of these sentences. If there is more than one present that fits that description, they need to add a descriptor, such as location or the color bow/ribbon. Then, they will guess the present based on hints.
They will start with one hint, and a correct guess is worth 3 points. If they guess incorrectly, it moves to the next team. The next team will get one more hint, but a correct guess is worth 2 points now. If they are incorrect again, there is one more hint and one less point. Continue passing teams until a team guesses correctly.
When a team guesses correctly, they can choose the next present. (I suggest to only allow this once, as sometimes teams are very good at guessing/lucky and hog the points lol)
Keep score and the team with the most points wins! Prize up to your discretion lol
How it works:
-Simply click the present that students select.
-The mistletoe returns to the present selection slide.
-If the team guesses before reaching the last hint, you can click the present on the hint slide to go to the reveal slide.
-If the team guesses at the last hint/one point, you can either click the present or just click through to the next slide.
-The presents with the black X over them are not selectable.
Notes:
-The hint slides have a specific description of the present as the title, but I accepted any accurate description from students.
-It's very easy to edit the hints to your liking or to target a different grammar point.
-You can also replace what is in the presents entirely! Just right click the image and select "Change Picture". Some presents have specific animations (ie bouncing for the basketball) so just double-check the animations and change as you see fit.
-If you'd like to include the excluded presents in your game, just copy one of the squares on top of the other presents in the present selection slide and alter the size. Then, create a new hint and reveal slide by duplicating and editing one of each of the existing ones. Once you've done that, you can right click the box you copied in the present selection slide, select "Edit Link", and choose your new hint slide for that present. For the image of the present on the hint slide, I just copied the image from the selection slide and cropped. Make sure you change the box over the present on the hint slide to your new reveal slide.
Nice work!
@Rilakkuman Thank you!! :)