Bomb

I played this game to practice the "Do you" type questions, so my examples will be written using that grammar as the example. But, this game will work with other grammars that also have simple yes / no type answers. For example, you can play this game with "Can you" or "Have you ever" type questions.

The general rules are that students with the bomb move around the classroom asking questions to the students without a bomb. If you don't have a bomb, you have to sit down at your desk (so as not to get in the way). The sitting students must answer the questions truthfully. If the answer to the "Do you" question is "Yes, I do," then the bomb is exchanged and the standing student goes back to their desk while the sitting student now stands up to ask other people. If the answer is "No, I don't," then the student with the bomb must ask a different student a "Do you" question. When time is up, the bombs "explode."

Materials

• Bomb Image (provided or use your own)
• Small boxes or envelopes to tape the bomb image to (number depends on class size)
• Optional, but recommended: timers to put inside each box / envelope

Preparation

1. Make the bombs for the class. Depending on the class size, you should decide on how many bombs to make.
2. Change the size of the bomb image as necessary and print out the number of copies you need.
3. Cut them out and tape / glue them to whatever you're using as the bombs. Now, you have the bombs ready. Fast and easy.

How to Play (team based version)

1. Teach the students the target grammar and any verbs or phrases necessary.
2. Each column of students is one team. If the number of students per team is uneven, have the students move to even out the teams.
3. Explain the rules to the students (demonstrating with the JTE works well). When the bombs "explode," each bomb is one point for a team. At the very end, the team with the least points wins. Since the students are in teams, they can only ask students from other teams a "Do you" question. Also, they can only ask a student one question. If they ask Student A a question, and the answer is No, they must move on to Student B.
4. If you have enough timers, start the timers together before putting them in the boxes / envelopes. I recommend 2 minutes for the first round, but each successive round afterwards, make the time shorter. Distribute the bombs to random students. You don't have to distribute them evenly since the bombs will change hands quickly.
5. Have the students with bombs stand and start the game. While they're going around, try to listen to the questions and answers. If you hear the students asking the same questions over and over again, encourage them to switch to a different question to practice different verbs / phrases.
6. When the timers ring, count how many bombs each team has and tally the points. Reset the timers, then give the bombs back to the students that ended with them.
7. Repeat. I did about 4 rounds of this activity, and had the final round last only 20 seconds.

How to play (individual version)

1. Teach the students the target grammar and any verbs or phrases necessary.
2. Explain the rules to the students (demonstrating with the JTE works well). Tell the students that you have a "special punishment" for the students holding the bombs when they explode. Don't tell them what the punishment is though. Since the students are playing individually, have them ask students in order. They have to snake around the room asking each student only one question. They start from whichever student is sitting behind / in front of them (depending on which direction the snake is headed when they get the bomb). When they get a "Yes" answer from a student, they take the sitting student's seat (this way, they're not always asking the same student a question).
3. Ask the students "Who wants a bomb?" and set the timers. If you have enough volunteers, start the timers, throw them in the boxes / envelopes, and distribute the bombs.
4. Have the students with the bombs stand and start asking questions. While they're going around, try to listen to the questions and answers. If you hear the students asking the same questions over and over again, encourage them to switch to a different question to practice different verbs / phrases.
5. When the timers ring, collect the bombs and have the students that "exploded" come to the front of the classroom. Have each student get "punished" by practicing something related to English. For example, I had my students say all the days of the week, say all the months, count from 11 - 20, etc.
6. If you can, have the students that didn't explode encourage the standing students during their punishment. Have them cheer when the students say the day correctly. This keeps the mood happy and doesn't make the students that exploded feel absolutely miserable.
7. Repeat. I did this activity 3 times and shortened the time each round.

Other Recommendations

• Make sure that the students are properly answering the questions. Watch to make sure they answer before taking the bomb and that they say the full "Yes, I do."
• Depending on the class size, you should prepare more or less bombs. Playing in teams or playing individually may also be better depending on class size.
• As with any activity that has the students running around, be careful about them getting too rowdy.
• Depending on the target grammar, you might want to switch what the yes and no answers do in the game to force the students to be more creative. (i.e. Maybe the students can only exchange the bomb after a No answer)

Files:

Small files

Bomb.docx (186 KB)