Instructions - The snake game.doc

To play “The Snake Game” you need:

• a die;
• position markers for each player;
• the game board “The Snake Game”;
• the game cards “The Snake Game”;

Instructions:

·    Each player throws the die to see who plays 1st, 2nd, etc.. The 1st player is the one who has the highest number.

·    The 1st player throws the die again and walks so many squares as indicated. Then, he must pick up a card (the cards are faced down on the game board). He must say the colour he/she has landed on followed by the name requested on his/her card.

E.g.: The 1st player throws number 3, walks 3 squares and lands on the yellow colour. He picks up this card:

Say the

name of    this animal.

He/she has to say: “Yellow dog!” (he/she landed on the yellow colour).

              As the children always have to say the colour they land on before the target vocabulary on their card, it can be produced funny things, like:

Say a day of the week.

BLUE +               è “Blue Monday!”

Say a member

of the family.

ORANGE +               è “Orange Mother!”

Say who she is.

PURPLE +               è “Purple Teacher!” J

· The first player to reach the head of the snake is the winner (you can decide if he/she has to pick up a card and answer to win or not).

Notes

• You can play this game at the end of the school year (where maybe you can use all the cards of the game), or you can also play it at any other time of the year: you only have to choose the cards with the vocabulary your students already know (I’ve made 63 cards). You can always make your own cards (my cards are made in Word, so you can change what I’ve written and add what you want your students to practice!);

• If you are still playing but you have already used all the cards, your students can always start picking them up from the beginning (as the colours are always changing, the result will be different, even if you had already picked that card – I hope it makes sense!);

• This game can be played individually, in pairs or in teams (if you have a large class, maybe this is a better idea). If you play in teams, only make sure that all children have the opportunity to have their turn (I think it’s important). They can also discuss the answer in group and have a speaker to answer aloud for the whole class;

• If the player/team gives a right answer, you can decide if the player has another turn or not. If the player gives a wrong answer you can decide to put him/her back to where he/she was or just go back one square. The rules are up to you!! There endless things you can do… J

What is learnt with this game?

Many things!! The children revise the colours, the target vocabulary on the cards and also the adjective order (adjective + noun) in English, because they always have to use a colour with a name!

Also important is that they learn all this PLAYING, i.e., HAVING FUN! It would be good if you have a prize for the winner(s). It keeps children motivated, they want always to say things right! You can also give a little prize to all (simple things, like a sticker, for example – they LOVE them!) for their effort.

These are only some ideas on how you can use this game! But you can make your own rules, if you want!                                       I hope you and your students…