TV Games | Englishteaching

Pelmanism - the simple game of matching two items together. Normally played with cards but now can be reproduced with PowerPoint. Many of the examples here can also be used in conjunction with the PowerPoint Games.

To play the game select which tile you want to expose. As you move your arrow over the slide you will see that it will change into a hand. When it is a hand the object beneath it is the trigger and in this presentation the tile will wipe away to the side.

Have the pupils choose another tile and if the two match then you need take no further action. Both tiles should remain exposed. At the beginning of the exercise the pupils may be allowed to choose three or four different tiles to see if they can find a match. Once half of the board has been completed reduce the options to only two at a time.

But if the choices are wrong then simply click on the ý in both rectangles and the tile will again be covered.

The class can be divided into as many as 4 teams.

As they get the pairing correct the teacher can allocate

a colour to represent each team and this can be clicked.

The team colour will cover the answer.

The winners are the colour covering most squares.

I have now added several more presentations, but as I have to do online teaching I have adapted the approach to make the game a little more interesting.

Instead of asking each participant to open up 2, 3 or 4 different windows they only open 1. Once open the window is NOT closed but left open.

The next person opens another window and sees if the two parts connect. I have used this with proverbs so for example one window may say: 'A rolling stone', and somewhere in the grid is another window with the words 'gathers no moss'. And so once both windows are revealed the students have to point out the connection and the teacher can show the connection by using the same colour button that I normally use for each team.

You may have to open several windows to get a match and it is up to the teacher if they want to point out the matches or let the students discover them for themselves. Here is a picture sequence of how the game may work

This is the opening screen. You can choose whether you show the students this first or not.

The next screen shows all the windows completely covered.

Participants ask for each window to be opened one at a time.

Keep on asking and you constantly prompt them to see if there is a good combination

Eventually a matching pair will appear. It is up to you if you want to point it out.

Once noticed the two windows can be coloured with the buttons

Keep opening windows to reveal more combinations.

Keep playing until all combinations have been revealed.

Jeopardy

Jeopardy is a game show that originated in the USA over 40 years ago. It's format is to present a board with different categories of questions that have a different value. I have taken the format of this game show and prepared a number of templates for different subjects. This is a fun competitive activity and is useful for revising vocabulary, grammar and any other point that needs practising. The majority of the content is more suitable for lower level learners, but there is no reason why you cannot change the content to suit the level and interests of the class you are teaching. Enjoy.

Click on the picture to download the activity

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The Game Blockbusters is popular on TV in UK. It is basically a board game where two players have to answer questions and win a hexagon and then form a line either across or up and down the grid.

This game differs slightly from the TV one in that each hexagon is a number and not a letter. Teams choose the number they wish and the hexagon should be selected that will take you to the question. There are four coloured buttons on each hegagon which means that you can have four separate teams playing the same game.

There is only ONE question for each hexagon so if the player gets the answer wrong, the hexagon colour goes to the other side or to another player.

Instructions

One team starts and can choose any number. Move the cursor over the numbered hexagon near the top and it will change into a hand. Left click and this will take you to the question. The question will show itself automatically. Click the answer button to reveal the answer. If the team cannot answer the question correctly the point is given to the other side – if they are successful they win the shape. Once the question is answered click the score board button and this will return you back to the board.

Depending on which team answered the question correctly, click the small red, blue, green or yellow circles at the bottom of the shape. You can only click one. The shape will change to the colour you selected. The game carries on with each team selecting a different number, trying not only to get a direct path to where they are going, but also blocking their opponents. Once a team gets a line either from top to bottom or left to right the game can be continued to find which team can win the most blocks.

You can delete and put in your own questions for whatever subject you want to test and rename the template to the new subject.

Enjoy