The Position Game

Rating

Elementary, No prep, Active

How to Play

Divide the class into groups, and draw one block body (head, torso, arms and legs) on the board for each group. Stick figures are no good; be sure to include space in each segment. Each round, one member of each group comes to his or her body. You call out an object and a position, for example "Draw an apple over the left arm." The students draw madly. The first team to draw the appropriate object in the right place gets two points; the next gets one point (in a thirty-student, six-group class). When you're done, tally the points and reward the winners, with a rousing round of applause and praise if nothing else.

How to Use

Obviously, this game is for teaching position words (over, under, next to, in, on, etc.) as well as reviewing left/right, body parts, and other vocabulary. I've played this game with junior high first-years as well, with good results. Like many good teaching games, it's indefinitely extensible, and can be customized to focus on your preferred target vocabulary. A simpler version of the game involves a diagam of a box, if your 3-D drawing skills are up to the task.

Notes

For some reason, this game seems especially prone to confusion. Every time, I throw in an umbrella somewhere, and some poor kid mis-hears and draws a brother instead. Because all the students can see each other's drawings, errors can propogate from one contestant to the group; it can help to give an extra point to any student who resists and draws the correct answer despite peer pressure.

-