INTRODUCTION:

This game works well if you have a big place available to you. I have done it in a TV company I work in and the summer school I go to every year. This also works within the classroom if you are not able to use a larger space.

OBJECTIVES:

1. To revise / introduce prepositions of place
2. To provide students with an opportunity to practise a grammar point in an entertaining way
3. To encourage pair and group work
4. To encourage peer correction

PROCEDURE:

• Preparation: Before the class put various objects in different areas of the building or classroom where they can be easily seen e.g. a pen on the sofa in the reception area, a folder under the chair next to the main door. To make it more obvious, you could choose items which are all the same colour, or begin with the same letter, or are related to a certain topic.

• In the class, revise prepositions of place e.g. in, at, on, under, above, next to, in front of, behind, opposite.

• Explain to the students that as a group they will be doing a ‘treasure hunt’ of objects around the school and that they must find and correctly describe the location of the object in order to win a point. You can offer guidance by taking them to the vicinity of the items. You could take pictures of the objects you want students to find and show them before you all leave the classroom.

• After you have found all the objects and their locations have been correctly described , return to the classroom and put students in small groups.

• Give each group ( maximum 3 students per group) 10 post- it notes on which they write their team name and number them 1-10.

• Students go and stick the post –it notes in various places throughout the building writing down the exact position of the note on a sheet of paper e.g. Post-it note1 is under the small blue table on the first floor (I encourage the weaker students to write and the stronger to correct and supervise).

• When the groups come back correct any errors in spelling or grammar and the groups swap sheets.

• Now the groups have to find the other teams’ post-it notes as quickly as possible following the instructions written by the other team.

FEEDBACK:

Identify why/if some of the post-it notes couldn’t be located, and correct the sentences with the students.

I find the students become very competitive, engaged, active and on their feet which is a nice change from the typical lesson. They also receive immediate feedback on their work – if their instructions are unclear, the other teams are unable to find the post-it notes.