Mathayom English Camp: Activities and Game Ideas

What should you do when you're asked to plan a two-day English camp for 70+ mixed level Mathayom students from all over Surat Thani province?

Take a deep breath and follow the advice from The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy: DON'T PANIC.

Three of us – myself, Becky, and Blake – were asked to be “trainers” for a camp at Suratpittaya last month, and it was the first one we'd ever been to. During the week before the camp, I felt pretty stressed because I didn't know what to expect. After it was over, I was exhausted but proud that we pulled it off, and my cheeks hurt from smiling for so many pictures with the students.

English camps are supposed to give students a chance to interact with native speakers in a pressure-free environment, not to teach grammar or targets. We learned that it's best to keep students active, in small groups, doing short activities. So have fun with it and enjoy all the free food!

This document is divided into three sections: big group activities, ideas to divide groups, and small group games. I've included instructions on what to do, materials needed, and some additional notes on how the activity went. The appendix contains in-depth material for certain activities.

Here is the schedule we were given to work with:

Day One:8:00-9:00 am Registration9:00-9:30 am Opening Ceremony9:30-10:20 am Language Improvement Activity 10:20-10:35 am 15 minute break10:35 am-12:00 pm Rotation 112:00-1:00 pm Lunch Break1:00-2:20 pm Rotation 22:20-2:35 pm 15 minute break2:35-4:00 pm Rotation 3

Day Two:9:00-10:20 am Language Improvement Activity (whole group)10:20-10:35 am 15 minute break10:35 am-12:00 pm Rotation 412:00 pm-1:00 pm Lunch Break1:00-2:25 pm Rotation 52:25-2:40 pm 15 minute break2:40-4:00 pm Rotation 6

Each morning, we began with an “English Improvement Activity” for the entire group (86 students total). After that, we split the participants into three smaller groups for three rotations, each an hour and fifteen minutes long. Be prepared for last-minute schedule changes: on Day One, they concluded the opening ceremony early, leaving us with 20 extra minutes to fill. On Day Two, Rotation 6 ended early for a last-minute closing ceremony and lots of pictures!

The camp was held in a large auditorium at Suratpittaya, so we had a ton of space, a sound system,

microphones, and a stage. Suratpittaya provided stickers and name tags, which was really helpful. They also had markers and loose-leaf easel paper clipped to a rectangular board. Many of our games required us to print or make materials ahead of time; if I were to do it again, however, I'd try to pick activities that were less resource-heavy.

Big Group ActivitiesHuman BingoMaterials: bingo cards Activity: Give each student a randomized Bingo card containing 24 yes/no questions and one FREE SPACE (see Appendix A). Students must interview each other until they can find and write the name of someone who answers affirmatively to one of the questions. Students get Bingo when they successfully collect five different names in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line. Notes: This was our first activity of camp and it was only moderately successful because most of the students were shy about about meeting other campers. It's still a good icebreaker but I'd recommend waiting until the participants are more familiar with each other.Resources: http://print-bingo.com

Traffic JamMaterials: noneActivity: The goal of this activity is to be the last person (or group of people) standing. When the trainers call out a command, the students must quickly get into the formation with the correct amount of people; otherwise they have to sit down on the sideline. Commands:

• Bridge: two people joining hands in a bridge over their heads• Traffic Light: three people – one standing, one kneeling, one sitting• Traffic Jam: four people bunched together• Flower: five people – one on the middle, four people holding hands in a circle around

him/her• Octopus – eight people joining hands

Notes: Alternate the commands so that a few students are eliminated each time; this game becomes really intense (and hilarious) when it gets down to the final students. Between each command, you might want to have the students form two concentric circles and walk in opposite directions to encourage movement (otherwise they clump together).Source: http://carbob06.blogspot.com/2007/06/english-camp-games.html

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Blanket GameMaterials: old blankets or sheets (or sturdy paper), musicActivity: Students form a large circle. Put the blankets or sheets on the ground in the middle of the circle. Students walk around while the music plays (or while you clap or sing). When the music stops, the students must run to stand on one of the blankets or sheets. For the each successive round, fold the sheets or blankets in half. Eliminate the students who can't successfully stand on the cloth. Notes: We played this on the second day of camp, during the English Improvement Activity (to be fair, there wasn't much English improvement – perhaps their listening skills improved). It was chaotic but just as fun to watch as Traffic Jam. Toward the end, we had a hard time keeping the students from creeping toward the blankets before the music stopped. Source: This is a variation of game “Dancing on Paper” from the PDF 100 Ways to Energise Groups: Games to Use in Workshops, Meetings and the Community: p. 9, #26.

Make a Kitchen UtensilMaterials: for each group of 5-6 students, you'll need an envelope, four toothpicks, an index card, two paper clips, and a pencilActivity: Give the supplies to the students and give them 10-15 minutes to make a kitchen utensil using only these items.Notes: We made an invention of our own and demonstrated it, then encouraged the students to do the same once they got their materials. It took some prodding, but eventually each group started to make an object. Most didn't end up being a kitchen utensil as planned, but the students did come up with some pretty creative things (masks and planes and tables). We brought each group up on stage and interviewed them on what they had made, where you could buy it, and how much it was. One student was very gung-ho and started a bidding war. Source: Great Group Games: 175 Boredom-Busting, Zero-Prep Team Builders for All Ages by Susan Ragsdale and Ann Saylor

Games to Divide GroupsPizza IngredientsMaterials needed: one pizza ingredient for each student, written on a small slip of paperActivity: Give each student one ingredient slip (for example, we used pepperoni, ham, pineapple, corn, cheese, etc). Students must say the ingredient until they find other students with a matching ingredient. Notes: Each trainer called three ingredients and this is formed our group rotations for the day.

Animal NoisesMaterials: one animal for each student, written on a small slip of paperHow to play: Review animals and their noises. Give each student a piece of paper. Students must make the animal noise until they find other students making the same noise.Notes: Animal noises are different in Thailand than in America (a pig says “oot oot” instead of “oink oink”).

Small Group Games

Trainer Becky Blake Brittany

Day One Jeopardy Blake's World Snap, Snap, Clap ClapHow Do You Like Your Neighbor?Baby, If You Love Me...Spelling RelayHuman Scrabble

Day Two Who's Who?Two Truths and One Lie:Move if _____

Digital Scavenger Hunt Elbow to ElbowTongue-twistersSteal the Bacon

JeopardyMaterials: category headings, papers with point values written on them,Activity: Divide the group into three rows (teams) of students. The first three people come to the stage and one person chooses the category and the point value of the question, 100-500 (see appendix B). The fastest student with the correct answer received that selected number of points. If no one on the panel knows the answer, the audience can answer. Keep score and give a prize to the winning team.Notes: Since this was a mixed-level group, some of the questions were too hard for the participants. It was hard to keep the energy level up for the entire duration of the game.

Who's WhoMaterials: photos of fifteen famous people; facts about each personActivity: Put students into pairs and give them time to guess which facts correspond with each picture. Notes: This was a good exercise on critical thinking in English and “stereotyping”. The students could begin to conceptualize that just because a person looks a certain way, it does not mean they always fit a certain mold (i.e. they were surprised to find the Author of Harry Potter was a woman, and the Brazilian person was not of African descent).

Two Truths and One LieMaterials: paper and pencilsActivity: Introduce the game by telling the students three personal statements, two of which are true and one of which is a lie. Have the students guess which one is a lie. Then, ask the students to do the same and continue play with the group.

Move if ______Materials: none Activity: Students sit in a circle, facing each other. There is one less chair than there are people. The person in the middle is “it.” When “it” says a sentence that applies to certain people in the group (for example, “Move if you like pizza” or “Move if you want to be a doctor”), those people must get up and move to a new seat. The person left standing is the new “it.”Notes: If no one is moving, you can get involved by racing for the chairs, too.

Blake's WorldMaterials: homemade-die (numbered 1-5 and “lose a turn”), game board (see Appendix C)Activity: Set up the life-sized game board on the ground. Divide students into two teams. Students roll the die and proceed across the squares to complete whichever task they land on. First team to the finish line wins.Notes: Due to the size of the game board, the game took longer than the alloted time. Next time, create a smaller board and plan a back-up activity.

Digital Scavenger Hunt:Materials: one camera or camera phone per group, list of cluesActivity: Divide the group into teams and give each team an identical list of items to find (see Appendix D). Explain the clues (for example, “find something that is alive, but not a human”) that the students must take a picture of. Give the students a set amount of time to search for the clues outside, then award points based on the first team to successfully return (or to the team with the most completions). If the two teams have the same answer, their answers cancel each other out.Notes: All of the groups had at least one cell phone camera among them, and the students really loved this activity (except some who didn't like going out into the sun/heat). Using smaller teams and a short time frame keeps the game lively.

Slap, Slap, Clap ClapMaterials: noneActivity: Students sit in a circle facing each other. Assign each student a number or let them pick an animal and a corresponding gesture. Teach students the rhythm: slap laps twice, then clap twice. A student must say his or her own number or animal during the first slap (then slap & clap twice), then say the number/animal of another student on the next repetition. Notes: Start slow! The rhythm can be difficult to pick up. It helps if you start the students in one direction at first, saying the name of someone next to them, and later they can pass it to anyone in the circle.

How Do You Like Your Neighbor?Materials: a poster board with the phrases written on them, chairs, students wearing name tagsActivity: Students sit in a circle and one participant stands in the middle without a chair. The person in the middle chooses someone and asks “How do you like your neighbor?” When answer is “I like him” or “I like her,” everyone must get up and find a new seat, including the person in the middle. When the answer is “I don't like him/her,” you can ask “Who do you like?” and those named have to switch chairs.

Notes: Students fight over chairs or get stuck in the middle repeatedly and it's pretty funny.Source: This is a from the PDF 100 Ways to Energise Groups: Games to Use in Workshops, Meetings and the Community: p. 15, #54.

Baby, Do you Love Me?Materials: poster board with the phrases written on themActivity: Students sit in chairs, facing each other. Teach the students the phrase “Baby, if you love me, won't you please (please) smile?” Demonstrate how to passionately say the phrase to make the students smile or laugh. If someone smiles or laughs, then they become “it.” If a particpant can successfully respond “Baby, I love you, but I just can't smile” to the person who is “it,” then he or she can remain seated.Notes: We were practically in tears with this game. I couldn't keep a straight face, either.

Word RelayMaterials: two sets of 26 papers containing the letters of the alphabet; word listActivity: Prepare a list of 25 words in which each letter appears only once (for example: movie, cloud, orange). Divide the students into two teams. Scatter each teams' letters on a table or on the ground. Call out a word and the teams must send the correct number of students up to the table to spell the word correctly. First team with the correct spelling wins.Notes: It'd probably be better to have four sets of letters and four teams instead of two, so more students could play at once.Source: Great Group Games: 175 Boredom-Busting, Zero-Prep Team Builders for All Ages by Susan Ragsdale and Ann Saylor

Human ScrabbleMaterials: a set of 26 papers containing the letters of the alphabet and Scrabble scoring; extra vowels (x4)Activity: Divide the students into teams. Assign each student a letter or letters, then the other team can rearrange them to make a high-scoring word. Tally up the points and then switch. Notes: Like in Word Relay (above), I'd make more letter sets next time.Source: Ajarn.com forums

Elbow to ElbowMaterials: none Activity: Review body parts. Call out actions such as “elbow to elbow,” “back to back,” or “wrist to hip” for the students to follow. “People to people” means that everyone must change partners. Notes: Works well if you have an odd number of people, then students can take turns being the caller.Source: This is from the PDF 100 Ways to Energise Groups: Games to Use in Workshops, Meetings and the Community: p. 18, #71

Tongue TwistersMaterials: poster board with the tongue twisters, stopwatchActivity: Divide the students into teams. Review each tongue twister with the students. Then, use a stopwatch to make each team verbally race. Fastest time is the winner.Notes: Here are the tongue twisters we used:

• Lovely Laura loves lucky Larry• Double bubble gum bubbles double• How can a clam cram in a clean cream can?• I saw Susie sitting in a shoe shine shop. Where she sits, she shines, and where she shines,

she sits.Notes: These are great for assessing the reading/speaking in a mixed-level group and for practicing pronunciation. The last tongue-twister seemed to make the students nervous, so it got changed into a group activity where each student said one word apiece.

Steal the Bacon:Materials: a bandanna or an eraser (anything to be the “bacon”), masking tape Activity: Students form two lines, facing each other. Number the students in a parallel fashion for each line. Call out a number (or say a vocabulary word, then a number), and the two students must race to pick up the “bacon.” The team receives a point if the runner can return to their side without getting tagged. If the runner gets tagged, the other team gets a point.Notes: I put masking tape on the floor so the students would stay behind the lines. You could also do this game with vocabulary flashcards and questions (ask a question, say a number, students race to pick up the answer).

Appendix AHuman Bingo Sample Questions

Do you play an instrument?Were you born in Surat Thani?Are you wearing earrings?Can you touch your toes?Do you have a digital camera?Do you have a birthday this month?Do you like to dance?Do you have a sister?Do you like pizza?Are you wearing a watch?Are you an only child?Do you like to play basketball?Do you have a birthday in November?Have you ever visited another country?Are you left-handed?Do you have a pet cat?Are you the oldest child?Do you drink coffee?Do you wear glasses?Have you ever been to Bangkok?Can you whistle?Do you like chocolate?Have you been to Trang?Have you ever seen a pink dolphin in Khanom?

Appendix BJeopardy Categories and Questions

• Who, What, Where, When, Why?o Who is your hero? Why?o What is your favorite school subject?o Where do you want to travel?o What do you want to be when you grow up?o Why are you happy today?

• U.S.A.o What is the capital of the United States?o Name five states.o Who is the president of the U.S.?o What country is to the north of the U.S.?o Name three celebrities from the U.S.

• Thailando Name three islands in Thailand.o Name four cities in Thailand.o What is the old capital city of Thailand?o What countries boarder Thailand?o What is the national religion?

• Past Tenseo Where did you go yesterday?o What did you do five years ago?o What did you eat for dinner yesterday?o What were you doing at 6am this morning?o What did you do last weekend?

• Future Tense o What will you be doing in five years?o What are you doing tomorrow?o What will you do after camp today?o What time will you go to sleep tonight?o Where are you going on Monday?

• Comparisonso Australia is ____________ than Burma. (bigger, larger, etc.)o The man is __________ than the child. (bigger, taller, older, etc.)o A race car is _________ than a motorbike. (faster)o __________ is _____________ than ___________________.o _____________ is smaller than ______________.

Appendix CBlake's World Game Board Tasks

Q- Question: I ask a question in English and the team must answer in English.A- Answer: I give the answer in English and the team must figure out what the question to the answer is.T- Translate: I say a phrase or sentence in Thai and the team must translate it into English.S- Spell: Like a spelling bee, I give the team a word and they must spell it correctly.W- Word Scramble: I write scrambled letters and the students have to figure out what word it is (i..e. tbao = “boat”).g- Roll again: The team gets another roll of the die.g- Go back: Instead of going forward the team goes back the number of spaces that they rolled.P- Picture: I show one student from the team a word in English that the rest of the team cannot see. The student must draw a picture of the word. Their team has one minute to figure out what they're drawing.H- Hangman: (This is optional and can be added. I didn't use this space in the camp because of time constraints) The students play hangman to figure out what word I'm thinking of an English.

Appendix DDigital Scavenger Hunt Sample List

* Something that opens and closes* Something that changes shape* Something that rolls* Something that has the school name on it* Something other than a room that the entire team will fit into* Something that flashes* Something wet other than water* Something round that water will go through* Something that is only red and orange* Something soft and round* Something hard and green* Something fun.* Something pretty* One of your favorite things* Something you don't know what it is* Something that makes a sound* Something that is not real* A place to hide things