The Language Teacher
05 - 2003
Jeopardy as a Review for Graded Readers
Chris Brizzard
Soka University
QUICK GUIDE
Key Words:Story review, listening practice, game
Learner English Level: Low-intermediate to advanced
Learner Maturity Level: High school and up
Preparation Time: 15-20 minutes to make questions
Activity Time: Around 30 minutes
Materials: Questions relating to graded readers
In my freshman English course, we read selected graded readers together as a class. I have found that Jeopardy, a popular US television quiz show, has a format that can be used to create an exciting and enjoyable game to review the contents of the stories.
Procedure
Step 1: Make four or five categories for the story, and make about four to eight questions for each category. I usually use the following categories: places, people, events, and vocabulary. I also try to make the questions in each category progressively more difficult. (Also, don't forget to make a final jeopardy question!) On the day of the activity, write the categories and respective scores on the board. For example:
| People | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
| Places | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
| Events | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
| Vocabulary | 100 | 200 | 300 | 400 |
Step 2: Divide the class into teams of three or four students and have one group begin by saying People for 100, for example. Any member of any group can answer the question, and I call on the first person that raises his/her hand. Keep track of each team's score as the game is played.
Step 3: When all the questions have been answered, it is time for final jeopardy, where the teams must answer one last question. However, instead of saying the answer out loud, each team writes down the answer to the question. They must also write down how many points they are willing to bet that their answer is correct, before they hear the question. These bets should be collected by the teacher before the question is asked. This usually requires a repeated explanation on my part. Give them a time limit such as two minutes, within which they must finish this final jeopardy. When the time is up, collect all the answers, read them to the class, and tally the final score for each team. You can then announce the winners.
Options
For advanced groups, you can use the normal jeopardy format, in which the clue is the answer and the players must provide the question. For lower-level groups, this may be too confusing. You can also bring prizes for the winning teams if you like.
Cautions
Be careful not to allow the game to be dominated by one or two overly enthusiastic students. If this starts to happen, tell them that a different person in the group must respond each time.
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