Quick guide
- Key words: Team quiz, assessment, group work, reading and listening for specific information, relaying information
- Learner English level: Any
- Learner maturity level: Junior high and above
- Preparation time: 45 minutes
- Activity time: 40-50 minutes
- Materials: Question sheet, information for searching, something to stick paper on walls, classroom big enough to move about in easily
Preparation
Step 1: Create an A4-sized text (font size 12) of some information that you would like your students to know, taken either from a newspaper article, the Internet, or something you have written yourself. The length of the text can be adjusted to fit the level of your class.
Step 2: With a copy machine, enlarge the information onto a B4 or A3 sized sheet so it is easy to read from a distance.
Step 3: Cut the enlarged text into five or six sections. Creating two or three copies of the text means that students will not have to fight in order to get to the information.
Procedure
Step 1: Divide students into groups of three or four and have each group choose a leader.
Step 2: Give each group a question sheet and ask them to read it. While they are reading, stick the snippets of your text around the room.
Step 3: Explain to students that the group leader will stay at the desk with the question sheet and a pencil. The other group members will search for the answers to the questions, returning to tell the answers to their group leader who will write down the answers. Encourage them to move quickly and start the activity like a race.
Step 4: While they are doing the activity, monitor and check their answers. Tell the group leader about any wrong answers so they can ask their group members to look again.
Step 5: Stop the activity about 15 minutes before you want to actually finish. Tell students to sit down and give them about 5 minutes to try to memorize the answers. Meanwhile, take the information down from the walls. If some groups finish before the time limit, have them begin memorizing. If some groups haven’t finished by the time limit, it doesn’t matter.
Step 6: After 5 minutes, collect the question sheets. These are no longer needed.
Step 7: Ask the questions to the class in random order, accepting answers from students who raise their hands. Give points to groups for correct answers.
Conclusion
I have used this activity for various topics such as Christmas in Britain, My Hometown, and Volunteer Work. It can also be used to review grammar targets by writing a story about some character, incorporating the relevant targets. It is a good activity to use before a discussion on a topic that students know little about as it makes them familiar with the given topic. It also works well as a stand-alone activity.