Gambling game
From WikiJET, the interactive website for the JET Programme
| Which is taller |
 or  ?
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The Gambling game is a great activity for reviewing comparatives for Junior High school classes. It's an exciting group game that gets them thinking about comparitive adjectives and also introduces a bit of vice into the classroom - which can only be a good thing!
Contents |
[edit] Materials required
- A countdown stopwatch
- A questions and answers sheet
- A4 pictures of the objects being compared (you can do the game without them, but the effect is much better with pictures)
[edit] Procedure
- Split the class into groups of 3-6 (lunch groups are an easy way to do so). Have each team make up a name.
- Draw a grid on the board as shown below. Adapt it to the number of teams in your class and number of questions you have time for.
| Team name | Start | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Q5 | Q6 | Q7 | Q8 | Q9 | Q10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banana | $1000 | ||||||||||
| Super Yuki | $1000 | ||||||||||
| Kitty-chan | $1000 | ||||||||||
| Nice guys | $1000 | ||||||||||
| Pineapple | $1000 | ||||||||||
| Niku man | $1000 |
Each team starts with $1000. They must answer a series of simple comparative questions. Each team must write their answer and amount they wish to bet on the blackboard in their team's box, before the time runs out on the stopwatch. If the team answers correctly, they receive double the stake (eg. started with $1000, bet $400, answered correctly, new total is $1800). If the team answers incorrectly, they lose their stake (eg. started with $1000, bet $500, answered incorrectly, new total is $500). The team with the highest total at the end wins.
- Demonstrate how the game works with the JTE. Ask the JTE a demonstration question (eg. Who is taller Ichiro Suzuki or Hideki Matsui?). Have the JTE write their answer and bet amount in a box on the board. (Note: To stop teams blowing all their money in Round 1, the maximum bet amount is half their remaining total.)
- Reveal the answer (eg. Ichiro = 180cm, Matsui = 186cm - Matsui is taller than Ichiro) and write the JTE's new total on the board. Explain what would have happened if they'd answered the opposite way.
- Once the students understand the rules, start the game with Question 1. Make a time limit for answering each question. Maybe 2 minutes for the first question but only 1 minute thereafter.
- Repeat until you run out of questions or time.
[edit] Resources
[edit] Question list
Pick questions as you like from this list: (Click here for a printable version)
| Questions | Answers | Printable pictures |
|---|---|---|
| Which is taller, the Tokyo Tower or the Eiffel Tower? | Tokyo Tower 333 m. Eiffel Tower 320 m. | Tokyo Tower, Eiffel Tower |
| Which is bigger, Shikoku or Hawaii? | Shikoku 18,045 km2. Hawaii 16,443 km2. | Shikoku, Hawaii |
| Who is older, Matsuo Basho or Sir Isaac Newton? | Basho born 1644. Newton born 1643. | Matsuo Basho, Sir Isaac Newton |
| Which is younger, Christmas or Tanabata? | Christmas 0AD. Tanabata 710AD. | Christmas, Tanabata |
| Which is newer, the car or the motorcycle? | Car 1885, Motorcycle 1886 | Car, Motorcycle |
| Which is faster, a pig or a chicken? | Pig 17.6 km/h. Chicken 14.4 km/h. | Pig, Chicken |
| Which is slower, an elephant or a human? | Elephant 40 km/h. Human 44.6 km/h. | Elephant, Human |
| Which is taller, Mt. Fuji or Ben Nevis? | Mt. Fuji 3776 m. Ben Nevis 1344 m. | Mt. Fuji, Ben Nevis |
| Which is hotter, Death Valley, California or Al 'Aziziyah, Libya? | Death Valley 56.7 °C (134 °F). Al 'Aziziyah 57.7°C (136.4 °F). | Death Valley, Al 'Aziziyah |
| Which is colder, Verkhoyansk, Siberia or Vostok Station, Antarctica? | Verkhoyansk −69.8 °C (−93.6 °F). Vostok Station −89.2 °C (-128.56 °F). | Siberia, Antarctica |
| Please feel free to add your own... |
[edit] Credits
The original idea for this game came from the Three Wise Monkey's website.
