WikiJET
Register
Advertisement

This is designed for Speaking and is good for Elementary schoolJunior High and Senior High.

Pass the bomb is a really fun game for practising any English vocab with an order (e.g. numbers, ordinals, months, days of the week). You'll have to buy a toy plastic time bomb, but believe me it'll be the best 3000 yen you ever spend! Alternatively, use any kind of ball and then put a timer on the board. This game is probably suitable for any level of students!

Materials required[]

  • A plastic toy time bomb

Procedure[]

  • Teach your vocabulary so that your students have a moderate level of confidence. If they are perfect, nobody will make a mistake and it won't be as fun!
  • Get the students into a tight circle, so they don't have far to pass the bomb between themselves.
  • Demonstrate the bomb and its timer so they know what kind of noise to expect when it goes off!
  • Wind up the bomb, take out the key and give it to somebody in the circle. They must say the first word of vocab (e.g. "1" for numbers or "January" for months) in a loud voice and pass the ticking bomb onto the next person.
  • The next student says the following vocab (e.g "2" or "February") and passes the bomb along to the next student.
  • This continues until the bomb goes off and everyone falls about laughing. If a student makes a mistake or says the vocab too quietly, grab the bomb and pass it back to them until they correct their mistake. Give them a hint if they're struggling to keep the game moving along!

Variations[]

(Flash required for video)
Pass the bomb game Magnify-clip

If you want to vary the game a bit, you can introduce new rules. For example, if a student says two pieces of vocab instead of one (e.g. "14, 15" or "March, April") then the direction reverses and they pass the bomb back to the person that just gave it to them. Another rule could be that if they say three pieces of vocab (e.g. "14, 15, 16" or "March, April, May") the bomb skips a person in the same direction.

Advertisement