Simon Says
Simon Says is a very simple, very effective activity you can use in your class. It often works best with younger learners and has been adapted from the traditional English game.
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How it Works
The game is simple. You, as teacher, give commands to your class using "Simon says" to introduce them. If you give a command WITHOUT preceding it with "Simon says" and a student obeys it then they lose.
- Simon says stand up! - the students stand up
- Simon says clap your hands once! - the students clap once
- Simon says sleep! - the students pretend to sleep on their desks
Then, once the game starts, every so often you give an instruction but WITHOUT prefixing it with "Simon says"
- Stand up!
- Sit down!
- Turn around!
If one or more students obey the bare command without "Simon says" then they are out of the game.
Why it Works
The game is based on the idea of TPR or Total Physical Response. Your students are not just listening to English and memorizing the words blandly, they are totally involved in assimilating the language through movement and response.
The upshot of this is that your students will learn these words and phrases very effectively and very well. They are not in the classroom learning English, they are in the classroom playing a game and the side-effect of this game is that they will learn English.
Practicalities
The game is often best played with youngsters who are less inhibited than teenagers or adults and will happily jump up, turn around and clap their hands on cue.
It's also useful to play this at the very beginning of the class to get a bit of energy out of the students and get them in the mood for the lesson. Start simply with one or two commands, but as the class becomes familiar with the game then you can extend the range of the commands and make them more complex and involved:
- Simon says shake hands with the person next to you!
- Simon says get out your exercise book and turn to page 12!
- Give me all your money!
Of course, this can be developed even further bringing imagination and enthusiasm into the room:
- Simon says go surfing!
- Simon says eat a horrible meal!
- Dance!
Getting rid of Simon
Some teachers do not like using competative games in the classroom. In this case it's simple to merely remove reference to "Simon says" and just give the commands to make sure the class understands them and carries them out.
