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Published: July 30th 2010
Happy Photo
I like this photo because this student has a great smile whereas most of my students were incredibly camera-shy (except when using their own handphones).Camp, for me and many other teachers, was one of the most intimidating challenges when teaching ESL in Korea. Where the average teacher creates 1-4 lesson plans/week during the regular school year, a camp extends the workload to 10 or more lesson plans/week. 1 hour = 1 lesson. At my school, camp lasts one week of 15-18 lesson plans (for winter and summer). Standard Class: 20 students ranging from grades 1-3 in middle school (7th-9th grade in the US). There is no co-teacher to help translate or control unruly children, and you want to make the camp fun and memorable for the kids.
Now, this probably sounds easy, right? Just play a lot of English games and you’re finished. But, if a teacher really wants a successful camp, it requires a lot of research, perhaps a good network, and the ability to think like their students. The following are activities I found online, combined/new games, and contributions from other teachers.
Fun is Essential!
Props are good. This ranges from fly-swatters, balloons (filled with air or water or paper), boiled eggs (unboiled for the adventurous who have a good clean-up crew), costumes, a big die, art supplies, a big container
Balloon Buster
From Online: Ss must pop balloon to get to paper inside. They then organize the pieces of papers to create a word/sentence. Make sure they pop in a location where they won't lose the paper! Also, I began with the rule that they can only use their elbows and then they coudl use their feet, etc. (often has many uses), a handmade game, etc. I think props also help teachers get their creative juices going.
It’s easy to find games online. Just google “ESL games for ________ school” or “Fun ESL camp.” But, what you think may be a good idea sometimes flops in class. There’s nothing worse than being excited for a creative class only to have students snoring or drooling at their desks. Thankfully, this only happened to me once when an overworked boy (in Korea, students are going to school non-stop from regular school to hagwons/acadamies/tutors sometimes till 10 o’clock in the evening, then leave time for homework…it’s intense) snored loudly and was smacked awake by his classmate.
What's really fun and challenging is taking games that you find and blending them with others or creating a new game. I had to turn my critical eye away from students and onto myself as a teacher. Would I have fun playing said game as my younger self? A student can play BINGO only so many times. Try something new!
Water Balloon Toss
My kids loved this game. I had to make sure that the local supermarket had small sized
Creating Slogans & Commercials
I showed youtube videos of slogans in commercials like "Do the Dew." Make sure they are easy to understand. Will take some time to find videos appropriate for your class. Then, Ss choose what they want to sell, how they will sell it (posters, board, action?) balloons before beginning and found the perfect ones in a discounted jumbo container at E-mart. This was great because I could reuse the container for other games, and I shared the balloons with another native teacher. Lotte Mart also had balloons, but they were better for blowing air because their dimensions were too big.
Now, the gist is to throw water balloons, right? But, where does the English come in? I also bought 2 small and cheap blackboards (6”x6”) that came with markers/erasers.
The day of the game, I filled the water balloons (about 2/student + I brought some unfilled balloons that I could have the students refill if necessary). Watch out, they’re heavy, so make sure you have something to carry them in.
I would have one student from each team come out (I let the teams choose while making sure every student ended up participating). Then, I yelled a word. With marker boards in hand, the first person to spell the word and yell, “Finished!” could throw a water balloon at the other person. The students added more rules as the game continued. The target person wasn’t allowed to move; if they did move, the
Creating Slogans & Commercials
These Ss chose a banana. It accidentally got bruised, so their slogan was, "Your Banana Will Look Better Than This One!" penalty was that the thrower got a second opportunity.
I worked with three teams, so I would have A vs B, B vs C, and C vs A (you can do A vs B vs C if you have 3 marker boards). I kept track of points while the students kept the ball rolling.
At the end, I let them do a K.O. match where they chose their best players. The winning team got to throw balloons at the other team.
Choosing Teams
This small detail can cause problems sometimes. You never want students feeling left out, but sometimes want them to have control over their teams. At the same time, you need balanced teams with regard to student levels.
• 1st method: Split the class randomly (student levels may be unbalanced)
• 2nd method: Count system. Since, my students of similar levels would often sit together, this created even teams quickly. I would simply point 1, 2, (3, 4) and have them group based on number.
• 3rd method: This may sound complex, but it is my favorite (for small classes ~20 students). It gets the students warmed up and the teams very even. The students compete
Reward System
I use stickers. Works great with Korean middle schoolers. to finish a crossword, double puzzle, word search, or something along those lines. Let’s say I need three teams. I wait until I have 6 students who finish: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Then I put 1&6, 2&5, and 3&4 together. They become team captains. Then, I have them choose two other people they want on their team. The 2 chosen people must do rock, paper, scissors and the winner joins the team. Then this is repeated except the next captains must choose 2 people who have not been chosen yet. This goes very quickly. Nobody feels left out and the kids are often happy with their teams.
Back-up Game
I think it’s always wise to have one long and one short back-up game. You never know when a computer will malfunction or, for one reason or another, an activity doesn’t pan out.
My favorite is
The Flyswatter Game This never fails to get the kids competitive and laughing, and it’s easy to set-up. Write a bunch of English words on the board and give each team a flyswatter (probably available in your local store, or I’m sure you can find some
replacement like having the students create their own flyswatter with cardboard and a pen and duck tape or something). I like writing the words in all sorts of directions so they are harder to read. The kids start laughing and their curiosity is piqued the second they see the flyswatters. With one person from each team, you ask, “Ready?” After students nod in agreement, you yell a word. First student to smack the correct word gets a point for their team. Good for practicing reading speed. Other rules: the flyswatter must remain on the board until a winner is declared. If a student lifts their swatter and is replaced by another student, the second student gets the point.
Handouts. I also make extra puzzle handouts. This ranges from crosswords, word searches, double puzzles (Discovery has a great website for making these. I print one, cut it up, and paste cute pictures to make them more interesting. You can find the link on one of my other ESL blogs; refer below), or you can create your own grammar worksheets, fill-in-the-blanks, questionnaires, etc. These are great for calming down students or getting them focused. In my school, even the least invested
TABOO!
You must adjust this depending on Ss levels. I like using a ppt and have a student from one team time the other. When somebody makes a mistake (speaking Korean, hand gestures, sounds), the opposite team must cry, "Taboo!" and explain what happened. Ss really like this game. Difficult for lower levels. students would get involved with the puzzles.
Powerpoint/Computer/Board Games
There are many powerpoint games available online. Someone made the famous
Baam Game, which has circulated in a majority of Korean classrooms. It’s great for review or fun. The teacher before me used
Snakes and Ladders and she also handcrafted a
Jeopardy Game with construction paper. I used a standard question and answer
Family Feud format for review classes. You can also find Jeopardy, Price is Right, Weakest Link, and other powerpoints online. Another native teacher recently posted a website with the game Battleship that looked interesting, too. I didn’t have the opportunity to try it, but you can probably google it.
I’m a computer junkie, so I really enjoy using .ppt or the computer for my classes. I think the students enjoy it, too, because not many other (especially older generation) teachers use much technology in their lecture-style classes.
For one of my advanced classes (~10 students), I combined the game
UNO with
Storyteller. I printed out copies of the cards (Skip, Reverse, a regular Number, etc) and explained the game. Then I had them do a practice round. Note: I was using the Pixar “Cars”
Jenga Review
I got this idea from a Summer Camp Booklet for ESL Teachers. 2 Teams. Ss must correctly answer a question and then get to pull a Jenga block. Point for correct answers and 2 points for winning the Jenga game. deck, which has an extra “Victory Lap” card where the students get to rotate their hands until a person says stop, they loved this!
Once they got the basics down, I added more rules. Each time a student played a number card, they had to add words to a story. I would type their words in large format onto Microsoft Word, which the students could then read on the TV screen. Though they dreaded the additional rules at first, they soon got into the groove. Skips, Reverses, and other cards would require editing, replacing words, or creating complete sentences (it's up to you, make your own rules to fit their needs). They ended up creating a morbid story from the perspective of a murderer who confesses to killing his lover. The lover comes back to life as a homeless man and is transformed into Cinderella, and eventually there is a happy ending. Don’t ask me where they get this stuff -- Korean TV Dramas?. It’s twisted. I wasn't asking for a realistic story, the point is that they were creating a story using English and having fun at the same time.
Board Games are also great if your
Winter Camp Sentence Race
I would call out a word, and Ss had to race to create a grammatically correct sentence on the board. There is a more challenging version where they must continue writing as many sentences as possible. The other team gets to point out grammatical errors for points. And points for correct sentences. school already has a collection or is willing to buy some new ones. They sell a lot of games here at the big book stores. I found UNO, JENGA (another version called PISA), and others. Twister and Scrabble can be popular. Scrabble can also be combined with an Anagram handout or the Balloon Buster game (refer to photos).
When You Don’t Have A Budget or Supplies?!?!
I think this is the most difficult situation for a teacher to be in because it requires the greatest amount of creativity. I didn’t mind going out and spending money on my students out of my own pocket. That, or I would bring in personal belongings and use them as props.
I’m going to assume that you have a board, a marker, paper, and pens.
Riddles are fantastic, and sometimes the students may surprise you by creating a new answer. You can test their listening skills by not writing it down, then after they have some difficulty, write it down for comprehension. For example:
Riddle: What has to be broken before it is used?
Answer: Eggs
Students’ Answer: Wooden Chopsticks
Story Grids: You draw a table of words,
StoryGrid1
Ss are given the grid and must work together to create stories. I like 4x4. Try to use exciting words like “poison,” “shocked,” “late,” etc. Then, the students must use a certain amount of the words (I chose 6 for my middle schoolers) and create a brief story (1 or more sentences). The exciting words gets their creative and melodramatic ideas started. I got this from my ESL Orientation.
I found this next one online. I forget the title, but basically you come in with a picture (don’t show students). Then, you have the students draw what you describe. I had a picture of Mike Wazowski from Monsters, Inc. This allowed the students to listen and interpret what I described.
I mean, a board, marker, paper, and writing utensils are all you need to have a class. Fold the paper, draw, write, create, imagine, and you can make class fun. Just remember to incorporate English in it somehow. You can always find a way to do it. Do you want the students focused on listening, speaking, writing, or reading? Individual, pairs, or groups? You can also do role-playing activities where students create their own dialogue and act in front of the class, or activities where students must build off of
Summer Camp Group Photo
They look so miserable in group photos! what other students say, write, or do.
Experience
As with any job, you get better with experience. I confess, I took a lot of risks during my first camp in the Winter, and sometimes it was difficult keeping the students educated AND entertained; meaning, I did flop on a few activities (don't worry, I didn't include them here). You try some ideas like Pictionary and Charades, and they work with some students and not with others. A lot of success, I believe, has to do with your confidence, ability to clearly communicate the activity, knowledge of student levels, and your genuine enthusiasm. The students are like predators of the jungle; they will smell the fear on you! So, just try to have fun!
My second round during Summer Camp was a success. Not to float my own boat, but I could tell because the students would actually stick around and help me clean up. Well, that and smiles/laughter and (joy of joys) when they actually regurgitate the lessons you have taught; these are usually good signs. I still have a lot to learn if I return to teaching after my contract (but not before some more traveling^^).
StoryGrid2
Teams write their stories on the board. Then, individuals put their heads down and vote for the winning story (cannot vote for their own team). It’s funny though, if you look at our final group photo, not a lot of the children are smiling. I asked my co-teacher about it and she explained that, traditionally speaking, Koreans wouldn’t smile in photos because it was considered undignified. I guess I got lucky with the few peace signs and occasional teeth. She says this is changing with younger generations, which is probably why I love elementary teachers’ photos of their goofy kids.
I hope this helps some teachers get their footing on the ground. If you have any questions, comments, or additional advice feel free to leave a message! If you have specific subject/content that you are trying to teach and find yourself empty on ideas, feel free to ask me for help. I’m always happy to help brainstorm new activities, but I can't do it on the fly (meaning, ask me ahead of time). ^^
For other entries on teaching ESL:
Teaching ESL: Korean Open Class First Day Teaching ESL in Korea + Misc Information
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Thanks so much for these! Im a teacher in Bangkok and have to come up with 3 days worth of activity for mid-term camp so this has really helped!