Activity

Four corners

Information

Four corners is a game where students answer questions given to them by the instructor by going to one of four designated spots within the classroom (typically the corners, hence “four corners”). These corners are usually labeled as A, B, C and D (or 1, 2, 3 and 4). For example, the teacher would ask something like:

“Where is Japan?”

1. In Africa
2. In Asia
3. In North America
4. In Europe

The students would then go to the corner that matches the answer they have chosen.

Instructions

1. T will explain to the students that they will be playing Four Corners and that the questions will be based off the simple past uses of “who, what, when, where and why.”
2. T will have the students stand up and move the desks to one side of the room so as to make their paths to the corners easier while they put up papers indicating which corner corresponds to what answer (A, B, C and D or 1, 2, 3 and 4).
3. T will use the rest of the class period asking the Ss questions and evaluating them based off what answers the majority of students chose. They will answer any questions the Ss may have and correct the Ss as to why they are in the “wrong” corner.

Sample Questions

1. ___ did you not go to the movies last night? (answer: 1)

1. Why
2. Who
3. What
4. Where

2. ___ said that? (answer: 3)

1. Why
2. What
3. Who
4. When

3. ___ did you go see Cathy? (answer: 2)

1. What
2. When
3. Who
4. Where

4. ___ were you doing in the basement? (answer: 3)

1. Who
2. Where
3. What
4. Why

5. ___ was the fire? (answer: 4)

1. Who
2. What
3. Why
4. Where

          This activity will serve as an informal assessment for unit 7. The activity in question is four corners, which is a game where students answer questions given to them by the instructor by going to one of four designated spots within the classroom (typically corners) that are labeled as A, B, C and D. It gets students to both move around and think about what the answer actually is instead of choosing randomly, since they may or may not be accompanied by their peers in the “corner.” There is no scoring system, and the activity is completed once students have answered all the questions. Of course, a scoring system could easily be implemented if needed (i.e. students have to answer a specific amount of questions correctly to win a prize). The learning objectives that I will be assessing per this game is using “who, what, when, where and why” correctly in a sentence in conjunction with questions written in the simple past, as is the main focus in Unit 7 of our textbook. This game will be able to assess student’s knowledge of how to use “who, what, when, where and why” while using the simple past tense by judging how many students answer a particular question, or by judging which students choose an answer. It will give me a chance to see what needs to be explained further and give students a chance to ask questions if they get an answer wrong (or even answer the question for themselves). It is both a fun game that students will be playing disguised as a mini-lesson that allow students to ask and answer any questions they have from the unit.