Disappearing Man (the not-Hangman game)
John Oxley
| GRADE LEVEL: | JHS 1st-3rd year |
| SKILLS: | Spelling, Fill-in-the-gap Reading |
| TIME: | 15-20 warm-up or time filler |
| MATERIALS: | None |
| OBJECTIVES: | To get younger students using the alphabet and older students practicing spelling and reading “without it all being there" |
PROCEDURE:
1. Draw the stick figure of your choice on the blackboard. Give him/her as many features as you would like the students to have “chances”.
2. Split the class into teams, or allow them to participate individually (doesn’t involve as many students, but sometimes you are only filling out the last few minutes of class).
3. For older kids, write a category on the board (e.g. person, place, thing, food, etc.). For younger kids, use a word you are sure they are familiar with. When you make your decision, write blanks in place of letters.
4. For each letter in the puzzle students guess correctly, write it in however many times that letter appears. For each letter in the puzzle they guess incorrectly, erase a part of the “Disappearing Man”.
5. The first time around, I use a ringer - something I know they will know (e.g. baseball, I have rice for breakfast, etc.). Do your best to explain the point of the game in English/body language. If they just don’t get it, have the JTE explain it in Japanese. Once they do get it, they have a great time.
6. I gradually increase the difficulty of the puzzle (still making sure it is somewhere in their sphere of knowledge). If you see you kids on an ongoing basis, you can keep a running score over a semester/year and have some prize or bet riding on the outcome. Never had a class not love this very simple game. It is also great to hear them actually trying to sound out words/other options (s--p = soup? ship? stop?) phonically.
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