Have you ever used a fly swatter in your classes? And no, I don't mean to swat a fly. And no, I don't mean to swat a student!
They are such simple things, yet provided my classes yesterday with SO MUCH fun.
I wanted an activity that was short, kinaesthetic and that obviously provided the opportunity for learning, in this case it was a bit of revision. And what better way to do this than to have races incorporating fly swatters in order to prepare for their numbers quiz.
On 2 white boards, I wrote a series of numbers between 0-100. I created 2 different teams and had the students name them (for example we had Los Baños and Los Perros Mexicanos). Two by two I called up students and had them stand in the middle of the room. Then I would simply call out a number and the first student to run and swat the number would win a point for their team. Team members are not allowed to give any verbal hints or point. We had a few fouls so had to begin clearly stating 'hands to yourself' rules, no pushing, shoving, blocking, etc.
My students really got into it, particularly the boys. They became very vocal (in a good way) and even those sitting in their seats always tried to figure out the answer.
This proved to be an activity that was very active and fun and allowed everyone a chance to review.
I will definitely to do it again, but not too soon so they don't get bored of it.
