Game based lesson plan

ESL Class

Language teaching, like other professions is built around standards, standards reflect the methodology that the language teachers should know, the teaching skills they should possess, and the behaviors they are expected to exhibit in their classrooms. A good language lesson consists of much more than a series of activities and exercises that the teacher has strung together to occupy classroom time. It involves much more than simply presenting the material in your textbook.

I believe games based lesson plan help the teacher to create contexts in which the language is useful and meaningful. The learners want to take part and in order to do so must understand what others are saying or have written, and they must speak or write in order to express their own point of view or give information.'

In my lesson plan I used game “ Anika's Odyssey walkthrough” it was my task which was required by teaching with technology certificate from American TESOL Institute. :  I chose this game-based lesson plan because I have students' age group 11/12.  These age group students need some extra effort from teachers to bring their interest and motivation. Game- based lesson plan helped me to achieve that. Even with my adult students I will use game-based- lesson plan to break the ice.   It helps me to engage all the class in one time. It breaks the ice and helps me to get motivation of my students.

Prepared by : Ayesha Qureshi

Topic: English, ESL students

Student Grade/Age/Level: Grade 5 ages 11/12

Game: Anika's Odyssey walkthrough

Game Description: Anika's odyssey is a game; it begins with a task of collecting water from the well. A huge eagle swoops from the sky and abscond with Anika's toy rabbit. Anika begins her journey to bring her toy rabbit back. This game has puzzles and adventures.

Game URL:  ttp://www.kongregate.com/games/Trickysheep/anikas-odyssey

*What type of preparation, set-up, and technology are needed to play this game?

Answer: Preparation was quite simple; my classrooms are connected with internet and a projector.

I brought the copy of the game's instruction for all students and I provided pen and note pads too.

*Will your students be able to easily understand how to play the game or will you need to show them how to play?

Answer: Before we start the game, I told the class, to read the instruction one by one. The game has 20 points of instruction. I instructed students, each one will read one point and explain what did he/she understood from it. I start writing new vocabulary words coming in the instruction on the board. After my student finished reading, I explained the meaning of new vocabulary word and asked them to write down in their notebook so we will revise it again in the next class. 

After reading all the points, I asked one student to come and start playing and remaining students observed and help him to move to the next point. The computer was connected to projector so it was easy for all the class to watch.

*How long does it take to play?

Answer: Game it needs only 15 to 20 minutes to finish it, but it took two hours to go through all instruction, explanation, and participation of all the students.

*How does the game teach them the topic?

Answer:  The main focus of my students was to play the game, but I focused on teaching English through the game. They did not relies they are learning new words through the game. My students learn how to construct sentences, when one student was playing, remaining class was helping him to reach to next point, I instructed them to tell him what to do, using the correct form of sentence and whenever they are doing mistake I was correcting them. This game helps me to facilitate learner how to discover the language not be instructed in it. It was a joint exploration where by both I and my students share the input. Through this game, I led the learners to knowledge by using elicitation and allowing them to work out things for themselves.

*What graphics, sounds, tools or multimedia help students practice the 4 skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing)?

Answer: The game does not have dialogues.  It helps me to fill in the blank of dialogues through my students, it has music is equally enchanting and, when paired with the story of a young girl on a quest, conveys the rather innocent sense of adventure Anika must feel herself.

After all the students finished playing the game, I gave them homework 'write a summary about Anika and her journey to bring her toy rabbit back', I will check in the next class.

 I am writing my review after I finished using game in the lesson plan. I learned a lot from this kind of lesson plan and I will use games in future too. My students enjoyed the game, learned English while they were playing. Only one thing makes me not to use this kind of lesson plan frequently, that is time. This lesson plan needs almost two hours to finish it. Usually I have class one hour only, if I want to use this lesson plan I need to divide it into two days or I have to plan it when I have almost two hours or more.