Name of the Activity: Word and phrases scavenger hunt
Skill Focus: Vocabulary building
Sub-Skill Focus: Reinforcing parts of speech, idioms, alliteration, similes
Language for Which the Activity is Designed: English
Level: Secondary (Class 8)
Estimated Time: 1 hour
Group Size: 20 students
Learning Objectives: To develop the vocabulary of the students
Materials: Newspapers, magazines, word and phrases scavenger hunt task sheets, online timer.
Classroom Set-up: Place ten tables across the room at equal intervals to create ten distinct workstations. Label each workstation with numbers from 1-10. Each workstation should have the following material already kept on the tables as students enter the classroom: 1 magazine and 1 newspaper.
Methodology:
Explain the objective of the activity and divide the class into pairs. Distribute the “Word and Phrases Scavenger Hunt” task sheet (sample given here), with ten tasks listed on it. Assign a workstation to each pair and explain to them that after every five minutes, they have to move to the next workstation (5 minutes).
Set the online timer for 5 minutes and ask each pair to begin with the first task at their assigned workstation. After every 5 minutes, when the online timer buzzes, the students have to move to the next workstation and work on the next task on their sheet. The teacher/language activity facilitator should move around the class to assist the students. (50 minutes)
Once all the pairs have finished all ten tasks, ask the students to share their work by swapping sheets between pairs. (5 minutes)
Follow-up Activities: Put up the completed task sheets on the classroom wall/notice board. Assign a descriptive writing task to the students, asking them to describe a person or a place using words and phrases from the completed task sheets.
Table 1
Words and Phrases Scavenger Hunt Task Sheet
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Task 1: Find 5 words from the newspaper/magazine which begin with the prefix ‘-in’. Note down the sentences in which they are used. |
Task 2: Find 5 words from the newspaper/magazine which end with the suffix ‘-ion’. Note down the sentences in which they are used. |
Task 3: Locate and note down any 5 adjectives from the newspaper/magazine used to describe a place. |
Task 4: Locate and note down any 5 adjectives from the newspaper/magazine used to describe a person. |
Task 5: Locate and note down any 5 adjectives from the newspaper/magazine used to describe an event or incident. |
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Task 6: Locate and note down any 5 verbs from the newspaper/magazine used to describe an event or incident. |
Task 7: Locate and note down any 5 adverbs from the newspaper/magazine used to describe an event or incident. |
Task 8: Identify and note down any 5 alliterative phrases from the newspaper/magazine. |
Task 9: Identify and note down any 3 idiomatic phrases from the newspaper/magazine. Write down their implied meanings. |
Task 10: Identify and note down any 3 examples of similes from the newspaper/magazine. Write down their implied effect on the reader. |
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Figure 2. A newspaper cutting from The Times of India. |
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Figure 1. A partially filled sample sheet of the Words and Phrases Scavenger Hunt Task Sheet. |
Figure 3. A newspaper cutting from The Times of India. |
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Ima Kazmi is an English language and literature teacher, and is currently working as Assistant Curriculum Leader for the English Department at The British School in Delhi.
imakazmi15@gmail.com
