Resources / Best Practices

Name of Mentor:

Topic of Lesson/Resource:

Sara Teale

Angry Words!

Name of Teacher Participant:

Date of Submission/Class Use:

Cheong Yoke Leong

May 2012

Name of School/Cluster:

Intended Skill Level:

SK Seri Kemudi, Bachok

All levels

Year / Unit / Other:

Adaptable to any topic or level

Outline of Lesson / Resource:
Angry Words! features a highly adaptable gameboard, ever-popular cartoon icons, and virtually unlimited
possibilities for reviewing and teaching vocabulary and grammar to your students. Its sturdy design of resilient
cardboard and laminated card-stock game pieces ensure the durability of the game equipment, and guarantee a
barrel of fun for your students, time and again. With Angry Words!,your students are not only going to LEARN
English, they are going to LOVE English!
The gameboard is designed to accommodate 20 playing cards, all of which are blank on one side and have 1 of 6
possible symbols on the other, as displayed in the following chart:
Name

Symbol

Value

Black Bird

Blue Bird
Yellow Bird

Red Bird
Golden Egg
Bomb

Its up to you (the Teacher) to be as creative as you want to when assigning values to the symbols. It could be as
simple as 1, 2, 3, and 4 points, respectively, for each Bird. The Golden Egg could be a +5 lucky bonus, or even
more! The Bomb could be a -5, or could wipe out all of that teams points!!
How to play:
The cards are all attached to the gameboard, face down, using tape or sticky (blue) tack in a 5x4 grid. The
gameboard is then attached to the wall or black/white board, and the teacher can either write the vocabulary to be
practiced on the black/white board or paste small flashcards to indicate the target language. There are 9 spaces
(for example, 5 across the top and 4 down the side, if you play with the gameboard long-side-up) so 9 different
vocabulary words and/or grammar points can be used, tested, and practiced all at the same time!
The class is divided into teams; around 4 to 8 students per team. They take turns choosing a specific square on
the gameboard by either simply saying the 2 vocabulary words that correspond to the square that they would like
to uncover, or by making a sentence using the corresponding vocabulary words or grammar point. Once the team
has chosen their square and all of them have practiced the target language, the teacher can then turn over the
chosen card to reveal the symbol and credit to that team the corresponding reward or number of points (or erase
all of their points, as the case may be!)
The game continues with all teams and team members participating (even if they get the Bomb, they can still
continue to play) until all of the squares have been chosen and all the game cards revealed. Finally, add up the
points for each team to determine the winner!
This is a magnificent classroom game, as it thoroughly engages the attention of the students and allows the whole
class to be involved in an enjoyable, team-based activity which can be used to reinforce new vocabulary or review
grammar points or vocabulary previously learned. It is also highly versatile and can be adapted to suit any level.
Supporting Materials:
Game board pictured here with sample vocabulary cards:

For more information contact:

Sara Teale
ELP, TELL Programme, Malaysia
Cluster D002, Bachok, Kelantan
Tel: 019.623.6026
Email: Sara.Teale@BrightonEducationLS.com