Weathercocks
Subject: Sides of the world
Skills: Listening
Level: Beginner
Recommended Age: 9-11 y.o.
Number of Participants: 6-12 players
Time: 15-20 minutes
Place: Asphalt or sand playground
Equipment: Not required
Materials: Pieces of chalk or a wooden sticks by the number of players
Preliminary Preparation: Not required
Immediate Preparation (7-10 minutes).
1. Put the players in straggered pattern, as for exercises.
2. Provide the participant of the game with the chalks.
3. Before starting the game, you might need to preteach the new vocabulary. To that end, introduce the side of the world to the students.
4. Ask each player first to draw two intersecting lines and arrows at their ends. Next, the players must write the letter 'N' at the end of the upper arrow, the letter 'E' at the end of the right one, the letter 'S' at the lower one and the letter 'W' at the left.
5. When everything is ready, ask each player to step on the intersection of their lines.
How to Play. Before starting the competition, it would be feasible to do a demonstration round. To that end, you give a command, e.g.: 'The wind is blowing from the east!' Upon hearing this, the ‘weathercocks’ must turn towards the W arrow. When you are sure that the children understand the rules, start the competition. In this, after each of your commands, the player, who is the last to towards the right arrow or turns towards a wrong one, drops out of the game. The competition lasts as long as only one participant is left. This last remaining player brcomes the winner of the game.
Variation. As an alternative for stronger groups or higher levels, you may wish:
1. To give commands like this one: 'The wind is blowing from the south-west!' and so on;
or / and
2. The last remaining player becomes the caller in the following round. In this case, the game continues as long as each participant, at least once, act as the caller.