Slap and Grab!

This is another incredibly simple, incredibly successful game that I've been playing with students of all ages. Linda Kordas, retired teacher from Concord, New Hampshire taught it  to me.  To play this game,  students need a set of on flashcards (about 15-20 words).  The Latin word should be on one side and the meaning on the other. The words need to be fairly large and legible. For more information on how to make flashcards a regular part of your instruction, see the Cards of Flash on Beginning Activities. 

This game is best played after students have had some time to practice with the flashcards in partners. They need to have some familiarity with the words for this to work although they will know them a great deal better after this game. 

To begin,  instruct the partners to put their desks end to end and spread one set of flashcards - whoever has the neater set, between both desks. Here is a helpful picture below.

 In the first picture,  the Mandarin teacher and myself are modeling the set-up.  One set of flashcards has been evenly divided between two desks facing each other with the Latin side up.  I usually play with about 15-20 cards but these were all I could find in the recycling bin at the time I was staging our demo. We have our arms bent because we are also demonstrating what I call the  "Official Slap and Grab Position."  I tell students that it looks like you are about to swear an oath. They may not hover their hand over the cards.  Now the teacher calls out one of the words in English and the students find the card, slap it (or rather touch it or their hands will be stinging), turn it over to make sure that it was correct, and then pull the card out of play.   If a student has slapped the wrong card, he or she must wait 3 seconds before slapping another card.  Students can slap cards on both desks. You continue calling out words until there are only two left. Then ask students to count the number of cards they have won and set up for the next round.  I usually play three rounds of this game.  The first two rounds are Latin to English and the last round, I ask students to put the English side up and I say the Latin word.  

Tips to Make this Game Work:

• Make sure that students have the cards evenly distributed and placed towards the center of the desks.  
• This game can get very competitive.  If you have students that work poorly together, make sure they are NOT partnered together.
•  This is a great way to encourage students to make flashcards.  I always have students make flashcards as part of our weekly routine.  If perhaps, a student hasn't made the flashcards and we are going to play slap and grab, then they may not play but instead must go through them on their own. 
• Start with the easiest words to recognize.  Students have difficulty finding words when there are many cards on the table.