How to play

Explain to students that they will play PSS with each other.

The winner asks the question or does the English practice if there is no question. The loser answers or repeats. Then the loser gives the winner 1 token.

They find another person to play with after.

Explain that you will give them some time to practice. When you turn off the lights, they need to fall asleep, because Nian the monster is coming.

They need to be as quiet as possible.

If they make a sound, they need to pay Nian 1 token so that he doesn’t take them out of the game. If they don’t have any cards, and they are not quiet, they sit out of the game.

When the lights come back on, students need to quickly find a new partner to play with.

At this time, students who don’t have cards can try to play with you to see if they can earn a card to stay in the game.

Teacher’s role

Monitor students as they practice. Make sure that students get to complete at least one round of practice before turning off the light.

When you go to them, walk around a little slowly and make some monster noise. Listen for students that move or make noise.

If they are really quiet, you can just quickly move on to the next round.

Materials Needed:

- A deck of playing cards (joker included)

How to Play:

1. Explain the target practice of the game (spelling, grammar pattern, etc.) Start by giving each student a card.

1. Then allow students to stand up and walk around the class. Students must find someone (from the other team to practice with).

1. Both students must complete the English practice one time. When both finish practicing, they exchange cards. Then, they find new players to practice with.

1. As the teacher, you can decide how long the round is by setting the timer or shouting “Time’s up” when you feel like it. At that point, the person with the joker is the loser of this round.

1. Then you can give a point to the other team.

Teacher’s Role

Since this is a student-to-student practice, walk around and check students. Help slower students and make sure they are completing the English practice.

You can choose how long each round is depending on the time you schedule for this section of your class.

In our classes, we often play three rounds of the game. Each round lasts about a minute and a half.

Who Wins?

The team with the most points after the game finishes is the winner.

What’s there to love?

Joker is a fun game. It will get your students moving around the class. It will help them to get comfortable practicing with different partners in a short span of time.

Students must put on their best poker faces and be careful. Remember, no one wants to end up stuck with the joker.

Have fun! And watch out for the joker!

Adjusted Game

Increase the Joker count: You can start increasing the number of jokers for this game. Instead of having one, secretly hand out three.
Then the team with the least number of jokers at the end of the game wins.