The Big Britain Quiz

Objective & content

A projected team quiz on British culture, with photos, for one game of 30 to 40 minutes. The class plays in 2 to 4 teams through six rounds of five questions: London, Food and drink, The four nations, Flags, Celebrations and UK or USA? The rounds mix question kinds (A, B or C choice, Zoom in!, Who am I?, true or false, one "closest number wins" question, a flags round with a word bank, and UK or USA). There are 30 questions and 30 points. Pupils learn simple facts about London, British food, the capitals of the four nations, the flags, British celebrations and the differences between the UK and the USA, and they read short questions and answer in a word or a short phrase.

Pedagogical guide

Every question slide is followed by its answer slide, so the class sees the answer at once and the teacher only keeps the score. Most answer slides give a short reason or a fun fact ("Big Ben is really the name of the big bell inside the clock tower!"): read it aloud, because this is where the class meets full sentences about the culture. The kinds of question change inside each round, so the quiz does not become repetitive. In "How tall is the Big Ben clock tower, in metres?" teams write a number and the closest team wins the point, which gets everyone guessing. In the Flags round the four names (England, Scotland, Wales, the UK) stay on the screen, so pupils only have to match a flag to a nation. The last round (UK or USA?) makes pupils compare the two countries (chips and fries, football and soccer). The quiz stays at A1+ level, with short questions in the present simple and everyday words, in British English. Useful language for the teams: "I think it's ...", "It's A.", "It's true.", "It's in London.", "Can we change our answer?"

Suggested procedure

1. (3 min) Make 2 to 4 teams and draw a score table on the board. Each team has one sheet of paper and one writer.
2. (6 min) Round 1, London: show each question, give 20 seconds to write the answer, then show the answer slide. 1 point for each right answer. In the question about the clock tower, the closest team wins the point.
3. (6 min) Round 2, Food and drink: teams write the word, the letter or true or false. Read the fun fact on the answer slide.
4. (6 min) Round 3, The four nations: teams write A, B or C, or the word. 1 point for each right answer.
5. (6 min) Round 4, Flags: leave the word bank on the screen; teams write the name of the nation.
6. (6 min) Round 5, Celebrations: teams write A, B or C, the word, or true or false.
7. (5 min) Round 6, UK or USA?: teams write UK or USA. Read the reason on the answer slide.
8. (2 min) Add up the points on the board and show the last slide, "Who won?".

Adaptations

[S] In rounds 1 to 3, read each question aloud twice and point to the picture. In round 4, point to the word bank as you show each flag. In round 6, let teams show a card or raise a hand for UK or USA instead of writing.

[A] Ask teams to say the answer in a full sentence ("Big Ben is in London.", "The capital of Wales is Cardiff."). In round 6, give an extra point to a team that can say one more difference between the UK and the USA.

Materials & prerequisites

A projector or screen for game.pdf (68 slides in 16:9, one PDF page per slide, turned with the arrow keys), the board for the score table, and a sheet of paper and a pen for each team. Pupils should already know everyday food and drink words, the names of the UK nations in English and simple questions such as "Where is ...?" and "What is ...?". The quiz works well as a revision game at the end of a unit on Britain, or as a reward at the end of a lesson.