The Big Health Quiz

Objective & content

A projected team quiz on illnesses, the body and healthy habits, with real photos, for one game of 35 to 45 minutes. The class plays in 2 to 4 teams through six rounds: What's the matter? (a photo and a word bank: a headache, a stomach ache, toothache, earache, a cold, a sore throat, a cough, a temperature, a broken arm; teams write a full sentence such as "She's got a cold."), Has got, have got (a gap sentence with a photo: has got, have got or hasn't got?), Odd one out (parts of the face, words that end in -ache, irregular plurals), Should or shouldn't? (advice for a person who is ill), Healthy or not? (a photo of a habit; teams say if it is healthy) and Name three! (three parts of the face, three things that are good for you, three words that end in -ache). There are 36 questions and 45 points. Pupils meet about 50 words for illnesses, the body and healthy habits.

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. This quiz tests have got / has got / hasn't got to say what is the matter, and should / shouldn't to give advice; teams write sentences, not single words: accept any correct sentence, with or without the contraction ("She's got a cold." or "She has got a cold."). In What's the matter? the word bank stays on the screen, so pupils choose the illness and concentrate on the structure (He's got... / She's got...). Note the British usage: a headache, a stomach ache, a cold, a sore throat, a cough and a temperature take "a", but toothache, earache and backache do not ("He's got toothache.", not "a toothache"). The illnesses are acted by adults in real places; the healthy habits are shown by teenagers. Has got, have got reminds the class that he / she / it take has got and I / you / we / they take have got; one question uses hasn't got (the photo shows a broken arm, not a broken leg). Odd one out is worth 2 points and makes patterns visible: eyes, nose and mouth are on the face but the knee is not; headache, toothache and earache end in -ache (= pain) but a cold does not; foot, tooth and child have irregular plurals (feet, teeth, children). In Should or shouldn't? pupils decide if the advice is a good idea or a bad idea ("He should stay in bed.", "She shouldn't go swimming."): after the answer slide, ask for one more piece of advice. Healthy or not? has no right answer other than the one the photo shows: read the reason on the answer slide. Name three! accepts any right answer: the answer slide lists the most likely ones, and your pupils may find others. Every round opens with a Useful phrases box: read it with the class before you start, so teams can use it to speak and write. The quiz stays at A1+ level, in British English. Useful language for the teams: "I think he's got a headache.", "You should stay in bed.", "She shouldn't eat crisps in bed." To extend the game, add a mime round: a pupil from each team mimes an illness and the teams write the sentence ("He's got earache.").

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. (8 min) Round 1, What's the matter?: show the photo, leave the word bank on the screen and give 20 seconds; teams write a full sentence. Show the answer slide. 1 point for each right sentence.
3. (6 min) Round 2, Has got, have got: show the photo and the sentence with the gap; teams write has got, have got or hasn't got. 1 point for each right answer.
4. (4 min) Round 3, Odd one out: read the four words; teams write the number of the odd one. 2 points for each right answer. Read the reason on the answer slide and point out the pattern.
5. (6 min) Round 4, Should or shouldn't?: show the photo and the advice; teams write should or shouldn't. 1 point for each right answer.
6. (5 min) Round 5, Healthy or not?: show the photo and read the sentence; teams write Healthy or Not healthy. 1 point for each right answer. Then ask the class why.
7. (5 min) Round 6, Name three!: read the question; teams write three answers. 1 point for each right answer.
8. (2 min) Add up the points on the board and show the last slide to find the winners.

Adaptations

[S] In round 1, let teams point to the illness in the box or say the sentence instead of writing it, and do the first question together before the teams write. In round 2, write "he / she / it = has got" and "I / you / we / they = have got" on the board. In round 4, the class answers with a thumb up (should) or a thumb down (shouldn't).

[A] In round 1, ask teams for a second sentence with advice ("He should go to bed."). In round 5, ask for a sentence with because ("It's healthy because it's got vitamins."). Add a mime round: a pupil mimes an illness and the teams write the sentence before they give some advice.

Materials & prerequisites

A projector or screen for game.pdf (80 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 the verb be and a few words for the body (head, arm, leg, face) and for illnesses (a cold, a headache). The quiz works well as a revision game at the end of a unit on health, have got or should, or as a reward at the end of a lesson.