Friday, last lesson. Half the class has mentally left the building. The other half wants to “just watch a film”.
I’m British, so the answer is always a pub quiz.
If you’ve never seen The Big Fat Quiz of the Year, it’s comedians getting general knowledge wrong on Channel 4 every Christmas. My version has fewer comedians and more mitochondria.
Here’s how I run it:
- Teams of four, each with a silly name. If they can’t agree on one in two minutes, I name them. They only let that happen once.
- Open with a fun round: who’s this scientist, or a film plot written in science-speak.
- Sandwich a revision round in the middle, on whatever you’ve just taught.
- Teams swap sheets and mark each other’s. This is where the arguing, sorry, the learning happens.
The faff was always building the thing, so I made a free pub quiz builder. Pick your rounds, throw in a joker that doubles a team’s points, and print the lot, quizmaster script included. Shut the lid and run it from paper.
But the quiz isn’t really about the quiz. It works because it’s off the screen, they’re talking to each other, and you can walk the room and hear who’s got it and who’s bluffing.
That’s the idea behind every activity in Rainy Day Biology. Book 2 is out now: the next set of print-and-play activities, built the same way.
It’s $9 until Sunday 8 November.
Adam
PS The quiz builder is free, so even if the book isn’t for you, Friday’s sorted.