Bad Fruit: A Shoppers' Nightmare - Katie & Jason

http://iteslj.org/c/games.html

Ages: 6-12
Proficiency Level: Beginner
Institutional Context: EFL

The goal of this activity is to have the students "purchase" as much produce (or other items) as possible. The teacher divides the students into two groups: shoppers and clerks. The clerks set up their produce stands and cash registers. The shoppers are given a lot of currency and a basket. Each shopper starts at an empty stand and when the activity begins they try to purchase as many items as possible. The prices for each item, for beginner, are set to one unit of currency. As time progresses the instructor hits a bell to indicate a stop to the purchasing of items. Then the teacher names one item and if a student owns that item he/she must empty their basket of all items and start over with less money. This continues until the student with the most products wins. Then the students switch roles.

One way to modify this for intermediate proficiency students is to have the clerks set their own price for their stands. Then you have the students ask two questions about the product before they purchase it. For example, they could ask "How much does it cost?" The students could then find which clerk has the best price for the item.

The modifications we would make for a older age level would be to have the clerks selling furniture instead of produce. There will now be three groups of students: Clerk, Shopper, and a delivery man. Each clerk would have a set of furniture cards to show to the shoppers. Then the shoppers would have X amount of currency and would purchase the furniture after asking two questions about it. Next, the shoppers would have to coordinate with a delivery man to get their furniture taken to their home. The student who gets the most furniture delivered first wins. The teacher can act as a thief that can steal one type of furniture at set intervals. This modification would also be better suited for advanced proficiency levels in ESL settings.