Jeopardy

Valentine Jeopardy

Jonnie Hill

Part 1: The Game

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Level & Learning Outcomes

Through participating in this game secondary students will practice using words in context from a vocabulary list for their American peers (See Appendix A)

Five of the questions also challenge students to listen for a particular word in context.

Materials needed 

• boardmarker or chalk 

• Slide presentation: Valentine Jeopardy 2 Jeopardy Google Slides Template

• Answer Key (Appendix B)

• Note: teachers who have internet access in their classrooms can create a jeopardy game online at (Jeopardy Labs

Object of Game

To get the most points by correctly solving clues.

Rules of Play

1. Divide the group into three or four teams.
2. Groups take turns choosing  a question (For example, “True Love for 2”). 
3. The team should answer the question in 60 seconds. If correct, the team receives the point value of the question. If they cannot answer within the time limit, another team may steal from them.
4. Daily Double: Players reset the value of the question up to the amount of your score (if they have less than 5, they can set a score up to 5. If  the player answers correctly, they get the number of points they    set. If they answer incorrectly, they lose that number of points. [my variation: other teams have a chance  to answer if the team gets it wrong. The value of the question is the same as that which the players set).    
5. Final Jeopardy: After seeing the topic, teams secretly set the number of points for the question (from 0 to their score). The clue is revealed. Students have 60 seconds to write their response.

Scorekeeping

• Each clue has a value. When players respond correctly, they get points.
• For a  Daily Double, they receive points according to their wager for correct answers. They lose the same amount of points for an incorrect answer.
• In Final Jeopardy, they also receive or lose points according to their wager.

Part 2: Reflection

    This is the second version of Valentine Jeopardy, but I have also designed versions for Thanksgiving and St. Patrick’s Day.  Some students like the game and request it. The last time I played it though, I found that there were some students who seem to be growing bored with it.

One of the previous complaints was that some of the students were cheating and looking up the solutions to the clues on their phones. To combat this, I added the vocabulary dimension. The clues were so well disguised that one of my tenth grade classes did not even recognize the clue aspect of it and found it off-putting. A couple of students were demotivated because of this frustration (and maybe because they were losing).

When I think about how this game is related to Chou’s eight drives in Octalysis, the one it appeals to most is unpredictability. Although the category gives some clue of what kind of question they will get, there is still an unlimited number of questions. Other than this, I do not think that the game is so closely aligned with any of the other drives.

In regard to An’s gamification of learning, Jeopardy is aligned with several drives. Students get to choose the questions they would like to answer in the order that they want to answer them (autonomy). They get instant feedback on whether their response was correct. They play in groups, which fosters cooperation, against other groups, which promotes competition. In using words from a list that has been tailored for them (I have pretested the students concerning their knowledge of the words), there is an element of personalization. The reward is the joy of winning. [Some students have suggested getting a ‘5’ for their classwork when they win a game.]

From others who played Jeopardy (but not with these questions)

I was surprised when we played the game because I believed that the students would have been more enthusiastic than they were. They were reluctant to form groups. They stayed where they were. I specifically chose the room to play here because its shape is a “U”/horseshoe shape-so everyone can see each other, and the two groups can sit in front of each other like enemies. Unfortunately, the students stayed where they were, there was luckily a little spot between the two groups. Weeks ago, another teacher trainee played another Jeopardy game and there the students seemed less reluctant, having more fun than my students. Also, the whole game did not take so long, it was more or less 20-25 minutes. Maybe if I had made 3 or 4 groups rather than two groups than it would have taken longer. 

All in all, I will use this game another time with another group, because teaching depends on two factors: learners and teacher. Perhaps the students were tired, because it was Friday, and on another day they would have been more enthusiastic. Luckily, the game is done, so whenever I teach this unit to another class, I can just find the link of the game and play it, no pre-work is needed.   Berta Dorottya

Part 3 Appendices

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Appendix A: Word List

construct declare insists priority treat acknowledge affiliation deceitful legendary relinquish signify abhor ambiguous amiss anarchy anthology apathy apprehend assimilate assumption audacious authority avid ban bisect bizarre capable commence concise conclude evoke inspire universal validate

cynic demonstrate jeopardize vulnerable advocate bolster estrange redeem affinity composure duplicity incorrigible vacillate anonymous benevolent compassion empathy haughty sacrifice

Appendix B: Answer Key

True Love

1. constructed/  Hugs and Kisses

2. Inspiration/ 

3. ban/ cacao bean

4. advocate/ Marie Curie

5. passion/ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Tragic Love

1. Kind

2. acknowledge/ Kennedy

3. audacious/ Shakespeare

4. Empathy/ Mark Anthony

5. jeopardized/ M &Ms

Puppy Love

1. legendary / Lady and the Tramp

2. avid/ Pongo and Perdita

3. evoke/ adolescents

4. cynical/ find future husband

5. anonymous/ nursery rhyme

Elaborate demonstrations

1. insist/ amethyst

2. signifies/ Taj Mahal

3. universal/ food

4. Bizarre

5. Sacrifice

Final Jeopardy

International Business Machines