What's the Time, Mr Wolf? Dear Teacher, Thank you for subscribing to our free monthly game On this page is the game "What's the time?" Mr Wolf AND some free flashcards for telling the time to download CONTENTS What's the time Mr Wolf? - & Variants How to Play - Variants for small groups to a large class Language ideas to use with this game Materials for you to use with this game Tell us what you think Free Flashcards Category: Speaking Group size: Variants for players to a large class Level: Beginners to intermediate Materials: Variants with no materials needed, or with flashcards Age: to 12 Pace: Quiet & controlled variant Wake up variant Excitable variant During the game your class will repeat the sentences of your choice many times, thus making these phrases become a part of their speaking repertoire HOW TO PLAY VARIANT ONE - The classic game - suitable only for small groups in a 'summer camp' type environment One pupil is the Wolf The wolf walks slowly ahead with the class following behind The class ask in unison "What's the time Mr Wolf?" Mr Wolf replies "It's one o'clock" (or whatever time he likes) The class repeat the question until Mr Wolf replies, "It's dinner time!" At this point Mr Wolf turns round and tries to catch one of the group I suggest swapping Mr Wolf over at this point, regardless of whether the wolf catches anyone or not If you like Mr Wolf can also call out breakfast time, lunch time, tea time, supper time, and even elevenses, (a British custom of coffee or tea and biscuits around 11am) whenever Mr Wolf calls out a time involving eating he turns and chases the group VARIANT TWO - Quiet, controlled classroom variant to 60 pupils One pupil is the wolf The wolf faces the black board or away from the group The class members stand behind their desks and ask in unison, "What time is it Mr Wolf?" Mr Wolf replies, "It's one o'clock" The class repeat the question until Mr Wolf says, "It's dinner time!" At this point the class freeze, Mr Wolf turns round and sees if anyone is moving If the wolf catches anyone moving they become the new wolf See variant three for more time telling options Combine this with variant three for more fun VARIANT THREE - Classroom variant no materials to 60 pupils One pupil is the wolf, facing away from the group The class each hold up to 10 fingers, arm in the air for 11, two arms in the air for 12 The class ask in unison, "What time is it Mr Wolf?" Mr Wolf replies with a time, e.g "It's o'clock" Anyone holding up becomes the wolf If more than one pupil has five then the wolf picks one of them out You can combine this with variant two for more fun and variety To use more time telling possibilities you can use the following idea o'clock would be three fingers held above the head Quarter past would be three fingers held to the right of the body Half past would be three fingers held over the stomach Quarter to four would be three fingers held to the left of the body VARIANT FOUR - Classroom variant with flashcards to 60 pupils Pupils stand at their desks with a wolf up front In this version, each class member has a flashcard with a different time on it Remember you can ask the class to draw a clock and choose a time themselves, to have everyone kitted out with their own flashcard in minutes When the wolf gives a time, e.g "It's half past five", anyone holding that time must call back "It's half past five", or "Is it really?" The class keep their flashcards flat on their desks, or hidden from the wolf The wolf then turns round and must identify who replied by the sound of their voice If the wolf does this successfully that person becomes the next wolf Or you swap the wolf over each time VARIANT FIVE - Classroom variant with flashcards to 30 pupils This variant is a little more lively,but still very manageable Basic set up as above The class hold up their flashcards (see variant 4) to the wolf The wolf mentally picks one of the times he sees and turns away from the class The class ask in unison, "What time is it Mr Wolf?" Mr Wolf says "It's five o'clock", and then counts to four at a steady pace The class members holding "five o'clock" may, if they choose to, quickly swap their card, or give it to a neighbour before the wolf turns around Every one freezes On the count of the wolf turns round and tries to catch someone moving The wolf then names the person he believes to be holding the o'clock card AND REMEMBER If you like these ideas, why not add more great teaching ideas to your repertoire now? I have over 101 games now in my eBook "101 English language games for children" Most of them can be played in class with no or limited materials Just go to Teaching English Games to find out more Language ideas to use with this game The most obvious, easy adaptation is to use the time theme, but with different tenses E.g "What time did the wolf come in?" The wolf replies, "It came in at o'clock" Or, "When will the wolf come in?" "It'll come in at o'clock" Or, "When is the wolf coming in?" "'It's coming in at o'clock" You can modify this game for other questions and answers Here is one example to give you the idea Use with variants two to five, using flashcards Let's say you want to practise, "Where are you going on Saturday?" The wolf replies, "I'm going to the beach." 3.Materials for you to try this game Telling the time flashcards are provided free at the link lower down on this page Tell us what you think We'd love to hear how you get on with this game Free Flashcards To download please click on the link below and save to your computer It is a PDF document so you will need Acrobat to read it If you not have this you can download it free Just type in "download Adobe Reader" into Google and you'll find it Download your free materials here: o'clock.pdf halfpast.pdf You can also use these flashcards in the many different games described in 101 English Language Games for Children Visit Teaching English Games to find out more about my ebook of games Tips on using the flashcards Simply print out the flash cards you would like to use, and where necessary, cut them up with a guillotine type cutter If you want them to last a lifetime you can print them out on card and then laminate them You can then have them ready for use in other games and for different groups of students As you build your repertoire of games and ready-made materials your class preparation time will be dramatically reduced