Who wants to be a Smart Student?

Back when I did my Teaching Placement, which seemed so long ago, I was browsing online one night and I came across a link on Facebook which had an interactive game in Filipino. I recognised the game and it was Who Wants to be a Millionaire. The original British version of the show debuted on 4 September 1998, and aired on ITV with Chris Tarrant as its host until 11 February 2014. International variants have aired in around 160 countries worldwide.

Growing up, I loved watching the show and even got the electronic game of it as part of a Christmas present. Ecstatic was an understatement that Christmas morning! I know students at post primary level love games and quizzes and are really engaged by them, so being inspired by the show, I created my own version of ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ for the classroom with a new name – Who wants to be a Smart Student?

I downloaded blank templates of the game on Google images and made it an interactive game through a PowerPoint presentation with live sound effects from the show which I recorded on YouTube and saved them. I even gave the options available on the show – Phone a friend, ask the audience and 50/50, which takes two answers away and leaves two to choose from.

My first one (the prototype as I call it ) was for a First Year History class last year and I based it on Section II Studies of change on the Junior Cycle History Syllabus.

    

When we finished the topic of the Age of Explorations and Discovery I concluded with a written assessment and then this game on the Friday. This game covered significant points on the syllabus with questions looking at

• Why people wanted new sea routes
• What made the voyages possible
• The main consequences of these voyages
• An account of one exploration
• A particular focus on an explorer (The People in History question ties in with this)

The students loved it and always asked when the next game was. You can download the Who Wants to be a Smart Student prototype game here …. Millionaire Quiz History 1. I have used this game in Religious Education also and was particularly helpful when I was testing out the Ten Commandments.

This interactive game has gone down a treat in every classroom that I’ve been in. It is also great as an Assessment for learning tool weather it’s at the end of a term , week or at the end of a topic. I have included my game ‘Who Wants to be a Smart Student?’ as a simple, easy to use, FREE resource for you to download and use as much as you like. Here it is —-> Millionaire Quiz Blank Copy. All you have to do is edit it and type your own questions in to test your students. You can make them as difficult or as easy as you like depending on the level of ability in class and it doesn’t take long to make at all which is a bonus! The only suggestion I would have is that sometimes the boxes aren’t big enough for answers so simply click the ‘Insert’ tab on the top of your screen and insert a textbox and write in your answer.

As the prize for the student who gets to One Million, I give out prizes which could range from good notes in their journal, earn points for their class, jellies or homework free tickets. I often let the students know when we will play this game and the students study hard when they know that any one of them could be picked to play and try hard for themselves and their class group.

On a slightly separate note, if any teacher is showing their classes the film Slumdog Millionaire, there is fantastic lesson plans and ideas here to use and it would be useful to use this game ‘Who Wants to be a Smart Student?’ in conjunction with this lesson as a form of assessment as the ‘Who wants to be a Millionaire?’ gameshow features throughout the film.

            

For any questions about the game or if you are having an issue setting it up, please let me know and I will help in any way that I can. I hope your classroom comes alive with this resource and that you find it useful in teaching and assessing!  🙂