Five-Week Plan
This sequence teaches the speaking craft behind a game show: hosting, format, questions, contestant care and the production roles that make a live event run. It ends with an original classroom game show designed and performed by students.
The shape of the unit
| Week | Focus | Core moves | Formative evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The speaking craft | Study hosting and presence; try a short host segment. | A 60-second host opening. |
| 2 | Format and rules | Design an original format; write simple, fair rules. | A one-page format sheet. |
| 3 | Questions and contestant care | Write accurate questions; build a consent and care plan. | A question set and a care checklist. |
| 4 | Energy, roles and technical craft | Build audience energy; share roles; use a microphone and set. | A role chart and a technical run. |
| 5 | Pacing, contingency and the show | Plan timing and backups; run the show; review. | A run sheet, a live show and a reflection. |
A typical lesson
| Time | Routine | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 5 minutes | Voice and presence warm-up. | Prepare the instrument. |
| 10 minutes | Watch or read a short host segment and name what worked. | Notice before naming. |
| 10 minutes | Teach one hosting or production skill. | Make the craft visible. |
| 15 minutes | Apply it in pairs or small groups. | Move from theory to use. |
| 10 minutes | Perform a short segment and receive one specific response. | Test whether it landed. |
| 5 minutes | Reflect and record one change. | Make improvement deliberate. |
Week by week
Week 1: The speaking craft of the game show
Begin with the host's job: welcome the room, explain the format, keep the pace, manage the contestant and build suspense. Students try a sixty-second opening with a welcome, a rule and a question. The emphasis is on warmth and clarity, not imitation.
Week 2: Format and rules
Students design an original format. It might be a quiz, a guessing game, a challenge, a panel or a physical task. The format must be simple enough to explain in thirty seconds, fair enough for every contestant and repeatable across rounds. Students write the rules and test them with a paper run.
Week 3: Questions and contestant care
Students write questions with one clear answer, check them for accuracy and ambiguity, and sort them by difficulty. They also build a care plan: how contestants are chosen, how consent is obtained, how a contestant can pass, how mistakes are handled and how the show avoids humiliation.
Week 4: Energy, roles and technical craft
Students learn to read and lift audience energy without pressuring people. They rotate through production roles, practise microphone technique and set up a simple staging plan. The aim is a show that feels lively but controlled.
Week 5: Pacing, contingency and the show
Students build a run sheet, rehearse transitions and plan for delays, wrong answers, technical failure and a contestant who wants to stop. They perform an original classroom game show for a small audience, then review it against the success criteria.
Materials
- A room with space for a host, contestants and an audience.
- A timer and a visible clock.
- Question cards and answer sheets.
- A simple scoreboard or whiteboard.
- A microphone and speaker if available.
- Role cards and a run sheet.
- Optional props that are safe and easy to clear.
What students produce
| Product | Purpose | Keep it manageable |
|---|---|---|
| Host opening | Practises welcome, rules and presence. | 60 seconds. |
| Format sheet | Defines the game and its rounds. | One page. |
| Rules card | Explains the format clearly. | Five rules maximum. |
| Question set | Supplies accurate, fair content. | Twenty questions. |
| Answer key | Keeps judging consistent. | One page. |
| Contestant care plan | Protects dignity and consent. | One page. |
| Audience energy plan | Builds atmosphere without pressure. | Three strategies. |
| Role chart | Clarifies who does what. | One page. |
| Technical checklist | Prevents avoidable failures. | Ten items. |
| Run sheet | Keeps the show on time. | One page. |
| Live show | Integrates the skills. | 10–15 minutes. |
| Review | Makes learning visible. | 100–200 words. |
The host serves the room. A good game show is not a performance by one person; it is an experience the audience and contestants create together.
Routines that save time
- Thirty-second rules. Explain a format in half a minute.
- One-question warm-up. Ask, pause, reveal.
- Three-beat hosting. Welcome, explain, invite.
- Silent reset. Practise returning the room to quiet after a round.
- Role swap. Rotate host, judge and scorekeeper every ten minutes.
Common planning errors
- Copying a commercial format. Design something original.
- Too many rules. The audience cannot follow.
- Questions with two answers. The show stalls.
- Humiliating contestants. It is not entertainment.
- No run sheet. The show overruns.
- One person does everything. The production collapses.
- No plan for a contestant who wants to stop. Consent is not real.
Next, read outcomes and skills to see what the unit builds towards. The game shows as speaking practice page begins the conceptual work.