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There is a bird in a poem by T. S. Eliot who says that mankind cannot bear very much reality; but the bird is mistaken. A man can endure the entire weight of the universe for eighty years. It is unreality that he cannot bear.

Ursla Le Guin (1929-2018)

The Lathe of Heaven, 1971

Centipede

Target:

vocabulary, new mixed with old

Age:

elementary and up

Duration:

7-15 minutes

Class Size:

Any

Energy Level:

moderate

Type:

co-operative memory game

Equipment:

flashcards, a dice, a mover, a timer , a whiteboard

verbal
memory
focused
listening

This is an extension of snake.

Draw a big centipede on the board. Divide its body into 15-25 segments. The more segments the longer the game. Make sure that the centipede has a large, circular head.

Whereas the original snake game focuses on few flashcards this game typically uses a whole set, that is between 32-48 cards. Players should be familiar with the snake game before playing this one.

Take the mover and put it in the final tail segment. Set the time for twenty seconds and start it. Go through the cards as quickly as possible. Make a pile of cards the players know and another of the ones that they don't know.

For every card named correctly move the mover one segment out of the centipede. For every card missed draw a tooth in the centipede's mouth. Put the cards named correctly to one side. Named the missed cards for the players and shuffle them back into the deck.

Before starting the next round have one of the players role the dice. Move the mover back that number of spaces.

If the players go through the pack then shuffle all the cards and start again. Often the players may end up with just two or three cards to get before the pack is finished. In such cases the round may end early but nevertheless still role the backwards dice as normal.

The game is won if the players are able to get out through the centipedes mouth before it is full of teeth.

This game can be tough to win. Incidentally, the reason it is called centipede is that I was using a centipede as an alternative to a snake when the game idea was first tried.