Digital Play

By kylemawer 　http://www.digitalplay.info/blog/2009/10/23/machinarium-a-phrasal-verb-gap-fill-activity/

Machinarium is an incredible hand drawn online video game with engaging puzzles, a little humour and a walkthrough that is great for a phrasal verbs gap fill activity.

The Game

You are a robot and you find yourself in a scrap yard and you need to get back to the city.  First of all you need to put your body back together and then solve various puzzles en route back to robot city.  The Puzzles can be difficult to solve and a walkthrough makes things a lot easier . . .

Preparation

Print a copy of the walkthrough gap fill activity (either a copy for each learner or a copy for each pair) as well as the walkthrough.  The walkthrough tells you how to complete the game.  For instance the first thing you have to do in the game is:

Make the bathtub disappear and then get the torso to jump down (just click it!)

Spot the phrasal verb?  Gap it out and you have the start of a gap fill activity that focuses on phrasal verbs:

Make the bathtub disappear and then get the torso to __________ (just click it!)

Pre gaming

Hand out walkthrough gap fill in class and ask them to read the phrasal verbs at the top.  Do they understand them all?  Remember that most of them involve verbs of action and a preposition so you may find miming them a little easier than explaining.

Tell them they have 10 minutes to read the walkthrough gap fill and to guess which phrasal verbs may go in the space.  Point out that the asterisk means that the phrasal verb can be separated.  That is, the object goes between the verb and the particle.  Without seeing the phrasal verbs in context this is quite a hard activity.  This activity is more to orientate your learners and to get a general understanding rather than to complete the gaps.  Encourage them to discuss what might go in the spaces.  If they want to write then they should use a pencil.

Gaming

Learners take their walkthrough gap fill to the computer room and use it to play the game and complete the puzzles.  By playing the game they can more clearly see the context in which the phrasal verbs are used.

Post gaming

When you are back in class feedback on the answers.  At times you may find that learners’ answers differ from the master copy walkthrough. Discuss any differences and decide if they are ok or not.  You may wish to do a follow up activity on the phrasal verbs, looking at the different types (see activity sheet II)

Homework

Ask your learners to find a short walkthrough to a game and add some of the phrasal verbs they saw in the class today.

About the game Machinarium

This walkthrough is not for the complete game but it does cover the three levels you can play for free on the internet.  When you have played the game using the walkthrough this is the end of the demo and if you want to play more you have to pay for the full version.  The full version of Machinarium costs 12.99 €. You may be able to convince your school to purchase the full version.  You can then adapt a full version walkthrough for use in the class.  Check our website for more ideas on how to use a walkthrough.