Bridge for the Derds - Construction Game
This version of the game is tailored to pre-intermediate level ESL/EFL students. This version also includes a vocabulary list, and small role cards for the Derds.In this game half the class will be Derds (a fictional people), the other half engineers who help the Derds build their first bridge. An actual bridge will be built from cardboard paper in English class. Hilarity will ensue after the two teams meet and start working on the bridge. :)Derd role description:You live in a country called ‘Derdia.’ There is a deep canyon between your village and the market of the nearby town. This is a huge inconvenience (=problem), because if you want to go grocery shopping there, you have to walk for 2 days to get around the canyon and reach the market. If there was a bridge over the canyon, the trip would take only 2 hours.Now the Derdian government hired (=paid) a construction company from the EU to visit you and teach you the science of building bridges. That means you are going to be the first engineers in Derdia with a license to construct bridges in your country.Also, you and the engineers will build the first bridge of Derdia together.You will use cardboard paper, pens, scissors and glue to build the bridge. You are familiar with (=you know) the materials, but not with the construction methods (=how to build it).Engineer role description:You are engineers working for a construction company in the European Union. The Derdian government has recently hired your company teach a group of Derds how to construct (=build) bridges. You will visit their village and build the first bridge together. You have to keep the deadline (=finish in time) agreed upon, otherwise you will not get paid and will lose your jobs.Derdia is a mountainous country beyond the Operentsian Sea with deep canyons and valleys, but without any bridges. There is a deep canyon between the Derdian village you are visiting and the market of the nearby town. This is a huge inconvenience (=problem), because if they want to go grocery shopping there, they have to walk for 2 days to get around the canyon and reach the market. If there was a bridge over the canyon, the trip would take only 2 hours.It is important to not just build the first bridge, but also to train (=teach) the first Derdian engineers how to build bridges alone in Derdia.