Play Countdown in class

Here’s a great game to use in your classroom with your students. It’s a clever way to have fun with letters and numbers.

The game includes the clock sound effect from the British gameshow, Countdown. Visit and bookmark the site here. Countdown has been airing in the UK on Channel 4 since 1982 and is based on the French program Des chiffres et des lettres.

The Australian version, Letters and Numbers (named to avoid confusion with the long running Countdown music show on ABC TV in the 1970s and 1980s), aired on SBS from 2010 to 2012. The show is currently being “rested”. The UK version was being broadcast on SBS but is also no longer airing.

Hopefully SBS can return Letters and Numbers or Countdown to the airwaves as it is a great way to encourage students to exercise their minds for literacy and numeracy.
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Links

• http://www.purely-games.com/countdown.html – Play Countdown in the classroom or at home with friends.
• http://www.apterous.org/ – A site where people practice the Countdown games. Almost every series winner in recent years has used this site to practice.
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letters_and_Numbers
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countdown_(game_show)
• http://www.sbs.com.au/shows/lettersandnumbers
• http://www.channel4.com/programmes/countdown

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