Defining Through Verbal Charades

LANGUAGE ARTS :: SECONDARY RESOURCES :: RIGHT DIRECTION 2 :: DEFINING THROUGH VERBAL CHARADES

DEFINING THROUGH VERBAL CHARADES

Planning Points

Approximate Time Needed: 1 - 2 days
Correlation to English I SCS: 1.01, 1.02, 2.01, 2.02, 4.01, 6.01
Correlation to NC High School Exit Exam Competencies:C1, C2, C3, C4, C7, PI9, PI10, PI13

Lesson Objectives

- The primary objectives of this lesson are to for students to:

Understand the need to define abstract concepts
Practice different strategies for defining concepts
Listen and analyze key words from student presentations

Materials Needed:

Teacher-provided verbal charades (sample for thoughtful/reflective given)
Overhead pens and transparencies comprehension and understanding of literary techniques.

Description:

Explain to students that words can be defined in different ways. For example, write the definition of "Freshman" (a student in the first year of high school) on the board. Have them imagine they are talking with someone from another culture who would not understand the term and ask them to write a journal entry about a time when they really felt like freshmen. Then ask them if the dictionary definition is all it means to be a freshman. Ask for volunteers to share journal entries and discuss what else being a freshman means.
Teacher-provided charades:
- Instruct students to listen to each of the attached charades carefully, thinking about what word(s) might be illustrated. After each charade is read, the listeners write down the words that it suggests to them. It's important that this guessing be done in writing, not out loud, so as to not influence responses to the next charade.
- Students discuss words for each charade and for the three charades together. As they discuss, students should refer back to the texts to support their ideas. (Students may discuss in small groups before whole group.) Place charades on overhead transparency to circle or underline key details as students identify them in the whole class discussion. The class tries to reach a consensus.
- Reveal the "mystery word." Have the class discuss how the charades worked: What details clued the class in? What details threw the class off? In terms of reading and writing, this focus on key details is probably the most valuable part of the whole activity.
Student developed charades:
- Divide students into teams of 3-4 players. Give each team a mystery word (such as manipulative, energetic, responsible, intense, wise, hypocritical) and remind teams to conceal words from others.
- Each member of the team writes a charade illustrating the word. The team members then read each other's charades and suggest revisions. After revisions are made, the team decides on the order in which their charades will be read aloud to the whole group. The game works best if the charades are read with the least obvious one first and the most obvious one last.
- After all the teams are ready, the first team reads their charades aloud to the rest of the class. Students should write down words suggested by each charade, as above in warm-up.
- All of the team's charades have been read, the whole class shares their guesses and tries to reach a consensus. Then, the team reveals its mystery word.
- As in the warm-up exercise, before moving on to the next team, the current team and the class discuss how the charades worked: What details clued the class in? What details threw the class off?
- Then, the second team reads their charades. The process continues until all the teams have finished.

Assessment:

Informal assessment occurs in the discussion of the key details and student understanding.

Additional Notes:

The verbal charades activity is adapted from Thomas Carnicelli, Words that Work: Activities for Developing Vocabulary, Style, and Critical Thinking (Heinemann, 2001). "A written sketch that illustrates the meaning of a word without using that word might be called a verbal charadeÉ.In verbal charades, reading a written sketch out loud takes the place of acting something out physically; the clues are in the writing, not in the acting." (Carnicelli, p. 11)
This activity can be repeated several times throughout the year with different concepts. It would work well tied to literature; for example, with Great Expectations, students might define success, contentment, love, revenge, sophistication, envy, villain, etc.
To extend the activity and connections with the definition paper more fully, student groups could be asked to develop charades that include literary examples, negations, and other types of development. For example, "compassionate" charades could include a poem with examples of thoughtful gestures, a negation example of someone who is self-centered, a literary example from To Kill a Mockingbird, etc.

Teacher's Notes:

Verbal Charade Examples:

Sally sat looking at her class registration form. She turned to her friend. "Matt, do you remember when the guidance counselor came to our class last fall to talk to us about choosing classes and investigating career choices?"
"Sure, why?" said Matt

"Well, I really liked Mrs. Brown's class, and I love working on the computer, like we did for our group brochure in English class. I wonder if there are classes like that I can take. And how would I know what a job working on computers all day would be like?"
"I bet Mrs. Brown could help you out with the courses Ð and maybe even fix you up with someone in computers, too." Matt suggested. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask. I'll go see her at lunch."
Tom's class was watching a documentary about a woman who survived the Holocaust. As she spoke about her struggles to stay alive, she also spoke of friendships and hope within the dire situation. Like the rest of the class, Tom was surprised when she discussed how she met her future husband when he was part of the American forces that rescued her. Tom gazed out the window, comparing the woman's situation to his life. He remembered his own frustrations that morning as he rushed to get ready for school, his complaints about granola bars for breakfast, his argument with his mom about riding to school with friends rather than taking the bus. They seemed so small now. "Tom, would you like to join us?" asked Mr. Carter. Suddenly, Tom realized the class was almost over and the teacher had begun talking about homework due tomorrow.
As Gail reached the end of the story about the migrant farm working family, she slowed down her reading pace. She anticipated the unhappy end of the story and wanted to prolong the character's excitement about learning to read and his success in his math class. Reading the final paragraph, Gail pictured the boy's somber response to returning home and finding all of his family's belongings packed neatly into cardboard boxes Ð time to move on, again. Gail was impressed by the boy's determination in spite of his limited opportunity for an education. She noticed that this story contrasted sharply with the stereotypes she had about migrant workers and their interest in education. She began to wonder what other aspects of the boy's life might be different than her own and what similarities she might find if she explored further. She wrote down the author's name and decided to ask her teacher about him. Maybe she would even go to the library after school to look him up.

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