Abstract

This effective practice suggests a creative approach for learning the difference between parts of language that is engaging and fun for students. The strategy was contributed by Sarah Bellanger in February 2009 via the America Learns Network.

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Action

Adapting the classic game of charades helped students understand the difference between verbs and nouns.

To Play the Game:

Step 1: Create the cards you'll use for the activity.

Prior to the lesson, write one verb on each note card. Create a second “deck” of note cards that have a single noun written on them. Place all of the note cards in a hat or bag so that the student can pick out one card at a time without looking.

Step 2: Play the game.

To begin, introduce the rules. Explain that one student at a time will pick a card from the hat/bag. He’ll then act out the word without speaking or making any other sounds and everybody else will try to guess the word. You and other students can call out guesses as they come to mind. (If "calling out guesses" gets out of hand, you may ask the students to raise their hands before calling out a name. You may also give each student one chance to call out a word before students can make additional guesses.)

Getting Advanced:

To make the game more challenging, before your student acts out the word, you can ask him to first use the gesture of “raising his fingers” to indicate how many syllables the word contains. Two fingers means two syllables, three fingers means three syllables, etc.

Your student can also use the following signs to communicate other details about the word before or while he is acting:

• “Sounds like" - Cup your hand to your ear or pull your earlobe.
• "Short word" - Thumb and index finger close together. Commonly used for "a", "the", "of", "and."
• "Shorter or longer version of the word you're guessing" - hands upright pushing together or pulling apart.

After several rounds, you may find that it will be helpful to have a pre-determined time limit (such as four to five minutes) so that you don’t get stuck on a single word.

Step 3: After each round, ask the student who acted out the word to share whether the word is a verb or noun, and why that’s so.

If the student is incorrect, consider asking another student to act out the word in the same way the student at issue acted it out. (If there aren't other students, you should act it out.) This way, the student at issue will have an opportunity to "see the word" as well, not just act it out. Ask if what's being acted out is an action or a person, place or thing. (You can get quick definitions of nouns and verbs at America Learns' Eduspeak page.)

Step 4: Reflection questions to ask students following the activity:

1. What was one of the differences between the charades that acted out verbs and the charades that acted out nouns?
2. How will you remember the difference between nouns and verbs?
3. Which words did we use today that you'd like to include in some of your writing?

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Context

Sarah Belanger is a junior at the University of Michigan during academic year 2008-09. A tutor since 2006 with the University’s America Reads Tutoring Corps as a work/study student, Sarah successfully adapted the game of charades to help her students learn the elements of language.

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Citation

February 2009 America Learns National Strategy of the Month: Verbs and Nouns Charade by Sarah Bellanger at University of Michigan America Reads Tutoring Corps.

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Outcome

Sarah reflected that “This activity helped my tutee understand the difference between nouns and verbs and was fun at the same time!”

Meg McKenzie, Sarah's supervisor, commented on the game. “Sarah’s strategy is a great movement-based activity. This multiple intelligence activity is great for bodily-kinesthetic learning styles, in which the child learns best through touching or moving and processes knowledge through bodily sensations.”

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Related Practices

• Introducing nouns to students

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