Charades - Hobbies Vocabulary
This is a good activity for low level students or first year students who are learning/reviewing conversation vocabulary about their hobbies/interests. This is also great if you have very little time to prep or need something to fill time.
Time
20 ~ 40 mins
Directions
Teacher divides class into two groups and Then explains the basic directions: one person will come to the front, teachers show him the card (example "playing baseball"), the student will act out the activity without talking. His group will have 1 min to guess and answer in a complete sentence. If his group cannot answer correctly, the other group gets a chance to guess the action (but does not get extra time). No talking, only gestures. Next, the other team gets a turn, and so on. The 1 min time limit keeps things moving quickly as to keep the game more interesting and cover more vocabulary. The teacher should choose genki students for the first round so the class becomes more comfortable with the activity. Finally, if the same student is always answering on each team, the teacher can insist a new person needs to answer.
Students should phrase their answer in a complete sentence. Before the game begins, the teacher writes the target phrase on the board. Examples are:
"His/her hobby is _______"
"She/he likes to _______"
"In his/her free time, he/she likes to _____"
"On the weekends, he/she enjoys _____"
Staggering Difficulty
At teacher discretion, students can be allowed to use textbooks, but most classes should not need it. Teacher should also consider the student's attitude and ability when selecting the action card for the performing student. Obviously, "Watching TV" is a harder activity to act out than "playing soccer". If a student does not understand the action card or is too shy to act it out, the teacher should select a new card. However, if this drags on and the student continues to ask for a different action, the teacher can prompt him to make a quick decision by giving an ultimatum between two action cards.
