Also, students are motivated to communicate with their own group to help each other get bonus points or rewards. I have witnessed an increase in students talking to members of other groups, people they had seldom tried to communicate with previously. This game requires students to pay attention to other groups’ questions as well as teacher responses in order to gain hints about what to ask on their next turn. This is a good game to play after lessons on describing people. When a group gets answer 4, give them a reward or prize. If class time is waning, let groups guess number 4 by raising hands. I usually make number 4 a place everyone knows, such as the school library. When students have found answers 1-3, tell them to guess number 4 by gut instinct. Step 4: By now, many classes will have found answers to items 1 and 2. Sometimes, I choose things that could not be real weapons, like my sunglasses. Step 3: Choose some common object as the weapon (I usually choose an object in the classroom). For three-student groups, the two who have not asked a question can decide who will ask next. The member who did not ask a question in round one must do so now. After one round, go back to the first group. In round one, each group decides (either by janken or coin toss) which member will ask the group’s question. Step 2: Decide the order in which groups ask questions. Offer rewards or bonus points to groups who announce answers correctly during the game if feasible. When students find all four answers, the game is over. I usually put students into groups of two or three. Step 1: Write the four answers down on paper to avoid any temptation to change them during the game. For example, for item 1 ask “Is the criminal wearing glasses, blue jeans, sports shoes?” or for item 2 ask “Does the victim have black/brown/blond hair?” and so on.
Write suggestions on the board for ways students can ask about items. Step 5: Give additional hints as necessary. Only questions giving yes or no answers are allowed. Step 4: Tell students they must ask questions about the four written items in order, finding the answer to item 1 before asking about item 2 and the answer to item 3 before asking about item 4. After all, the teacher is also in the classroom! Tell students that both the criminal and victim are in the classroom! When I first play this game in class, I usually play the criminal to see how soon students realize my chicanery. Step 3: Check student comprehension by providing definitions in their first language for criminal, victim, weapon, and place. For advanced classes, you can add a fifth item, the motive, but this is not necessary. They are: (1) the criminal, (2) the victim, (3) the weapon, and (4) the place. Step 2: Explain that students must find answers to the four items written on the blackboard. After students calm down, explain that this “crime” is a story you have created and that they must solve the mystery by asking you questions to determine what has happened. Step 1: Tell students that a crime has happened on campus and that they must solve it. It provides practice using simple questions while getting students to listen carefully and communicate better with classmates. This game, recommended by a former colleague, has gotten consistently favorable responses from students. Learner English level: Elementary to advancedĪctivity time: 25-45 minutes, depending on class size and level Keywords: Mystery, communication, cooperation
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