(A Modern Adaptation of the Victorian “Charades” Game)
Standards Met:
ELA5W2 Students demonstrate competence in a variety of genres.
ELA5C1 Students demonstrate understanding and control of the rules of the English language, realizing that usage involves the appropriate application of conventions and grammar in both written and spoken formats.
ELA5LSV1 Students participate in student-to-teacher, student-to-student, and group verbal interactions.
LEA5LSV2 Students listen to and view various forms of text and media in order to gather and share information, persuade others, and express and understand ideas.
VA5MC.1 Students engage in the creative process to generate and visualize ideas.
VA5MC.2 Students formulate personal responses to visual imagery.
VA5MC.3 Selects and uses subject matter, symbols, and/or ideas to communicate meaning.
National Standard 4 The student understands the visual arts in relation to history and culture.
Lesson Plan
One of the most popular games Victorian society would play during their tea parties is “Charades.” In order to renovate this old game into a new challenge, we will modify the rules, but only slightly.
Divide the class into two teams. Have each person write down three terms that s/he has learned that pertain to the Victorian Era, tea parties, or the traveling trunk exhibit. Put all the slips of paper into the top hat.
Each person will have a turn to act out as many of the cards as s/he can in one minute, and for each card, the teacher will award one point to that team. Additional requirements may be added according to the specific population of students, such as if the student is allowed to skip cards, etc. After the first student has acted, the hat switches teams. Every student should get a turn to act.
There are three rounds to this kind of charade, which is what makes it Top Hat. During Round One, the actors may use as many words as s/he needs. For example, if the term the actor draws is “Top Hat,” s/he could say, “It’s the game we’re playing right now, and we put all of our cards into one of them.” The actors may not, of course, say the term on the card.
When the cards run out, the teacher puts all of the cards back in the hat, and Round Two begins. During Round Two, only one word may be said the entire time. If the term was “Top Hat,” the actor could say, “Cap.” Again, the actors only have one minute, and when the time runs out, the hat switches teams.
When the cards run out, the teacher puts all of the cards back into the hat again. During Round Three, NO WORDS MAY BE USED. This time, the actor may only use gestures, and the audience has to rely on its own memory of the terms in the hat on previous rounds. If “Top Hat” was the term, again, the actor might mime putting on the hat itself. This time, when the cards run out, the teacher awards the points, and the highest number wins.
The point of the game is to review what the students have learned, and also demonstrate their knowledge by acting out the uses or procedures of the artifacts or time period.
