Page 326 - KSPK ENGLISH LANGUAGE

CIRCLE TIME EXPLOIT 5: GAME – The thinking game

MATERIALS: Topic flashcards or realia (e.g. toys, clothes, fruit, toy animals)
STEPS:
 Announce the game, e.g. Let’s play the thinking game!
 Place a maximum of five flashcards or objects on the floor, the wall or board for the children to
see.
 Begin by modelling how to play. Select one, but keep it secret. Say, I’m thinking of a toy. It isn’t
the car, it isn’t the doll, it isn’t a computer game and it isn’t a spinning top. What is it?
 Invite individual children to guess what it is, e.g. Is it a puzzle?
 If the guess is incorrect, say No, it isn’t. If the guess is correct, say Yes, it is! and the
child who guessed correctly can come to the front and lead the game.
 Help them to select an object – they should whisper it to you first. Then help them say
which toys it is not and to respond to questions from the class, using Yes it is, or No it
isn’t. Encourage the class to ask full questions too, e.g. Is it a teddy?

Extension
Playing with multiple topics works especially well if the children have been playing with the topic
sets of words and expressions.
 Instead of using a set of flashcards or realia from one topic, use target words from four
topics, e.g. a teddy bear, a nose, a baby, a pencil.
 Model how to play: I’m thinking of a word. It isn’t a family word, it isn’t a toy word, it isn’t
a face word, what is it?
 Encourage children to ask you using sentences: e.g. Is it a pencil?
 Respond and ask children to tell you which set it belongs to: Yes, it is! What set is it?
 It’s a classroom word.

Progression notes: Observe which children are able to successfully use whole sentences to
play the game.

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