In college, my roommates loved to play a game called telephone pictionary. It was their favorite large group game and it was played at most gatherings we hosted. After playing telephone pictionary for years with my friends, I had a revelation a few years back: I could use this game as a classroom activity with my students! And I am happy to report that they love it! I teach Spanish 1, 2 and 5 and I use it in every level, with some modifications, which I will get into below.
Here is how the game works:
- Pre-cut paper into squares. I cut a piece of paper into 16 pieces, like in the template below. You can print and use the template or I have started cutting up any extra copies I have rather than just throwing them away. The pieces should be similar in size, but don’t have to be all exactly the same.
- Have students move their desks to sit in a circle, they will need a writing surface and a writing utensil. Depending on the size of the class, you can keep them all together or split them into multiple groups. I like to have at least 10-12 students per group, and then the game tends to take about 25 minutes.
- Hand out the slips of paper and have students count out as many slips as people playing. For example: if 12 students are playing then each student needs 12 slips. Collect the extras.
- In one of the corners, students number their slips of paper starting with 1. They should write the number small in the corner. I have them do this for 2 reasons, 1) this way they double check their counting and 2) this way if something happens to their stack of papers it is easy to put them back in order. So again, if 12 students are playing, students should number their slips from 1 to 12.
- Students stack their slips in a pile with 1 on top and the highest number on the bottom.
- On slip #1, students write a sentence in Spanish. Give them a couple minutes.
- All students then pass their ENTIRE STACK of papers one person to their left.
- Students read the sentence on slip #1 and then on SLIP #2 they draw a picture that represents the sentence.
- Before passing to the next person, students place slip #1 on top and leave slip #2 on top of the pile.
- Students pass the ENTIRE STACK to the next student, who looks at the picture on slip #2 and then writes a sentence to describe the picture on SLIP #3. *Important students may only look at the top slip of paper, not the previous slips.
- Students continue alternating between writing and drawing until the stacks make it back to their original students. At which point students lay out the cards and follow the transformation of their sentences.
Why I love to use this game:
Even though my students don’t realize it, they are using Spanish the whole time they are playing! They are practicing their reading and writing skills and having tons of fun doing it. It also gives them a way to be creative with the language. I always remind them the game is called telephone pictionary, so just like the game of telephone the sentences won’t stay the same the whole time and that’s ok, my only goal for them is to always use Spanish in their sentences. I also love that this game reinforces grammar and vocabulary. I usually make the rule that students have to use at least 1 or 2 verbs or vocab words from their lists and use whichever tense we are practicing in class. This not only reinforces the content, but also helps students as they write sentences because they know it has to include words from their lists. With Spanish 5 students I sometimes let them write sentences about anything they want, especially since they beg to play and it is a great review or extra activity to have ready for them. For Spanish 1 or 2, you can modify this game by giving students a ready-made sentence so they don’t have to write one all on their own or sometimes I write give each student a different verb they have to use in their original sentence. If you give them a ready-made sentence, just keep in mind that means that students will have 1 more slip of paper than players and will draw first rather than write. I’ve provided an example of ready-made sentences below.
Telephone pictionary has become a favorite activity of my students and they are always excited to play! It is one of the times I hear the most laughter from my students during class, because like the game of telephone their sentences always get changed, usually for the funnier! And at the end, they love going around the circle and sharing their sentence’s transformation!