Make it Taboo!

When teaching Julius Caesar this year, I wanted to focus on the power of language...how there is power in the words we use (after all, Caesar was slain first with barbed words and sharp tongues). How could I effectively demonstrate this to doubting teens? Make it Taboo!

I divided the class into 4 or 5 groups (depending on class size). Within these groups, the students played Taboo...with a twist.

The objective? To see language as a powerful tool one weilds purposefully and tactically. 

Or in Common Core termes: 

       CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.9-10.3

       To apply knowledge of language to understand how language functions in different 

       contexts, to make effective choices for meaning or style, and to comprehend more fully 

       when reading or listening.

Here's how it works:

        1. Give each group  a stack of taboo cards, a scorecard, and a buzzer. (If you only have one     

            taboo game, any noisemaker will work as a buzzer; students may even choose to use an app 

            on their phones.)

       2. Each group will choose someone to give the clues, someone to control the buzzer, and

           someone to keep score. All other group members will guess the target word.

       3. The game is played in 3 rounds.

• Round 1: The clue giver can say ANYTHING. The buzzer will not be used this round.

• Round 2: The clue giver follows the traditional Taboo rules wherein he/she cannot say the words on the clue card. The buzzer will be sounded when any of the taboo words are said.

• Round 3: The clue giver cannot speak AT ALL. The buzzer is used if ANYTHING is said.

          4. After each round, the score keeper for each group shares their score. As a class, we  discuss 

              any obstacles in that round.

         5. As a class, we discuss how, when language is restricted, it becomes a less powerful tool. 

The 'Aha' moment? When the students realize their ideas cannot be expressed without language. EUREKA!

A student gives clues without restrictions in Round 1.

The kids loved this activity! They said they didn't even feel like they were in English class...too much fun. SCORE!

I think I may use this activity at the beginning of the year next yeaar to answer the age old question, "Why do I have to learn this?".

Thanks for reading!