Through this game the students practice using the attributes of an object. In the former identifying activities, a leader selected an item and gave a set of clues. The players used the given attribute clues to narrow the possible choices to one. In this game the leader selects an item, but the players must provide their own clues to narrow the possible choices.

Introduction Activity

You may recognize this game as I Spy. In this game the players use attributes to identify a specific object.

  • The leader thinks of an object in the room visible to all the players. The leader keeps the identity of the object a secret.
  • The players take turns. Each player asks a question about the secret object. The questions help determine the secret object’s attributes.
  • The leader answers all the questions with either a “yes” or a “no.”
  • On their turn, the players have two choices. Either they ask a question or they guess the object. They cannot do both.
  • The player who guesses an incorrect object is out of the round.
  • The player that guesses the correct object is the winner.
  • The winner becomes the next leader.
  • The leader keeps track of the number of questions asked.
  • The round is over after the 20th question or when all of the players are out.
  • If the object is still secret at the end of the round, the leader announces the name of the object.

If there is no winner, the leader selects another object and takes another turn as leader. Or s/he selects a new leader for the next round, someone who has not been leader.

Example

Here is a short example of the game. In this example the leader chose his stuffed dinosaur as his object.

  1. Player 1: What color is it?
  2. Leader: Yes. (The leader can only answer yes or no.)
  3. Player 2: Is it red? (This player is thinking of the red ball.)
  4. Leader: No.
  5. Player 3: Is it green? (This player is thinking of the green rug.)
  6. Leader: Yes. (He answers yes because his dinosaur is green.)
  7. Player 1: Is it heavy? (This player is thinking of the green exercise bike. It would be better to ask is it heavier than some specific object.)
  8. Leader: No.
  9. Player 2: Is it stuffed? (This player is thinking of the dinosaur. However, there is only one object in the room that is stuffed. Her question gave away the secret. Player 2 can not guess the dinosaur because s/he asked a question instead.)
  10. Leader: Yes.
  11. Player 3: Is it your dinosaur?
  12. Leader: Yes. You win.

Middle School Activity

Concrete objects are very good for introductory practice, but middle school students can apply this game to higher levels of thinking.

  • Instead of visible objects in the room, the leader can specify a category. For example, a type of sport might be the category. The leader may choose the sport of football as her secret “object.” The players must ask about the attributes of various types of sports. Each leader could announce his own category and keep the particular example secret. (The categories and example must be familiar to all the players.)
  • Use this game to reinforce material the players are studying in their regular curriculum. For example, they are studying US History. The leader selects the category of famous people in US History. The leader chooses George Washington. The players must use the questions to determine the person’s attributes, such as time period, field of importance, and gender.