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Guess Which Word?

Brief Description

Objectives

Students

• listen to clues to a mystery word.
• use phonics and language skills to figure out a mystery word.

Keywords

game, language, mystery, phonics, spelling, syllables, theme

Materials Needed

Individual student whiteboards -- see Whiteboards Stimulate Student Learning for instructions.

Lesson Plan

Provide students with a list of ten words. See example below. The words can be from a current unit of study or spelling list or tied to a timely theme.

Say, "I am thinking of a word on the list. Which word am I thinking of?" Students guess the word and write it on their whiteboards. Then provide students with three clues to the actual word. For example, the first clue might be

• The word I am thinking of is a two-syllable word.
  That clue narrows the list of possible words to six. Any student who has a two-syllable word written on his or her whiteboard could still be correct. Those who have one- or three-syllable words must erase the word and choose one that meets the criteria established so far. Then provide a second clue:
  
• The word I am thinking of is a compound word. That clue narrows the list to two words -- snowstorm or snowman. Any student who has a two-syllable compound word written on his or her whiteboard could still be correct. Those who have any of the other words must erase the word and choose one that meets the two criteria established so far. Then provide the third clue:
  
• The word I am thinking of is a synonym for the word blizzard. How many students have the correct word, snowstorm, written on their slates? How many had it from the beginning? from the first clue?

Continue the game with a different set of clues. For example:

• The word I am thinking of has at least two syllables.
• The word I am thinking of has a suffix.
• The root word of the word I am thinking of is a six-letter word.

Continue the game with an additional set of clues. For example:

• The word I am thinking of includes two consecutive letters that are the same.
• The word I am thinking of is a two-syllable word.
• The word I am thinking of would be described as a light snowfall.

Continue the game with an additional set of clues. For example:

• The word I am thinking of is a one- or two-syllable word.
• The word I am thinking of is a noun.
• The word I am thinking of is an item of clothing.

Assessment

Students correctly identify each mystery word. After giving each clue, try to verify that all students have written a word that matches the clues provided.

Lesson Plan Source

Education World

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

LANGUAGE ARTS

• English

  GRADES K - 12
  NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills