Introduction

This game is supposed to be an icebreaker and slowly introduce the children to the topic acting. It is divided into two parts. First, the children solve a “What animal am I?” quiz, which is read out loud and after every new clue there is a little break so that the students can take a guess. In the second part of the game, the children are the ones who must come to the front and let the others guess which animal they are. There are two options: they can act it out or do a little quiz if they don’t feel comfortable with acting. 

Target group and Time

This game is for 5th graders but it can easily be adjusted for other target groups if you use harder or easier quiz questions and different vocabulary or visual aid. The quiz only takes a few minutes while the second part of the game takes a little longer: with 5 students, three rounds of “What animal am I?” are possible to play.

Learning objectives

The students need to use their vocabulary to solve the quiz and to create one of their own. This way they can repeat the vocabulary and memorize it. They are also able to learn some new words like “parrot”. They also need to use the simple present sentence structure to describe what animal they are. 

Instructions to set up the activity

First let the students introduce themselves, then let the quiz begin. After the quiz, explain the second part of the game. Do one example round yourself, where the students must guess which animal you are.  If you think the questions are too hard, hand them a worksheet with either the answers printed as pictures (of course, in the wrong order) or the questions on it so they can read It while listening to it.

Letting it run

The teacher should always ask if the students understood the questions if they seem uneasy and explain the questions to them when necessary (preferably in English, if needed in German). Also make sure that there is enough space for the children to move around to act their animal out. If they seem too shy to act, make sure that you assure them that describing it is also fine.

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