Taboo Review

So, my absolutely favorite board game is Taboo. There was a period of time when I was in college that my roommate and I played it.  All. The Time. At one point, one of us could give the clue “green” and the other would know that the answer was “Indiana Jones”.

If you’re not familiar with the board game Taboo, you play it in teams. One member of each team gets a card that his or her teammates cannot see. That person tries to give clues to get the members of his or her team to say the top word on the card -- but the clue-giver cannot say the top word OR any of the words listed below on the card. Those words are “taboo”. You can’t say them.

So we recently adapted this game for use as a Higher Order Review game... and discovered that half the internet has made versions for their content areas. Particularly, biology teachers seem to have made a bunch of cards, but I have seen some SS ones. Or, you can make your own.

But if you want to adapt this for your classroom, here you go!

Higher Order Review: Taboo

Prep:

1.      Create/compile a list of vocab terms – AND the words most associated with those terms. (ex. Enlightenment: Locke, Montesquieu, social contract). Make a card for each with the MAIN word at the top and the hints below. You can even have that one class that you have for three hours today make the cards for the other classes.

2.      Print and cut  several decks of those cards so you can have several Taboo games going at once.

3.      Divide your class into 2 or 3 main groups and divide each group into two teams.

Play:

4.   Explain that each team will get one minute on the clock/watch/phone timer. During that minute, one member of the team will be the “Delegate” and will try to get his team to say the TOP term, WITHOUT using any of the hint terms below it. If he or she uses the word, a variation of the word, or one of the hint words, that card must pass and no one can get the point.  The Delegate must try to get his own teammates to guess the top word.

5.   When his team guesses one word, he may move on to the next card and continue until time is up.

6.   A member of the opposite team will be the “Checker and Balancer” and will look over the delegate’s shoulder to make sure he or she does not use the word, the hint words, or any variations. If the Checker and Balancer catches the Delegate using a “Taboo” word, that card is discarded

7.   Teams take one-minute turns until one team reaches a specified goal (10 points, for example)

8.   Discarded cards may be used again or not, depending on teacher preference.

Benefits of Taboo Game:

• Students examine multiple facets of a concept or vocab term.
• Students are listening to usage and application of their vocab terms and practicing using and applying those terms.
• Active and engaging activity.

Watch Out For:

• Kids struggling to remember terms. Maybe let them use their notes? Or a Word Wall?
• Kids cheating. That’s why we have a Checker and Balancer.
• Kids off task. Be sure to circulate and monitor both behavior and understanding.
• Kids arguing over “you said the word/no I didn’t”. Please be a careful monitor to make sure kids are playing fairly. You might strategically group kids so kids who tend to NOT get along are not playing directly against each other.

So, are you up for it? Or is it too taboo for you? (Pun points!) Can you play Taboo with your students to help them use higher order thinking for review?

Let me know how it goes! As always, I love to hear from you!

-Tracy