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Apples to Apples

Page history last edited by Sendaiben 16 years, 10 months ago

Apples to Apples

Julianna Broadwater

GRADE LEVEL:	SHS (any grade)
SKILLS:	Speaking, Listening, and Reading
TIME:	Flexible, depending on how long you want to play
MATERIALS:	A stack of Apples To Apples cards (one deck of nouns, another smaller deck consisting of adjectives)
YEAR:	2007

OBJECTIVES:

1. To expand the students’ vocabulary and give them practice using it

PROCEDURE:

This game works best with 4—13 players. (I have used this game in Language Club, and it was a resounding success. Should you want to use this game in a class, divide the class into smaller groups).

1. Deal out 7 cards to each student from the deck of nouns.

2. Choose one student to be the judge, and have them select a card from the deck of adjectives, then read the word and definition out loud.

3. Each player scans over their deck of cards to choose the one they think would be most appropriate in fitting with the adjective, and submits their card face down in front of the judge.

4. The judge turns over each card and reads them aloud before choosing the one they feel fits best.

5. The player of the winning card reveals themselves and claims the card with the adjective. The goal is to accumulate the most cards.

6. Each person takes turn playing the judge, going around in a circle.

NOTES:

This game is popular in the States, but I chose to forego the cards from the original game because some cards were not appropriate. I created my own cards on Microsoft Publisher.

One thing I love about this game is that students are not put on the spot. If they don’t understand the adjective well enough, they can put down a random card and no one will know it was theirs, unless their card is chosen. My students really enjoyed this game and were cracking up the entire time. For the adjective “scary,” people put down cards reading “Michael Jackson,” “George W. Bush,” “locker rooms” and “my sister” (the latter won). The game goes by very quickly after the first couple of rounds and they understand that the comparisons need not be so literal, but rather playing to the judge’s character.

Finally, at the end of the game, when the winner is announced, everyone goes around in a circle reading off the adjective cars they've accumulated. According to the original game, the adjectives earned are supposed to describe the players themselves. I find this last part a bit cheesy, but it is a good way to get everyone practicing their pronunciations.

HANDOUTS and WORKSHEETS:

Sample cards (in MS Publisher format) are here