EQUIPMENT

“Feely bag” = a carrier-bag sized bag - preferably made of dark cloth - or a non-transparent carrier bag.

Selection of various (household) items (e.g.: bath-sponge - milk bottle - clothes peg - hairbrush - piece of chalk - apple)

DESCRIPTION

The teacher secretly places an item in the “feely bag”.

A student volunteer places their hand into the bag to feel the item without seeing it.

The student then describes the item to the rest of the class who have to guess what the item is.

Although students will initially describe items in a way that “gives the game away” (e.g.: “You can eat it”, describing an apple) they can soon be encouraged to describe the item using single word adjectives alone (“round”, “tasty”, “red”) and then using only “tangible” adjectives (“round”, “smooth”, “dented”).

A simple scoring system can be used.  For example, how many words the describer uses before the class guesses successfully, or how many guesses the class makes before guessing the item correctly.

VARIATION:

The "feeler" is only allowed to answer "yes" or "no" in response to questions from the class.  Their questions must begin, "Does it feel ...?"

VARIATION:

The teacher places TWO items in the bag and the “describer” describes them:

• EITHER simultaneously (without saying which words apply to which item)

• OR alternately (as a test of the guessers’ memory)

BEFORE

None

AFTER

This exercise can be used as the basis of a number of writing exercises.

Students write a brief “dictionary definition” of the item using the words generated during the exercise.

Having made a list of the words used to describe the item, students have to suggest other items that fit that same description - and also suggest additional words that might be used to differentiate the items.

“Train of thought” exercise:- Students make a list of what they thought the item might be as the clues became available, identifying  the point at which “the penny dropped”.

On reflection (perhaps working as a whole class or in small groups), students suggest other words that might have been used to describe the item.

LOGICAL

MUSICAL

INTRA-PERS.

PHYSICAL

LINGUISTIC

INTER-PERS.

NATURALIST

VISUAL