CENSURADO

This is my version of "Taboo," a game that teaches strategic competence in language. Students must get classmates to guess the word in bold without using it or any of the key words listed. This is a great way to review vocabulary and an excellent way to teach students how to circumvent gaps in their language.

To play: divide your classroom into two teams. Individuals from each team will rotate into positions at the front as "líder" and "polícia." The líder goes through as many cards as s/he can in 1 or 2 minutes (you decide) while the polícia stands guard to be sure the líder doesn't use any prohibited words. After each round, students rotate again and teams collect cards with correct answers. Students should not gesticulate or use any words in English. Any time a student "leader" makes an error by speaking a prohibited word, the card is eliminated. You may want to bring a noisemaker for the "polícia" to sound whenever a prohibited word is used. You can decide if student leaders are allowed to skip cards (and how many in each round).

Variation: students work in groups of 2-3 to guess 15 words in one color in the shortest amount of time.

Note: Instructors can organize the 270 cards within the deck by color; each color has 15 or 25 cards and represents vocabulary from one chapter of Ponto de Encontro.