Intern Journal: Charades

Maha reaches into the bowl and picks up a single sheet of folded paper reading, “A fish / سمكة". The two of us giggle as we look at each other, both wondering how she'll act it out. After thinking it over for a couple of seconds, she acts out a swimming stroke and makes an adorable fish face, pursing her lips. The entire classroom jumps up and down, including my over enthusiastic volunteers, screaming out the answer and waving their hands in front of my face. I make the judgement call as to who guessed first and give the points accordingly. My kids love charades. If I didn't cut them off, I'm sure they would be satisfied with an entire class dedicated to charades alone! For the past two weeks, I have been using it as a simple warm-up activity for my Arts and Crafts class, and I've found that it's one of few classroom games that consistently keeps all of my students engaged and excited throughout its entirety. It's easy, it doesn't require any supplies, there are no “outs”, there are no losers, and everyone gets a turn. But most importantly, it gives my kids a chance to express themselves creatively in front of their peers. Even the shy and more reserved students are eager to play and act, exhibiting brief moments of self-confidence that I rarely see in my classroom. 

“Okay so who's next?” I ask. “Me! Me! Ana! Ana!” the kids (and volunteers) shout gleefully. By the way they reacted to the game ending last week, I don't think they'll get tired of charades any time soon. Throughout the session, I will continue to encourage them to stand at the front of the class to act and share with their peers. I look forward to seeing their personalities flourish!

- Tala

Tala is a summer intern at TYO Nablus.