Adverb Charades

Adverb Charades

Materials: Shakespearean text, slips of paper in two different colors, pencils/pens, two hats or boxes.
Grade: 5-12
Goal(s): To explore the variety of ways in which words can be expressed.

This ACTivity requires some prep prior to the actors' arrival. From the Shakespearean text, write out on to individual slips of paper the dynamic or interesting words. Each slip of paper should have one of the chosen words written on it. There should be at least one Shakespearean word for each actor. Place these slips in one of the two hats or boxes.

Here is an example of text. Words highlighted in bold would be written on the slips of paper and placed in the hat/box:

Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! blow!
You cataracts and hurricanoes, spout
Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks!
You sulphurous and thought-executing fires,
Vaunt-couriers to oak-cleaving thunderbolts,
Singe my white head! And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' the world!
Crack nature's moulds, an germens spill at once,
That make ingrateful man
King Lear (Act 3, Scene 2)

1. Distribute blank scraps of paper (2 or 3 per actor). These slips should be a different color paper than the prepped sheets. The actors write an adverb on each slip of paper. The writing must be legible as other actors will use the slip of paper and will need to be able to read the writing on it.

2. The actors' adverbs are collected and put into the other hat/box. One hat/box has the actors' adverbs, the other has the prepped slips of Shakespearean words.

3. One at a time, the actors choose a slip from each hat/box. They say the Shakespearean word in the manner of the adverb. For example:

Shakespeare's Word (Hat/Box 1)	said in the manner of	Actors' Adverbs (Hat/Box 2)
winds		Greedily
rotundity		Angrily
all-shaking		Slowly
Vaunt-couriers		Majestically

4. Encourage the actors to use their entire bodies and a full voice.

Suggested Variation(s):

Grades Pre/K-3, preselect and write out both Shakespearean text and adverbs.
Grades 4-12, have the actors select the Shakespearean words as well as the adverbs.

Raising The Bar:

Collect short pieces of dialogue or monologues from Shakespeare's plays. Place these selections in the first hat/box. Once the actors have created the adverbs, have each actor choose one of the short pieces and speak the piece in the manner of the adverb.

Return to Stage 1
Return to Stage 3
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Quicktime required for some content in this course