Drama Game: The Adverb Game

Age: 9 to adult

Players: Whole group

Time: 10–20 minutes

Skills: Observation, mime, grammar

For younger players, a list of adverbs and a list of activities should be displayed throughout the game (see examples below). Everybody sits/stands in a circle or at their desks. One person is picked to go outside the room while the rest of the group decides on an adverb, such as ‘quickly’ or ‘sleepily’. The volunteer is called back to stand in the centre of the circle or at the front of the class. Her task is to guess the adverb by asking any individual or a few members of the group to mime an activity. They should do this in the manner (style) of the word.

For example, the volunteer may ask someone to ‘play a piano’ in the manner of the word. She watches to see how that person is doing the activity. If the volunteer can't guess the adverb, she can ask different students to mime other activities (up to a maximum of three guesses). They should do this in the manner of the same adverb. When the guesser gets it right, or her three guesses are up, another volunteer is chosen to go outside while the group agrees on a new adverb.

The funniest part of the game is the mismatch between the randomly chosen activity and the adverb, for example ‘painting a picture’ mysteriously or angrily. In the traditional version of this game, no list of adverbs or activities are displayed, making the game much more difficult.

Playing online

You can play the game online by using Zoom or a similar video conferencing tool. Paste a list of adverbs into the chat box (older students can make up their own). One person closes their eyes (and mutes their sound) while the adverb is chosen. When the adverb has been agreed on, the player re-joins the group and announces the first activity. In the online version, all students act out the activity at the same time, to keep them involved.

Social distancing

The game can be played with students at their desks, or in a large space with a marked-out grid so that they are distanced from one another.

Activities

Cheerleading; digging a hole; driving; eating fish and chips; golfing; knitting; painting a picture; playing computer games; playing piano; preparing a meal; shopping; skiing; texting; washing dishes; writing a letter.

Adverbs

Angrily, Boldly, Calmly, Carefully, Cheerfully, Confidently, Enthusiastically, Fiercely, Gracefully, Greedily, Happily, Innocently, Joyfully, Lazily, Miserably, Mysteriously, Nervously, Politely, Quickly, Quietly, Reluctantly, Sadly, Secretly, Sleepily, Slowly, Timidly, Wearily