| Body | By Ruth Daza, adapted by Renée Marshall and Patricia Roldán Marcos
This activity asks that HL learners bring samples of riddles on a certain theme. Then students play bingo and try to figure out the answers to the riddles. Later, they explore a written riddle looking at their form. Then, they try out their skills at writing their own riddles. Our sample activity is geared towards an intermediate Spanish class with a few heritage language speakers. The theme we have chosen is food. This activity can be easily adapted to any language and adjusted for level, although it would be a very challenging activity for L2 beginners. The theme can be easily changed to anything the teacher or students choose.
Objectives:
- Students will be able to comprehend riddles and identify the corresponding food item from the vocabulary list.
- Students will be able to analyze some of the riddles to come up with characteristics and pattern of riddles.
- Using the characteristics identified, students will be able to create their own riddle.
- HL students will be able to find and bring to class appropriate riddles for the theme.
Resources: Spanish and English Example for the teacher and Write Your Own Riddle handout for students.
Procedure:
- Ask HL students to bring three riddles about food to class the next day. (The amount of riddles you ask students to bring will vary based on your class size and how many HL students you have)
- After class, look over the riddles brought in by the students, edit if necessary, and add some riddles if necessary. For the example activity here you will need 9 riddles total. Make a vocabulary list of the 9 words that are answers the riddles, and also add 6 more vocabulary words that are not answers to the riddles, for a total of 15 words.
- The next day in class pass out BINGO sheets to all students and put up your 15 word vocabulary list. Have students fill out their BINGO sheets. Each of their 9 boxes will have ONE vocabulary word that they’ve chosen from the list of 15 words. (Be sure all students understand the vocabulary words.)
- Read the riddles out loud one at a time. Students will need to try to figure out the answer to the riddle, and if students have the answer word on their board they mark it with an X. If they don’t, they do nothing. Continue reading riddles until someone has BINGO, which is X’s all in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row. In this example, 3 in a row would be BINGO.
- The next day, pick two or three riddles to examine as an entire class. Handout a copy of your chosen riddles to all students, along with the Write Your Own Riddle handout. Examine the structure of the riddle together. What makes a good riddle? How is it written? Discuss what parts of speech and/or what tenses are present. Have students make a checklist of what makes a good riddle using their Write Your Own Riddle handout. Perhaps create a riddle together as a class.
- Next have students, either in class or as homework, write their own riddles that correspond with the vocabulary words for the next unit. Have students read their riddle aloud to the class (or with a partner) while the other students look at the vocabulary for the next unit and guess the answers to the riddles.
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