ACTIVITY SHEET

Carla Padilla
LEI 4724
Activity File 1
Activity Title: Hangman Charades
Source: Buchanan, M. (n.d). Hangman Charades [Web log post]. Retrieved from
http://www.childdrama.com/hangman.html
Equipment: white board, dry erase markers and erasers
Description of Activity: The objective of this activity is to improve social interaction
skills. The facilitator starts the game by thinking of a word or phrase and writing the
appropriate number of spaces on the board, leaving extra space between words, just as in
"Hangman. The leader also writes the category, as in "Charades"--Movie Title, Book
Title, Song Title, or Play Title. There is no gallows, but there is a box for "wrong" letters.
In turn, the other players try guessing letters, but here's the catch: They don't just call out
a letter. Instead, they must ACT OUT the letter. (For example, if the letter the player
wishes to guess is "B," she might pretend to be a bear). The other participants, including
the facilitator, call out letter guesses as in "Charades," and the guessing player can
encourage them on the right track also as in "Charades." When the correct letter--that is,
the letter the player wishes to guess--has been called out, the facilitator either enters it in
its appropriate place or places in the phrase. If the letter is in the phrase, then the person
who guessed and acted out the letter is given the opportunity to guess the phrase. Part of
the fun comes from the fact that a player may KNOW the word, but be unable to guess it
because it is not his turn.) Again, if the player wishes to guess, she must now act out the
whole phrase. (For example, if the phrase turned out to be "A Connecticut Yankee in
King Arthur's Court"--which is a pretty hard one, by the way--the player might act out
Babe Ruth's famous home run, and then act out a king and knights.)
Leadership considerations: This activity works best for groups of 7 to 12 participants.
The activity requires a setting in which participants can have room to move around and
act out each letter. The therapist functions as a facilitator by explaining the instructions of
the activity, instructing participants to take their place, and by explaining the activity. The
therapist should be part of the game and always be in charge of writing things on the
board. If you play the game more than once--that is, with more than one phrase--players
are not allowed to act out any letter the same way twice.
Adaptations:
Participants with Down Syndrome: Allow participants more time to process directions
and repeat directions as many times as needed because those with down syndrome have a
mild to moderate cognitive impairment (What are common symptoms of Down
Syndrome, n.d.). Participants with Down syndrome have speech delays and benefit from
visual memory (Helpful Hints for Teaching a Child with Down Syndrome, n.d.). Use
flashcards to make a booklet of animals starting with every letter of the alphabet for the
individual to use during the activity as a visual cue. It could be beneficial to meet with the

participant one on one before the activity and review possible ways to act out the animal
for each letter. Depending on the cognitive impairment the therapist should help the
individual when guessing letters by allowing him or her to choose an animal and helping
them act it out. Model activities allow participants to watch others, if they wish to,
before participating (Helpful Hints for Teaching a Child with Down Syndrome, n.d.).
Participants with schizophrenia: Ensure participants have taken medicine as prescribed.
Relieving stress from the environment can increase the chances for success for any
activity involving participants with schizophrenia ("Students With Schizophrenia Teaching and Understanding", n.d.). Providing structure and routine throughout could
help create a less stressful environment. When guessing the letter and acting each
participant should take turns in an orderly fashion around the table. The therapist should
also enable every participant to have a turn to pick a word by taking turns alphabetically.
Participants suffering from schizophrenia struggle with interpersonal demands because
they find them, on the whole, ambiguous and complex ("Students With Schizophrenia Teaching and Understanding", n.d.). Adapt the game to meet those social skills by
providing an icebreaker before the activity in which proper conversation topics and
etiquette specifically tailored to this game are demonstrated through fake scenarios. Pair
the participants into two and let them pick one from a container without looking. The
group will have to act out the scenarios chosen briefly. The icebreaker will help the
participant to learn proper social skills and apply them throughout the game.

References
What are common symptoms of Down syndrome? (n.d.). Retrieved October 27, 2015,
from https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/down/conditioninfo/Pages/symptoms.aspx
Helpful Hints for Teaching a Child with Down Syndrome. (n.d.). Retrieved October 27,
2015,
from
http://dsadelaware.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/helpful-hints-forteaching-a-child-with-down-syndrome.pdf
Students With Schizophrenia - Teaching and Understanding. (n.d.). Retrieved October
27, 2015, from http://www.articlesforeducators.com/article.asp?aid=93#.VjMvDdBh01g