SPONTANEOUS PROBLEM: COMPARE THIS

 

JUDGE READS TO STUDENTS: (Do not read numbers or phrases in parenthesis.)

 

1. You will have two minutes to think and two minutes to respond. Questions count against your thinking time.

 

2. You will receive one point for each common response. Highly creative or humorous responses will receive five points. This will be a subjective opinion of the judge and the judge's decision is final.

 

3. Your team is to take turns in sequence. You may not skip your turn, nor repeat nor pass. If one member of the team is stuck, the team is stuck.

 

4. Once the time begins, it will not be stopped. If the judge asks you to repeat or to clarify your answer, it counts against your time. Speak loudly and clearly.

 

THE PROBLEM IS:

 

  1. Every day we use what English teachers call "similes" to compare one thing with another. A simile is just a comparison using "like" or "as," and many of these expressions we use every day. For example, you might say something is as "light as a feather." Your problem is to make as many comparisons as you can, using the word "as". For example, you could say "hard as a rock."

    2. (Repeat #5, THE PROBLEM IS: )

     
  2. "BEGIN" (Judge starts timer).

 

FOR JUDGES ONLY:

 

Be sure to give exactly two minutes to think and two minutes to respond. Timing is critical. Students responding at the buzzer can finish and be scored.

 

You should repeat the problem for each team. You may answer questions during the two minutes thinking period, but time continues.

 

Score: One point for each common response and five points for each creative.

 

Common Responses: Tough as nails, cold as ice, happy as a lark, blind as a bat, etc. Any usual expressions heard in everyday speech.

 

Creative responses: Unusual or humorous comparisons, such as "happy as Austin Powers if he could be in the 60’s," "faster than the speed of a message on the internet," "proud as my mom when she can see the floor of my room," or "light as my heart when spontaneous is finished!"

Note: most creative answers will have a qualifier that explains the creative connection.

©L.Love 2001