schedule

VERBAL SPONTANEOUS PROBLEM: SIGNS

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

1. This is a verbal problem. You are to give responses in order, starting with (judge indicates one person) and going around clockwise.

2 You will have one minute to think and three minutes to respond. Questions count against your thinking time.

3 You will receive one point for each common response. Creative or humorous responses will receive three points. 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.

4 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.

5 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. Your time ends when the buzzer sounds.

THE PROBLEM IS:

We rely on signs every day to help us know what is going on around us. Your problem is to name as many different signs as you can and to tell what directions they give or what they mean.

(Repeat #5, THE PROBLEM IS: )

5. “BEGIN” (Judge starts timer).

FOR JUDGES ONLY:

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

You may answer questions during the one minute thinking period, but time continues.

Score: One point for each common response, three points for creative answers, and five points for highly creative answers.

Common Responses: Signs seen every day on streets and in buildings, such as “stop sign, tells cars to stop,” “no smoking, tells people they can’t smoke,” exit, tells people where to leave a building,” etc.

Creative responses: Unusual or humorous connections, such as “a cross look from my mom is a sign I should go do homework,” or “a colon and a parenthesis is a computer sign for a smiley face.”

Highly creative responses: Different meanings or connections, such as “reSIGN was what Nixon had to do,” “a sign of the times tells people how others are behaving,” “coSINE, tells people a mathematical relationship,” or “a sore throat is the first sign on a cold.”