VERBAL SPONTANEOUS PROBLEM:  Hide ‘n Go Seek

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

 1. You have each been given 7 marbles in a paper cup.  There is a bowl in the center of the table.  Each time you give a response, you must put one marble in the bowl.  The next person may not respond until the person given a response has placed his or her marble fully inside the bowl.

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

 3  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.

 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 or when the team has no more marbles.

 THE PROBLEM IS:
Chameleons are camouflaged by nature to protect them from predators.  Many other creatures in nature are also camouflaged.  If you had something valuable to hide, you might hide it plain view in a place where it would seem to disappear.  Your problem is:  tell something you might hide, and where you might hide it so that people might not notice it even though they could see it.   For example, you could say “I would hide a candy cane in a jar of peppermint candies.”

(Repeat #5, THE PROBLEM IS:  )

5.         “BEGIN” (Judge starts timer).

 FOR JUDGES ONLY:

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

The purpose of the marbles is to limit the number of answers.  But they also are a little difficult to manipulate, so this is a good opportunity for team members to learn to control the items they are given! If a marble rolls out of the bowl when a team member puts it there, do not allow the next person to respond until the marble is replaced in the bowl.

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:   Ordinary objects hidden in common places, such as hiding a fish in an aquarium, a book in a bookcase, a whale in the ocean, or homework in a pile of paper.

Creative responses:  Unusual, creative or humorous camouflage, such as “hiding a diamond in a glass of water,” “hiding a Jolly Rancher in a crowd at a comedy show,” or “hiding Peter Cottontail in cosmetic puffs.” (Answers may be conditional, or hypothetical and may involve plays on words.)

©L.Love 2003