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Which One Doesnt Belong

This document provides instructions for playing a vocabulary game called "Which One Doesn't Belong?" with students. The game involves presenting groups of 3 terms that belong together and 1 term that does not. Students work in pairs or teams to identify the term that does not belong and explain why. The document outlines how to prepare term sets, materials needed, how to set up the game, and rules for play. It recommends using easily categorizable terms of the same part of speech.

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846 views2 pages

Which One Doesnt Belong

This document provides instructions for playing a vocabulary game called "Which One Doesn't Belong?" with students. The game involves presenting groups of 3 terms that belong together and 1 term that does not. Students work in pairs or teams to identify the term that does not belong and explain why. The document outlines how to prepare term sets, materials needed, how to set up the game, and rules for play. It recommends using easily categorizable terms of the same part of speech.

Uploaded by

api-269864383
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Which One Doesnt Belong?

Language arts, mat h, s c ience, and s o c i a l st udies


Design
This game can be tailored to students who have very little knowledge of the content terms and
phrases, students who are practicing and deepening their knowledge, or students who have a firm
grasp of the vocabulary. The idea, as the name implies, is that students look at a group of terms or
phrases and pick out the one that does not belong.

Mater i a l s
You will be splitting the class into pairs or teams, and each team
will need a flag (or something to signify when they are ready to
provide an answer). You will also need a chalkboard or whiteboard.

Set Up
Prepare the sets of terms or phrases beforehand, with each set consisting of three terms that share
some common theme or link, and one term that "does not belong." For example, if you choose the
terms yellow, green, and blue, you would choose a fourth term that is not a color word, such as one
or coin. You need between ten and thirty sets, depending on how familiar the students are with the
terms and phrases you have chosen and how challenging you want the game to be.

Play
1. Begin by splitting the class into pairs or small groups. Ideally, each group will consist of students at
all levels of vocabulary proficiency.

2. Write the first set of four terms or phrases on the board.


3. The teams are given a specific amount of time to figure out which of the terms does not belong with
the other three and why.
4 . Each team has a flag that they raise when they have an answer, and at end of the allotted time,
every- one shares their answers and a point goes to any team who got the right answer. A point can
also be awarded to the team that comes up with the best explanation as to why their choice does not
fit (the best explanation likely includes correct use of relevant vocabulary terms). If you so choose,
you can add time as a factor as well, awarding more points to the first team to come up with the correct
answer.

Vocabulary Words
Because the focus of the game is categorization, it is usually best to use terms that can easily be
categorized and are the same part of speech. For example, if you select three nouns that belong
together, the item that does not belong should also be a noun.
Carleton, L. a. (2010). Vocabulary Games for the Classroom. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research
Laboratory.

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