Twenty Questions
The game of Twenty Questions is an engaging and challenging one for young students
as they attempt to identify an item by eliminating as many alternatives as possible.
Twenty Questions encourages logic-based questioning as well as focused listening,
auditory memory, critical thinking, and descriptive language.
Materials:
- one copy of Animal Cards (see page 94) to select and cut out a mystery animal
(Note: You may want to keep the rest of the page to select different mystery animals
for future games.)
- envelope to hold the mystery animal square
- one copy of Animal Cards (see page 94) per pair as a game board
(Note: You might choose to laminate the BLMs.)
- one marker (or dry-erase marker) per pair
Grouping:
partners
Introducing the Game
1.Explain that this game involves acting like a detective to solve a mystery.
2.Pair students to work with a detective partner.
3.Explain that detectives use probing questions to discover information and clues.
In this game, the questions asked can only be answered with “Yes” or “No.” The
tricky part is that only twenty questions can be used to find the mystery animal.
4.Model how to examine the animal images on the game board and then ask
questions that can only be answered with a “Yes” or “No” response (e.g., “Does the
mystery animal have four legs? Does the mystery animal have wings?”).
5.Demonstrate how to work co-operatively to cross out eliminated images on the
game board. For example, if the answer is “No” to the question, “Does the mystery
animal have four legs?” you would cross out the pictures of the animals that have
four legs.
6.Discuss how some questions do not provide much information. For example,
the question, “Does the mystery animal have eyes?” would elicit the answer “Yes”;
however, it is not helpful as all the animals have eyes and no clues could be
crossed out on the game board.
4. Demonstrate how to use the story stick or microphone when retelling the story.
Playing the Game
1.Secretly choose one animal and place it in the mystery envelope.
2.Invite students to ask questions and respond accordingly with “Yes” or “No”
answers, modelling how to peek into the mystery envelope to confirm your
answer.
3.Remind students to cross out the animals that are eliminated according to the
information learned after each question is answered. If students are having
difficulty with this step, repeat or rephrase the information and check that the
correct animals have been eliminated.
© 2014 Scholastic Canada Ltd. Literacy Place for the Early Years—Grade Two
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4.Keep track of the number of questions being asked as the mystery is trying to be
solved with twenty questions.
5.Reveal the mystery animal upon completion of the game and review the clues that
were used to solve the mystery. Discuss the types of questions that elicited the
most helpful information.
6.Invite a pair of students to choose another mystery animal and play the game
again.
Note: Once students are familiar with playing the game in a group situation, they
can try playing it independently with one partner as the detective and the other as the
responder.
* Adapted from First Steps Oral Language Resource Book, Education Department of
Western Australia, Irwin Publishing, Toronto, Canada, pp. 163–164.
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Literacy Place for the Early Years—Grade Two
© 2014 Scholastic Canada Ltd.