
I then place the statements 'I have no mind' and 'I am a boy' in the middle and ask them the Task Question: 'If Pinocchio says these (pointing to the statements in the middle) will his nose grow or not?'Īfter the children have had some Talk Time to discuss I tell them that if and only if they have the ball they can go up and move the statements. I then take out two big sheets of paper with 'WILL GROW' and 'WON'T GROW' on them and place them at opposite ends of the classroom. I now quickly reiterate the Pinocchio story, placing emphasis on the fact that if Pinocchio tells a lie his nose will grow. So far these statements have never failed to generate controversy in particular, the last two seem to polarise opinion in the classroom. Once it is clear that they understand the rules, say the following: Now they have to move if they think that what I say is true for Pinocchio (could use a photo of Pinocchio here to refresh their memory but generally I've found that the children are familiar with the story). Main session (intro)Īfter playing this game for a bit, and escalating the difficulty gradually, I say that I'm going to change the game.

After beginning with a couple of easy ones ('I am a girl', 'I am wearing red' etc) I usually include a couple of slightly harder ones ('I don't understand the rules to this game,' 'I am about to move' etc).

I start by getting the children to play a game of 'True For You' they should change places if what I say is true for them.
