Guess Who I Am (inc Online Version)

Age: 6 to adult
Players: Whole Class or Small Groups
Time: 5 – 15 minutes
Skills: Improvisation, Speaking and Listening

A fun way of creating characters from any picture

This game is a perfect introduction to simple role playing and hot seating.

Choose an image with as many characters as there are students. This could be a picture from a story book or text book, from a film or animation, a documentary photo or work of art. The main thing is that there should be people in the picture and there should be some kind of story or subtext. Show the picture to the students and spend a few minutes asking them to look carefully at what is happening in the scene.

Start by demonstrating to the class. Secretly choose a character from the picture. Speak to the class as though you are that character and see if they can guess who you are.

In the video you can see an example of a character from the painting ‘Children’s Games’ by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

‘Okay you lot, I’ll count to 20 and I want you all to hide! I promise I won’t peep. And don’t all hide in the same place. Off you go!’

After the students have guessed the character, ask them to work in pairs. One partner chooses a character from the picture and speaks as that character for the other one to guess, and then they swop over. When they have all tried it you can ask them to show what they did to the rest of the class. They only have to speak a sentence or two, depending on their proficiency.

Play Online

You can play this game online if you are using Zoom or another video-conferencing app where students can see and hear each other. You can either give the students an image for them to work with, or they can find a picture at home and speak as a character from that image. Other students should try to guess who they are – and they will need to show the picture at the end! Students can speak their answers by unmuting themselves or type their answers in the chat window.

Tip

If you have a large group, mute students’ microphones until it is their turn.