Your language teaching mission, should you choose to accept it, is to unleash students’ creativity, encourage class bonding, and facilitate L2 conversations with the Six Shapes Creativity Starter Activity.
This was introduced to me in Quebec in 2013, and I’m very sorry that I don’t remember by whom. It was called “le jeu de six cases”/”the six boxes game”, but it can be used for any language because it’s all about interpreting shapes and then talking about them. This is a perfect activity to start a class as a “creativity starter” but it’s also great for:
Taking a quick brain break
Introducing a genius hour project to encourage students to start thinking « outside the box »
Discussing that there is no right answer if you have a class that is super concerned with perfection
Getting-to-know-you conversations
Note: these steps are completely optional! You know your class, you know what they would benefit from! I’m sharing how I do this activity but feel free to pick and choose any part, adapt any part, or completely transform the activity. Just please share your ideas in the comments below!
Step One: I hand out the sheet with the shapes, but have students keep it blank side up. This is not necessary, but I think it adds a dramatic flair when they finally flip it over and start drawing!
Step Two: We watch this 2 minute video (it is in English) where students were asked to “complete the painting the right way” or just asked to “complete the painting”. We then talk about creativity and freeing your mind, or the fact that there is no “right answer”.
Step Three: Students dramatically flip over their page (see step one) and start drawing. I play classical music (again, not necessary, just sets the tone). Students can draw with color, pencil, marker, whatever they want. The only instructions given are that they have to transform the shapes into something, anything.
Step Four: Students put down all their drawing utensils. I then give the big reveal: each box reveals something about themselves as a person! They’ve actually taken a personality test! I also make sure to let them know that this is not scientifically supported, just a fun activity. (Sometimes I share my story of how I used to have a gig as a fortune teller at parties, and that I can confirm that with chutzpah and cold-reading skills, you can make meaning out of anything and make someone believe you. I’m not denying those who believe they have an actual gift for this, just my experience about lying about having a gift to make events interesting for party-goers.)
The ‘meaning’ for each box is:
Box 1: how you perceive your home
Box 2: how you perceive yourself
Box 3: how you feel about friendships/relationships
Box 4: how you feel about your work/studies
Box 5: how you feel about your ambitions
Box 6: how you think other people perceive you
Step Five: Students need to write at least one word in the target language to describe what they’ve drawn in each box, which is informed by the new information they’ve been given. For example, when I first did this activity, for the line I had drawn a unicorn walking up the hill, which I then labelled “La liberté” (liberty).
Step Six: At this point there’s a lot of giggling and exclamation! Students are curious and can’t wait to check out what other people drew. Therefore, we do a quick walk-around where students can check out what other students drew and the words they wrote. If students are uncomfortable with others seeing their paper they have the option of turning their page over to the blank side.
Step Seven: Students are then paired up and given the instructions to turn and talk to a partner. They are to choose one box at a time to discuss their interpretations of what they’ve drawn and what it means. For example, I would share my fourth box with the unicorn and say that I think it means that I feel liberated by my work because I get so much creative freedom. I encourage partners to help expand their partner’s interpretation. For example, my partner might add that I drew a unicorn, which represent gentleness, and that I am a caring person in my work (my imaginary partner sure is flattering!) Then my partner would choose to share one of their boxes and their interpretation. We go back and forth until we’re done, or the time limit given is completed. You could also use clock partners or other ways to get students to talk to new people and have them switch to new people for each couple of boxes.
Step Eight: You can have a full class discussion to wrap up or have students reflect in their journals, or write an exit strip. Some guiding questions might be: How are your drawings similar or different to your partner? Did anything surprise you about what you saw? Considering how well you know your partner, do you think any of the answers fit them well?
RESOURCE: Six Shapes Activity Page (no particular language)
IMPROV ADAPTATION: Collect the sheets, photo copy them, and then cut the copies into six squares. Put all the squares in a hat and now you have [6 x number of students in your class] new scene prompts based on who they are!
Let me know in the comments if you used the activity and how it went!