It’s a Secret

Guess Who? Is such a fabulous language game that it’s a staple in many speech rooms.  Years ago, it looked like this:

This is my most favorite array because it has faces, the pictures are relatively large and clear and there are so many distinguishing details.  Questions might narrow down:

  • Gender
  • Eye/hair color
  • Hair length and texture
  • Nose size
  • Rosy cheeks
  • Accessories (glasses, hat, earrings)
  • Facial hair and baldness

The kids and I love the slapping sound when you slam a door down, but the array (3 rows of 9=27) can be daunting.

I find some of the new Guess Who versions even tougher.

It’s still fun, but the pictures and details aren’t always as clear cut and it’s harder for me to monitor what’s happening.  In the original version on the first couple of turns I knew how many levers need to be slapped down and could gauge if the child understood the concept of the game.  The concealed doors of the newer games don’t allow that.  The array is a bit smaller (4 rows of 6) but you have the very busy section above with all the choices too.

Recently I picked up my third Guess Who which is an improvement since it has a smaller array (3 rows of 5) and includes some categorization concepts.


For ideas on using Guess Who? in treatment, check out my post here.  For free question prompt cards, a must with lots of new players, click here.

Lately, I’ve been passionate about Secret Square.  This guessing game is like an intro to Guess Who in that students ask questions and remove tiles until they identify the correct selection.  However, the set-up is awesome in that you can customize the size of the array and addressed concepts.

Each square has a recess on one side and a picture sticker on the other.  Simply lay out your initial array, concealing a Bingo chip beneath one square.  Time for questions!

Kiddos then ask question and leave or take away tiles as indicated by the answer.  Lots of times the pics lend themselves to function or category questions, “Is it a vehicle?”  “Is it something you eat with?”

I like that both the child and I are looking at the tiles, because the concept of “yes, it is a vehicle” means leave the vehicles and remove the other take practice for lots of kids initially.

I picked my copy up from a retiring SLPs materials sale (it’s no longer produced, but you can pick up used ones on-line or with some local searching).  And if you’re feeling very industrious, you could make your own, using the lids of Gatorade or smoothie type bottles.

Activity Tailor is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.   I do not review or recommend products that I have not used myself!

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This Post Has 5 Comments

  1. LisaE

    Another idea for the Secret Square would be to use clear i.d. badge pouches…you can put a sticker on the back rather than under the badge, then slide pictures into the pouch. You can then change out the pictures when you want/need new ones. They’re also good to use for Memory games – again, you can switch the pictures to accommodate whatever sound/goal you’re working on. Thanks for all the great posts and ideas – I love your blog!

  2. kristinm333

    Love the secret square idea- thanks. I will just throw 10-20 photo cards on the table and make my own 20 questions game for my adult patients. Also, I feel Guess Who is fun with some of my patients, but can feel a bit tooo childish, so one idea I had years ago (and I asked my student to do this as her sproject) was to make really tough inserts that go right into the Guess Who slots. She made a couple versions- one of them is famous landmarks and you can see each of them pictured. It’s tough! They ask questions such as: “Is this in the US? Is this a building?” etc. There are so many possibilities for making your own!

  3. Kelly Hungaski

    I LOVE Secret square-such a fun game. I wish that they still made it-great ideas for how you could make your own.

  4. Sheila Reiss

    I LOVE THIS! I have the game “Guess Who” and already used it with my students. It is supper helpful for students who do not know how to ask questions. Where did you get the pictures? I’d love to make similar types of cards for the game “Taboo Junior”, but I don’t know how to make the cards.

    Thanks for making these cards!!

    1. admin

      Shelia,
      I’m not sure which “cards” you are referring to. All the Guess Who? sheets I show are from actual Guess Who? games. The prompt cards can be found here.
      Let me know if you need more assistance.
      Kim

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The views expressed in this blog are my own and are intended to inspire other speech-language pathologists in their own practice. If you are a parent, teacher or other educator, these ideas are not intended to take the place of treatment by a certified clinician. Read full disclaimer here.