From the Editor

Twice a month, Jamie Keddie sends out the LessonStream Post – a story or storytelling idea for the classroom. It's free to sign up and you can do so here: https://lessonstream.com

Here is an example of what you might get:

Earlier this year, Britain lost one of its best comedians. Like many people, I remember Sean Lock best as a team captain on the British comedy panel show "8 out of 10 cats". My personal favourite moment was from Christmas 2015 when he introduced us to the now-famous bluffing game Carrot in a Box. This would be a great game to play with your students.

Please do not worry about the strong language warning at the beginning of the video. The language is only as dirty as your mind!

Click here to watch "Carrot in a box"

To play the game in class, you will need:

• the video
• two empty boxes (shoe boxes would be perfect)
• one carrot

Here is how I would do things:

1. Set things up so that the two boxes are on a table at the front of the class with a carrot inside one of them. Students should not know which box contains the carrot.

2. Tell students that they are going to play a game called Carrot in a box. The game involves the following:

• Two contestants
• Two boxes
• One carrot
• Bluffing

3. Find out if anyone knows what bluffing means. If necessary explain or have the students research it.

To bluff (verb): If you bluff, you give false information to someone about a situation in order to get an advantage (i.e. you lie). Bluffing is an important part of poker.

4. Invite students to predict how the game works: what are the rules and what is the objective?

5. Show students the video and let them see if they predicted the game correctly. Establish or dictate the following:

How to play Carrot in a box: There are two boxes and there is a carrot in one of them. The aim of the game is to end up with the carrot. One of the players looks inside their box and then has to convince the other player to either keep or swap their box.

6. Invite two volunteer students to come to the front of the class and play the game. Encourage the student who has not looked inside their box to ask questions.

Notes

• Time limit: In order to let as many students as possible play, set a time limit for a decision to be made – 60 seconds, for example.
• A knockout contest: For small groups, you could turn it into a knockout competition and find out who the best bluffer is.
• Full instructions: You can access a more complete description of the instructions at the GamesWiki.

 

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