Past-tense Detective

Students love this game and will often demand to play it.

Begin by announcing that a bank has been robbed at 7:30 last night and two students in the class are suspected of being the robbers. Send two students out. They will be the robbers. The remaining students will be the police detectives who will question the robbers.

The robbers go out and create a story which will alibi them. The goal is to break the alibis of the robbers. One robber is brought in and is thoroughly questioned in the past tense while the second robber waits in a place where he can't hear or see the first robber. Then the second robber is brought in. His story must match the first robber's, or they have lost and the detectives have found them out.

This game can be used to practice an almost infinite variety of question patterns and vocabulary. For example, if the first robber says they took the bus or taxi, students may ask "Who paid?" Was the driver a man or a woman?" "Where did he pick you up?" "What bus was it?" "Where did you get off?"

Typical questions involve asking what they were wearing, what they ate, etc. The more detailed, the better. If the robbers say they ate, students should ask what, how much, how long did you wait, what time did you go home, was it overdone or underdone, etc.

It is important to stress that all questions must have answers. "I forgot" and "I don't know" should not be permitted.