Kids, Try this at home!

An important element of Dr. Subiaul’s work is something called Theory of Mind.  Theory of Mind is the understanding that other people also possess unique minds, full of their own thoughts, ideas, worries, desires, etc. different from your own.  It is also the ability to place yourself in the minds of others, so to speak, and understand or even anticipate their thoughts or feelings.  A fun way to explore Theory of Mind is by playing charades, and seeing how skilled you are at understanding the actions and expressions of others.  It also allows you to work on your acting skills.

Rules of Charades:
Charades is played in teams.  Each team takes a turn in which one person steps up in front of the entire group and acts out different words or phrases without using talking or sounds.

Instructions:

1.  Make up words or phrases before hand and write them on small scraps of paper.  You can pick movie titles, animals, activities, etc.

2.  Put them in a hat or bowl.

3.  Split into two even teams.

4.  Pick one team to begin, and pick one person to go first.

5.  That person picks a piece of paper from the hat, and stand in front of the group.  He/she has 1 1/2 minutes to act it out and get his/her teammates to guess what it is.  No words allowed! Only body movements and expressions!

6.  The rest of the team guesses what is being acted out. If they guess correctly the team gets 1 point. (The other team should quietly observe and get ready for their turn to act)

7.  The other team picks a person to go first and repeats steps 4-6. 

8.  Alternate teams until everyone has acted out one of the words or phrases.

More than miming:
This game is about communication and awareness of the actions and thoughts of your teammates.  It requires both acting and guessing skills, and keen observation.  But most importantly, it requires that each player is able to put themselves in the mind of each actor to figure out why they are doing what they are doing and what they may be trying to communicate.