Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and creative thinking
Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and social capability

Introduction

This game is based on the BBC TV Game Panelist Show of the same name - sometimes abbreviated to #WILTY 

The host of the show is Rob Brydon. The show is unscripted and has won numerous Comedy Show Awards.

The team captains are comedians David Mitchell and Lee Mack. For each show, two celebrity guests join each of the team captains. The teams compete as each player reveals unusual facts and embarrassing personal tales for the evaluation of the opposing team. Some of these are true, some are not, and it is the panellists' task to decide which is which.

What it can be used for: This is freer speaking practice which can also be combines with any Teaching Language, vocabulary or grammar.

How to Play

This game gets students to work on extended stretches of speaking practice as well as question forms. Students must create a story based on something of their own invention or a topic given to them by the teacher. The story can be a true story or an entirely made-up one. The student has to spend some time writing notes about the story and then recounting it to their partner/group or the whole class. The others then have a chance to ask a number of questions before they have to decide whether or not it’s a lie. If they get it right, they can get points. Encourage ss to make the stories as funny /interesting /outrageous as they like!

Rounds
In all rounds, the scoring system is the same: teams gain a point for correctly guessing whether a statement is true or not, but if they guess incorrectly the opposing team gets a point.

Current rounds
  
"Home Truths": Panellists read out a statement about themselves. The opposing team has to decide whether it is true or false by asking the panellist questions. The first series used all six panellists; from the second series onwards, the round tended to focus on the four guests. In series two a 'possessions' element was introduced, in which the panellist takes an item out of a box and reads a statement from a card, and has to convince the opposing team that the possession genuinely belongs to them.

"This is My...": A guest comes onto the set and is introduced by first name, but remains standing in silence as the round continues. Panellists on one team tell the opposing team about their relationship to the guest; only one account out of three told is genuine, and the opposing team has to work out which it is. At the end of the round, the guest reveals their true identity, and which of the panellists they have a genuine relationship with.
  
"Quick-Fire Lies": The second questioning round, with the panellists chosen at random. In earlier series, the panellists were ostensibly under a time limit although no on-screen indicator of the time limit was ever present. The notion of a time limit was eventually dropped in the later series, making the round identical to "Home Truths" in practice. This round usually features – but is not exclusive to – Mitchell and Mack. From the fourth series onwards, Brydon also became an occasional participant, with both teams questioning him at once.

For the purposes of education, the show is replicated with a similar format. The Teacher becomes the Host  and two team captains are chosen along with 4 other team members - two for each side.

The presentation is simple - one main chair in the middle for the Host and 3 chairs on each side for the teams.

This is a great exercise in getting students to speak confidently about a topic they know best - themselves. The students can then graduate to other topics once they know the game.

Teacher

You only need to watch one episode to get an idea of the show.

Recommended:

True or Lie: Owls freak me out! Would I Lie to You? - BBC
https://youtu.be/bLNVdrwqrlY
 

You can pause the show just before the reveal of a Truth or Lie and ask the class to vote on a Truth or Lie.

Another great episode is the one below but it can't be embedded. View on TubeTube:

Mortimerian Tales - Bob Mortimer on Would I Lie to You? - Part 1
https://youtu.be/1vE8ExuuNZQ

Preparation

Print out the following Would I Lie to You card - one for each student on the panel.

Rules for students

1. You are to write up 5 statements about yourself - that is either truthful or a lie - on the card given to you. Make sure that there is at least two lies. A true statement has to be entirely true, a false statement can be based on a true story so long as the actual statement is false.

Select only one to read out each time you are selected by the teacher. 

2. Each time the other team is fooled, your team scores a point.

How to Start

1. The Teacher is to select one student to read out one of their statements.

2. The team members on the other side are to question the student,  who read out their statement, to find out whether the statement is a truth or a lie.

3. Opposing team is to make a decision - truth or lie. 

4. The Teacher asks the student "Is it a truth or a lie?" The student replies.