You Win a Prize!вЂ“ finally, although awarding a cash prize is quite impractical, offering another token prize, (i.e.Also, while the вЂњword-of-the-dayвЂќ can be used to reinforce the vocabulary thatвЂ™s currently being studied, the words may be chosen from previously studied vocabulary as well. In a contained classroom, once the вЂњword of the dayвЂќ for that day has been uttered, play can be suspended for that day and resumed the next day. Randomness вЂ“ if a student in one class period says the word, the word has to be taken out of circulation and replaced with a new one.

A word or image printed on a card or projected on a whiteboard would work, or a bell or buzzer used for another purpose (say, timed writing, for example) could be used to alert the class that the вЂњmagic wordвЂќ has just been spoken. Rubber chicken notwithstanding, if the fact that someone actually says the word aloud is not enough of a surprise already, perhaps some sort of visual and/or sound cue could be produced with little difficulty, using whatever instructional media is on hand. Surprise! вЂ“ to be fair, the students should know that there is a вЂњword of the dayвЂќ in play, but they canвЂ™t know ahead of time what it is.And if they did, having been uttered, that word was taken out of circulation and replaced with a new вЂњword of the dayвЂќ.ДЄs a classroom strategy, then, the same basic principles should be in play: This must be attributable, then, to the randomness with which it happened вЂ“ no one knew ahead of time when or even if any pair of contestants would manage to say the word. Although they surely knew this was part of the showвЂ™s premise, the contestants who said the вЂњmagic wordвЂќ always seemed surprised вЂ“ but who wouldnвЂ™t be to see a rubber chicken drop from the sky? However, the studio (and television) audience also reacted with surprise, even though they were in on it from the outset. The showвЂ™s successful implementation of this idea relies on two key factors: surprise and randomness. While most of us probably canвЂ™t rig our classrooms so that a rubber chicken falls from the ceiling (but wouldnвЂ™t it be fun if we could?) we can still adapt the concept of a вЂњword of the dayвЂќ or вЂњmagic wordвЂќ to reinforce vocabulary words. If, at anytime during the contendersвЂ™ chat with Marx, either of the participants uttered the вЂњword of the dayвЂќ by chance (or sheer luck), the rubber chicken dropped from the ceiling (with the вЂњmagic wordвЂќ printed on a card held in its beak) and the contestants won an additional cash prize! At the beginning of each segment, before the next pair of contestants came out, the вЂњmagic wordвЂќ was shared with the studio (and television) audience. Hosted by Groucho Marx, one of the showвЂ™s hallmark features, called the вЂњword of the day,вЂќ or вЂњmagic word,вЂќ (or вЂњ woid,вЂќ as Marx pronounced it) made great use of dramatic irony and the iconic rubber chicken, both of which have since become indelibly associated with Groucho MarxвЂ™ particular brand of verbally playful comedy. I stumbled upon it thanks to the cultural repository known as YouTube. Not many people remember watching a popular and widely televised quiz show from the mid-50вЂ™s called You Bet Your Life.

Groucho marx magic word