"Taboo" Inference Task Cards and Center!

These inference task cards were inspired by the popular board game “Taboo.” I was playing the game when a word came up that we did not know. As I was looking at the “taboo” words (words that you cannot say while trying to get your partner to guess the main word), I inferred what the word probably was. I then came up with this great idea and thought it would be perfect for my students!

You can use these inference cards in many ways! The main way that I use these cards is to have my students read the six “clue” words underneath the main word. They then have to infer what the word means or who the person is and write down their responses on the student response sheet. You may want to copy the response sheets double sided so the students have enough room to write all of their responses. These would work great as a center too!

The purple task cards are the easiest ones. These can be used as is depending on the ability level of your students or you can cover up the main word and have your students infer what the covered up word is. You can also use these cards as an introduction or a model for the activity.

The dark pink and orange cards are a little more challenging. They involve higher level vocabulary words.

The blue cards involve people that students are usually not familiar with. They have to infer who that person is.

Lastly, the red cards involve unusual names for common items. These are my favorite! The students have to read the clue words and try to infer what the meaning of the funny word is.

I have also included a blank sheet for students to create their own for higher level thinking or if they finish early.

I hope you enjoy and please leave feedback! Thank you!