Guess the Dates from the Hints

Giving hints and guessing dates game

Circle a date on this year’s calendar or choose one of the date cards below. Give a hint about what date you chose such as the hint in the left column next to the date. If your partner’s guess is wrong, tell them how far they are from the real date with “It’s much earlier”, “It’s a little later (than that)”, etc, then give another hint about the season, clothes, food, etc. Continue until your partner gets exactly the right date, with a new hint after each hint (in other words, only one guess per hint).

 

Useful language for giving hints

Hints on dates

• It’s my birthday./ It’s my mother’s birthday./ It’s…’s birthday.
• It’s spring/ summer/ autumn/ winter (in this country/ in Japan/ in…)
• It’s raining/ sunny/ windy/ snowing/ cloudy/ foggy/ cold/ hot.
• I’m wearing a coat/ boots/ a sweater/ a jacket/ a swimsuit/ a T-shirt/ a long-sleeved T-shirt/ a woolly hat/ a summer hat/ sandals/ flip flops/ shorts/ gloves/ a (woolly/ winter) scarf/ sunglasses/ suntan lotion/ a tie/ a kimono/ a suit.
• I can see cherry blossom/ red leaves on the trees.
• I can hear crickets/ cicadas/ birds/ fireworks/ mosquitoes/ lambs.
• I’m sunbathing/ surfing/ swimming/ skiing/ snorkelling/ picking flowers/ making a snowman/ throwing snowballs/ picking flowers/ camping/ ice skating/ snowboarding/ having a picnic/ opening a present/ praying/ walking…/ carrying…./ watching…
• I’m eating tangerines/ chestnuts/ turkey/ ice cream/ chocolates/ salad/ stew/ soup/ chocolate/ chocolate eggs/ Pocky.
• I’m drinking water/ hot tea/ champagne/ lemonade/ hot red wine.
• It’s in January/ February/ March/ April/ May/ June/ July/ August/ September/ October/ November/ December
• It’s a holiday.
• It’s in the summer vacation/ in the… vacation.
• It’s… Day.
• It’s before…
• It’s after…
• It’s between… and…
• It’s Sunday/ Monday/ Tuesday/ Wednesday/ Thursday/ Friday/ Saturday/ Sunday (this year).

 

Responding to your partner’s guess

• It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + earlier (than that)./ It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + before (that).
• It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + later (than that)./ It’s much/ quite a lot/ a little/ a tiny bit + after (that).

 

Dates presentation and practice

Put cut up cards into order from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

Write the dates on the cards as numbers, then try to pronounce those dates without looking at the cards.

 

Possible dates to guess 

New Year’s Day	January first
The end of Capricorn	January twentieth
The start of Aquarius	January twenty first
The first day of Japanese spring	February fifth
First day of the Winter Olympics	February seventh
Valentine’s Day	February fourteenth
The end of Aquarius	February nineteenth
The beginning of Pisces	February twentieth
Last day of the Winter Olympics	February twenty third
Pi Day	March fourteenth
Japanese White Day	March fourteenth
The end of Pisces	March twentieth
The first day of English spring	March twenty first
The first day of Brazilian autumn	March twenty first
The start of Aries	March twenty first
April Fool’s Day	April first
The end of Aries	April twentieth
The beginning of Taurus	April twenty first
World Book Day	April twenty third
May Day	May first
Cinco de Mayo in Mexico	May fifth
The first day of Japanese summer	May seventh
Red Cross Day	May eighth
Museum Day	May eighteenth
The end of Taurus	May twenty first
The start of Gemini	May twenty second
Chinese Dragon Boat Festival	June second
The first day of Tokyo rainy season	June eighth
Blood Donor Day	June fourteenth

The first day of Brazilian winter	June twenty first
The end of Gemini	June twenty second
The start of Cancer	June twenty third
American Independence Day	July fourth
The last day of Tokyo rainy season	July twentieth
The last day of Cancer	July twenty third
The first day of Leo	July twenty fourth
The first day of Japanese autumn	August ninth
The final day of Leo	August twenty third
The start of Virgo	August twenty fourth
Talk like a Pirate Day	September nineteenth
The first day of English autumn	September twenty first
The end of Virgo	September twenty third
The beginning of Libra	September twenty fourth
World Teacher’s Day	October fifth
The end of Libra	October twenty third
The beginning of Scorpio	October twenty fourth
English Fireworks Night	November fifth
The first day of Japanese winter	November eighth
English Poppy Day	November eleventh
Korean Peppero Day	November eleventh
The end of Scorpio	November twenty second
Beginning of Sagittarius	November twenty third
The first day of English winter	December twenty first
End of Sagittarius	December twenty first
Beginning of Capricorn	December twenty second
Christmas Eve	December twenty fourth
Christmas Day	December twenty fifth
Boxing Day	December twenty sixth
New Year’s Eve	December thirty first

 

Vocabulary presentation

Brainstorm vocabulary which you could have used to give hints into the gaps below.

Seasons

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weather

 

 

 

 

 

 

Clothes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outdoor activities/ actions

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Months

 

 

 

 

 

 

Days of the week

 

 

 

Use the mixed answers below to help with the task above.

• a coat
• a jacket
• a kimono
• a (woolly/ winter) scarf
• a suit
• a summer hat
• a sweater
• a swimsuit
• a tie
• a T-shirt
• a woolly hat
• April
• August
• autumn/ fall
• boots
• camping
• cloudy
• cold
• December
• February
• flip flops
• foggy/ misty
• Friday
• gloves
• having a picnic
• hot
• ice skating
• January
• July
• June
• making a snowman
• March
• May
• Monday
• November
• October
• opening a present
• picking flowers
• picking flowers
• praying
• raining
• sandals
• Saturday
• September
• shorts
• skiing
• snorkelling
• snowboarding
• snowing
• spring
• summer
• sunbathing
• Sunday
• Sunday
• sunglasses
• sunny
• suntan lotion
• surfing
• swimming
• throwing snowballs
• Thursday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• windy
• winter (in this country/ in Japan/ in…)