The Traitors Revision Template Lesson (everyone plays)
Lesson duration is: 60 minIntroduction
Instructions
Instructions
Items in this lesson
REVISION TRAITORS: a revision game for any topic, based on The Traitors.
The game in one line. Everyone answers every question. Hidden Traitors try to steer the class to the wrong answer, and the class banishes suspects at the Round Table.
Why it works. Faithfuls have to justify their answers out loud. Traitors have to know the right answer to sell a convincing wrong one. Every trap is corrected straight after the vote, so nobody leaves with a wrong idea. Nobody sits out: banished players keep answering every question to the end.
Before the lesson
Print the role cards (Faithful, Traitor, Shield) from the lesson's attached documents. Check that the wording matches these rules. Suggested wording is in the notes on the card slide.
Traitors: 1 for up to 15 students, 2 for 16 to 25, 3 for 26 or more.
Replace the SAMPLE questions with your own, and copy the blank mission slides for more questions.
Have a way to keep score on the board: Faithfuls and Traitors.
Timing: about 60 minutes for four to six missions and two Round Tables.
The flow: rules, cards, shield. Round 1 is multiple-choice missions, then Evidence, Round Table and banishment. Round 2 is open-question missions, then Evidence, Round Table and banishment. Then the final reveal, the Traitors' confession and the celebration.
Scoring at a glance
Class verdict right: Faithfuls +1. Class fooled: Traitors +1.
A Traitor banished: Faithfuls +3. A Faithful banished: Traitors +3.
Each Traitor still hidden at the end: Traitors +3.
The side with the most points wins. Only players who were never banished share the victory.
Faithful
Traitor
Would you prefer to be a Faithful or a Traitor?
A warm-up hook. Roles have not been dealt yet, so this is only about preference, and the results are anonymous.
Ask one or two students from each side why they chose it. A Traitor needs to know the right answer well enough to argue convincingly for a wrong one. A Faithful needs to explain their thinking clearly enough to persuade the room.
Device-free: students stand on the left of the room for Faithful and on the right for Traitor.
Play this for atmosphere while you hand out the role cards, face down, one per student.
Know your Traitors. Either note who gets the Traitor cards as you deal them, or ask the Traitors to show you their card quietly when you walk round. You need to know so that you can brief them (see the card slide) and keep the game fair.
If you would rather not leave it to chance, give the Traitor cards to students who know the topic well and can cope with the pressure. A Traitor who does not know the right answer cannot steer anyone away from it.
Play the voiceover to set the tone, then go through the three rules slides that follow.
The number of Traitors depends on class size: 1 for up to 15 students, 2 for 16 to 25, 3 for 26 or more.
THE RULES
Who are you playing for?
FAITHFUL · most of you
Lead the class to the right answer in every mission, and always give a reason. Spot the Traitors and banish them.
TRAITOR · one, two or three of you
Lead the class to the wrong answer without getting caught. At the Round Table, turn suspicion onto the strongest Faithfuls.
EVERYONE
Thinks, discusses and votes in every mission, all lesson. Anyone can be spun to explain their answer.
The big change from the TV show: nobody is ever out of the game. Traitors play every question alongside everyone else, and their job is to make the class get it wrong.
Stress that the Traitors are outnumbered. They cannot win a vote with their own answers, so they have to persuade. The Faithfuls' best defence is reasoning: "why do you think that?"
THE RULES
Every mission
1 · THINK Decide your own answer, in silence.
2 · DISCUSS Argue it out as a class. Anyone can be spun to explain.
3 · VOTE Everyone submits their own answer.
4 · VERDICT The class answer is the most popular one. Right: Faithfuls +1. Wrong: Traitors +1.
5 · THE TRUTH We reveal the answer, and why the trap was wrong.
OPEN QUESTIONS Everyone writes an answer, then three go on trial. Judge all three correctly: Faithfuls +1. Fooled: Traitors +1.
Every question is a mission, and every mission runs the same five steps. That routine is what keeps everyone involved.
Think. Give 30 seconds of silence first, so that every student commits to an answer of their own before the loudest voice speaks.
Discuss. Use the timer. Spin the wheel to cold-call: "What did you choose, and why?" Because anyone can be picked, everyone has to be ready.
Vote. Only open the question slide once the discussion is over. Everyone, including banished players, submits their own answer.
Verdict. The most popular answer is the class verdict.
The truth. Never skip this. Reveal the correct answer and ask a student to explain why the trap answer was wrong. This is what stops the Traitors' arguments sticking.
A Traitor may vote however they like. The class verdict is what scores, and that is decided by persuasion.
THE RULES
The Round Table
ACCUSE WITH EVIDENCE What did they argue, or vote? Never anything personal.
THE SHIELD Accused while you hold it? Show it. You are safe this time.
BANISHMENT The player with the most votes is banished and shows their card. Traitor banished: Faithfuls +3. Faithful banished: Traitors +3.
THE BANISHED play every mission to the end, a banished Traitor now as a Faithful. They leave the Round Table and do not share the victory.
THE END Each Traitor still hidden: Traitors +3. Most points wins.
The Round Table is the only way anyone is banished, and the Traitors' only weapon against the Faithfuls. Their aim is to get the most effective Faithfuls banished.
Evidence only. An accusation has to point at something said or voted in the game, such as "they argued hard for B, and B was the trap". Step in if it turns personal. You have the final say on any nomination.
The banished keep playing. They answer every mission and their answers still count for the class, which is one more reason to banish carefully. While the Round Table meets, give them a job: the Truth Record. On paper, they write the correct answer to each mission so far and why the trap answer was wrong. They present it during the Traitors' confession at the end.
A banished Traitor switches sides from then on and helps the class get answers right. A banished Faithful carries on as before. Neither can share the victory.
Points: 1 for each mission and 3 for each banishment, so the Round Table matters. Ties go to the Faithfuls.
You have all been given a card. Are you a Faithful or a Traitor?
There are instructions on your card. Read them carefully.
You MUST NOT show your card or reveal your status.
Players must not show their cards or reveal their role. The only time a card is shown is after a banishment, or by the Traitors at the very end.
Brief your Traitors quietly. Tell them to pick the most believable wrong answer and give a real-sounding reason for it. They should not be wrong every time, because a Traitor who is sometimes right builds trust. And they should aim suspicion at the Faithfuls who keep getting the class to the right answer.
Suggested card wording (check that the printed cards match)
FAITHFUL. Lead the class to the right answer in every mission and always give a reason. Watch for anyone steering the class wrong. Never show this card.
TRAITOR. In every discussion, steer the class towards a wrong answer, but make it believable and do not be wrong every time. At the Round Table, aim suspicion at the strongest Faithfuls. Never show this card.
SHIELD. If you are accused at the next Round Table, show this card. You cannot be banished this time. Then hand it back.
Keep the score on the board: Faithfuls and Traitors.
Who will get the shield? Whoever holds it cannot be banished at the next Round Table!
Spin the wheel. The student it lands on may keep the shield or give it to another player. Hand over a Shield card from the attached documents.
The shield protects against banishment at the next Round Table only. If its holder is accused, they show the card and the class must pick someone else. The card then comes back to you. A new shield is given out after each banishment.
The holder can keep the shield secret until they need it. Anyone can hold one, including a Traitor.
1 · THINK On your own. 30 seconds.
2 · DISCUSS As a class. Be ready to explain.
3 · VOTE On the next slide.
In Othello, when Othello says "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul", which rhetorical device is mainly used to show his fractured state of mind?
A Anaphora
B Epistrophe
C Polyptoton
D End-focus
SAMPLE
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MISSION: discuss before anyone votes. This sample question shows the format. Replace it with your own, keeping the question and options identical on the next slide.
Think. 30 seconds of silence, so that everyone has an answer of their own.
Discuss. Start the two-minute timer. Spin the wheel to cold-call two or three students: "What did you choose, and why?"
Vote. Move to the next slide only when the timer runs out.
This is where the Traitors work. They will argue for the trap answer (here B, Epistrophe) and try to sound reasonable. Push every claim back to evidence: "How do you know?"
SAMPLE
In Othello, when Othello says "It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul", which rhetorical device is mainly used to show his fractured state of mind?
Anaphora
Epistrophe
Polyptoton
End-focus
VOTE, VERDICT, TRUTH. Everyone submits their own answer, including any banished players.
Verdict. The most popular answer is the class answer. Right gives Faithfuls +1, wrong gives Traitors +1.
The truth (never skip it). The answer is A, Anaphora: the same words repeated at the start of successive clauses. The trap is B, Epistrophe, which is repetition at the end of clauses. Spin the wheel and ask a student to explain the difference.
Evidence for later. Before you move on, you can ask "Who argued for B?" so the class has something to take to the Round Table.
A Traitor's cover story might be: "I always mix up anaphora and epistrophe, because they're both repetition. It was a slip under the timer!"
1 · THINK On your own. 30 seconds.
2 · DISCUSS As a class. Be ready to explain.
3 · VOTE On the next slide.
Your question here
A Answer
B Answer
C Answer
D Answer
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Blank mission: discuss first. Copy this slide and the one after it for every multiple-choice mission.
Write the question and options here and copy them exactly onto the next slide. Pick a trap answer the Traitors can argue for, the most common misconception about the topic. Write the correct answer, the trap and a one-line explanation of each into these notes, so you have them for the truth step.
YOUR QUESTION HERE
Correct answer
Trap answer
Wrong answer
Wrong answer
Blank mission: vote. Replace the four placeholder answers with your own, mark the correct one, and shuffle them so that the correct answer is not always A.
Then run the verdict and the truth, as on the sample slide. Right gives Faithfuls +1, wrong gives Traitors +1. Always reveal the answer and explain why the trap was wrong.
EVIDENCE
Which argument today sounded convincing, but was wrong?
Write what was claimed, and what the truth is. No names!
EVIDENCE, before the Round Table. Everyone answers, including banished players. It takes a minute and turns the deduction back into revision: to answer, students have to remember a wrong claim and correct it.
Read the answers before you show any. Then show two or three that correct a real misconception, and fix anything that is still wrong. Students' names stay hidden.
The class can use what comes up as evidence at the Round Table, as long as accusations are about what was argued, not about who someone is.
ROUND TABLE 1. Only players who have not been banished take part. In this first Round Table that is everyone.
Give about three minutes. Every accusation needs evidence from the game: what someone argued, or how they voted. Step in if it turns personal.
The Traitors want to point the room at the Faithfuls who have been getting the class to the right answer.
A shield holder who is accused can show the card. They are safe this time, so the class moves on to someone else.
Who do you think is a Traitor?
Type ONE name.
Banished players do not vote.
BANISHMENT VOTE. Each player still in the game types one name. Ask them to use first name and surname initial so that the votes count up together. Banished players do not vote. The cloud is anonymous, so they are on their honour.
The name with the most votes is banished. If there is a tie, vote again on the tied names only. A shield holder who has shown their card cannot be banished.
The banished player then stands and reveals their card on the next slide.
THE REVEAL. The banished player shows their card. Play the matching sound.
Traitor banished: Faithfuls +3. From now on this player plays as a Faithful and helps the class get answers right, but does not share the victory.
Faithful banished: Traitors +3. This player keeps answering every mission, but does not share the victory.
Either way, they keep playing every mission and their answers still count. They no longer join the Round Table. During it, they write the Truth Record instead (see the Round Table rules slide).
Then spin the wheel for a new shield, which protects its holder at the next Round Table. Collect any shield that was used.
Optional. If every Traitor has now been banished, you can quietly recruit a new one: hand a Traitor card to a Faithful who is still in the game.
Name a reason why Germany lost World War One, and explain why.
SAMPLE
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OPEN-QUESTION MISSION (sample). Round 2 swaps the discussion for a trial, because here everyone writes first.
Write. Everyone writes their own answer, including banished players. Give two minutes. Traitors write something plausible but wrong.
Show. Show the answers. Names stay hidden.
Trial. Pick three answers, including at least one you know is wrong, or anything that looks suspicious. For each, the class debates it and then gives thumbs up for accurate or thumbs down for not. Spin to cold-call: "Why?"
Verdict. All three judged correctly gives Faithfuls +1. If a wrong answer is accepted or a right one rejected, Traitors +1.
The truth. Correct every inaccurate answer before you move on.
Sample answers. Accurate: the Allied naval blockade caused severe food and raw-material shortages; American entry in 1917 added fresh troops and resources; the failure of the Spring Offensive of 1918 exhausted the German army. Good traps: "Germany ran out of soldiers in 1916", or "Germany lost because the USA joined in 1914".
Your question here
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Blank open-question mission. Copy this slide for every open question.
Run it as on the sample: write, show, trial three answers, verdict, the truth. Write a model answer and one or two likely traps in these notes beforehand, so you can judge the trial quickly.
EVIDENCE
Which argument today sounded convincing, but was wrong?
Write what was claimed, and what the truth is. No names!
EVIDENCE, before the final Round Table. Run it as before: everyone answers, you read them first, then show and correct two or three.
This is the last chance to fix any trap from Round 2 that is still in anyone's head.
FINAL ROUND TABLE. Only players who have not been banished take part. The banished carry on with the Truth Record.
Same rules as before: evidence only, and the shield protects its holder. Remind the class of the score. With 3 points for every banishment and for every Traitor still hidden at the end, this vote can still swing the game.
Who do you think is a Traitor?
Type ONE name.
Banished players do not vote.
FINAL BANISHMENT VOTE. Run it as before: one name each, banished players do not vote, a tie means a revote on the tied names.
The banished player reveals their card on the next slide, and the score changes by 3 either way.
THE FINAL REVEAL
Every Traitor still hidden: stand up and show your card.
THE CONFESSION
Traitors, tell us one lie you told today, and the truth.
THE FINAL REVEAL. First reveal the last banished player's card as usual and add the 3 points. Then ask any Traitor still hidden to stand and show their card. Each one gives Traitors +3.
THE CONFESSION. This is the most important learning moment of the lesson. Each Traitor, banished or not, names one wrong argument they made and gives the correct answer. Then the banished players present their Truth Record. Correct anything that is still wrong.
Add up the final score. The side with the most points wins, and ties go to the Faithfuls. Only players who were never banished share the victory. Then move to the celebration.
THE CELEBRATION. Play the sound for the winning side, start the music, and click the hotspot at the bottom right last for the celebration animation. You can drag the animation out of the way to get back to the slide.
The winners are the players on the winning side who were never banished.
To finish, ask everyone for one thing they will remember from today, ideally a trap they will not fall for again.
You can adapt any rule to suit your class. We hope you and your learners have as much fun playing it as we had making it!
