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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REGION III
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Matalino ST., D.M. Government Center, Maimpis

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City of San Fernando (Pampanga)

DOODLIES
A Pen-and-Paper Role-Playing Game
on Idiomatic Expressions

SELF-LEARNING KIT
 FOREWORD
English can be a challenge to learn, yet a fun language and subject to study. Worry not about the
boggling rules and the confusing words. I give you Doodlies – it’s like a computer role-playing game
(RPG) where you control a character and level up. But this time, YOU are the main character!
Level up while studying and develop your English proficiency. Through this self-learning kit, you
will be able to understand idiomatic expressions.
Now get out there, and be your own hero! I believe in you!

In this lesson, you are expected to:

1. Use appropriate idiomatic expressions in a variety of basic interpersonal communicative
situations. (EEN7V-I-c-10.2)
2. Select an appropriate colloquial or idiomatic word or expression as a substitute for another
word or expression.(EN7V-I-e-22.2)

GAME MECHANICS
Read about the lesson in the Lesson Intro first before you answer
the activities. You can also refer to other references to know more about the
topic.
At the beginning of every activity, you will see a space provided for
you to write the number of EXP you gain. Write your EXP points there.

ACTIVITY 1. Saver School Score: ____/9 EXP: __________

Each score corresponds to 2 experience points (EXP). For example, if

you get a total score of 3, that is equivalent to 6 EXP, since 3 x 2 = 6.

1.
Every lesson consists of four activities:

Saver School
1. primes the learner (YOU) for the next activities which are more difficult. It is like a
short post-test about the topic.

Boggler Battle!
2. helps the learner (yes, YOU) distinguish differences between two similar, confusing
concepts in the lesson.

Operation: Preparation
3. prepares the learner (it really is YOU) for the final writing activity.

Scribble Challenge
4. a writing activity wherein the learner (definitely YOU) applies what he/she has
learned about the topic.

Lastly, never forget to read instructions and the pieces of advice before each activity carefully.

Good luck, hero in the making!

I What Happened?

Three of the doodlies disappeared at the

same time. According to Lavender, she last saw
them at the arcade in the mall. When she came
back, a crime scene of rainbow slime and glitter
was being investigated by the cops.

2.
 Lavender: What happened
in here, Mr. Policeman?
Earlier . there was no more
room for an apple to fall
and now all that’s left in Well, as you can see,
the arcade is… this. we found an abundance of mul-
ticolored slime and holographic
glitter, and then we thought it
was cool so....

Lavender: Would you

please stop beating around
the bush, Mr. Policeman?
How did this all happen?
Well, as you can see,
we found an abundance of mul-
ticolored slime and holographic
glitter, and then we thought it
was cool so....

Would you please stop

beating around the bush,
Mr. Policeman? How did
this all happen?
According to some folk who
were in here earlier, the arcade
just had a huge gaping hole and
then this rainbow mess was left.
Three doodlies just went miss-
ing. Everything happened out of
the blue.

Lavender:A huge hole

on a sturdy wall? I knew
it! It’s that color-stealing
monster! I want you to
hunt that creature down
and let him pay the
piper!
Policeman: Now now, li’l doo-
dlie. Let’s not jump the gun yet.
We have to search for further
evidence and then we will find
the culprit.

The phrases highlighted in the dialogue above are called idioms. An

idiom, or an idiomatic expression, is a group of words established
by usage as having a meaning not deductible from its individual
words. Its figurative meaning is different from its literal meaning.

It is estimated that there are at least 25,000 idiomatic expressions in

the English language. The ones used in the dialogue above are:

4.
 Here are some popular English
idiomatic expressions:

No room for an apple to fall – a place is packed with people

1.

ex. There has been no room for an apple to fall in the amusement park since Christmas.

Beating around the bush – to avoid getting directly to the point of an issue
2. ex. Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want!

Out of the blue – something happened that was unexpected

3. ex. He just pulled my hand out of the blue and walked me into a dark, dangerous ally.

Pay the piper – to face the consequences of one’s actions

4. ex. If we don’t do our group project, we will pay the piper at the end of the semester.

Jump the gun – to do something early

5. ex. We shouldn’t jump the gun in this case because we still do not have enough evidence.

Speak of the devil – the person you were just talking about actually turns
6.
up at that moment
ex It’s really excellent of Andie to get straight A’s on all subjects. Hey Andie, speak of the
devil, I was just telling Cara about your academic performance.

Kill t wo birds in one stone – to solve two problems at once.

7. ex. By going with my great uncle on a roadtrip, I killed two birds in one stone. I was able to forget
about my problems for a while but spending quality time with him.

Piece of cake – something that is very easy

8. ex.That literature exam was a piece of cake; I got a perfect score even without studying.

Once in a blue moon – when an event happens rarely

9. ex. You have to attend the seniors’ prom – it only happens once in a blue moon.

5.
 Idioms are sometimes pretty tricky, but I have a pro-tip for you! Read dif-
ferent pieces of literature to be more familiar about common idioms and
their meanings. Never stop reading!

II.What do you need to know?

ACTIVITY 1. Saver School Score: ____/9 EXP: __________

Can you guess some of the popular English idioms? The photos will serve as clues for you.

1.
Sample sentence: We only see each other _______________ due to
our busy schedules.

2.
Sample sentence: _______________, Sammie, and do your best in the
competition.

3.
Sample sentence: It’s _______________, so I wasn’t able to go out of
the house today.

6.
 4.
Sample sentence: _______________________ she will clean her room.

How are you doing, hero in the making? I hope you are getting the hang of idioms
very well. For now, let us recall the different figures of speech and compare them
with idioms. Prep up, and face the next level.

ACTIVITY 2. Boggler Battle! Score: ____/5 EXP: __________

Write I if the highlighted phrase is an idiomatic expression and F if it is a

figure of speech.

_______1. She looked at me with eyes as bright as day.

_______2. The group cut corners when they made this carton sculpture; the head is already falling
off.
_______3. You totally hit the nail on the head when you said that the class needs a revolving fund
for expenses in school activities.
_______4. What used to be a bruise became a dimple on her face; it was the perfect flaw and that is
what made me fall for her.
_______5. By working part-time and going to school five days a week, Tracy managed to get the best
of both worlds.

I hope that activity didn’t stop you from earning EXP to save our friends. Here’s
a Lavender hint: you can make your own figures of speech, but idioms are al-
ready established expressions in the English language.

7.
ACTIVITY 3. Operation: Preparation! Score: ____/4 EXP: __________

Two of our missing doodlies have finally been found! To be able to unlock
their cages, you must fill in the blank with the correct idiom. You need
to answer five items per doodlie. Choose from the ones in the box below.

let t he cat out of t he bag best of bot h worlds

add insult to injury fine tuning

cost an arm and a leg it takes t wo to tango

feeling under t he weat her pay t he piper

break a leg a chip on t he shoulder

speak of t he devil beating around t he bush

1. Three years after Shane sabotaged her science proj-

ect, Cyrish still has_____________________.

2. Stop ________________________ and tell us what

really happened.

3. Hey Angelie, ________________________, I was

just telling Ren about your new car.

4. You can do it Zoe, ______________________.

5. If we don’t study for tomorrow’s test, we are going

to ________________________ and fail.

8.
 6. A wizard in both science and in maths, Marc’s defi-
nitely got the ________________________.

7. Nel did some _____________________ to his

morning routine, and now he wakes up at 5 am.
8. Those makeup products ___________________!
Why did you just throw them away like that?
9. I _____________________ about the movie we
were about to watch, so everyone became bored.

10. One student can’t cause a wreck like this. Re-

member, _____________________.

Did you earn at least 12 EXP in the activity above? If so, I am proud of you!
You just rescued Bluey and Greenie. However, there is still one missing doodlie
from the arcade incident – and if he loses all his colors, it’s game over. Let’s
rescue him!

ACTIVITY 4. Scribble Challenge Score: ____/10 EXP: __________

Create a dialogue like the one shown at the beginning of the lesson. Choose five
idiomatic expressions from the box below and use them in your lines. Be creative.

beating around the bush raining cats and dogs

once in a blue moon to cut corners
whistling in the dark best of both worlds
add insult to injury fine tuning
tap dance change tune
judge a book by its cover ambulance chaser
break a leg barking at the wrong tree
until the fat lady sings break the ice

9.
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I hope you’re able to construct a dialogue using those idioms! Now count
your total EXP. If you got a score of 27 and above, congratulations! Keep
practicing those tests.

TOTAL TOTAL
SCORE exp

References

English Live. (Sept. 7, 2017). 15 common English idioms and phrases with their meaning. Retrieved from
https://englishlive.ef.com/blog/15-common-english-idioms-and-phrases/
Your Dictionary. (Sept. 7, 2017). Idiom examples. Retrieved from
http://examples.yourdictionary.com/idiom.html

10.