Add a Word
Level: Any Level
Rationale: Students practise grammar and syntax.
Materials: None.
Levels: All levels, though better for more advanced students, because the game is more fun at a quick pace.
Method: One student begins a sentence by saying only one word. A second student must say a word which continues the sentence. A third must continue, and so on, until someone says a word that does not fit syntactically or grammatically. If the sentence comes to a logical end without error, the next student may say "period" and begin a new sentence with a new word.
The teacher may suggest a topic to get things started. What the students say may also be recorded and played back, so the class can discuss the error that stopped the sentence.
Example:
Teacher: The topic is `pets`. First student: "My . . ." Second student: ". . . dog" Third student: ". . . has . . ." Fourth student: ". . . spots . . ." Fifth student: ". . . brown . . ."
The sentence would stop here. The teacher would ask the students why, hoping someone explains that the adjective `brown` normally comes before and not after the noun `spots`.