Parts of Speech Game

Subjects

Arts & Humanities
--Language Arts

Grade

K-2
3-5
6-8
9-12

Brief Description

Students try to match the words that appear on the teachers list.

Objectives

Students will

reinforce understanding of the parts of speech (e.g., nouns, verbs, adjectives).
work as members of a team to come up with the best list of ten words that fit the game topic.
be challenged to include some uncommon" words on their lists.

Keywords

parts of speech, game, noun, verb, adjective

Materials Needed

pencil and paper
dictionaries (optional; dictionaries can be used to add a different dimension to the game)

Lesson Plan

For this simple game, arrange students into pairs or small groups. Choose a category/topic for the days game, such as

Nouns that begin with the letter g
Adjectives that start with the letters d, e, or f
Verbs that begin with the letter s

Give students a few minutes to work in their groups to come up with a list of 10 words that fit the category. They should work as quietly as possible so other groups wont pick up words from their discussions.

As students are doing this activity, let them know that you will be creating your own list of 10 words that fit the category. (Alternative: You might have come up with your list of 10 words in advance.) The object of the game is for them to match the words that appear on your list. Your list of 10 words might include some of the words you expect students to include on their lists. In addition, you could toss in a few challenge words" that might not be on the typical student list. By including some more difficult words, you will be challenging students to think more deeply as they create their lists.

If the students come up with more than 10 words in the allotted time, they must narrow their list to 10 words.

When time is up, share with students your list of ten words, one word at a time. As you share your words, students in each group will check off or circle each one of your words that also appears on their own list. Which group matches the largest number of words on your list? That group wins the game.

More Notes About the Game

This game can be used to reinforce students awareness of all parts of speech. The more often you play the game, the better students will get at it.

At some point, you might introduce dictionaries into the game and allow students to use dictionaries to help them come up with their lists. If you do this with older students, then you might include on your list only challenging words; in that way you will be challenging students to create lists of challenging words.

You might walk around the room as students are coming up with their lists. From time to time, instead of using your own list as the master list" you might use the list of a group you saw doing a particularly good job of building their list of 10 words.

Assessment

Student teams will be awarded a point for each word on their list that also appears on the teachers list.

Alternate scoring method: The teacher might assign different point values to the words on his/her list. For example, the teachers list might include 1-point words (simple words that are likely to appear on student lists) and 2-point words (more challenging words that are less likely to appear on the typical" student list). By including two levels of words, the teacher will encourage students/teams to think more deeply as they create their word lists.

Lesson Plan Source

EducationWorld.com

Submitted By

Gary Hopkins

National Standards

LANGUAGE ARTS: English
GRADES K - 12
NL-ENG.K-12.3 Evaluation Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.4 Communication Skills
NL-ENG.K-12.5 Communication Strategies
NL-ENG.K-12.6 Applying Knowledge
NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills