grammar and vocabulary games for children

British Edition British Edition iœ ll C opyright Y ear: 2007 Copyright N otice: t) 2007, Kathi W yldeck. A ll rights reserved. ISBN : 978-1-84753-579-5 Edition: British Printed in: The U nited States of Am erica Publisher: Lulu.com D edicated to m y grandparents, E rnest and M arie Vines, who gave m e a love and respect for the English language. A cknow ledeem ents W ith m any thanks to M arcus Cremonese for designing the front cover of this book. As an artist and m edical illustrator, he can be contacted through his website at m .m edicalilluskation.com .au Contents !lntroduction Alphabet Sounds N otm Types Verb Types Nouns, Verbs and Adjectives Adverb Types Case of Pronouns Prepositions, Verbs and Pronouns Conjunctions Articles Vocab Gam e //1 Vocab Gam e //2 Vow el Lengths That Crazy ty ' Guy Phonic Grid Relay Simon Says Know That N oun W ho Am 1? l W ent to the Shops and . Adjective or Not? V erb Triplets Race of the Adverbs Vocab Victors Parts of Speech Bingo Ready, Set, Take Y our Positions'! A Trip to Town Quarticles Category Keyboard Actverbs Tick Tock Person, Number, Gender, Case Vocab Circle W hat Did W e See? Conjugation Noughts and Crossrs Punctuation Panic! Everyday Escapades W hat's That W ord? N oun W arfare! Action Story Guess the Proverb W hat Type? W ho Am 1? How 's lt Done? W hat's That? Circular Story Punctuation Relay M other, Father and Baby Clever Clogs ln the M ood Phrase or Clause? Analyse That! Gam es Resources Other Books and W ebsite Activities Introduction This little book provides teachers and hom e-schooling parents with an assortm ent of fun activities to help teach and practise gram m ar and vocabulary skills. M ost of the gam es are active and require plenty of space. The school hall, the playground or other open area w ould be ideal. At the end of a formal lesson, when children m ay be getting restless or losing concentration, these learning activities w ill act as a reward for hard w ork, or for keeping restless children's m inds active w hile, at the sam e tim e, allow ing them to let off steam . Several gam es are very useful for ESL teachers who m ay w ish to practise vocabulary and listening com prehension w ith their ESL students. All of the games require the children to listen and concentrate carefully on w ords and instructions that the Gam es Leader calls out, and children who need practice with follow ing instructions, and concentrating on a set task, will be strengthened by these exercises. If children do not have the know ledge required to play a particular gam e, then the Games Leader (teacher or parent) can give a lesson on the topic before starting the activity. By concentrating on the lesson, the children will be rew arded w ith the fun of a gam e at the end of their efforts. The directions for quite a few of the gam es in this book involve ççteam '' or ttgroup'' play, but these instructions can be easily m odified for sm aller groups of players. For home-schooling families of just two or three children, where the directions for a game use the word ççteam'' or ttgroup'' just substitute the word çtplayer'', so that instead of having, say, three team s competing against each other in a race, you w ill have three players racing each other. In a relay where each m ember of a team m ay nm once, ask the individual players in a sm all group to nm tw o or three tim es instead. W ith m ost of the gam es in this book, single players can also enjoy the activities with a parent, and instead of competition between children, these single players can play the games just for the sheer pleasure of having f'un and leam ing. The second half of the book contains signs and answer sheets that w ill be needed to play the gam es. Just photocopy the pages as required for the gam es you choose to play. The activities are suitable for children betw een the ages of seven and thirteen. There are fifty games in all. Have fun and enjoy the book. Game #1) Alphabet Sounds Give the children tw o or three letters of the alphabet to rem em ber, and ask them to sit in a circle on the floor. Tell the players that you are going to say a w ord, and that they m ust listen to see if the w ord starts with one of their letters. If it does, they m ust get up, nm around the circle clockwise, and try to be the first to sit back down in their place. The first one sitling down scores a point. 'l'he children should keep their own scores and at the end of the gam e, see who the winner is. Exam ples of words that could be called out are: apple, ant, boy, bee, coat, cat, D avid, drum , egg, elephant, frog, fox, goat, girl, hen, hill, ink, igloo, jug, Jack, koala, kite, lemon, lion, moon, mother, octopus, ox, pool, pan, queen, quiet, rain, rabbit, snake, socks, train, tree, uncle, ugly, van, vase, whale, w et, X -ray, xylophone, zoo, zebra. Game #2) N oun Typ es Prepare three signs (from page 38 of the appendix), each with one of these words: Com m on, Proper or Abstract. Stick them on three different w alls of the room and point them out to the children. Tell the players that you are going to call out som e nouns, and the children are to decide w hether the w ord is a com m on, proper or abstract noun. A s soon as they know , they should run to the correct sign on the wall. 'I'he first child to reach the correct sign wins a point. Children should keep their own scores to find a w inning player at the end of the gam e. Possible examples of w ords to use could be: Com m on Pro er Abstract Desk Jack Love Chair M r. Brown Sadness Ant Korea Hunger Cup Dr. Sm ith H eat D og Sydney Noise Game #3) Verb Tenses: Sort the children into pairs and ask each pair to sit down on the floor , facing each other, in a line w ith all the other pairs. Ask the players to stretch their legs straight out w ith feet touching their partner's. Tell the players that once the gam e starts , it is very important for them to keep their knees down and their legs still and straight , or they m ight get trodden on. Give each pair of players a verb tense , either present, past, perfect or future. To play the game, read out a simple sentence, or even just say a verb in a particular tense. The players representing that tense m ust get up and nm down to the end of the line, stepping between each pair of legs as they go. Then they m ust run behind their side of the line, back to the other end and then down between the legs and back to their places. The first player to sit back in his place w ins a point for his side of the line. Continue the gam e until everyone has nm tw o or three tim es, and see which side of the line has scored the m ost points. Examples of sentences to call out could include: a) M ary loves her dad. (Present) b) Peter goes to school. (Present) c) David fell over. (Past) d) Anna jumped onto the chair. (Past) e) l will go to church on Sunday. (Future) 9 W e have written some stories. (Perfect) g) John loolts happy. (Present) h) Sam has ridden his bike to the shops. (Perfect) i) Emma went to Jane's house. (Past) j) Adam will fly his kite. (Future) k) Ben has been to town. (Perfect) Game ##) Nouns, Verbs tt A4ectives: Draw three big circles on the floor with chalk. Label one circle çlNoun'', another one tçverb'' and the third one çiAdjective''. Tell the children that you are going to say a word and they must decide if it is a noun, verb or adjective. As soon as they have decided, they should run and stand inside the correct circle. T'hose who go to the correct circle, and can tit inside it, are safe. Those who go to the wrong circle, or w ho are too late to fit into the right one, are tr ead''. tr ead'' players should stand next to the Gam es Leader and can help by taking t'urns to call out w ords from the list. Keep playing until the circles can hold al1 the rem aining players. These are the w inners. W ords for the list could include: Noun Verb A d'ective Cat Run Pretty Tree Jum Soft Girl Go Red Jenny H ave Five Tom ls Slow Australia M ake Hot N ew York D o Sad M rs. Jones Sw im Happy Pencil Sing Fast Noise W ere Quiet 7 Game #5) Adverb Types Place the children into three groups and give each group a set of three signs labelled çt-l-ime'' tçM anner'' and çtplace'' (from page 39 of the appendix). Sit the children on the floor, in their groups, in front of you, and tell them that you are going to say an adverb (or a sentence with an adverb in it). The players must decide whether it is an A dverb of Tim e, M anner or Place, and quickly hold up the correct sign. The first group showing the correct sign scores a point. Keep track of team scores until there is an obvious winning group. Examples of adverb sentences, w ith adverbs italicised are: a) Today l turn nine. (Time) b) Peter fell over. (Place) c) You speak quickly. (M anner) d) l will come home soon. (Time) e) M rs. Evans talks quietly. (M anner) 9 James jumps high. (Place) g) Get up and go outside. (Place) h) Jack runs/as'/. (M anner) i) Tomorrow is Monday. (Time) j) Eat your dinner ntpw. (Time) k) l looked down and saw a snake. (Place) 1) Peter talks loudly. tM annerl Game #6) Case ofpronouns: This gam e is especially for ESL pupils. Give each child two signs, one saying ttRight'' and the other saying çiW rong'' (gom page 40 of the appendix). Sit the players on the floor in front of you and tell them that you are going to say som e sentences containing pronouns. Som etim es the sentences w ill be right, and som etim es one of the pronouns w ill be in the wrong case. The children must listen, and then hold up one of their signs to show the Gam es Leader if the sentence w as right or w rong. Correct answ ers score a point and each child can keep his own score to find a winner. Examples of sentences could be: a) John gave a book to her. (Right) b) This is she 's shoe. (W rong) c) That is mine. (Right) d) Here is him toy. (W rong) e) Her is a tall girl. (W rong) 9 They are coming home soon. (Right) g) Them are his. (W rong) h) I went with he. (W rong) i) W endy gave us a present. (Right) j) The pen is her. (W rong) 8 Game #7) Prepositions, Verbs (f Pronouns Draw three lines across the floor with chalk, so that the room is divided into thirds. Nam e each third either tçprepositions'' tiverbs'' or ûipronouns''. Tell the children that you are going to call out a w ord that w ill be either a preposition, a verb or a pronoun, and that they m ust decide which one it is. A s soon as they know , they should run and stand in the correct third of the room . The first child to reach the correct place scores a point. Children can keep their own seores so that a winner can be found at the end of the gam e. Exam ples of the selected parts of speech could include: Preposition V erb Pronoun ln Sing 1 On Talk They Under W alk Us Dow n Am Him W ith H as Their To ls Ours At Com e M ine For Slee Y ou Game #8) Conjunctions: Divide the som e sheets of pen and write the required w ords, another child as the <r isplayer'' to hold the sign up for the Gam es Leader to see, and the rest of the children to be the ttThinkers''. Tell the players that you are going to say som e sentences, each of which w ill contain a conjunction. The Thinkers must think of the conjunction being used and tell the W riter to write it down. The Displayer m ust then grab the sign and show it clearly to the Gam es Leader. The first team with the correct sign displayed scores a point. K eep score to select a winning team . Examples of sentences could include: a. M ark ate a sausage and Jenny ate an apple. Let thePZPG ' and give each group a m arker pen and children in each team choose a ttW riter'' to hold the b. l should com e but it is raining. c. Jfyou go to the pool, l will be there. d. Although it was dark, w e couldn't sleep. e. D o your work until 1 tell you to stop. f. Peterjumps higher than Sam does. g. When you arrive, we will go out. h. Kate w as sick so she w ent to bed. children into three or four team s i. Unless you have a w atch, you w ill be late. j. W endy painted a picture because she likes painting. [...]... peci l actce or l en n voca ar buidi and ls eni com pr bul y l ng i t ng ehens on.The G am es Leade t i r akes on t he na e of tsi on' f t s gam e and cals out com m a m t m ' or hi l nds w hi h t c l en m us c he hidr t f l ,pr ded t com m and i begun by Esi on says ' l a com m and i gi olow ovi he s t m ' f s ven w ihout tsi on s 'bef e i and a chid per or s t com m and, he i out The t t m ays' or t l... i f t chidr t di cover t r i iy,w ihout t ki and t t hi s or he l en o s hei dentt t al ng, hen o fnd t r part and f m m al f al pai s.To fnd outw hatani aland gender i hei ner or e/ em e r i m each pl yer i ,t chidr m us hel each ot by l ng ateach ot s stcker a s he l en t p her ooki her' i s and t gi ng cl t ough actons and ani al noi but w ihout t ki For hen vi ues hr i m ses, t al ng exam pl f... bul ,a chid coul di pl t o bi hor on hi head .For a cow ,a e, or l l d s ay w g ns s chid coul s tm oooo' and s l d ay t ' how herudder A tt end oft gam e,t chidr s he he he l en s houl be lned up al t hal,w ih cow and bul,f a vi d i ong he l t l ox nd xen,cock a hen, nd boarand sow ,and s on,a1 s a ng i t rpai s o l t ndi n hei r Game #1 ) 8 1 W entt t Shops and o he Thi i apr s s onoun ga Dr w sx bi... t chidre on t f oori a bi ci cl and s t t s i a m em or and voca t he l n he l n g r e ay hat hi s y b gam e.A r ound t cicl t c l n m us say:çl w ent t t s i w hat l he r e, he hidre t t o .and hi s s I s a ' aw aw ' For exam pl &lw entt t ciy and t s i w hatl s l s a s s aper.' e: E o he t hi s aw aw ky cr ' Eac chid has t r h l o epeat w hat has aleady been sai and t r d, hen t nk of anot hi... extcam e t or t ai ,and as lski behi a tee,t com m and t ik ' he der o m ed nd r he o hr wt s e a t t oft kni ' l Onehund e ar wspir d my e u houtd t he op he ghts ungs r d ro e ce fe h,a 1 c/ t ta i pai o e r oneoft m Some we t o h my hea t l s nd / / he e rng n f vey he nt hr ug r and l ungs,ot s wcn/ t ough m y ear eyes and t oat and s e went i o m y her hr s, hr , om nt ba k a so a h .And t n 1 wt.fali... hops and lbought Som e f t s e m eat s e m ik,s e chees som e br rui , om , om l om e, ead,s e but er i om t :t * 1w entt t s o he hops and Isaw sf r Ja A nn,J a y, ne, enny,M r Br n,t w air s,t avi t i t queen:s s ow he t es he a r x, he he * lw entt t s o he hops and IbouMht A bul,a ram ,a dr l ake,a gander,a f a s ag,a s ali a bil goat a boar:he ox, t t lon, ly- , @ Iw entt t s o he hops and. .. oad,t w or ace,t s s fel and s on,s t t chidr can s art he kpl he port i d, o o hat he l en t t nki ofs t e w or i t di f r l i hi ng uiabl ds n he f e ent ocatons A gam e m i sound lke t s: ç1 w ent t t ciy and saw a s sc per a ght i hi i o he t ky ra , pent house and a hos t Then I w entt t zoo and saw a lon,a tger,a s pial o he i i nake a a r nocer N ext I w ent t t count ysi and s a vol no, a c if... o t w r quar e shoul putone hand on hi head nt l uns nt he ong tr d s 20 and keep i t e.% en t next sent t her he ence i gi n,i t pl s ve f he ayer r t t r ght uns o he i quart ,he can t hi ha of hi head.I he goes t t w r qua e agai he er ake s nd f s f o he ong rt r n, s houl putbot hands on hi head.A chid i out oft gam e i he has t o hands d h s l s he f w on hi head and goes t a t r w r s o hi d... conci e and s fc W or lke it ng' and es hem el l ng s pecii ds i thi ' ' tt f's s uf houl be avoi d ded G am e ##4) , Ci cul S/?y' r ar tr Dr a bi ci cl on t f oor or gr aw g r e he l ound and si t chidr on i Tel t t he l en t l hem t hat you are goi t s ar t lng t ng o t t eli hem a s or but t t have t t t ns ar t y, hat hey o ake ur ound t ci e t devel and t n fnih i.The s or s d be w el-ol , and i... es,be abl nches,pl ygr a ound equi ent t ees,bus pm , r hes ,and s on.Tel t chidr o l he l en t w hen you cal outa pr hat l epost on,you a e goi t t n your back and countt ii r ng o ur o t rt D urng t s tm e,t chidr m us nm and ge i o t r hi y i hi i he l en t t nt he eques ed pos ton, t ii s ew he e i t pl ound w ihi yourvi A nyone s ilnm ni and noti om r n he aygr t n ew tl ng n 19 post on w hen you . is fun for all children, but is especially good practice for ESL children in vocabulary building and listening comprehension. The Gam es Leader takes on the nam e of ttsim on'' for this. e and calls out com m ands which the children m ust follow, provided the com m and is begun by Etsim on says''. lf a com m and is given w ithout ttsim on says'' before it and. their forehead. The idea of this gam e is for the children to discover their identity, without talking, and then to find their partner and form m ale/ fem ale pairs. To find out what animal and