Language & Sentence Games

Objectives

To write sentences with appropriate grammar and punctuation.

Resources

Lined paper | Film clip

Today's Lesson

Spelling

Review spelling words to prepare for your test at the end of the week. You may choose from the Spelling Frame Games, Printablesor Segment cards.

PRACTISE - Spelling Frame

Main Activity

Language and sentence games are great to include regularly in lessons, and can open up the learner’s mind to new ways of thinking and, therefore, writing. They are also a good way to apply their own existing skills, and their grammar and punctuation skills, which sometimes pose a challenge to students.

Game 6: Creative Connections

Give your student a word and ask them to write down as many words as they can think of associated with it. Time them – a minute only, and record the word count. Discuss the words generated with your student. Praise them for keeping going through the 60 seconds, and praise them for efforts with new or different words.

Some examples:

Forest - example words could be: dark, gloomy, nature, trees, hiding, running, rabbits,...

Running race - example words could be: race, beat, win, try, determination, sprint, starting pistol, nervous...

Burger - example words could be: eat, scoff, chomp, chew, tasty, dreamy, bread, fillings, takeaway, drive-thru...

Play this again - to make it easier, provide a photo or a real-life object instead. Can they beat their original 60 second word count?

Game 7: Ink waster

Give your student a topic, e.g. food, the weather, holidays, work, sport, etc, and give them one minute to write as much as they can about the topic. Count their words and, again, praise good efforts.

Repeat this game with a new topic and see if they can beat their word count.

Game 8: Video Writing

Use the ink waster technique and see how much your student can write in a few minutes. This time, find a film clip and turn the sound down. Ask your student to watch the film clip, and just to write about it. It might help if a specific time limit was given again, this time perhaps three minutes. Your student should write as quickly as possible – the action; the dialogue; description; or just anything the film clip triggers in your student’s imagination. They must not stop writing. If they get stuck, look up at the video to see what is happening and try again. There is no right or wrong here, only if they stop writing!

This activity may be difficult for some students, especially at first. Praise and encourage them for keeping going and for trying hard with this task. Have a break if they are getting frustrated or distressed, and then revisit.

To make it easier or more accessible, start with a shorter time limit, and gradually increase the limit by, e.g. 10 seconds each time.

Here are some example videos you might like to start with:

WATCH - The Lighthouse (The Literacy Shed)

WATCH - The Sci - Fi Shed (The Literacy Shed)

Citations

[1] spellingframe.co.uk [2] www.literacyshed.com [3] www.literacyshed.com