Expanding a Sentence
Similar to the Telescopic Text experiment, the aim of the game is to expand a
phrase or a simple sentence into as long a sentence as possible by adding extra
words. You can play the game with the whole group or split students into
small teams. Write a single word or a phrase on the board. Then invite students
to add one or two extra words to make it into a longer sentence. Each word
brings one point. The winner is the one who has scored more points.
Go
Go to the shop
Go to the shop to buy a mug
Go to the shop to buy a coffee mug
Go to the shop to buy a ceramic
coffee mug
I need to go to the shop to buy a
lovely ceramic coffee mug
I need to go to the shop to buy a
lovely ceramic coffee mug for my mom
You can use this game to make any
gap-fill exercise more learning rich. Get students to suggest more words or
phrases that could be added to the item (before/after).
E.g. They ______ (to plan) a
trip.
They planned a trip to
England.
They planned a 2-day
trip to England.
They planned a 2-day trip to
England so they could see ………………….
The Curious Cat
Students recite alphabet
silently, the Curious Cat says ‘STOP’ and points randomly at a player. The
player tells which letter he/she stopped at.
The Curious Cat asks students
different questions – Who? Why? Where? When?, etc. – to which the
players should give short answers starting with the letter they picked (this
can be a phrase or a single word). For example, the letter ‘C’:
‘Who?’ – Captain Cook. – ‘Where?’ –
Congo. ‘With whom?’ – Caitleen. ‘Where from?’ Cairo. ‘When?’ – Christmas night.
Every time a player cannot give an
answer, the Cat gets one point. The game stops after the Cat gets three points.
You can also use it to practise
answering and asking questions (grammar focus). Get the Cat to ask
full questions:
Who?’ – Captain Cook. – ‘Where did
Captain Cook go?’ – He went to Congo. ‘With whom did he go to Congo?’ – With
Caitleen/He went there with Caitleen. ‘Where was Caitleen from?’ – She was from
Cairo. ‘When did Captain Cook and Caitleen go to Congo?’ – They went to Congo
on Christmas night.
Ask your students to make up one
sentence answering the questions, “Who, does what, to whom, when, where, how,
and why?” in one long sentence.
E.g. Captain Cook and Caitleen were
sure nothing Congo wrong on Christmas night.
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