Ideas for Using Scrambles Sentences                                         Writing

 

 

At a Glance

 

Students will:

ü arrange words into a grammatically correct sentence

 

     Purpose:  to focus student’s attention on correct sentence structure

  

     Materials:  A selection of sentences, paper, scissor, envelopes

 

     Preparation:   (minimal) see below or The No Prep Alternative on                              the following page

 

     Time:  10-30 minutes depending on number of sentences used

 

 

 

Teacher’s Notes

 

 

 

Procedure: 

 

This activity can be used as a follow-up to lessons on parts of speech and sentence structure.

 

 

Scrambled Sentences in Envelopes

 

It's a fast paced fun game that really gets students thinking about grammatical form and syntax.  It requires some preparation on your part, but if you keep the envelopes you can recycle them over and over again.

 

 

Preparation:

·            Cut each sentence into words or groups of words.  Put one the cards for one or two complete sentences into one envelope. 

 

·            You want a total of six or seven envelopes, all with different sentences. 

 

·            Each envelope should be numbered. 

 

 

In-class:

·            Divide the class into three or four teams.  Have each team choose a team name.  Write these names on the board.   Under each name, write the numbers of the envelopes. 

 

·            Begin by giving each team one envelope.  When they think they've got the right answer, they call you over to check. 

 

·            If it's correct, circle the number of that envelope on the board (under their team name) and give them a new envelope.

 

·            The first team to correctly arrange the words in all the envelopes wins.  Award a small prize to the winning team.

 

Writing                                          Ideas for Using Scrambled Sentences       

 

 

 

Teacher’s Notes

 

Lesson Extension

The No Prep Alternative

 

·            Use sentences from your class's grammar book, or make up your own. 

·            Write the words for one sentence on the board in mixed-up order  in a single column format, with all the nouns together, pronouns together, etc. 

·            Students work individually to arrange the words into a grammatically correct sentence.  

·            When they think they've got it, they call you over to check.  

·            You can set a time limit to provide a little more structure. 

·            When the time is up, they can compare their answers with a partner or you can ask one or two students to write their sentences on the board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow-up / Transfer Activities:

 

1.      Individual practise: If a student is struggling with word order in other class work, advise them to try the cut up sentence method.  Not only will this provide kinaesthetic and visual learners something tangible to work with, it will allow the student an opportunity to try various combinations without having to re-write the sentence several times.

 

 

 

Additional Resources

 

http://eslpartyland.com/

 

http://esl_lounge.com

 

Fundamentals of English Grammar, Betty Schrampfer Azar, Prentice Hall Canada Inc., 1992

 

Or any preferred English Grammar text