Game: GRAMMARGUMENTS

Game:GRAMMARGUMENTS

Rules:

BEFORE THE GAME AND BETWEEN GAMES:

Students “purchase” grammar cards from the teacher by writing 3 sentences using a grammar point of their choice (the selection can be limited by the teacher).  If the sentences are all correct, the teacher gives the student a card (a small piece of paper with the name of the grammar point).

GAME DAY (once a week)

NEED: each student needs a pen/pencil; each pair must have 1-2 pieces of paper; tape

The students work in groups of 2 or 3.  The teacher writes an argument on the board between two people (examples below).  The students choose their character and have 10 minutes to conduct the argument in writing: Student A writes his/her opening argument, passes the paper to Student B who responds in writing and passes the paper back.  They continue until the 10 minutes are up.

While writing, the students must have their grammar cards in front of them and incorporate the grammar points as they write.  They may repeat a grammar point but only the first instance is counted.

When the argument is over, the students must underline the grammar points they have used from their cards only.  They make also make any corrections and then tape their paper to the wall for others to read.

POINT SYSTEM:

·         For every correctly used (underlined) grammar point, the student receives +1, for each incorrect one they receive -1 and must forfeit that grammar card (they may buy the card back from the teacher by again writing 3 correct sentences).

·         Students must read every argument (posted on the wall) and award a mark to the students they think won the argument.  The student in each pair with the most marks gains an additional 2 points.

·         5 points are set aside each partial for this game.  If a student reaches 5 points, they continue to play the following week but this time for all or nothing: 1 mistake or fewer and they may keep the 5 points, 2 or more mistakes and they lose all 5 points.

EXAMPLE ARGUMENTS (if there are 3 players, the argument can be modified by adding a third character to one of the sides as indicated in brackets):

·         A teacher accuses a student (or 2) of cheating on a test

·         A teenager attempts to convince his/her parent(s) to allow him/her to use the car for a date

·         A boy accuses his girlfriend of flirting with someone else (with the other person present) (the genders may be reversed)

·         A football player argues with a referee (and a player from the opposing team) about a play

GAME DESIGN DIARY:

I started with an idea from a card game called Magic: The Gathering in which there are several thousand cards and each player builds their own deck.  I wanted students to build a deck of grammar cards by proving they knew how to use the grammar points. 

Then I got stuck wondering what students should do with the cards.  The idea I wanted was that the more cards you had, the more you could do with the language.  I began to think about situations where having more language is an advantage and came up with the idea of arguments.  Since each student learns at their own pace, they may “buy” as many or as few cards as they wish (given the number of grammar points the teacher wishes them to learn), but the more they have, the more they can use. 

I developed the point system based on two concepts: the idea that the grammar had to be right and the idea that the meaning had to be effectively used in order to win the argument.  My problem with most grammar tests is that they neglect the idea of “meaningful use of language”.  Additionally, a single, typical gap-fill exam may be more stressful and in the long run, less indicative of the students’ knowledge than a series of games.