ALEX Learning Activity

  

Paper Plate Grammar Review Game

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  This learning activity provided by:  
Author: Melissa Tucker
System:Etowah County
School:Hokes Bluff Middle School
  General Activity Information  
Activity ID: 2256
Title:
Paper Plate Grammar Review Game
Digital Tool/Resource:
 
Web Address – URL:
Not Applicable
Overview:

The students will work as a team to accurately answer the question posed. Students must agree on the answer, gather the letters needed to spell it, and arrange themselves so that they hold the letters in order and right side up. The first group to correctly answer is awarded the point(s) for that question. This review game requires communication, collaboration, and creativity and can easily be adapted to any subject area.

This activity was created as a result of the ALEX Resource Development Summit.

  Associated Standards and Objectives  
Content Standard(s):
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 3
36. Demonstrate knowledge of the rules of standard English grammar including punctuation, capitalization, sentence formation, and spelling appropriate for third grade.

a. Use articles a, an, and the correctly.

b. Identify the role of a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, and conjunction within a sentence and explain the type of the information it conveys.

c. Form plural nouns, verbs, and possessives, including irregular plural nouns and verbs.

d. Use simple abbreviations, including days of the week, months of the year, titles, units of metric and customary measurement, street names, and state names.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
36.
  • Demonstrate
  • Knowledge
  • Rules of standard English grammar
  • Punctuation
  • Capitalization
  • Sentence formation
  • Spelling
36a.
  • Articles
36b.
  • Identify
  • Role
  • Noun
  • Verb
  • Adjective
  • Adverb
  • Pronoun
  • Preposition
  • Conjunction
  • Information
  • Conveys
36c.
  • Form
  • Plural noun
  • Plural verb
  • Plural possessives
  • Irregular plural nouns
  • Irregular plural verbs
36d.
  • Simple abbreviations
Knowledge:
36. Students know:
  • Standard English grammar and spelling conventions.
  • Punctuation marks and their appropriate usage.
  • Capitalization rules for standard English.
  • Complete sentences have a subject and predicate and end with an ending punctuation mark.
36a.
  • The articles a, an, and the come before a noun to show if it's specific or general.
  • The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns.
  • A and an are used to refer to a non-specific, general noun.
  • A is generally used before nouns that start with a consonant sound.
  • An is generally used before nouns that start with a vowel sound.
36b.
  • There are different types of words within a sentence, and each word provides a particular type of information.
  • The role of a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, and conjunction within a sentence.
36c.
  • A plural shows there is more than one of something.
  • An -s or -es suffix is added to the end of regular nouns and verbs for subject-verb agreement and to form plurals.
  • Possessives show ownership and an apostrophe is used in the formation of possessives.
  • A plural possessive is used when a plural noun has ownership, or possession, of something.
  • Some nouns and verbs do not follow the regular pattern when forming a plural.
36d.
  • An abbreviation is a shortened version of a whole word and it will usually have a period at the end of the shortened version.
Skills:
36. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the rules of standard English grammar.
  • Use appropriate punctuation.
  • Use correct capitalization.
  • Form sentences correctly.
  • Spell third grade level words correctly.
36a.
  • Correctly use the articles a, an, and the in writing.
36b.
  • Identify a noun, verb, adjective, adverb, pronoun, preposition, and conjunction in a sentence.
  • Explain the type of information nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns, prepositions, and conjunctions provides in a sentence.
36c.
  • Form plural nouns, verbs, and possessives in writing.
  • Form irregular nouns and verbs in writing.
36d.
  • Form correct abbreviations for days of the week, months of the year, titles, units of metric and customary measurement, street names, and state names in writing.
Understanding:
36. Students understand that:
  • There are rules to forming grammatically correct sentences in standard English.
  • When writing, they must use punctuation correctly, capitalize appropriate words, form complete sentences with subject-verb agreement, and spell the words that are appropriate for third graders.
36a.
  • Articles are a part of speech that can come before a noun to indicate if the noun is specific (Bring me the book) or general (Bring me a book.)
  • A is usually used before nouns that start with a consonant sound, while an is usually used before words that start with a vowel sound.
36b.
  • Each word in a sentence plays an important role in conveying meaning.
  • A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea and tells who or what the sentence is about.
  • A verb expresses an action or a state of being and tells what the noun is doing.
  • An adjective describes a noun or a pronoun and tells attributes of the noun.
  • An adverb describes a verb, adjective, or adverb, and provides more description about another word in the sentence.
  • A pronoun can be used in place of a noun.
  • A preposition is placed before a noun or pronoun to create a prepositional phrase that modifies (changes the meaning of) another word in the sentence.
  • A conjunction joins words, phrases, or clauses and indicates the relationship between the joined units; there are coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions.
36c.
  • There are standard English grammar conventions to make nouns, verbs, and possessives plural, and following these conventions helps make their writing clear.
  • Some nouns and verbs do not form plurals in a regular way.
36d.
  • Abbreviations can be used in place of whole words when writing.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 4
39. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage.

a. Use relative pronouns who, whose, which, and that, relative adverbs where, when, and how, and irregular possessive nouns.

b. Form and use the progressive verb tenses.

Examples: I was walking, I am walking

c. Use modal auxiliaries to convey various conditions.

Examples: can, may, must
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
39.
  • Demonstrate
  • Command
  • Conventions
  • Standard English grammar
  • Standard English usage
39a.
  • Relative pronouns
  • Relative adverbs
  • Irregular possessive nouns
39b.
  • Progressive verb tenses
39c.
  • Modal auxiliaries
  • Convey
  • Various conditions
Knowledge:
39. Students know:
  • Standard English grammar and usage conventions.
39a.
  • A clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb that have a relationship.
  • A relative pronoun is used to connect a clause or phrase to a noun or pronoun in which the clause modifies or describes the noun.
  • A relative adverb is an adverb that introduces an adjective clause.
  • Common irregular nouns and conventions to form possessive nouns.
39b.
  • The progressive verb tense describes ongoing actions, and it tells about something that is, was, or will be happening.
39c.
  • Modal auxiliaries are verbs that never change forms the way most other verbs do.
  • Modal auxiliary verbs indicate possibility, capability, necessity, or willingness.
Skills:
39. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate correct standard English grammar and word usage in writing.
39a.
  • Use relative pronouns correctly in writing.
  • Use relative adverbs correctly in writing.
  • Form and use irregular possessive nouns correctly in writing.
39b.
  • Form and use the progressive verb tenses; for example, I was walking, I am walking.
39c.
  • Use modal auxiliaries to convey various conditions; for example, can, may, must.
Understanding:
39. Students understand that:
  • Demonstrating command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing is necessary to convey meaning.
39a.
  • There are some special parts of speech that can be used to add more details to sentences, like relative pronouns and relative adverbs, that must be used correctly to clearly convey meaning.
  • There are some nouns that create their plural and possessive forms in an irregular way.
39b.
  • The tense of a verb indicates when the action occurred.
  • To form the progressive tenses, they will use a form of the helping verb to be with a main verb ending in -ing.
39c.
  • Modal auxiliaries are a type of helping verb that must be used together with the main verb of the sentence.
English Language Arts
ELA2021 (2021)
Grade: 5
39. Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage in writing.

a. Evaluate the usage of pronouns for the proper case.

Examples: subjective, objective, possessive

b. Identify inappropriate shifts in pronoun number and person.

c. Use varied pronouns and their antecedents correctly in composing and revising writing.

d. Use subject-verb agreement correctly when composing and revising writing.

e. Use verb tenses to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.

f. Recognize and correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense, including subject-verb agreement.

g. Use perfect verb tenses to compose and revise writing.

h. Use correlative conjunctions correctly when composing and revising writing.
Unpacked Content
Teacher Vocabulary:
39.
  • Demonstrate
  • Command
  • Conventions
  • Standard English grammar
  • Standard English usage
39a.
  • Evaluate
  • Pronouns
  • Proper case
  • Subjective
  • Objective
  • Possessive
39b.
  • Identify
  • Inappropriate shifts
  • Pronoun number
  • Pronoun person
39c.
  • Pronoun
  • Antecedents
  • Composing
  • Revising
39d.
  • Subject-verb agreement
  • Composing
  • Writing
39e.
  • Verb tenses
  • Times Sequences States Conditions
39f.
  • Recognize
  • Correct
  • Inappropriate shifts
  • Verb tense
  • Subject-verb agreement
39g.
  • Perfect verb tenses
  • Compose
  • Revise
39h.
  • Correlative conjunctions
  • Composing
  • Revising
Knowledge:
39. Students know:
  • Standard English grammar and usage conventions.
39a.
  • There are three cases of pronouns: subjective, objective, and possessive.
  • The subjective case is used when the pronoun is used as a subject in a sentence.
  • The objective case is used when the pronoun is used as an object of a verb or preposition.
  • The possessive case is a pronoun that expresses ownership.
39b.
  • There are three person pronouns in English: first-person, second-person, and third-person.
  • First-person is used when an author is talking about themselves (I, me, we).
  • Second-person is used when an author is talking directly to the reader (you).
  • In the third person, there are distinct pronoun forms for male, female, and neutral gender (e.g., he, she, it).
  • In addition to person, pronouns also show the number of individuals involved; there are two numbers: singular and plural.
39c.
  • The noun or noun substitute that a pronoun refers to is called its antecedent.
  • To create engaging writing, authors should use a variety of pronouns and antecedents.
39d.
  • A subject and its verb must both be singular or both plural.
39e.
  • The tense of a verb tells you when a person did something or when something existed or happened.
  • In English, there are three main tenses: the present, the past, and the future.
  • There are regular verbs that follow a predictable pattern when changing tenses, but there are also irregular verbs that can change their entire spelling when changing tenses.
39f.
  • The tense of a verb tells you when a person did something or when something existed or happened.
  • A subject and its verb must both be singular or both plural.
39g.
  • Perfect verb tense is used to show an action that is complete and finished.
  • This tense is expressed by adding one of the auxiliary verbs have, has, or had to the past participle form of the main verb.
39h.
  • Correlative conjunctions work in pairs to join words, phrases, or clauses.
  • The correlative conjunctions are either, or; neither, nor; both, and; not only, but also; whether, or.
Skills:
39. Students are able to:
  • Demonstrate correct standard English grammar and word usage in writing.
39a.
  • Identify pronouns in a sentence.
  • Evaluate sentences to determine if the correct case of the pronoun was used.
39b.
  • Identify inappropriate shifts in pronoun person in writing.
  • Identify inappropriate shifts in pronoun number in writing.
39c.
  • Use varied pronouns and their antecedents correctly in writing.
  • Revise writing to use a variety of pronouns and antecedents.
39d.
  • Write sentences with correct subject-verb agreement.
  • Revise writing to ensure all sentences have correct subject-verb agreement.
39e.
  • Use verb tenses to describe various times, sequences, states, and conditions in writing.
39f.
  • Identify inappropriate shifts in verb tense, including subject-verb agreement, in writing.
  • Correct inappropriate shifts in verb tense, including subject-verb agreement, in writing.
39g.
  • Use perfect verb tenses correctly in writing.
  • Revise writing for correct usage of perfect verb tenses.
39h.
  • Use correlative conjunctions correctly in writing.
  • Revise writing for correct usage of correlative conjunctions.
Understanding:
39. Students understand that:
  • Demonstrating command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing is necessary to convey meaning.
39a.
  • To clearly convey meaning in writing, the correct case of pronouns must be used.
39b.
  • A personal pronoun indicates the viewpoint of the writing and refers to the number of individuals.
  • To clearly communicate in writing, the correct pronoun number and person must be used.
39c.
  • To compose engaging writing pieces, they should use a variety of pronouns and antecedents.
  • Revising their writing can improve it and make it more interesting to read.
39d.
  • To clearly communicate in writing, subjects and verbs must agree in number within each sentence.
  • Revising their writing can ensure it follows standard English grammar conventions.
39e.
  • They can change the tense of verbs in writing to indicate various times, sequences, states, and conditions.
39f.
  • Standard English grammar conventions require specific and cohesive verb tense usage and subject-verb agreement in writing.
39g.
  • The perfect verb tense should be used for actions that are completed and finished.
  • A perfect verb tense is created by using a helping verb and the past participle of the main verb.
39h.
  • Correlative conjunctions can be used in writing to show a strong relationship between the ideas being joined.
Learning Objectives:

Students will:

demonstrate command of the conventions of Standard English grammar and usage.

form and use regular and irregular plural nouns.

form and use regular and irregular verbs.

form and use the simple (e.g., I walked; I walk; I will walk) verb tenses. 

use parallel structure.

  Strategies, Preparations and Variations  
Phase:
Before/Engage, After/Explain/Elaborate
Activity:

1. Students will be divided into groups of four to six.

2. Each group will be given a set of A-Z Paper Plates.

3. The teacher will discuss expectations (noise level, scoring, participation, etc.)

4. The teacher will explain the following rules:

  • The answer must be formed so that the teacher can read it from left to right.
  • The answer must be spelled correctly.
  • If the answer requires multiples of the same letter, the students must move from spot to spot (in order) Ex. The desired answer is BABY. The student holding the B must, while the teacher/judge is watching, either move their body from the 1st B position to the 2nd B position or pass the B plate to another student who is standing ready in the 2nd B position.
  • The teacher will observe the first group that signals they are ready. If they are not correct the teacher will move to the next group until someone gets the answer.

5. The teacher will display questions/prompts for the students. 

  • Plural/Possessive Nouns-Ex. I need the plural form of the word CHILD. Students would spell CHILDREN. I need the singular possessive form of BUSH. Students would spell BUSHES. 
  • Regular/Irregular Verbs-Ex. Please complete the following sentence. The players have _______ (play) their last game. Students would spell PLAYED. She ______ (see) an airplane yesterday. Students would spell SAW. 
  • Parallel Structure-Ex. Change the underlined word to create a parallel sentence structure. I enjoy golfing, reading, to cook, and hiking. Students would spell COOKING. 

6. The teacher can pull questions from any appropriate source, i.e. the text, internet, tests, teacher-created materials, etc. to find appropriate questions.

 

Assessment Strategies:

The teacher will ensure each team is spelling each word correctly and the correct form of verbs and nouns are used.


Advanced Preparation:

The teacher will need to supply the following materials: 1 package of 150+ white paper or styrofoam plates (8" or larger).

Plates will be divided into stacks of 27. Each stack will contain a plate labeled with each letter of the alphabet (A-Z) and one apostrophe. Use a different color marker to label each set as it will be easier to manage later. (Those colors may serve as team names.)

Write each letter on the plate using a clear, bold print.

Variation Tips (optional):

Number sets could be created for math problems.

Upper and lowercase sets could be created (or a "capitalizer" plate) to review capitalization rules (proper nouns).

These plates can be used for reviewing any subject or grade level content. You could ask a question and have the teams spell out the correct answer for science, history, math, etc. 

Younger students could use plates to practice spelling or vocabulary words.

Since students are reviewing in teams, you could award bonus points for the winning team(s) or you could give points for participation.

Notes or Recommendations (optional):

Students will quickly learn that they must work together to spell the answers in order (especially if multiples of a letter is involved) and that they should communicate quietly to avoid being overheard. 

Students will get very creative while trying to devise ways to answer faster than the other groups.

Expect intense competition.

For more durable plates, you could use vinyl lettering, etc. on styrofoam instead of markers on paper.

  Keywords and Search Tags  
Keywords and Search Tags: game, noun forms, plurals, possessives, practice, verb forms, verb tense