Lesson Plan #: AELP-GRM0206

Mad Libs - Scream!!!

An Educator's Reference Desk Lesson Plan

Submitted by: Peri Sandifer
Email: peri@sport.rr.com
School/University/Affiliation: Haynesville High School, Haynesville, LA

Date: September 21, 2003

Grade Level: 9, 10

Subject(s):

Duration: 45 minutes

Description: My students were having difficulty with parts of speech. I decided to make up a story using the idea of Mad Libs and using all the parts of speech within the story. This allowed the students to become better acquainted with the parts of speech in a fun way. This activity can be used to review various parts of speech.

Goals: NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts :
Standard 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Objectives:

  1. Students will be able to complete a Mad Lib story using correct parts of speech.
  2. Students will strengthen their knowledge and use of parts of speech.
Materials: Procedure:

Prior Knowledge: Students will need to know the different parts of speech (e.g. noun, pronoun, adjective, etc.) and how they function.

First, give students the sheet that contains only the words on it; allow them to fill in the blanks (e.g. Animal______, Noun_______). Do not give students the actual story until they have finished this part. Once students have finished filling in the blanks, hand them the story sheet and have them place the word that they put in the blank with the corresponding part of speech in the story. This will make a funny story! [ Author's Note: Students can put the same animal if they choose, but it's more fun to do 5 different animals. I did it both ways in the classroom, and the kids had more laughs when they used different animals each time an animal was called for.]

Assessment: Collect students' stories to determine if they comprehended each part of speech.

Useful Internet Resource:
 * NCTE/IRA Standards for the English Language Arts
http://www.ncte.org/standards/standards.shtml

Other References: Mad Libs - You can find these online or at a local bookstore. (Their stories are smaller and only contain 2-4 parts of speech in them.)

Special Comments: Have fun!