“Mad-Libs” Vocabulary
When reflecting upon your childhood school days, you may recall filling in books of “Mad-Libs”. These are short stories that are completed by having one person prompt another for words or phrases that represent different parts of speech. For example, the fill-in-the-blank story may ask for a noun. The writer would prompt the speaker to name any person, place, or thing.
The fun in this activity is the reading of the wacky story that is created given that the speaker has no idea what the story is about when they are prompted to provide answers. Together, the two players may end up with a story about going to the grocery store where lions and tigers are now buying cereal or paying with blades of grass. The possibilities are endless, but every story ends up being silly.
It is because of this “funny-factor” that young children seem to enjoy this activity the best. (Although I still get a kick out of them as well.) “Mad-Libs” in various forms can be found online (Try http://www.eduplace.com/tales/ or http://www.madglibs.com/.) that you can use with your child. Since preschool children will not yet understand the parts of speech, give your child simplified instructions. For example, instead of telling your three-year-old to name a noun, you could ask her to name a place she likes to visit or what she wants to be when she grows up. For an adjective, ask her to name how something (like a cat) might feel or what she thinks the monster truck sounds like.
Remember that the stories are supposed to be silly so it is okay if the words your child offers don’t make sense in the story. When you are finished, you both will have had a good laugh and your child will be building her vocabulary and her ability to use it.
Digg Delicious Favorites Blogmarks Magnolia Google Newsvine Reddit Technorati
Written by Laura on March 30, 2011
Not Found
Sorry, but you are looking for something that is not here.
