IEW’s Fix It! Grammar Cards all have one side that includes the grammar concept title (parts of speech, style techniques, mechanics rules) and other side that includes detailed information about the grammar concept. The game rules sometimes refer to the title side of the cards and sometimes refer to the information side of the cards.
- Grammar Charades
- Grammar Quick Draw
- Grammar Match
- Musical Cards
- On the Spot
- Treasure Clues!
- True/False Sticks
- What am I?
- Dictionary
Grammar Charades
Purpose: This classic game variation for two teams promotes familiarity with the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards and works best with more advanced students who have some experience with grammar concepts.
Number of Players: 4 or more (3 or more if played noncompetitively)
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Advanced
Objective: Players try to get their teammates to guess the grammar concept on a secretly drawn card without saying any words out loud or writing anything down.
Set Up: Grammar Charades is best played in an open room with space to move around. Divide into two teams, or alternatively, a noncompetitive game could be played without teams. Place the deck of Fix It! Grammar Cards title-side down in an easily accessible location and cover it so that the information side of the next card cannot be seen by either team. If players are playing in teams, the players should decide on a time limit. One minute works well.
Play: One team goes first and selects one player as their actor. The other team will keep track of the time limit for the game round.
The actor secretly draws a card from the Fix It! Grammar Cards deck. The actor then lets the other team know to start the timer. The actor tries to get teammates to guess the grammar concept on the card by silently acting out the grammar concept for the team before time is called. The actor may not say any words out loud or write anything down.
If a team guesses their actor’s term correctly in the time allotted, they gain a point. Whether the team correctly guesses their actor’s grammar term or not, play passes to the other team. The new team begins their turn by selecting a player from their ranks to be their actor, and the new actor draws the next card and play continues.
If no teams are being used, the participant who guesses the title of the Fix It! Grammar Card correctly is the next actor in Grammar Charades.
Adjustments for Advanced: Some players may know nonverbal gestures to provide clues that have nothing to do with a word’s definition, such as gestures regarding the number of syllables in a concept or the gesture for “sounds like.” More advanced players may not use any gestures except those that pertain to the actual definition of a grammar concept.
Grammar Quick Draw
Purpose: This classic game variation for two teams promotes familiarity with the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards and works best with more advanced students who have some experience with grammar concepts.
Number of Players: 4 or more (3 or more if played noncompetitively)
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Moderate
Objective: Players try to get their teammates to guess the grammar concept on a secretly drawn card merely by drawing without saying any words out loud or using any symbols except for punctuation marks.
Set Up: Grammar Quick Draw must be played in an area where everyone can easily see what is being drawn. Divide into two teams, or alternatively, a noncompetitive game could be played without teams. Set up a whiteboard or other large writing surface. Place the deck of Fix It! Grammar Cards title-side down in an easily accessible location and cover it so that the information side of the next card cannot be seen by either team. If players are playing in teams, the players should decide on a time limit. One minute works well.
Play: One team goes first and selects one player as their artist. The other team will keep track of the time limit for the game round.
The artist secretly draws a card from the Fix It! Grammar Cards deck. The artist then lets the other team know to start the timer. The artist spends the time allotment trying to get teammates to guess the grammar concept on the card by drawing clues on the whiteboard before time is called. The artist may not say any words out loud or write any symbols such as letters or numbers. Punctuation marks are allowed.
If a team guesses their artist’s term correctly in the time allotted, they gain a point. Whether the team correctly guesses their artist’s grammar term or not, play passes to the other team. The new team begins their turn by selecting a player from their ranks to be their artist, and the new artist draws the next card and play continues.
If no teams are being used, the participant who guesses the title of the Fix It! Grammar Card correctly is the next artist in Grammar Quick Draw.
Adjustments for Advanced: Some players may know nonverbal symbols that indicate to their team clues that have nothing to do with a word’s definition, such as symbols regarding the number of syllables in a concept or the symbols for “sounds like.” More advanced players may not use any symbols except for punctuation marks.
Grammar Match
Purpose: This variation on the classic game of Memory promotes basic familiarity with the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards. This game is appropriate for beginning grammar learners but can be made into a more complex review game for advanced learners. (See Adjustments for Advanced below.)
Number of Players: 2 or more, recommended no more than 4
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Easy
Objective: Players try to match as many same-bordered card pairs as possible.
Set Up: Remove the following cards from the Fix It! Grammar Cards deck and lay them aside:
- 1 red-bordered card
- 1 green-bordered card
Place all of the remaining Fix It! Grammar Cards title-side up on the table and lay large index cards on top of them so that no part of the cards can be seen.
Play: On each player's turn, a player may uncover two cards. If the border color for both cards is the same, the player must read the title on each card and may remove the cards and place them in a pile in front of them. After capturing two cards that match in color, the player may then choose another two cards, and so on for as long as the player continues to uncover card pairs with the same border colors. Count the dark blue-bordered cards as having the same color as the half dark blue/half light blue-bordered cards. If the borders do not match, the cards are covered once more and the player’s turn is over. Play continues to the player to the left. The player with the most cards at the end of the game wins! If another game is to be played, choose two different red- and green-bordered cards to set aside.
Adjustments for Advanced: Teachers and parents can make the game more challenging for advanced players by asking them to give an example or a fact for the grammar concept on one or both of the chosen cards.
Musical Cards
Purpose: This is a great review game or even an exercise to build familiarity for Fix It! Grammar Cards learners who have some mastery of the grammar concepts on the cards.
Number of Players: 3 or more, 6 or more recommended
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Moderate
Objective: Players try to sit in an open seat whenever music stops playing.
Set Up: Set up a number of chairs equal to one less than the number of players. The chairs should face outward in a circle. Set up some sort of music-playing device so that all players can easily hear it. Place all of the Fix It! Grammar Cards title-side up nearby for easy access.
Play: Play music and allow players to march around the circle, but when the music stops, all players must try to find a seat. One player will be unable to do so. Draw one Fix-It! Grammar Card from the deck and require the player who did not find a seat to give one example of the grammar concept on the card that was drawn. For instance, if the card was for Preposition, the player could say through or over. If a player cannot give an example, read the full card out loud and require all of the players to repeat what you read aloud. Once the player’s grammatical example has been given, play another round. Keep playing until all cards have been exhausted.
Adjustments for Advanced: Parents and teachers make the game more challenging for advanced players by asking them to say full sentences that use the grammatical example that they gave.
On the Spot
Purpose: Use this game to reinforce Fix It! Grammar Cards you have already studied. Players should have moderate to advanced mastery of the Fix It! Grammar Cards material.
Number of Players: 1 or more (2 or more is more fun!)
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Moderate to Advanced
Objective: Players attempt to correctly answer questions about information found on the Fix It! Grammar Cards.
Set Up: Shuffle the Fix It! Grammar Cards and lay them title-side up on the table, preferably under a piece of paper or cardstock so that players cannot see the title side of the top card in the deck.
Play: One player gets to start first. Either the teacher or the player to their right may draw a card and ask a question about information from the card. For instance, the #4 -ing Opener card says, “An -ing opener is a participial phrase placed at the beginning of a sentence.” The person drawing the card may convert it into a question and ask, “What is a participial phrase placed at the beginning of a sentence?”
If the player is able to answer the question or recite the information correctly, the player holds onto the card. If the player fails, the player to the left has a chance to answer and steal the card. If they fail, the next player may try and so on.
If no one answers, the teacher (or player to the right) reads the information side of the card and places it at the bottom of the deck. Whether anyone successfully answers the question or not, play proceeds to the left of the player who just took a turn with the teacher or player to the right drawing a new card.
The person with the most cards when all of the cards are gone wins!
Adjustments for Advanced: Ask advanced players to recite a fact from the information side card rather than answer a question from the card. Advanced players only need to recite information when it is their turn. If an advanced player has a chance to steal a card, they may answer the question that was asked as normal.
Treasure Clues!
Purpose: This game works very well as an active review game in large groups or program settings for students who have some experience with the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards. Alternatively, it could be used as a familiarity-building exercise. If each student is working independently with their own clues, advanced learners and beginners could both easily play at the same time.
Number of Players: 2 or more
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Easy
Objective: Players attempt to find and identify specific Fix It! Grammar Cards based on clues.
Set Up: Make your own clue cards for each Fix It! Grammar Cards card you wish to use. For instance, the first line on the #4 -ing Opener card says, “An -ing opener is a participial phrase placed at the beginning of a sentence.” Write on your own clue card “This is a participial phrase placed at the beginning of a sentence.” Once all of the clue cards are prepared, hide the Fix It! Grammar Cards that correspond to your clue cards title-side up in a designated area. For a faster game, instead of hiding the cards, simply place them on the floor.
Play: Read one of your clue cards to all of the players and then let them hurry to find the corresponding card. Students may feel free to pick up cards and reference the information side if they need to. If they bring back the correct card, give them a new clue! If they bring the wrong card, they must put it back where they got it. Give each player their own personal clue card if you wish to limit rowdy competition or give beginners a chance to play against more advanced players.
Adjustments for Advanced: If you have a wide range of Fix It! Grammar experience among your students, advanced and beginning learners can pair together, or instructors could separate their clue cards into beginner and advanced piles and give each player the appropriate clue card. Advanced players may also be told not to read the information side of the game cards and only look at the title side of cards to identify them.
True/False Sticks
Purpose: This is a great review game for beginning or younger grammar students, so participants need not have a tremendous amount of experience with the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards.
Number of Players: 1 or more
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Easy
Objective: Players use red and green sticks to indicate if they think specific statements about grammar concepts are true or false.
Set Up: Prepare some craft sticks so that one end is green and one end is red. Give one stick to each student. Place the deck of Fix It! Grammar Cards title-side up in an easily accessible location and cover it so that the title side of the next card cannot be seen by any of the players.
Play: The teacher should draw one card and then read each statement from the card individually. Teachers may either read it correctly OR incorrectly (adding a not or some sort of word to make the statement false). All players should raise their sticks with the green side up if they think the statement is true or the red side up if they think the statement is false. The teacher should read the actual statement after all players have voted and see who is right! Points could be awarded if competition is desired.
Adjustments for Beginners: Teachers may decide to read the rest of the information about the grammar concept on the card out loud for additional exposure, particularly with younger or new grammar students.
What am I?
Purpose: This can be a high-energy, larger group game for review of the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards. It is most effective with students who have moderate to advanced mastery of grammar concepts.
Number of Players: 3 or more (preferably 6 or more)
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Moderate to Advanced
Objective: Players try to identify the card that they have on their forehead without looking at it by asking questions of other players.
Set Up: This game works best in an open area with space to move about. Shuffle the Fix It! Grammar Cards and put the deck in an easily accessible place with a piece of cardstock or paper over it so that players cannot see what the next card is in the pile. Draw and place one card on the forehead of each player so that the information side (not the card’s title side) is showing. Players should NOT look at their own cards.
Play: Players may move around at will and ask other players to tell them something about their card. Players should ask questions about their card but may not ask questions that would require another player to directly identify the card or give clues about the card title’s pronunciation or spelling. Example: A player may not ask, “What’s my card?” or “What letter does my card start with?” or even “What does my card rhyme with?”
Players may feel free to read the information side of the cards on other people’s foreheads (without saying the title of the card, of course!) or tell them something about the facts on their card if they don’t know the precise answer to a question.
If a player asks a question of someone else, they are then required to answer at least one question from the other player.
If a player is ready to state which grammar concept is on their forehead, they can call out, "I think I am ______!" They player may then look at the card. If correct, the player may put the card in their pile and draw a new one to place on their forehead. If wrong, the player should put the card at the bottom of the draw deck and draw a new card to put on their forehead. The player with the most cards in their winning pile at the end wins!
Adjustments for Advanced: Instructors may require that advanced players only ask questions that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no.” They may not ask open-ended questions of other players. Advanced players should also only be allowed to ask one question in a row of another player. .After one question, they must find another player to ask another question.
Dictionary
Purpose: This variation on the classic game of Dictionary promotes familiarity with the content of the Fix It! Grammar Cards. The game is appropriate for beginning grammar learners and more advanced students.
Number of Players: 3 or more
Difficulty Level (Easy, Moderate, Advanced): Easy
Objective: Players attempt to make up fictitious grammar definitions that will trick other players.
Set Up: Players sit in a circle, each with slips of paper and a writing utensil. Select one player to start. Shuffle the Fix It! Grammar Cards and put the deck title-side down in an easily accessible place with a piece of cardstock or paper over it so that players cannot see what the information side of the next card is in the pile.
Play: The first player draws a card and announces the title of the card. The player then copies the real definition for the grammar card on a slip of paper. Meanwhile, the other players each create a fictitious definition for the grammar card on their own slips of paper.
Once all the players have written their fictitious definitions, they hand them to the first player, who will mix up the slips of paper with the slip that has the true definition.
The first player then reads each slip of paper aloud. The other players vote on which is the real definition. Once all definitions have been voted on, the real definition is revealed.
If a player selects a definition that is fictitious, then the player who wrote that definition gains a point. Each player who correctly identifies the real definition also gains a point. Thus, players earn points for fooling other players into believing their bluff as well as for choosing the real answer.
Note that the player who wrote the real definition cannot gain any points on their turn.
The player to the left of the person who drew last takes the next turn and draws a new card.
Example: A player draws the card Linking Verb”and writes down the correct definition from the Fix It! Grammar Cards: “A linking verb links the subject to a noun or adjective.” The player informs the other players what the grammar concept is so that they can each write their own fictitious definition. For example, another player might write, “A linking verb can be used in place of a comma to create a run-on sentence.”
Adjustments for Advanced: None.
