Curriculum Suggestions

Activities for: That's My Dog

1. Play "That's My Dog".
   1. The first player says, "My dog's a ___ dog. That's my dog." The player fills in the blank with an adjective.
   2. The second player then says, "My dog's a ___, ___ dog. That's my dog." The player repeats the first player's adjective and then adds their own adjective.
   3. Each additional player says, "My dog's a ..." They then repeat all of the previous players' adjectives, and then add their own.
   4. You can end play a couple of ways. The game can be over when everyone's had a chance to play. Or, if a player is unable to repeat all the adjectives, they are out, and the game is over when there is only one player left.

   Variation: Play "That's My Cat", or "That's My Elephant", or "That's My..." whatever you want.

2. Play "I Spy"
   1. Choose someone to be "It". They say, "I spy with my little eye an adjective." The adjective can be a color, a shape, a texture, anything descriptive.
   2. Kids then start asking yes/no questions to help them figure out what "It" sees. They must figure out both the adjective and the thing it describes.
   3. When someone guesses right, someone else, perhaps the person who guessed correctly, is "It".

   Variation. Play "I'm Thinking Of..." The game is played the same as "I Spy", but "It" doesn't have to be able to see the thing they're thinking of.

3. Play "Hangman". Players guess which adjective "It" is thinking of.

4. Have a spelling bee, with players spelling adjectives.

5. Have a reverse spelling bee, where players have to spell out the adjectives--backwards.

6. Act...

   afraid, amazed, angry, anxious, awkward, bashful, bored, brave, calm, cold, depressed, droopy, excited, friendly, funny, grouchy, grumpy, happy, hurt, invisible, lonely, loving, mad, mysterious, nervous, proud, quiet, sad, shy, sick, silly, smart, sneaky, sorry, spooky, strong, tired, unfriendly, weak

7. Play "Adjective Pantomime". One player is chosen to be "It". They come to the front of the class, think of an adjective, and then act like that adjective applies to them. For example, they might act wise, or clean, or stinky, or fast. The rest of the players guess what the adjective is. The first person to guess right is the next "It".

8. Play "My Teacher's Cat". This is a good game for reinforcing adjectives. Players sit in a circle. (Although staying in rows is okay too--play can go up and down rows. Just make clear before the game which direction play will go.) Players start clapping in rhythm. One player is chosen to begin. They say, "My teacher's cat is a ____ cat, and her name is ____." The player says and adjective and a name that begin with the letter "a". The second player, without losing a beat, then says the same thing, only choose an adjective and name that begins with "b". Play goes around the circle, with each player using the next letter in the alphabet. You can skip X and Z if you want. A possible game might go...

   1st player: My teacher's cat is an angry cat, and her name is Anna.
   2nd player: My teacher's cat is a boring cat, and her name is Bob.
   3rd player: My teacher's cat is a cautious cat, and her name is Cathy.
   etc.

9. Play "Adjective Bingo".
   1. To prepare, write thirty adjectives on small pieces of paper. Put them in a hat or a sack.
   2. Have the kids draw a Bingo grid on a piece of paper. (Show them a grid on the board. A Bingo grid consists of twenty-five squares--five squares across and five squares down.)
   3. Have kids X out the middle square.
   4. Read out the adjectives. As you read each adjective, kids write the adjective down in one of the blank squares on their grid. They can skip any six of the adjectives.
   5. Put all the adjectives back in the hat or bag. Then pull them out one at a time and read them. If a kid has the adjective on their bingo grid, they cross it out.
   6. When a player has five squares in a row crossed out, they shout out "Bingo". The game can end there, or you can keep playing until everyone has a Bingo, or until all the squares on all the grids are full.

10. Play "Wrong Letter". Players can be in a circle, or play can go up and down aisles, or around tables, however you define it. Choose one player to be "It". "It" says..."I'm thinking of a adjective. It has ____ letters and starts with a '__'" The player tells how many letters the adjective has, and what letter it starts with. The next player guesses what the second letter is. If they guess right, the third player guesses the third letter. If they guess wrong, the third player guesses the second letter. Players take turns guessing until someone gets the letter right. Play continues, with players guessing the next letter, until finally someone completes the word. Then another player is chosen to be "It".

    Competitive Variations:

    1. Class competes against itself. Score five points for each correct guess, lose one point for each wrong guess. Try each game to top your best score.
    2. Divide class into two teams. Teams take turns playing the game. Score five points for each correct guess, lose one point for each wrong guess. After each team has done five words, the team with the most points wins. Strategy here can be fun, since longer words can get the team more points, but they might also allow for more wrong answers.

11. Play "Toss the Adjective". Players sit in a circle, or at their desks or tables. One player has a beanbag and starts the game. They shout out an adjective and toss the beanbag to another player. They then shout an adjective and toss it to another player. Players keep shouting out adjectives and tossing the beanbag until someone can't think of an adjective, repeats an adjective, or shouts out a word that is not an adjective.

    Competitive variations:

    1. All players stand while playing. If they repeat an adjective, can't think of an adjective, or say a word that is not an adjective, then they are out and sit down. The last player standing wins.
    2. Divide the class into two teams. One team lines up on one side of the room, the other team on the other side of the room. Players toss the beanbag bag and forth, from one team to the other, and shout adjectives. If they can't quickly think of an adjective, or if they shout out an adjective that's already been said or a word that's not an adjective, the other team gets a point. The first team to get five points wins.

 
 

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Picture Credits
Original bunny climbing rope picture by Paige Miglio (copyright 2000 ©) from One More Bunny authored by Rick Walton.
Original purple monster picture by Renee Williams-Andriani (copyright 1998 ©) from Really, Really Bad School Jokes authored by Rick Walton.
Original bullfrog seated picture by Chris McAllister (copyright 1999 ©) from Bullfrog Pops! authored by Rick Walton.
Electronic modifications by Ann Walton.