“Mad-Libs”
Goal
To encourage a learning-disabled child to read and identify a noun, adjective, verb and adverb
Objective
Client will create, read and sing her own story while correctly identifying a noun, adjective, verb and adverb
Materials Needed
- “Mad-Libs” story (Taken from the web)
- Piano
- Poster board or chalkboard with story written out appropriately leaving blanks for the noun, adjective, verb and adverb placement
- Words (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs) pre-written out on cards for client to choose from
- Tape or Velcro dots to adhere words to the blanks
*Note: a “Mid-lib” is an educational game/method to encourage children to identify word types (nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs). It is a one- paragraph story in which the child chooses a random noun, adjective, verb or adverb and inserts it into the paragraph as denoted in the Mad-Lib guidelines. The “randomness” of the word creates a funny story. (See attached)
Method
- Have story written out on board with appropriate blanks left open. The terms noun, adjective, verb and adverb will be put underneath the appropriate blank so the child will know which kind of word to insert into the blank. Also have word choices written out and separated into nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs
- Explain to client that she will be filling in the blanks by choosing a word from the corresponding category. She will then stick the word to the blank with a piece of tape or a Velcro dot
- Explain to the client that after she has completed the activity, we will sing her story (set it to music)
- Have the client start activity also telling her that she needs to finish filling in the blanks before the music stops
- After the client is done, read through the story one time and make corrections if necessary
- Sing the “story”
To decrease difficulty: color- code the word using construction paper (all nouns blue, adverbs red…). Place separated words on large pieces of construction paper with the name (noun/adverb) written on it for easier identification. Where blanks are located on the written story, adhere a blank colored strip of construction paper so client can easily match what kind of word to insert.
To increase difficulty: do not separate words into categories before the activity, no color-coding, increase the tempo in the song that is playing while the client is adhering the words to the blanks- they will need to think of where to put the word faster or do not denote what type of word belongs in the blank.