relative clauses
 

Hi: I have a class of teenagers and I have to teach them defining and non defining relative clauses, contact clauses and particple clauses. i would like to know if somebody has some suggestions of games or some motivating ideas to revise those topics.
Thanks a lot
Sabrina

Re: relative clauses
 

For non-defining clauses two possibilities are :
a) a quiz - Stage 1 : start by giving them a short five item quiz with items like : Can you name the person who discovered penicillin? What do you call the famous statue which is on an island in the sea near New York? Can you name three animals which only live in Australia? etc. Divide them into teams and give one point for each right answer. Stage 2 : Each team then has to write three (or more) similar questions to ask the other groups. They must know the answer to their own questions - if you let them prepare for homework they can consult reference books. They then ask the other teams their questions - again one point for each right answer, but if they come up with a question that no-one can answer, then they get the point. At the end, the team with most points wins.

b) A circumlocution strategies game. See here.

Non- defining relative clauses are mainly a feature of written language, and it's therefore more difficult to come up with something fun.

Re: relative clauses
 

Susan: Thanks a lot for your reply. I really like the circumlocution game so I will try to put it into practise. I think it is a good game to practice relative clauses and at the same time provide the students with a useful tool for real communication.
Sabrina

Re: relative clauses
 

I have done with with small groups of adults to introduce and practice relative clauses. Hand something (anything) to one student and say something like, "please give this to the woman (man, girl, boy, her, him). Keep it vague so that the student doesn't know who. When the student asks for a clarification or hands it to another person, say, "the woman who is wearing a red shirt." Explain the grammar and have the students practice it in the same manner. It is not very exciting, but it practices the grammar in a context in which it would actually be used.

This can work with items and which/that as well. Bring several books, papers, bags, pens, etc to class. Ask a student to hand you a book. "Which book?" The book that has a picture on the cover.

Also, you can have the student pretend that they are at a party with a friend. The friend doesn't know anyone at the party, so they must tell their friend about all of the other people at the party from a distance. The conversation would be something like..."the woman who is standing by the door is my sister."

Another circumlocution strategy. Have one student sit in front of the class with her/his back to the board. You write a sentence on the board. The other students must get the student in front to say the sentence on the board. The students in the group cannot say any of the words on the board, nor can they use another language. They must give hints and clues. I used this with adults and use it now with junior high students. It worked better with adults, but works with the kids as well.

Re: relative clauses
 

Here's an activity that works well if you have a smart phone or even better a tablet PC. Gather together lots of interesting photos based around a theme such as Christmas, the garden, brands, etc.

Give the tablet to the first student who must describe the object in the picture, it's okay if the student doesn't know the answer as the other students are allowed to guess the target word in their native tongue (I guess this works best in monolingual classes).

When the students guess the picture, the tablet is passed on to the next student who swipes to the next picture.

Re: relative clauses
 

I always play 'Go Fish'. I use my part-time jobs flashcards and have students ask, 'Do you have a boy who/that works at a gas station? You can also do it it with places around town, 'Do you have a place where you can buy stamps?

I also play board games using character cards. I lay out 8 or so character cards. The students roll the dice. If they get a six, they have to make six sentences (correctly if you want to make it more difficult.) "The girl that is good at Spanish has been to London two times." "The boy that wants to to be a scientist is 17." ... Then the move six places along the board game. First student to the end is the winner.