Activity 2: Tree-leaf correspondence

Bring some small bits of tree branches, roots, bark, etc. to class.

Teach "tree" words such as needle, leaf, sap, taproot, twig, etc.

Ask students to name and draw their favourite tree, each working on a sheet of paper in front of them.

Then ask the students to get up and mill round the room. They are to find a partner who is not sitting right next to them.

In each pair, they decide who will be the tree and who will be the leaf/needle.

Tell them to go back to their respective places and explain that the "Tree" is to write a one-page letter to the "Leaf/Needle" and that the "Leaf/Needle" is to write a letter to the "Tree."

When the writing is done, the trees and the leaves exchange letters. Then they answer the letter received.

End the class with the partners exchanging their second letters and discussing the process.

In both Spring and Autumn, some very touching, lyrical letters get written.

You can use this technique to get the students to practise the vocabulary of many different areas of life with pairs such as the following:

• Oxygen writing to Water

• A Waterfall writing lo its River

• Brakes writing to their Car

• Lungs writing to their Smoker

• The town of Catania writing to its volcano Mount Etna

The potential list is endless.

Supplement 9

Climbing Grammar Mountain

Cindy Gunn and Ann McCallum

AS TEACHERS, WE ASKED OURSELVES OUR IMMEDIATE REACTION TO THE WORD grammar, and we came up with words such as challenging, important, and necessary. Our students, however, when asked the same question on an informal survey, responded with comments such as "suffering/' "boring," and "No, not grammar!" When asked to reflect on how grammar was taught to them, most students replied that teachers used direct teaching, worksheets, or editing exercises to help students improve their grammar proficiency.

We believe in the importance of teaching and learning grammar but have discovered that, although there is a place for direct teaching of rules, students are more responsive to alternate methods of learning English grammar skills. For example, we limit any direct teaching of grammar to pertinent mini lessons that empower students to make personal grammar connections. Games are another way to help students learn, review, and internalize various grammar structures.

Shameem and Tickoo (1999) point out that: "Research shows that new language items can be learned incidentally and effectively when students participate in communication activities." Further, Rinvolucri (2002) outlines four benefits of using a game format to teach grammar: games encourage personal involvement in the learning process; they provide diagnostic data about individual student skill levels; they foster enthusiasm for a subject traditionally viewed as uninteresting; and they typically are structured so that they involve everyone in the class. We feel that by presenting students with a game setting that incorporates strategy, skill, an element of chance, and enjoyment, "suffering" through boring, lengthy grammar lessons need no longer be the case.

In this article we discuss a game we have developed called Climbing Grammar Mountain. As practicing teachers, we understand the power of a game that is easy to prepare, practical for the classroom, and enjoyable as well as educational for students. We encourage educators to use sentences from their own students' work, or ones that relate to a particular grammar point or weakness currently being worked on in class. This game, as presented, is appropriate for university level composition courses, intermediate to advanced English as a second language (ESL) classes, and high school English classes. With some adaptation, younger or lower level students can benefit from this game as well.

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