Computer Countdown
Submitted by: Sally Kaufmann
This is a way to review all parts of speech.
Each part of speech is given a point value (called its computer code). The students identify the part of speech of each word in the sentence, assign the point value, add up the total, and compare their answer to the computer's total (you, the teacher, are the "computer" who provides the total).
CODE:
noun............1
verb..............2
adjective.......3
adverb..........4
preposition...5
conjunction..6
pronoun.......7
interjection...8
1. Here is a computer. Your total: Computer total: 10
2. It can provide valuable information. Your total: Computer total: 15
3. Oh! Someone unplugged the computer! Your total: Computer total: 21
As a variation, the students can create sentences that are very high or low in point value, or they may all try to hit an exact number, such as a 14-point sentence.
A benefit I discovered to this activity is that they begin to notice patterns such as 7-3-1. Once they notice those numbers repeating, they have a better understanding of prepositional phrases. An ESL student I had noticed a lot of 3-1 combinations and finally mastered that in English we put an adjective before the noun it modifies.