The SUBJECT is what the sentence is about...

I have said this everyday to my language arts classes for the last three weeks and several of the students STILL don't have a clue what it means. We also practiced "...and the PREDICATE is what it does".

We have chanted, written sentences, used our silent reading books, completed worksheets, and the reteaching sheets. 

I decided to take matters into my own hands and create a game. I mean, after all, they loved my Four Types of sentences that I had previously created, and those center activities seemed to stick with them better than anything else we had done. Maybe I would get lucky again...

So, I set to work designing a game that would require the students to identify both the complete and simple subject and predicate of a sentence. I wanted it to be simple, fast, and engaging. That was a tall order for 4th, 5th, AND 6th graders (I teach all three grades Language Arts each day).

I think the final product is easy to use, efficient, and engaging for the students. I also knew that students may not know the answer to the question, so I even created an answer key that included every sentences' answer.

I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive when I was introducing it to my students. After all, I am my own worst critic. However, it seemed to go over really well. The kids were using all the vocabulary that I was working so hard to get them to use. They were talking together, discussing, and explaining. It was exhilarating.

I did learn of one major problem with the current edition, and that was that the number of spaces they got to move. I had most cards at 1 space, and after 15 minutes most groups were only 1/2 around the board.   So I came home and updated the cards to have mostly 2 and 3 spaces on the cards. I think this will make game play much more exciting.

Below are more pictures of my classes playing the game.

If you are interested in using this fun and engaging game in your classroom, you can check out the details by clicking on the picture below.

Or click HERE. :)

Finally, most of my students can now tell me what the subject and predicate of a sentence is, and THAT is total victory!

Cheers and Happy Racing-
MrHughes