Mad Libs

One great way to teach language arts skills is to use Mad Libs.  My daughter became interested in trying to write words and wanted to know how to spell them.  She did not want to practice reading but she loved practicing her writing skills.  That is how we began using Mad Libs.

 I found several websites that have printable stories with fill in the blank spots but I have also created my own.  I particularly like these mad libs at classroomjr: Printable Mad Libs

Mad Libs is fun and silly but is so versatile and useful as a teaching tool.  We used it to practice handwriting, spelling, parts of speech, creativity, story telling and reading.  So it can be used for a varying range of ages and skills - nonreaders can still interject words and be a part of the story telling, and older children can independently write in words, understanding the parts of speech and can then read the stories themselves.  They can be challenged to make up their own stories for others to fill in.

These mad libs became a favorite part of our school time for two months.  From it, my daughter gained an interest in reading short stories and she learned to spell some simple words to interject into stories.