Introduction:

Describe me board game is a great activity to either teach or revise adjective word order. The activity can be easily adapted to different levels and keeps the students engaged as they progress through writing simple descriptive sentences to creating short, also descriptive, stories, letters etc.

I have also made three other boards if you want your students to describe something more specific or revise vocabulary related to a particular topic: a crime scene, a holiday or a perfect outfit. Take your pick and enjoy 😉

Two of my lovely students kindly allowed me to share their work to give you an idea of how they have dealt with the tasks. One has written four short stories using the Describe me board and the other has written an informal letter telling me all about the holiday he has just returned from and using the Describe me hols board game. Thank you for allowing me to share your work. 

Level: A2+

Time:

45 minutes, but it can vary depending on the number of students and of course on how talkative and engaged they are or how engaged you make them;)

Objectives:

1. To revise the correct order of adjectives in a sentence
2. To write sentences using the correct adjective word order
3. To write short stories, letters etc. using the correct adjective word order and the nouns provided

Materials (Click on the worksheets below to download the PDF files):

Procedure:

1. Before you start the game ask students to give you examples of adjectives and write them on the board. Encourage students to think of a wide variety of adjectives e.g. shape and material and not only colour and size.
2. Go through the basic order of adjectives with your students: Opinion, size, shape, age, colour,origin, material, and purpose. Write down a few example sentences on the board before you play the game. Also ask students to categorize the adjectives they gave you at the beginning.
3. Hand out Describe me board game to each team/pair or simply display it on the screen if you are using Zoom or any other online platform.
4. The teacher or a student throws the die twice – the first throw indicates which column they should use, and the second throw indicates which row, to obtain a noun. The nouns in the Describe me game are divided into six categories: a place, an object, a job, a piece of clothing/accessories, a situation and an animal to ensure a wide variety of adjectives used.
5. Now students write, individually, a sentence describing the chosen noun and using as many adjectives as possible but making sure the sentences actually make sense e.g. She bought a beautiful small white Scottish cat.
6. Students then read the sentences out loud and get a POINT for each correctly placed adjective. Encourage students to listen to others and award extra points if they manage to spot a mistake in a classmate’s sentence.
7. Next, students choose a noun from each category and write a short descriptive story. You can put the students in pairs or groups or ask them to work individually. Decide what is best for your students based on their age, level etc. Have a look at the task samples I have provided and which you can find in the materials section.
8. Monitor students throughout the activity, correct mistakes and feed them new adjectives. 
9. At the end of the class ask students to share their stories with their classmates 😉 You will be surprised how creative they can get.

Alternative ideas:

1. Describe me Crime Scene. Students describe a crime scene after choosing six nouns from six categories: a piece of evidence, a type of weapon, a person, a place, a type of crime and a punishment. 
2. Describe me Hols. Students could describe their last holiday, their dream holiday, plan an ideal holiday for their best friends etc. using the nouns from the following categories (all colour coded so it is easier to navigate): a type of holiday, holiday activities, a means of transport, a place, a person and a season/type of holiday.
3. Describe me Outfit Ideas. Students could describe an appropriate or inappropriate outfit for different occasions, using the nouns from the following categories: a piece of clothing, an occasion, a person, an accessory, a place and a time of day.

P. S. This post is dedicated to two lovely small fluffy kittens U&F 😉 and their two amazing and caring owners A&H.

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