Mad Libs are Fun for Gifted Kids
Teachers Can Build on the Gifted Child's Joy of Words and Play
Apr 2, 2009
Mad Libs are one of the great gifts to offer an enrichment classroom, because they are fun 5-minute activities that help build language arts and collaboration skills. Mad Libs are especially fun for gifted students, because they enjoy using a wide vocabulary and have strong prediction skills.
Wacky Web Tales: Online Mad Libs
One of the most fun and interesting Mad Libs sites is Education Place. Their Wacky Web Tales are listed for kids in grade three and above, but younger gifted kids would enjoy using them, especially if teachers or stronger readers helped them understand some of the finer grammar terms.
Wacky Web Tales has a large and growing collection of tales of a variety of sizes. Some of them are well-suited for holiday use. In order to use them, students need to understand grammar terms such as adjective, verb, and pronoun.
To use the site, students:
- choose a webtale based on the title (there is no additional information offered about the story) and click on it
- fill in the blanks next to the part of speech (such as "famous person", "town", "pronoun")
- (optional) click on parts of speech help if examples are needed
- select "See Your Wacky Web Tale" for the story
Teachers should note that the site does not check for proper word usage. A student can be instructed to write "a word ending in -ing", but students who do not follow this instruction still generate a story. If students want to print the story, it must be copied and pasted into a document; the site does not have student-friendly printing.
Because Education Place is sponsored by textbook manufacturer Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, all of the Wacky Web Mad Libs are school and age appropriate, although students can quickly make them inappropriate by adding non-school sanctioned language. It is important that teachers supervise what students are typing.
Creating Mad Libs for a Friend Online
Older students who are comfortable using email will enjoy Iwiletter's MadLetter , which gives students detailed, step-by-step instructions on creating a MadLetter to send to a friend. Students can create the categories for the Mad Lib-type letters and email the letter to a friend. Creating the letters requires some time for typing; many students will use the bracket key for the first time.
Additional Uses for MadLetter
Teachers can create Mad Libs to email to their students using MadLetter, which could be a fun way to enhance a unit of study or keep in touch over breaks, and students can make MadLetters to email their parents.
After a Madletter is sent in email, the friend can quickly access it and answer it. There are pre-written letters on the site, but they are designed for general use, not school use. Teachers should encourage students to use MadLetter to create their own Mad Libs to share with a friend, and use Wacky Web Tales for pre-designed Mad Libs.
Because gifted students have a desire to create, enjoy word-play, and have expansive vocabularies, Mad Lib type activities are the perfect way to play and learn. If teachers want to offer pre-made, school-appropriate Mad Lib experiences, the online collection at Wacky Web Tales is perfect. When students are ready to create their own Mad Libs to share with a friend, Iwiletter's MadLetter is the perfect tool.
 |
