1

The KISS Grammar Game / / Marquesa de
Pontejos
(approx. 1786)
by
Francisco de
Goya
(1746-1828)

In his excellent Blueprint for Educational Change, Arthur Whimbey and his colleagues explain that a major difference between “strong” and “weak” students is that strong students work systematically, breaking a problem down into parts and working through it one step at a time. Our “weak” students, in other words, need instruction, not only in grammar, but also in working systematically. Using the KISS Grammar Game teaches students to do this.

This document includes the “Gettysburg Address” edition of the game and some rather technical rules for “official” play. You are, however, welcome to simplify the game in any way that you wish. The objectives, after all, are to have fun and to learn more about how sentences work.

A General Description of the Game

Few English teachers will disagree when I say that, for most students, the study of grammar is not fun. In fact, most English teachers don’t enjoy teaching it. I had been working on the problems in teaching grammar for fifteen years, when I finally remembered my high school experiences with the Mathletes. (I’m a slow thinker with a weak memory.) The Mathletes consisted of competitive teams, eight to ten team members from each of the area high schools, who met once a month to compete at solving math problems. At the competitions, team members took turns going to the center of the room where math problems were set up, face-down on tables. At the signal to start, the competitors would turn over the papers and have a specific number of minutes to solve their problem. Those who did got the points for their team for that round. The competitions were both educational and enjoyable. I wondered if I could devise something similar for analyzing sentence structure.

My first attempt resulted in the “Official” version of the game. (The “Gettysburg Address edition, below, is an example.) I chose a passage for analysis. Each sentence was put, in big bold type, on the center of a separate page, thereby creating a sequence of “rounds.” On the back of each of these pages, again in fairly large type, I put the round number and the edition name. Two copies of these “question sheets” were made, one for each of two teams. Each was put in a clear, smooth sheet-protector so that students could use erasable ink markers to do their analysis on the sheet protectors. This way, the sheet protectors can simply be wiped clean and the game is ready for another competition. Next I made two copies of the “Point Values” sheets -- the directions for the competitors. Then I made a colored answer key for each round. Finally, I made an overhead transparency of each question sheet and each answer key. The game was ready.

It was near the end of a semester, and the students in my college Freshman composition course had basically finished our work with prepositional phrases, subject / verb / complement patterns, and clauses. I divided the class into two teams -- men against women, and we tested the game. In turn, one member of each team came to desks at the front of the room. At the signal to start, they turned over their question sheets, and I would put the corresponding overhead on the projector. Time limits on each round ranged from thirty seconds to three minutes. I was happy to see that while the actual competitors were analyzing their sentences, most of the rest of the class was looking at the overheads, apparently trying to analyze them. When the round ended, the two competitors took their sheets to a scoring area. I briefly put up the overhead of the answer sheet, scored what had been done, and then the next two competitors came to the front of the room.

The objective of the KISS Grammar Game is both to motivate students and to turn some of the necessary drills into thrills. I don’t blame you if you don’t believe the preceding statement. I would not have believed it myself. I was shocked, however, when one of the men came up to the front of the room and started rubbing the back and shoulders of the man who was about to compete. He was “warming him up,” he said, so that he would be in shape to get as many points as possible. Since then, many students have commented favorably about the game, and one noted that she did not realize how much grammar she did understand until we played the game. As I have often suggested, one of the problems in traditional teaching of grammar is that we rarely focus students’ attention on what they DO know. Apparently, the KISS Grammar Game does that.

There were, however, a few problems. The primary one was that I myself was too busy. I was able to turn over the “timer’s” job to a student, but while one round of competition was going on, I found that I often had to help the previous group with their scoring. I also had to put rounds away and get the next rounds ready. This wasn’t too bad if the current round had a time limit of three minutes and the previous, simpler round had only lasted thirty seconds, but when the reverse was the case, I found that students were waiting for me to finish helping the scorers (and then post the totals). Also, because the rounds lasted so long, and because there were ten members on a team, students actively participated only once every twenty to thirty minutes. For the classroom, I needed a quicker, less cumbersome version of the game.

The Quicker Classroom Version

It finally struck me (slow thinker) that I could turn in-class reviews of homework into a game. Because the students don’t need question sheets, the class can easily be divided into two to four teams. Each team sits in its own row, and the members take turns simply by going down the row. I put up the overhead, turn to the first member of the first team, and we’re off. That person has five seconds to identify a prepositional phrase in the first sentence. I can keep score on a simple sheet of paper divided into areas for each team. If the answer is correct, I put a hash mark in the team’s section of the scoring sheet and turn to the next team. I am always liberal with the five-second rule, but if a student takes too long, I start with “Five, four, three, two, one,” and then turn to the next team’s next competitor. After I do this a couple times, if a competitor takes too long, members of the other teams start doing the counting for me.

We work through a passage, sentence by sentence, with each competitor required to do the next step in the analysis. A major part of the game’s purpose is to reinforce the procedure or sequence that students should use in analyzing sentences -- prepositional phrases first, then S/V/C patterns, then clauses, etc. The procedural part is rewarded with bonus points. Thus, when there is only one prepositional phrase in a sentence that has not been identified, the person whose turn it is can get a bonus point by stating “Last prepositional phrase.” [This tells the class that it is time to move to S/V/C patterns.] If the phrase is identified but the competitor did not note that it was the last, then the next person whose turn it is can get the bonus point by making that statement.

In the classroom, the quick version has several advantages. Because turns last about ten seconds, every student is actively involved at least once every two to three minutes. Feedback is also better and directed at the entire class. For example, if the next person is supposed to identify a finite verb, but gives an incorrect answer, I simply don’t mark it on the overhead and turn to the next competitor. Everyone needs to pay attention, because there have been times when we have gone through the entire class and no one has gotten the right answer. This does not usually take five seconds per student -- some students simply shake their heads, “no.” On the other hand, students are usually embarrassed if they give me an incorrect answer that has already been rejected. Thus, they need to pay attention. The quick version also allows for time-outs. Because we analyze randomly selected entire texts, the texts not infrequently include a construction or combination of constructions that the students have not seen before. When we get to one of these, I call a time-out, explain the construction, and then resume the game.

The rules of the KISS Grammar Game may seem complex at first, but they simply follow the sequence that I teach students to use in analyzing sentences. If students begin by analyzing all of the prepositional phrases, then go to S/V/C patterns, then to clauses, and then to the more complex constructions, everything falls into place a lot easier. The game simply follows this sequence, awarding points along the way.

A Basic Description of the Quick Version

The class is divided into two or more teams, and a sentence to be analyzed is on the overhead projector. The first member of the first team has five seconds to identify a prepositional phrase in the sentence. If he or she gets one correct, the team gets a point and the instructor puts parentheses around the prepositional phrase. The first member of the next team then has the same opportunity. This process continues until all the prepositional phrases in the sentence have been identified. The person who identifies the last prepositional phrase (“last” meaning last to be identified, not last in the sentence) gets a bonus point for stating that there are no more prepositional phrases. If he or she does not make this statement, the next team may get the bonus point by beginning their turn by making the statement. Once this statement is made, the team whose turn it is identifies a finite verb, its subject, etc. , or, if the class is only working on prepositional phrases, it starts on a new sentence. Whereas an incorrect answer simply results in the next team’s turn, an incorrect bonus attempt results in the team’s losing a point.

I strongly suggest that the analysis always follow the sequence:

all prepositional phrases first,
then all subject / verb / complement patterns,
then all clauses,
then all verbals,
and, finally, the seven other constructions.

Failure to follow this sequence will result in students identifying the object of a preposition as the subject of a verb, a gerundive as a noun absolute, and numerous other errors.

Suggested Point Values

(Feel free to modify these in any way that works.)

Level One: Prepositional Phrases

An Entire Prepositional Phrase* = 1

The word that the phrase modifies = 1

* Bonus if identified as last remaining phrase = 1 (If incorrect = -1)

The entire phrase, first word to last, must be identified. Identification of a phrase equals a turn. (Optionally, the next member of the next team must identify the word that that phrase modifies. The teacher can then draw an arrow from the opening parenthesis to the word modified.) This process continues until all the prepositional phrases in the sentence have been identified.

Level Two: Subject / Verb / Complement Patterns

A Finite Verb Phrase = 1 per word in the phrase

Its Subject(s) = 1 each (if compounds)

Its Complement(s) (excluding clauses) = 1 each (if compounds)

Kind of Complement = 1 each (if compounds)

* Bonus if identified as last remaining pattern = 1

If the student who identified the last prepositional phrase did not state that it was the last, the next team to compete can get the bonus point by so stating. Otherwise, the next team can simply identify a word or words in a finite verb phrase. The next turn consists of identifying the subject (in the case of compounds, subjects) of the identified finite verb. The next turn is complements, followed by kind of complement (predicate adjective, predicate noun, indirect and direct objects).
Additional Bonus Points: Once part of a construction has been identified, the remaining parts may be identified in subsequent turns for bonus points. For example, suppose a verb phrase were “has been found,” and a student identified “found” as the verb. The student’s team would get a point, but the next team (or the team after it, etc.) could get two bonus points for identifying “has” and “been” as part of that phrase. The same holds for compound subjects and complements. Such bonus opportunities remain on the overhead until the sentence has been completed, at which point the instructor can point them out.
In the case of compound finite verbs in a pattern, no bonus point is awarded for identifying part of the second, etc. verb phrase. However, instead of identifying subjects or complements of the already identified verb phrase, teams may opt to identify part or all of a second, third, etc. finite verb phrase in the same pattern. For example, in the sentence
Students love playing the game and learn a lot by doing so.
suppose that a team had identified “love” as a finite verb, but not “learn.” The next team could identify “students” as the subject of “love”or it could identify “learn” as a compound finite verb. If it identified “students,” then the next team could identify “playing” as the complement of “love,”or it could identify “learn.” Once the subjects and complements of the first finite verb phrase have been identified, then, if there are unidentified compound verbs in the pattern, the next turn consists of identifying them, i.e., the next team must identify “learn” as a compound verb.
The Bonus Point for “last remaining pattern” may be earned as soon as the first finite verb in that pattern is identified. In other words, the student who identifies part or all of the finite verb in that pattern may claim the point. If he or she doesn’t, the next team may, etc.

Level Three: Clauses -- Subordinate and Main

A Subordinate Clause = 1

Function of Clause = 1

* Bonus if identified as last remaining SC or as main clause = 1

Once the last S/V/C pattern has been identified, the next turn consists of identifying a subordinate clause, if there are any. If there are none, the next turn -- for one point -- consists of stating that there is only a main clause, and the instructor puts a vertical line at the end of the sentence. Once a subordinate clause has been identified, the instructor puts brackets around it. The following turn consists of identifying its function. If the clause is adjectival or adverbial, this consists simply of indicating the word which the clause modifies.
If the clause functions as a complement, the player who identifies the word the clause chunks to can earn a bonus point by stating the type of complement (PN, DO, IO). If this bonus point is not earned. The instructor should ask the next player of the next team to identify the type of complement, i.e., the next turn consists of identifying the type of complement.
The student who identifies the last subordinate clause can earn a bonus point by stating that it is the last. If the student fails to do so, the player who identifies the function of the clause can earn the bonus. If neither player earns the bonus, then the next player’s turn consists of making this identification. If there is only one main clause in the sentence, the instructor should then put a vertical line after the sentence, and the game moves on to the next sentence. If there are compound main clauses, however, the next turn consists of identifying where one ends and the next begins. The last turn in dealing with a sentence consists of stating that the analysis is complete and a vertical line should be put at the end.

Bonus Points for Infinitives

In playing the game, my students became confused by infinitives. Some students lost their turn by referring to infinitives when they were supposed to be identifying prepositional phrases. Others tried to identify infinitives as finite verbs. Students therefore asked if there were some way to “get those infinitives marked and out of the way.” We resolved this problem by making the identification of infinitives bonus points. The first player to start identifying prepositional phrases in a sentence can earn bonus points by identifying any infinitives. Any infinitives not identified remain as potential bonus points until the analysis of the sentence is finished. Infinitives are “marked” by putting an oval around them.

Levels Four and Five

Should a class be ready for them, Levels Four and Five would continue in the same basic manner. In Level Four, a point would be awarded for identifying a verbal (gerund, gerundive, or infinitive). The next turn would consist of identifying the verbal’s function. The next, identifying its complement. Level Five consists of identifying the Eight Additional Constructions (Nouns Used as Adverbs, Appositives, Interjections, Delayed Subjects, Direct Address, Noun Absolutes, Retained Complements, and Post-Positioned Adjectives).