Make Your Own Mad Libs

This is a fun way to teach language skills and get kids interested in learning about words. Mad Libs is a fun game for older kids who know what an adverb is but not so much for younger children. This game is great for kids ages 6 to 12, but really, anyone can play. children who know how to read but do not understand what an adverb is...well, this will help them learn.  If you make your own Mad Libs, the kids can pick words from a list and still have a great time! You can find a used story book at the thrift shop or sometimes the local library sells old books for 25 cents. 

There are several ways you can do this. I found an older book that was in good shape except the cover had been scribbled on. It was full of short stories. I picked out a story and then took a highlighter and highlighted several words in the story. Nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. 

On a piece of paper or chalkboard or posterboard, write as many nouns as you can think of. A noun is an item, a thing. 

On a seperate piece of paper write as many verbs as you can think of. A verb is an action word, something you do.

On another sheet of paper write as many adjectives as you can think of. An adjective is a word that describes a noun. Colors are all adjectives.

On another sheet of paper write as many adverbs as you can think of. An adverb describes a verb. If skip is a verb then how would you skip? quickly? slowly? those would be adverbs.  When you are done writing down several words on each paper, ask the kids to pick one from each list. Write the story down on another sheet of paper as you replace the words in the original story with your childrens new words. Do not read the story out loud until all of the highlighted words have been replaced with new words. Replace a noun with a noun, a verb with a verb and so on... The children will get a big kick out of the story when you read it out loud. How great is it when you have fun while you are learning? It's a win-win situation.