The Nouns & Adjectives Game A very popular game to help revise nouns and adjectives.

Two children face each other with the rest of the class acting as referees. One child starts by saying a noun. The other responds with an adjective that fits that noun, e.g. "Chair," followed by, "Comfy." Then the first child says another noun and the second child responds, again, with an adjective that goes with it. The game continues until either child loses. The child that wins stays up and faces a new challenger. The winning child must now take on the opposite role. So if they said nouns before they are now adjectives and vice versa.

A child loses if:

• they take too long to answer a question;
• they say, "erm," before answering;
• they repeat a word that has already been said in the round by either child;
• they say an incorrect word (one that either isn't a noun or adjective or an adjective that doesn't fit).

My last three classes have all loved this game. Sometimes I thinks it's the only way they remember the difference between nouns and adjectives!

Rule Variations
I've been making the game more varied and interesting by trying some different variations on the rules. The basic rules remain the same but try out some of these.

No Colours etc. - Make them think of a different selection of adjectives by banning a certain type of adjective, colours for examples.

Only colours etc. - Focus on a particular type of adjective by only allowing that type of adjective to be used.

Nothing in this room / Only things in this room - Children are allowed to only say things that are (or aren't in the other variation) in the room. You could also add a real adjectives rule... in that the adjective that describes the noun must fit the object in the room.

No repetitions - Set the rule that not only must there be no repetitions during the course of each round but also no repetitions during the course of the whole session. Encourages attention paying!

Three-way Nouns & Adjectives - My favourite new rule variation. The game now involves three people. It plays almost the same as before with each of the three taking it in turns. i.e. The first person says a noun, e.g. table. The second person responds with an adjective, e.g. brown. The third person now needs to say a noun but that noun must fit the adjective that has come before it, e.g. hair. Then the first person has a go again and must follow with an adjective that fits that noun, e.g. long. Then the second person goes. Again they must follow the adjective (long) with a noun that goes with it, e.g. ruler.

These rules are also good for differentiation. You could set different rules for each person.