Scrambled sentences

Introduction
You can make this a team game each team gaining points for correct grammar
usage. Give each team 50 points and then for each word wrong they lose a point, or
start at nought and give ten points for each sentence correct first time.
This is a two part exercise and is a good exercise for grammar review. Im teaching
grammar structures and instead of the usual gap fill with words and verbs, I gave my
students a scrambled word exercise. I developed this game for my young 11 13 year
old learners. It is an activity that can be used for any young level however. It is also
one they go on to actively develop themselves, so it is a good task-based learning
exercise for them and one that can be used for any item of grammar you want to give
them.
For this exercise I used animals, because we are learning grammar usage around
animals, but it can be changed to any category of animal, place or thing you have pretaught.
Students enjoy this activity because they are active participants in creating their own
puzzle.
Activity
Tell students to close their books.
Explain to the group the meaning of the verbs scramble and unscramble. Illustrate
with a scrambled sentence on the board.
Divide them into groups of 3 4 students, depending on class size. Give each group a
picture of an animal place or thing depending on the sentence scramble you have
given them. Then give them the sheet provided in this activity. Ask students to
unscramble each sentence so the result is a grammatically correct sentence. Once they
have completed the sentence, they then answer the sentence.
Now students can create their own puzzle. They then give their sheets to another
group of students who will need to unscramble the sentences. The teacher will need to
check that each group is writing sentences with all the words in it that make up a
sentence. Or students can gain or lose points for ungrammatical usage.

Margot McCamley and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Downloaded from the lesson share in www.onestopenglish.com

Activity Extension: For more advanced learners, you can just give the base verb in
brackets and have them decide which tense of the verb should be used.
E.g.

Scrambled sentence

Unscrambled sentence

(do) he where holidays go on?

Where does he go on holidays?

Answer
He goes to the Bahamas.

Margot McCamley and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Downloaded from the lesson share in www.onestopenglish.com

Unscramble these sentences

Write the correct sentences then answer the questions. Use the picture
the teacher has given you to help you.

Scrambled sentences
1

live do where they?

fly how do like they that?

world they do live where in the?

do how know this you?

animal this what is?

Answer
1

Margot McCamley and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Downloaded from the lesson share in www.onestopenglish.com

Unscrambled sentences

Task
Make your own scrambled-sentence puzzle with your group. When your group has
written five sentences, give your sheet to another group of students and ask them to
solve the puzzle.

Your groups scrambled

sentences

Margot McCamley and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Downloaded from the lesson share in www.onestopenglish.com

The correct sentences

 Margot McCamley and Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2005

Downloaded from the lesson share in www.onestopenglish.com