Sort and Stack

Purpose:  To focus attention on a grammar feature and to help students gain general fluency by working together to solve a problem.  The students separate a stack of scrambled cards with words or phrases on them into appropriate piles, according to the nature of the problem.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes for lower level activity.  More for higher level, since you want to use more words or phrases, hence more cards.

Materials:  Index cards

Preparation:  Consult a grammar book if necessary.  As an example, make 30 cards, a mixture of regular and irregular verbs.  The problem for the students will be to decide which is which and sort the cards into 2 piles.

Procedure:

1. Explain the purpose of the activity, for example, “Today we’re going to review regular and irregular verbs.”
2. Break the students into groups.  This game can be done individually, but part of the value of the activity comes from the language the students must use when deciding which words go in which stack.  Try to put students together who have about the same proficiency level.
3. Give each group a stack of mixed cards and let them work together.  Tell them you’ll check their answers when they finish.
4. As each group finishes, check their stack or when everyone has finished, check the solution together.

Variations:

• Put a time limit on the activity.
• Make it competitive.  Give points for correct answers.
• Do it as a circle activity.  Students sit in a circle.  Tell them the categories, for example, regular and irregular verbs, and have them write those headings at the top of a sheet of paper as column headings.  Give them each an equal number of cards and tell them to write the word under the correct column.  Students then pass the cards to the student on their right.  When cards have made a complete circle, compare answers.