You may remember that, a while ago, I posted a monopoly set. The other day I started thinking what games I could play with a class I was going to teach that vey morning. I then remembered monopoly but decided it didn't really lend itself to a writing class. Then inspiration struck...
It works much like normal monopoly. You have six players, all working their way round and round the board, buying deeds, paying rent and trying to dodge fines. However, instead of buying property, the players by grammar structures/points. To buy, say, a Past Simple Tense, they must not only come up with the cash but produce a sentence using the past simple tense. They hen receive the deeds to that square. If another player lands on that particular square, they must also come up with he cash and another example.
In terms of the remainder of game play, little has changed. Players still collect $200 as they pass go. They still go to jail if they land on that space. They can still do deals to buy properties from another player to complete their set (rent is doubled (that is to say both the financial and grammatical rent) for any player unlucky enough to land on a square whose owner owns the set). Players still pay income and super tax and still collect a Chance or Community Chest card when they land on the corresponding square. The difference here is that Community Chest cards give them a free answer that they can use (and discard) when they need to. Chance cards may require them to produce a grammatical or financial fine.
I know this all sounds a might complicated, but I have included a full set of rules, all of the deeds, a page of examples for the teacher to use to make sure the players are using each grammatical structure correctly, the exact amounts of money, the pieces, the board and community chest and chance cards. The only things I have not included are the dice! Those, I am afraid, you will have to supply. But, if you have been reading this wee blog, you should have some in your toolbox!