Grammar and Word Games for Language Arts at Home

learn language arts

While paying attention to (grammar) lessons in English class is important, it's only the first step in mastering how the language works. Playing with language helps you actually use it, and playing word games is more fun than sitting and listening to a lecture. It may sound strange, but playing online games or using printable language games may be more important than what you learn just listening in class. Why? Well, think of language learning as a sport. When you play basketball, you have to know how the ball moves, know how to run, and understand how to throw the ball into the hoop. You learn these skills by practicing them. Even if you become a professional basketball player, you probably started learning to play with friends and family in your driveway or school gym. By the time you join a school team, you might not have to think about how to run or bounce the ball because you've already learned through playing at home. Language follows the same basic rules. Play can be a tool for learning!

Parts of Speech

  • Nouns and Verbs Ice Cream Scoop: Help a monkey collect scoops of tasty ice cream as you learn to recognize nouns and verbs.
  • Grammar Gorillas: This game trains players to master all parts of speech as they help some confused gorillas with their grammar.
  • Solve It: Parts of Speech: Inspired by a popular detective board game, this printable resource provides a guide for families and classes to play and learn together. Solve a mystery and improve your understanding of parts of speech at the same time.

Nouns and Pronouns

  • Nouns Away! This online game helps students master concrete versus abstract nouns.
  • Life on the Pronoun Reef: Practice using pronouns while playing around a digital coral reef in this interactive online game.
  • Irregular Plural Match: English has a lot of irregular words, and the best way to remember irregular plurals is by practicing them. This matching game can help.
  • Nouns and Pronouns Jeopardy! In this game-show-style adventure, a single player or an entire class can guess the answers to grammar clues from the board.

Adjectives

  • Describing Words: This simple game can show you how adjectives work by helping you add descriptive adjectives to different sentences.
  • Adjective Adventure: Play with monsters on this digital adventure as you master adjective use.
  • Tell Me About It: A free, printable file folder game, this learning system helps learners wield adjectives to express themselves. It also provides a ready learning tool, even when the power goes out.

Prepositions

  • Preposition Memory Game: This video lets individual players or groups hone their preposition skills as they play a classic memory game.
  • Positional Words: How high can you get your score? This round-based online game helps learners use prepositions to identify position.
  • Prepositions of Time: This simple online game can help young learners practice choosing the right word to express time using prepositions.

Verbs and Verb Tense

  • Kid Heroes: Verbs: Protect the king! By telling the difference between past, present, and future verb tenses, players can add heroes to the battlefield.
  • Balloon Game: In this arcade-style game, you can pop balloons as you develop your skills with verbs.

Punctuation

  • Punctuation Speed Check: In this racing game, students must add correct punctuation to the sentence generated at the bottom of the screen.
  • Apostrophes in Contractions Space Smash: Set in the stars, this exciting game helps students practice adding apostrophes to contracted words.
  • Punctuation Splat: Sometimes printed words look dull, but this colorful game can engage your imagination as you learn.
  • Noisy Punctuation: This read-aloud game is for parents and kids to play together. As you read aloud, you get to make silly noises when you come across punctuation.

Additional ELA and ESL Resources for Home Learning

  • Prepositions of Place: This online, basketball-themed game is tailored specifically for ESL learners to improve and practice their use of prepositions.
  • The Future: Learners can practice their verb skills with this free digital game.
  • Infinitive Verbs: While learning verb forms may feel like it goes on forever, this colorful game about infinitive verbs will make the time fly.
  • Spectacular Spelling Play: Players can help a princess put on a play while boosting their spelling, a critical skill for ESL learners.
  • Word Tips Grammar - Word Tips' language education division developed a collection of grammar rules, examples, and vocabulary resources for EL and ESL students and teachers.