FAMILY MATTERS

Two activities contributed by Anibal Fernando Machado

The aim of this game is to review family vocabulary and to expose students to the possessive case. Students are not supposed to
be able to produce the sentences in the game. It is mostly reading comprehension. I have used this game with beginners
(monolingual classes) and it has proved to be a lot of fun as well as very rewarding in terms of comprehension.

1-Print or write cards with the following sentences:

     My children's mother is my wife.
     My wife's mother is my children's grandmother.
     My mother's daughter's husband is my brother-in-law.
     My cousins' parents are my uncles and my aunts.
     My son's daughter is my granddaughter.
     My mother's son is my brother.
     My grandparents' son, except my father, are my uncles.
     My cousin's sister is my cousin.
     My niece's brother is my nephew.
     My husband's father is my father-in-law.
     My children's grandparents on their mother's side are my parents-in-law.
     My sister's son is my nephew.
     My brother's wife is my sister-in-law.
     My cousin's mother is my aunt.
     My mother's mother is my grandmother.
     My father's brother is my uncle.
     My grandfather's wife is my grandmother.
     My parents' daughter is my sister.
     My mohter's son is my brother.
     My nephew's sister is my niece.

Leave enough space between the verb and the next word so as to be able to cut the card in two pieces, one with the subject and
verb, and the other with the object.

2-Divide the class into A's and B's. Give the A's the cards which have the beginnings and give the B's the ones that have the
endings.

3-Ask both groups to think of how they would complete their cards. Allow them some time to think.

4-Now each member of each group must interact with the members of the other in order to find the card that matches theirs (this
may become a bit of a chaos, but never mind,it helps students to relax and get closer to one another). Once they have, they must
sit together, and wait until everybody has found their partner.

5-Ask each pair to read their sentences and confirm or correct with the help of the other students (this is a good
listening-comprehension exercise).

6-Ask each pair to go to the chalkboard and write thier sentences, so that the whole group has the opportunity to have all the
sentences for further reference.

7-As a round-off, you may ask the class to formulate a rule on how the possessive case works.