Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards
Challenge Questions
Congratulations on your purchase of Really Good Stuff® Adverb
Tic-Tac-Toe, a fun grammar game. Using the traditional game of
Tic-Tac-Toe, you can now offer your students a great way to
practice adverbs.
Although the -ly adverbs are a good place to start adverb study
(and a good way to introduce Tic-Tac-Toe Game 1), begin to add
Challenge cards to the game in later rounds. Students will learn
to ask themselves the thinking questions rather than just look
for the word with -ly in the sentence.
This Really Good Stuff® product includes:
For Item # 303370:
• 36 Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards
• This Really Good Stuff® Activity Guide
Meets State Standards
This type of grammar practice helps students meet grade-level
expectations and prepare for standardized testing on adverbs.
Playing Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe also helps students develop their
vocabulary, reading comprehension, and grammar skills.
For Item # 304047:
• 36 Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards
• Tic-Tac-Toe Pocket Chart
• 9 “X” Cards and 9 “O” Cards
• This Really Good Stuff® Activity Guide
Oral Language Component
Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe requires students to read sentences and
think aloud in front of a group. When using side 1, require that
students read the entire sentence aloud before they state
the adverb. This helps train students to pay attention to
context rather than looking for clues that can be inconsistent.
(Many non-adverb words such as “assembly”, “family,” and
“lovely” end in -ly, after all.) Given the fun, familiar game setting,
Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe also increases confidence in speaking.
Identifying and Using Adverbs
An adverb is a descriptive word that can modify any of several
parts of a sentence, usually a verb, an adjective, or another
adverb. This game provides practice in the most common use of
an adverb, which is to modify a verb.
To identify adverbs in context, a helpful thinking exercise is to ask
questions such as how, when, or where the action takes place.
Ask this question after reading a sentence containing an adverb.
For example:
Management
• Store the Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards along with other sets of
Tic-Tac-Toe Cards that you've purchased, keeping the subject
areas in separate file folders.
• The Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards have adverb sentences on side 1
and the same sentence frames with the adverbs missing on
side 2 (no borders). If playing the side 1 version, and you need
to know which word is the adverb, you can check which word is
left out on side 2. If playing the side 2 version and you need an
example of a correct answer, you can look at side 1; however,
there is never just one correct answer when playing side 2.
• Make an enlarged copy of the Adverbs List on the back,
for students to refer to when playing side 2. You can also
make copies of the game instructions for students to use
when playing in small groups.
We got to play freely after lunchtime.
“In what manner did we play? How did we get to play?”
Answer: “We got to play freely.”
Discuss what it means to “play freely”; for example, ask if this
means playing a game with rules or not.
Next, ask students to help you identify a temporal, or timerelated, adverb, such as often, always, etc. Ask when or how
often the action takes place.
By asking students to think about semantics, rather than
simply look for the -ly ending as a clue, you teach them to rely on
analytical skills in order to recognize sentence structure. Also,
they will understand that many adverbs do not end in -ly and/or
do not come right before or after the verb.
Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Game 1
Players: Two teams of 4 to 6 players
Materials: 9 Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards, Tic-Tac-Toe Pocket Chart,
X and O Cards, timer or watch (optional)
Object: To identify adverbs in sentences in order to fill three
spaces in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row with X or O Cards.
1. Select nine Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards, and place them in
the spaces of the Tic-Tac-Toe Pocket Chart with side 1
facing forward.
2. Give X Cards to one team and O Cards to the other. The
players should sit in the order in which they will play.
3. Explain the game and provide the rules. The first word the
player names will count as his or her answer. If you wish, set
up a timer and state a time limit. Encourage players to use
strategy in blocking the other team.
Side 1 (green borders) and side 2 (no borders) of the Adverb
Tic-Tac-Toe Cards offer two different versions of the game.
Game 1, which involves identifying the adverb in a sentence, is
played using side 1. The more challenging game, which asks
students to read a sentence frame and complete it with an
appropriate adverb, requires students to call on their own
vocabularies and understanding of grammar. Students having
difficulty naming adverbs benefit from a word wall or other
displayed list of adverbs from which to choose. They will earn
an X or an O as long as the word makes sense in the context of
the sentence.
All activity guides can be found online:
Helping Teachers Make A Difference®
© 2009 Really Good Stuff
®
1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in Guangzhou, China #303370
Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards
4. The first player from team 1 selects a space and reads the
sentence aloud (for example, “My father asked the neighbors
to drive carefully.”), and names the adverb in the sentence. If
the player correctly names the adverb, carefully, he or she
gets to place one of the team's X or O Cards in a space on the
board. If not, the turn is over.
5. The first player from team 2 takes a turn, and so on.
Variations
• Start with a blank board and hold up the Adverb Tic-TacToe Card each time a player takes a turn. If the player gives
a correct answer, the team gets to put the X or O in
whichever space they want.
• Two students play against each other. They take turns
pulling Cards out of a box and get an X or an O to place if
they give the correct answer.
• Players get to choose the space for the other team, and a
player from the other team must respond. If either team
gets three spaces in a row, that team wins. Otherwise,
when the board is full, whichever team has the most X's or
O's wins.
Adverbs List
6. The first team to get three X's or O's in a row wins the game
and gets to go first next time.
7. Discuss any adverbs that were especially challenging to
identify before playing another game.
Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Game 2
Players: Two teams of 4 to 6 players
Materials: 9 Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards, Tic-Tac-Toe Pocket Chart,
X and O Cards, timer or watch (optional)
Object: To think of adverbs to complete sentence frames in order
to fill three spaces in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal row with X
or O Cards.
1. Select nine Adverb Tic-Tac-Toe Cards, and place them in the
spaces of the Tic-Tac-Toe Pocket Chart.
2. Give X Cards to one team and O Cards to the other. The
players should sit in the order in which they will play.
3. Explain the game and provide the rules. The first word the
player names will count as his or her answer. If you wish, set
up a timer and state a time limit. Encourage players to use
strategy in blocking the other team.
4. The first player from team 1 selects a space and reads the
sentence frame aloud (for example, “My father asked the
neighbors to drive blank.”), and names an adverb that sensibly
completes the sentence. The players should repeat the
sentence with the adverb filled in. If the player has named an
appropriate adverb, for example slowly, he or she gets to place
one of the team's X or O Cards in a space on the board. If not,
the turn is over.
5. The first player from team 2 takes a turn, and so on.
6. The first team to get three X's or O's in a row wins the game
and gets to go first next time.
7. Discuss any sentence frames that were especially challenging
before playing another game. Review the adverb players named.
Helping Teachers Make A Difference®
Here are some adverbs that can be used in the sentence frames.
There are many more possibilities. Add adverbs to the list as
students think of them.
roughly
indirectly
accidentally
rudely
joyously
aggressively
sadly
kindly
alone
safely
lazily
always
seldom
lightly
angrily
separately
loudly
barely
shamefully
lovingly
bravely
sharply
nearby
briefly
shyly
neatly
calmly
silently
nervously
carefully
sleepily
never
cautiously
slowly
nicely
cheerfully
softly
noisily
cleverly
sometimes
normally
correctly
soon
obediently
delicately
steadily
often
directly
suddenly
only
eagerly
swiftly
perfectly
easily
tenderly
politely
enthusiastically
truthfully
promptly
finally
ultimately
proudly
foolishly
unwillingly
fortunately
quickly
usually
quietly
freely
warmly
rapidly
gently
wearily
rarely
gracefully
well
regularly
happily
wildly
repeatedly
hardly
willingly
respectfully
honestly
© 2009 Really Good Stuff® 1-800-366-1920 www.reallygoodstuff.com Made in Guangzhou, China #303370