Students will use online resources and through class discussion, students will apply their knowledge of the parts of speech to develop a Mad Lib story. The final copy could be used for a service learning project. The lesson was developed for the With L.O.V.E (Letting Others Value Empathy) service learning project at George Guffey Elementary.

White board
Dry erase marker
Internet access
Mad Lib Story worksheets

Begin by discussing the meaning of empathy. Allow students to begin a brainstorming session to develop a project. Use the white board/marker to make a list of ideas. Pull up funbrain Mad Libs online and allow students to fill in the appropriate parts of speech. Read the silly story students created. Pass out rough draft paper. Have students begin writing a story which follows your given criteria. Once students have completed their writing, have them underline specific parts of speech (example: five nouns, two verbs, three adjectives). Check selected words and story and/or peer edit. Once students have selected their words they are to re-write their final copy, skipping lines and leaving blank spaces where they removed the word. Students will also write the appropriate part of speech under each blank. Once students complete their Mad Lib stories, they are stuffed into With L.O.V.E bags. We reflect on the service we performed through writing or a class meeting, and celebrate our accomplishments with a pat-on-the-back.

Appropriate parts of speech are underlined, grammar in the story has few errors, and work is done neatly.

Teachers can select only one, or several parts of speech to be identified based upon student capability and grade level. You may begin the lesson with more than one online Mad Lib Story. Be sure to model the appropriate process for better understanding.

Funbrain Mad Libs

Katie Collins, fifth grade teacher, Fox C-6 School District