Do we at “ETs in R & E” promise you useful things you can do in the classroom with little or no preparation? Yes, we do. And we will deliver again!

Draw a tic-tac-toe pattern on the board, or a large square with nine boxes. It should look kind of like this:

* * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
* * * *
* * * * * * * * * *

Next, fill each of the 9 squares with a letter. Make sure you have 3-5 vowels. ou can repeat letters too: for instance, you could have two or three Es. Like so:

* * * * * * * * * *
* S * A * L *
* * * * * * * * * *
* V * E * T *
* * * * * * * * * *
* A * G * B *
* * * * * * * * * *

Now your students–in pairs or groups–(and you too, dear, teacher!) will make as many words from these letters as possible. Letters MUST BE consecutive
and may only be used once per word.

Thus, “sale” is possible: each letter borders the following letter. (Diagonal borders are fine.) “Save” is possible, but not “saves” because that would use the same “s” two times.

“Base” is not possible because “b” does not border (”a”).

Words must be at least three letters in length.

Names (proper nouns) do not count.

Other possible words from the above puzzle: ale, save, age, ages, vet, bet, get, ate, eat, let, late, vale, set, sat, belt. (I’m sure you can find more too! I gave myself only one minute.)

You can give your students 3 minutes. They wil not get bored.

Here is how you can score:

3-letter word = 1 point
4-letter word = 2 points
5-letter word = 5 points
6-letter word = 8 points
7-letter word = 12 points

Before starting your students in a competition, do a demonstration round together, so they get the idea of the game.

The beauty of this game is that all you do is change the letters when you are finished. Try any letters! This activity is endless (kind of like “Ets in Russia.”)

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Word Origins: “Ditto”
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Ditto comes from the Latin “dictus,” meaning “having been said.” As a noun it can mean “a duplicate.”

However, conversationally it means, “the same for me,”

If your friend orders coffee at a restaurant you can say, “Ditto,” and the waiter knows that you want the same.

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What’s Happening
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Kevin has just returned from a 12-day trip, and he’d like to thank Elena, Bridget, and Natasha at the Enlgish Language Office in Moscow for making him feel so welcome.

Thanks to Yulia Markushina at the English Language Office in Samara for arranging everything perfectly (as usual).

Thanks to Antonina Kharkovskaya at Samara State U for treating me as a distinguished guest!

Thanks to Aeroflot for getting me around in one piece.

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In the next issue (about November 5, 2003)
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Issue #50, featuring an index of all previous issues
And a love potion story!

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Copyright 2003 Kevin McCaughey & I.M. Poosheesty
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