No 'AND's

In this lesson, students build a story without the word and.

Goals

• Recognise the uses and meaning of the word and.
• Become more conscious of our own use of the word and.

Lesson Plan

The teacher explains that today, we will tell a story. There's only one rule: no one is allowed to use the word and.

The story is composed by the class as a whole. Each student will contribute one sentence, verbally. The first student will start the story, and then the next student will continue it with another sentence. If any student uses the word and, then the story must start over at the beginning. 

After trying this for a few rounds, the teacher re-introduces the word and. From now on and is allowed! What do students find that they can do? Allow them to experiment with a new story using and. At this point, now that students are conscious of the word and, they will begin to use it more, and to be more conscious of its use. This exercise raises student awareness of the coordinating conjunction and.

Finally, allow for some reflection on what they've seen. Ask the following questions:

• What does and do?
• What does and mean?
• Is it difficult to write a story without the word and? 
• What changes when you use the word and?