Teacher Discussion Forums

So far the only thing I've come up with is the old "My grandmother went on a train trip" game, in which each player recites "My grandmother went on a train trip, and in her suitcase she packed..." The first player names something that starts with A, the second says the A item, then adds something that begins with B, etc. Although the original game was a memory game, I list the items on the board with the proper article/quantifier (an apple, a banana, some grapes, the X-Men, etc.) The kids have so much fun coming up with goofy things for Grandmother to pack (an eye, a monster, an old man, Yoda, etc.) that they don't notice they're getting drilled on articles.

When they get better at the game, I'll stop writing the articles and see if they remember to use them properly.

Any other ideas?

I recently visited a class where the teacher used what was for me a new "trick" in teaching "a" and "the." I don't know if it's the kind of thing you were looking for, but I will probably try to use it the next time I teach articles. This was in a class for adults, but because of the nature of the exercise, I think it would be perfect for kids.

First, she told the students to come to the blackboard and draw something.
She told them to draw the items in the same way if there were more than two. (Draw two chairs; draw a bridge; draw three cats, etc.)

Then she had one of the students tell another student what to erase, using "a" or "the" in the direction. (Erase a cat; erase the bridge, etc., depending on whether or not there was just one or more than one item left.)

It was just a little part of an introduction to the lesson, but I liked it because everyone was involved and active. I can think of a lot of variations on this theme.