“What educational resource can make learning verbs and grammar effective, fun and engaging for students plus double as a high energy-packed game that has become a national tournament?
Enter Verbathon®, created by Emmanuel Escueta, a French Immersion teacher in the Coquitlam School District. Verbathon® uses sports-style games where students are timed on how fast they can conjugate verbs as well as use those conjugation skills in context to form sentences in additional activities. The strategies in Verbathon® are adaptable to a wide range of levels. These learning activities are included in the detailed teacher’s guide with easy-to follow instructions. The Verbathon® kit contains the guide, a customized wall chart, hundreds of colour-coded cards consisting of pronouns, verbs in different tenses, adjectives, negations, and more.
The success of Verbathon® is attributed to what Escueta refers to as the INFINITE Principle. INFINITE is an acronym for INclusive Fun, INteractive, Integrative, Team-oriented, and Empowerment:
- INclusve – Everyone can participate regardless of initial skill.
- Fun – The learning takes place through fun, active games.
- INteractive – Many activities are kinesthetic, requiring movement. Songs to chant and rap are included.
- Integrative – Subject areas like Math and Social Studies are integrated.
- Team-oriented – Students are grouped into balanced teams.
- Empowerment – Leadership and peer tutoring encourage students to take ownership over their learning.
How does Verbathon® teach grammar?
Here is why Verbathon is so incredibly successful
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Students Love to Play
Verbathon works because students at any age love to play games. Research shows playing games has a huge impact on learning.
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Verbathon Includes Activities
Verbathon includes a series of activities like a race-against-the-clock game in which students learn to conjugate verbs quickly and accurately.
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Framework & Instructions
Verbathon provides the framework and instructions for holding fun classroom grammar games and the platform for a National tournament held every two years.
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Local & National Competitions
Students get excited about playing Verbathon® with their peers! They can compete locally and nationally to win bronze, silver and gold medals.
The game evolved into a national tournament that has been held every two years since 1999. The National Verbathon® Tournament attracted registrants from schools across Canada. Teams ranged from Grades 2-7 French Immersion/ Francophone/Intensive French, and Grades 6-8 French as a Second Language. Some districts even held tournaments to determine finalists, for example, in the Coquitlam School District in BC, organized by CPF (Canadian Parents for French) Tri-Cites. Some examples of sponsors include ACPI (The National Association of French Immersion Teachers), Canadian Parents for French, Staples (Bureau en Gros), Escutech Ltd. and P&L Speed Print.
Teachers across Canada have expressed how Verbathon® improved the learning of their students. Powerful comments like, “I’ve seen such an increase in their confidence” or “My students are even wanting to practice during recess” are a testimony to how Verbathon® can enhance a school’s language program. Some CPF Chapters even use Verbathon® for their homework club.
For more information on Verbathon® or the tournament, please contact Emmanuel Escuetaby phone at 604-466-2821, by Email: verbathon@shaw.ca or escutech@verbathon.com. Arrangements can be made for Emmanuel to do workshops.
Verbathon® was developed by award winning teacher!
