Mad Libs get Googley

Growing up one of my favorite games to play was Mad Libs, I would play with my friends during recess, or with my family on car trips. I still have a giant stack of half-used Mad Libs books in my classroom waiting for some more love. I can’t remember a time I laughed harder than when playing Mad Libs.

I love using Mad Libs with my students. When playing with my class, it can be tough to keep all students engaged because only one person contributes for each part of speech. I started using Google Forms so each student can play: each student fills out the Form and receives their copy via email. Then, a few volunteers read their examples out loud. It’s a great activity as part of a lesson, as a review, or just for fun at the end of the day.

First, let’s play!

Fill out this Form then check your email to see your Mad Libs.

Next, let’s build!

1. Create a Google Doc with your story. This works great with short fables, primary source documents, or informational texts.
2. Replace parts of speech with the tags. For example, “Replace <<plural noun>> of speech with the tags.” For duplicates, use <<plural noun 1>> then <<plural noun 2>>.
3. Create a Google Form with short answer questions for each tag. Remember to also ask for email address.
4. Create your Sheet, and install the Formule add-on.
5. Watch this video for how to set up Formule.

If your student don’t have email set up, but do have Google Drive, then use Autocrat instead. You will still need a question for email/Google account. It will use the Form and a Doc, then share the merged Doc with the student. Watch this video where I show how to use Autocrat.

Also, Formule does limit to 100 emails per day. If you have 100+ students, either spread the fun over a couple days, or use Autocrat.

Last, let’s teach!

Send out the Form to your students and get ready to laugh!

We’d love to see your examples. Create one and share it below in the comments.