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Should, shouldn't: Sentence Builder Game: Barry's Comic Caper
Barry's comic has no words yet. Teams drag the word tiles into order to write each caption, and a right sentence colours in the panel. Watch out for the sneaky tile, the word under the ink and the time machine. At the end, the class reads the whole comic together.
Free, no sign-in. Ready to play on the board, with a printable worksheet at three levels and a home version.
Should, shouldn't (A2)
- Barry Has a Cold: "Barry should stay in bed."
- Barry Wants a Dog: "Barry should get a dog."
- Ages: 7 to 14
- Levels: A1 to B1, at Support, Core and Challenge
- Players: 2 to 4 teams, the whole class, or one student at home
- Time: About 10 minutes a comic
- Comics: 59 ready comics on 37 grammar points
How to play Barry's Comic Caper
- Pick a grammar point. Choose from the shelves (Present, Past, Future, Comparing, Questions and more) or search, then pick the teams and the level.
- Build the caption. The team at the board drags the word tiles into order. Mr Moon checks it: green tiles stay, and the panel colours in when the sentence is right.
- Beat the twist. One tile is a fake, a word is hidden under the ink, the time machine asks for the sentence about yesterday, or the class spots the one right caption.
- Read the comic. When all six panels are inked, the class reads the comic aloud together, and the worksheet takes it home.
Learning by doing
Every sentence tells part of a story the class can see: the caption has to match what is happening in the picture, so word order and grammar decide whether the comic makes sense. The time machine asks students to say the same moment about another time, which is how tense is used for real.
The worksheet
The worksheet comes at Support, Core and Challenge, with a QR code that opens the home version of the same comic and an answer key on its own page. Support builds captions with a worked example, Core crosses out the sneaky word and rewrites a sentence for another time, and Challenge fixes wrong sentences and captions a new panel.
Every grammar point
- Past simple (A2)
- Going to (A2)
- Present continuous (A1)
- Comparatives (A2)
- Questions (A2)
- am, is, are (A1)
- Present simple (A1)
- Have got, has got (A1)
- There is, there are (A1)
- Always, usually, never (A2)
- Past simple: -ed verbs (A1)
- Was, were (A1)
- Past continuous (A2)
- Present perfect (B1)
- Will (A2)
- If… will (first conditional) (B1)
- Superlatives (A2)
- Can, can't (A1)
- Must, mustn't (A2)
- Should, shouldn't (A2)
- In, on, under, behind (A1)
- Some, any (A2)
- Like, love, hate + -ing (A1)
- Used to (B1)
- Too, enough (A2)
- How much, how many (A2)
- Have to, don't have to (A2)
- Imperatives (A1)
- A, an, the (A1)
- Possessives: 's, my, his (A1)
- Object pronouns: me, him, them (A2)
- This, that, these, those (A1)
- Would like (A1)
- Adverbs: quickly, slowly (A2)
- Phrasal verbs (B1)
- The passive (B1)
- If… would (second conditional) (B1)
Barry's Comic Caper FAQ
Is it free?
Yes. Every ready comic is free to play, with no sign-in. Making a comic from your own sentences is part of Pro.
Which grammar points are there?
Past simple, going to, present continuous, comparatives and superlatives, questions, can, must, should, have to, some and any, prepositions, the passive, the first and second conditional and more, from A1 to B1.
Can students play at home?
Yes. The QR code on the worksheet opens the home version on a phone or tablet, with no sign-in.
Does it work on an interactive whiteboard?
Yes. The tiles are big enough to drag with a finger, and every control has a key for a laptop.
More ready-to-play games
- Listening Game for Kids: Mr Moon's Night Picnic. Mr Moon calls a word and teams race to find it, then match the pictures and play memory with every card spoken aloud.
- Prepositions of Place Game: Tidy Up for Mr Moon. Barry has wrecked Mr Moon's room before the party. Teams put each thing where Mr Moon says, then play hide and seek in the dark.
- Guess Who Reading Game: Which Monster?. Someone took Mr Moon's hat. Read Barry's notes, send the monsters it can't be out of the line-up, and ask Barry yes or no questions.
- Interactive Teaching Clock: Teaching Clock. A free whiteboard clock: drag the hands, see and hear the time, follow Barry's day, then play Set the time I say and What's the time?