Next to the initial shock of making sense of the Cyrillic alphabet (що?), one of the most difficult things about learning Russian is the case system. English speakers in particular tend to struggle with the different word endings without something to compare it to. Games give students a way to approach the often intimidating subject casually and help them interact with the new material. Asking an already overwhelmed learner to create a complex and grammatically correct sentence would likely deliver nothing more than a blank stare. Giving them visually supported tasks, however, can get the same result with substantially less head scratching and possibly even a smile or two. And did I mention they're free?
All the following three activities require are cards with pictures of places, people and objects. No need to over think it; really index cards with stick figure drawings will work just fine. The vocabulary can be as advanced or basic as you need from 'park' to 'cathedral' or 'car' to 'freedom'. You can cater them to your students' ages, abilities and interests to personalize the learning process. You should ideally have about twenty or thirty cards per each of the three subjects. If that sounds daunting, scroll down to the bottom for a list of suggestions.
Pick a Card, Any Card
Sort the cards into three piles according to their subject (i.e. all of the places in one pile, all of the people in another). Students must choose one card from each pile and then combine them to make a sentence. It may not sound challenging but between remembering how to pronounce all of the words, which case applies to which situation, and which endings apply to each case will certainly make them think.
For example: A sentence with the cards 'store', 'friend', and 'apple' could be: "I am at the store (Locative) with my friend (Instrumental) looking at an apple (Accusative)."
The Amazing Race
Lay as many 'place' cards on the floor as there are students, and spread them throughout the classroom. Then give each student a 'person' and an 'object' card and explain that they are in a rush to get their errands done and must visit every place as fast as possible. In order to do so, they must change places with whichever of their peers is currently already standing there. Before they can enter the place (move to a different card), however, they must construct a grammatically correct sentence involving all three of the other student's cards.
For example: "I bought this apple (Accusative) for my friend (Dative) at the store (Dative)."
Guess Again
This one works best in pairs and is particularly effective for giving everyone a chance to practice speaking. Each student has three cards (one from each subject) that they display in front of them. First, give them a minute to think of a sentence using all three words. Then ask them to take turns guessing what sentence their partner made up. This encourages them to think of all the different ways that the words can be used and before they know it they'll be putting together complex sentences without even trying.
Given the complex rules governing the case system, it's probably a good idea to have helpful charts around the room to assist in these activities, but these too can be easily handmade and omitted once they feel more comfortable with the material. And, then you can move on to mastering the ever-popular system of patronymics.
Sample Vocabulary Words
Places: house, apartment, car, outside, inside, living room, kitchen, bathroom, closet, porch, balcony, city, country, Chicago, Spain, museum, theater, school, work, store, hospital, river, lake, beach, mountains, ect.
People: mom, dad, sister, brother, friend, grandma, cousin, Lady Gaga, Brad Pitt, Ani Lorak, doctor, dentist, teacher, baby, police officer.
Objects: ball, pencil, book, table, chair, rug, couch, apple, orange, chocolate, hamburger, shirt, shoes, jeans, coat, nail polish, brush, medicine.
