My daughter recently discovered a collection of partially completed Mad Libs books in a pile of relics from my childhood, and she quickly claimed them as her own. In case you need a refresher, Mad Libs is a word game that involves filling in the blanks of a short story without any context except cues for the part of speech or general category. This tends to yield hilariously random non-sequiturs, like the alternate rendition of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow\u2019s \u201cThe Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,\u201d penned in my nine-year-old scrawl: \u201cOne if by Honda, two if by penguin.\u201d<\/p>\n
Besides offering a funny window into my elementary school-aged mind \u2014 and spelling! \u2014 the recent reintroduction of Mad Libs into our family reminded me how much there is to love about them as both a parent and a teacher. Decade after decade, here are four reasons we still love Mad Libs.<\/p>\n
Mad Libs provide versatile entertainment \u2014 and a good laugh.<\/strong> You can adapt Mad Libs to fit kids\u2019 needs.<\/strong> Choosing just the right words for Mad Libs blanks builds vocabulary.<\/strong> Reading completed Mad Libs stories can build fluency and comprehension.<\/strong> Talking about what makes completed stories funny can build kids\u2019 background knowledge<\/a>. Reading Mad Libs stories asks kids to imagine and describe the zany situations their filled-in blanks suggest. They also offer quick and engaging practice in visualizing<\/a>, a key comprehension habit. (For example, what would<\/i> it look like if British troops arrived by Honda or penguin?)<\/p>\n Just like filling in the blanks, the possibilities for enjoying Mad Libs with kids are endless. For more ideas for using Mad Libs as a teaching tool, check out this handy Educator\u2019s Guide to Mad Libs<\/a>. Plus, don\u2019t miss these free Mad Libs printables and activities<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2020 and updated in 2025.<\/small><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The recent reintroduction of Mad Libs into one mom’s family reminded her how much there is to love about them as both a parent and a teacher. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":112861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[60,116,161,389,1105],"coauthors":[1053],"class_list":["post-112820","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-humor","tag-parenting","tag-reading-games","tag-reading-comprehension","tag-mad-libs","ages_stages-growing-reader","ages_stages-tween"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nMad Libs books are perfectly sized for tucking in a bag for appointments, travel, or restaurants. They can be enjoyed in a group, duo, or solo. They can be labored over to fill a long wait time or completed speedily before bedtime or to fill a few classroom minutes. Most importantly, Mad Libs tickle readers\u2019 imaginations by inviting them to play with words in unexpected ways. Nonsensical commands like, \u201cGo comb your mustard!\u201d and \u201cStop picking your kangaroo!\u201d are guaranteed to elicit a smile.<\/p>\n
\nBesides their obvious power to make learning about parts of speech engaging, it\u2019s easy to weave in customized prompts for kids while they fill in Mad Libs blanks. For instance, if kids\u2019 capitalization habits need work, insist that all their nouns be proper. If they\u2019re working on mastering the r-controlled vowels \u201cir,\u201d \u201cer,\u201d and \u201cur,\u201d brainstorm or provide a list of words with these spelling patterns, and have kids choose one that fits the direction for each blank. This embeds practice reading and spelling target words in a fun activity.<\/p>\n
\nAs a child, I favored standard adjectives like \u201ccool\u201d and \u201cgross\u201d on repeat. As a parent and teacher, I challenge kids not to use the same word twice in a Mad Libs story. You can also nudge kids towards precise words for their basic choices: Do they mean \u201cgross\u201d like \u201cnoxious\u201d or \u201crancid?\u201d Or is it \u201crevolting\u201d or \u201cnauseating?\u201d This encourages kids to build their mental networks of how words connect to each other. You could also reinforce prior vocabulary learning using Mad Libs by challenging kids to pick from a list of words they\u2019ve recently learned, like those from a book or related to a specific topic.<\/p>\n
\nMy daughter reminded me how ideal Mad Libs are for developing readers when she insisted on re-reading her completed story to every family member. Multiple readings of a short text are ideal for building fluency. As I silently cheered for the bonus decoding practice, my daughter\u2019s renditions of her story became progressively more automatic, animated, and expressive.<\/p>\nYou might also like:<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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