A Fun Conditional Activity With A Twist – An Engaging Alternative for Chain Stories

Grammar can be boring when you just ask the students to do drills, gap-fills or rewriting activities. That’s why challenging students with fun grammar activities could help them produce better. This activity combines logic, storytelling, and collaboration in a fun challenge that will get the learners thinking and speaking in conditionals.

What’s the idea?

Here is an activity I learned a couple of years ago from a colleague. This is actually a chain-story writing activity with a twist. In this activity, students are given a starting sentence (an “if-clause”) and an ending sentence (a result clause), and their task is to create a logical sequence of five connected conditional sentences that build a bridge from the beginning to the end. Think of it as a grammar-based storytelling puzzle.

Preparation

1. Divide your students into small groups. (Pairs or groups of 3–4 work well depending on class size.)
2. Prepare two sets of cards:
   • One set with if-clauses written on green paper (e.g. If I knew how to bake…)
   • Another set with result clauses written on white paper (e.g. I’d go hiking.)
3. Each group picks one green and one white card.

PS: All green and white sentence halves could be the same or they could be different. If they were same, it would be fun to compare their stories in the end and see how they all reached the same ending differently.

The challenge

Their green card is the start of their story.
Their white card is the end of the story.

Their task: Build a chain of five logical conditionals to link the beginning to the end.

Example

• Green card: If I knew how to bake…
• White card: we’d go hiking together.

Now the group needs to fill in the chain:

1. If I knew how to bake, I’d make a cake.
2. If I made a cake, I’d invite my friends for tea.
3. If I invited them, we’d chat happily.
4. If we chatted happily, we’d decide to meet again.
5. If we decided to meet again, we’d go hiking together.

The connections can be creative, but they must make logical sense and follow conditional sentence structures.

Why this works

• It encourages critical thinking and collaborative problem solving.
• It reinforces conditional sentence form in a meaningful context.
• It pushes students to connect cause and effect while also having fun.

Classroom Instructions

You can use or adapt the following instructions directly in class:

Conditional Chain Story – Group Challenge

Instructions:

1. Work in groups of 2–4.
2. Your group will receive:
   • One green card with an “if” clause (the start of your story)
   • One white card with a result clause (the end of your story)
3. Your task is to create a logical story that connects the beginning to the end using five conditional sentences.
4. Each sentence should follow the format:
   If + past simple…, would + base verb… (Second Conditional)
5. Be creative but make sure your story makes sense!
6. When you finish, write your chain of five sentences on a poster or large sheet of paper.
7. Present your story to the class.

PS: As the task is challenging, you can give an example on the board. Leave the example story on the board. You can also hand out students a task sheet with gaps

1. If I knew how to bake,
2. If __________________, __________________.
3. If __________________, __________________.
4. If __________________, __________________.
5. If __________________, we’d go hiking together.

Some suggestions for story starters and endings:

Type 1 Conditionals

If-Clauses (Green Cards):

If I see my teacher tomorrow,

Result Clauses (White Cards):

I will buy ice cream.

Type 2 Conditionals

If-Clauses (Green Cards):

If I lived near the sea,

Result Clauses (White Cards):

I’d cook pasta every night.

Type 3 Conditionals

If-Clauses (Green Cards):

If I had remembered her birthday,

Result Clauses (White Cards):

I would have passed the test with flying colours.