Contests as Keepers

One of the things my students really seem to enjoy is competition, so I hold a weekly contest which they look forward to. I divide the students into groups and have them compete against each other often emphasizing some point that we've been studying. As I frequently teach the lower levels, I often have them simply describe things. At first, we begin as a whole class.
To begin with, I bring some things to class or even use some things that we already have in class; for example, I often use my book bag and my purse for starters. Holding up one or the other, I ask, "What's this?" And they respond, "bag." Then, I tease them a bit and tell them that's a Level 1 answer, or if I'm teaching Level 1, I tell them it's a Week 1 answer. I correct their oral responses by saying, for instance, "a bag." And then, "It's a bag." Then I ask about the color and that gets another answer. Then I repeat "green" and say, "It's a green bag."
As we continue to describe the book bag, I tell them that they get a point for each word. So, the more words, the more points. So we discover handles and zippers and pockets. Then when I show them a marker, it quickly becomes "a black marker." And when I take off the lid, they catch on. And together we say, "with a top." "It's a black marker with a top."
When we've practiced a bit, I have each group get together and work on their description. After a bit, I have them write on the board. At first they begin by simply listing words, but they soon see the value of sentences and eventually we get fairly good paragraphs.
When everyone is done, I ask them to edit their work, checking for errors and making any changes. Then I count the words. Before long, I begin to subtract for "level appropriate errors." So, if they write "bag" instead of "a bag," they lose a point. They moan and groan, but they seem to really enjoy the discipline.
Once every few weeks or so, on the day after the contest, I bring something in for the winners. Of course, that adds to the fun. They quickly catch on and want to be there for the contests as well as the day after.