The "Kill a Class before a Three-day Weekend" Assignment
Dr. Marguerite Connor
     A fun vocabulary game which has actually worked with my classes here.  I use this on those days when you know most of the class doesn't come in.  It's also a good emergency filler.  The students see it as a game, which it essentially is, but you can have a discussion afterwards about how easy it is to figure out words' meanings from their context or by breaking apart the words into root, prefix and suffix.  I let the students work in groups and race to see which group is able to translate the most mangled proverbs.
 "Mangled Proverbs"

Each of the statements below is actually a well-known saying.  How many can you return to their original state?

1.  Scintillate, scintillate asteroid minific.
 

2.  Members of an avian species of identical plumage congregate.
 

3.  Pulchritude possesses solely cutaneous profundity.
 

4.  Surveillance should precede saltation.
 

5.  It is fruitless to become lachrymose over precipitately departed lacteal fluid.
 

6.  Freedom from incrustation of grime is contiguous to rectitude.
 

7.   The stylus is more potent than the claymore.
 

8.  It is fruitless to attempt to indoctrinate a superannuated canine with innovative maneuvers.
 

9.  Eschew the implement of correction and vitiate the scion.
 

10. The temperature of the aqueous content of an unremittingly ogled saucepan does not reach 212 degrees Fahrenheit.
 

11. All articles that coruscate with resplendence are not truly auriferous.
 

12. Where there are visible vapors in ignited carbonous materials, there is conflagration.

13. A plethora of individuals with expertise in culinary techniques vitiates the potable concoction produced by steeping certain coneatibles.
 

14. Eleemosynary deeds have their incipience intramurally.
 

15. Male cadavers are incapable of yielding testimony.
 

16. Individuals who make their abode in vitreous edifices would be advised to refrain from catapulting petrous projectiles.
 

17. Neophyte's serendipity.
 

18. Exclusive dedication to the necessitous chores without interludes of hedonistic diversion renders John a hebetudinous fellow.
 

19. Abstention from any aleatory undertakings precludes a potential escalation of lucrative nature.
 

20. Missiles of ligneous or petrous consistency have the potential for fracturing my osseus structure, but appellations will eternally remain innocuous.
 

 Answers:

1.  Twinkle, twinkle little star.

2.  Birds of a feather flock together.

3.  Beauty is only skin deep.

4.  Look before you leap.

5.  Don't cry over spilt milk.

6.  Cleanliness is next to godliness.

7.  The pen is mightier than the sword.

8.  You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

9.  Spare the rod and spoil the child.

10. A watched pot won't boil.

11. All that glitters is not gold.

12. Where there's smoke, there's flame.

13. Too many cooks spoil the broth.

14. Charity begins at home.

15. Dead men tell no tales.

16. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

17. Beginner's luck.

18. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

19. Nothing ventured nothing gained.

20. Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.