There was a study that showed pre-k children who knew how to play games were more successful in kindergarten. When you think about it, games help children learn to follow rules, take turns, and develop the executive function (task initiation and completion). This is good information to share with parents to encourage them to play board games and card games with their children rather than hand them their phone.
Why? initial sounds, categories, rapid naming
Rapid Automatic Naming
Alphabet Categories
Sounds, parts of speech, categories, rapid automatic naming, and multiple skills are reinforced with this game. When I introduced alphabet categories we played it as a large group game. Once the kids “caught on” we divided the class into two teams and played. Later, they enjoyed playing the game in small groups or with a partner.
Sounds, parts of speech, categories, rapid automatic naming, and multiple skills are reinforced with this game. When I introduced alphabet categories we played it as a large group game. Once the kids “caught on” we divided the class into two teams and played. Later, they enjoyed playing the game in small groups or with a partner.
What? poster board
How? You will need 2 sheets of poster board of different colors. Cut the poster board into 4” squares. (You will need 23 squares of each color.) On one color print alphabet letters. (Print “u & v” on the same card and “x, y, z” on another card.) On the other color print one of the categories below:
something in the yard an animal
fruit or vegetable movie star
something in the kitchen body part
river, lake, or ocean town or city
country or state a machine
type of transportation a food
something you wear an action
something in the zoo a plant
a toy a book
a song a noun
a famous person a verb
something in the school a game
a TV show a feeling
a color an occupation
restaurant or store something that flies
Shuffle up each set of cards. Draw a card from the “letter pile” and a card from the “category pile.” Encourage the children to make the sound of the letter. Can they think of a word in the category that begins with that sound?
*When introducing this game, simply play it as a shared group activity and do not keep score. As children become more proficient, divide the class into teams and give points to the first team to come up with a word that fits the category. Children may also enjoy playing this game in small groups.
*Adapt the categories to the age and ability of your students. For example, you could use adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, prepositions, mammals, etc. for older students.
something in the yard an animal
fruit or vegetable movie star
something in the kitchen body part
river, lake, or ocean town or city
country or state a machine
type of transportation a food
something you wear an action
something in the zoo a plant
a toy a book
a song a noun
a famous person a verb
something in the school a game
a TV show a feeling
a color an occupation
restaurant or store something that flies
Shuffle up each set of cards. Draw a card from the “letter pile” and a card from the “category pile.” Encourage the children to make the sound of the letter. Can they think of a word in the category that begins with that sound?
*When introducing this game, simply play it as a shared group activity and do not keep score. As children become more proficient, divide the class into teams and give points to the first team to come up with a word that fits the category. Children may also enjoy playing this game in small groups.
*Adapt the categories to the age and ability of your students. For example, you could use adjectives, adverbs, nouns, verbs, prepositions, mammals, etc. for older students.
Here 's an adaptation of "categories" that you can use to develop Rapid Automatized Naming. RAN is the ability to name letters, symbols, words, or objects in a quick and automatic manner and impacts reading fluency.
Write categories on index cards, punch a hole in the cards, and attach to a book ring. If you’ve got a few minutes before lunch or while you’re waiting during other transitions you can flip through the category cards and see how many words children can “pop out.”
*Whisper - Let the whole class participate by whispering as many words as they can.
*Toss and Tell – Throw a beanbag around the group and each child must add a word to the category as they catch the beanbag.
*Brainstorm - Write words on the board as the students call them out.
*Think Time - Give older children 2 or 3 minutes to write all the words they can think of. You could also divide students into partners or small groups to do this.
*Whisper - Let the whole class participate by whispering as many words as they can.
*Toss and Tell – Throw a beanbag around the group and each child must add a word to the category as they catch the beanbag.
*Brainstorm - Write words on the board as the students call them out.
*Think Time - Give older children 2 or 3 minutes to write all the words they can think of. You could also divide students into partners or small groups to do this.
