Learning with Literacy Center Games!

       

        Children working together in small groups doing centers is an active time in primary classrooms! One GREAT idea that helps children practice and review reading skills is an engaging, fun game!  We have many types of games that our students ask to play again and again!  

     Here is a new FREEBIE of one of our popular game formats, "C-V-C Roll and Read -Spider Friends". The directions are pretty easy! Students roll a die and record the letter they rolled in the first box.They roll 2 more times and record the middle and ending letters to form a C-V-C word. They write the word again in the box to the right on their recording sheet.  Now they must decide if the word is real or make-believe.  If it is a real word, they circle YES and rainbow write the word by writing over it with 2 or 3 different colored crayons. If it is a nonsense or make-believe word, they circle NO and do not rainbow write it. After filling their whole recording sheet, have the students read their rainbow words!  Depending on your time frame, students can roll and record their words individually OR they can take turns rolling the die but EVERYONE in the group records the same letters. This game provides lots and lots of C-V-C practice in a really fun way! The students don’t realize all the important reading skills they are developing!  Click {HERE} to download this FREEBIE. (This also comes in a B/W version with a Parent letter so you can easily send it home as Homework practice!)

      If you like this game, there are 4 additional game boards available at our TPT store.  Click {Here} to view "C-V-C Valentine Friends" at our store.

     














     A lot of our classroom games are open-ended path games where you can add ANY skill cards you want. The 2 Valentine-themed game boards below are made on poster board and allow you to use any Sight words, letter cards, vocabulary cards, math facts or WHATEVER!  If your students are ability grouped you can differentiate their practice by switching the cards for each group (ie. different sets of Sight words).
     By using the same game board but different cards, your students will think they are ALL playing the same game although the skill levels may be differentiated!

For example: Use Letter cards, C-V-C word cards and Sight Words of different levels. 

How to make these games:
Use a 22"x28" poster board.  Cut into 2 pieces to get two 22"x14" pieces. We used clipart and colored stickers to create one LONG path game that all players move on (I'm Buggy For You Game)! We used clip art and colored stickers to create 3 EQUAL paths where 3-6 players move on the paths with each player using their own game marker(The Owl Game).   We placed the "I'm Buggy For You Game on the BACK of the Owl Game so you get two games on one board! If they finish one side, turn it over and play on the other side using the same cards!  

How to play these games:

Each player needs their own colored game piece/marker/token/chip to move on the path. One die is also needed.  Determine who goes first and that player rolls the die and moves that many spaces. They turn over a card and read it.  Play passes to each of the other players. The first player to reach the end of the path is the winner.  

Remember: The object of ANY learning game is to provide children practice with the targeted skill. Regardless if a student knows the answer or not, they still get to move on the game board. If they do not  know the answer, the adult or helper provides the answer, the child repeats it, and takes their turn!   

    Our games are designed to support children's learning and the roll of the dice or the turn of a card determines whether they win or lose...not because they couldn't read a word or name a letter etc. This makes the game fair because it is based on 'chance' and not on their knowledge. Would you want to play a game if you knew you would most likely LOSE because you didn't know the words?

     Once the students have learned the directions to a game format like Sight Word Bumper (played like Math BUMP) or Swipe or Tricky, they know the directions and can easily play games with the same format.  If they are playing Monkey SWIPE in February, and then play Gold SWIPE in March and Pirate SWIPE in April, in their minds those are different games 'cuz one had monkeys, another had leprechauns, and the third had pirates....different! They say, "Wow, this is a new game!"

Teachers really appreciate that most of our games are EDITABLE so ANY words or letters or math facts etc. can be printed on the game cards so YOUR students get the practice that THEY need.  Note the red arrow on the covers above.  When you see that, you'll know the game is EDITABLE! 

If you are interested in viewing our Learning games click {HERE}

Have fun with learning games!

Jackie and Kylene
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