trussell cullen alan 50 wonderful word games grades 3 6 (1)

We may choose to play them for those reasons, or we may play word games simply for the pleasure they bring to our children and the joy they spread in our classrooms.. Make your own class

Easy and Entertaining Activities That Build Essential Language-Arts Skills

Teachers may photocopy the reproducible pages in this book for classroom use No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher For information regarding permission, write to Scholastic Inc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Cover design by Jaime Lucero

Cover illustration by Anna Walker

Interior design by Jaime Lucero and Liza Charlesworth for Grafica, Inc.

Interior illustrations by Chris Reed

ISBN 0-590-96559-X

Copyright © 1998 Alan Trussell-Cullen

All rights reserved.

Printed in the U.S.A.

Dedicated to the best word gamesters an d word game guinea pigs I know—my famil y!

Introduction 4

C Ch ha ap ptte err 11:: W We ellc co om me e tto o tth he e W Wo on nd de errffu ull W Wo orrlld d o off W Wo orrd dss Name Chants 7

Silent Circles 8

No, Yes! No, No! 10

Hink Pinks 11

Where’s the Rutabaga? 12

C Ch ha ap ptte err 2 2:: A A T Tiim me e tto o S Sp pe ea ak k,, a a T Tiim me e tto o L Liisstte en n Knock! Knock! 13

Crambo 14

Tongue Twisters 15

Travelers’ Tales 17

Rhyming Ketchup 19

Mystery Letters 20

Mum’s the Word 21

Never-Ending Sentences 22

Toppers 23

C Ch ha ap ptte err 3 3:: T Th he e W Wo orrd d a ass a a W Wo orrk k o off A Arrtt Word Ladders 24

Word Chains 25

Word Piles 26

Word Stacks 27

Telegrams 28

Illustrated Idioms 29

Listomania 31

Squashed Words 32

Cut-Up Poetry 34

Acrostic Poetry 36

Cinquains 37

Word Puzzlers 38

Unravel a Rebus 39

C Ch ha ap ptte err 4 4:: C Ca alllliin ng g A Allll W Wrriitte errss Story Builder 40

Spelling Concentration 42

Treasure Hunt 43

Noisy Punctuation 45

Letter Race 47

Brain Waves 48

Word Starters 49

Ghosts 51

Spell-Aerobics 52

Alpha-Bit-at-a-Time 53

Word Finder 54

C Ch ha ap ptte err 5 5:: T Th hiin nk kiin ng g S Sk kiillllss a an nd d T Th hrriillllss Mashed Potatoes 55

Mystery Verbs 56

Fortunately 57

Riddle-Me-Ree 58

New Names for Old 60

Collectibles 61

Terrific Titles 63

Fictionary 64

Cats and Dogs 66

Categories 68

Famous Folks 70

Aunt Tilly 72

T a b ll ee o f C o n tt ee n tt s

laying games is fundamental to human behavior It’s inour genes! Even babies play games One of their favorites is

“Drop the Rattle Out of the Crib and See How Many Times

You Can Make Your Parents Pick It Up!” Then there’s “How

Much of the Living Room Floor Can I Cover With My Blocks

and Toys?” Of course, when they get older they play

other games, like “How Many Times Can I Get My

Parents to Ask Me to Do Something Without My

Actually Getting Around to Doing It?”

The truth of the matter is that we all play games It’s

how we explore the world and find out who we are

Games are fun, too, and some of the most enjoyable and creative games are theones we play with words The wonderful thing is that they can also be powerfullearning tools

Playing word games is a great way to get to know new people and become able with new surroundings—a new class, a new teacher, or a new school ChapterOne has some wonderful getting-to-know-you games that help with this Wordgames can also help develop oral language, and Chapter Two features great gamesfor developing our speaking and listening skills In addition to using words when wespeak, we write them, too We can make patterns with them and play games withthose patterns Chapter Three has some great games for word-doodling (and, thus,mind-doodling)

comfort-Word games can improve our writing, too They can help us with spelling and mar skills, punctuation, and creativity Maybe writing is a game anyway Don’t wetempt and tease our readers, sometimes surprising them and sometimes reassur-

gram-ing them? Sometimes we strut with our words Sometimes we

inform with our words—or shock or show off or even hidebehind our words The word games in Chapter Four can

hone the skills we need to do all of this

Still, words are much more than the letters weprint on a page or the recognizable speechsounds we cluster together and let tum-ble from our lips Words encode ideas.Games can help us experiment withideas, categorize them, find similaritiesand differences, grid them, dramatize them,combine them with other ideas, and hammer

them into brand-new ideas In Chapter Five we

look at brain-stretching word games that do all

this and more Throughout this book we have

also included under the heading Try This!

addi-tional language arts activities and projects that

develop vocabulary and build skills

So the word games in this book assist with many

important learning skills We may choose to play

them for those reasons, or we may play word games

simply for the pleasure they bring to our children

and the joy they spread in our classrooms

Beyond their fun and linguistic value, word games contribute to much more plex and important parts of our education They teach us about life They offer thatwonderful combination of freedom and responsibility—the chance to be creative andtake risks while obeying the rules

com-The fact that games are enjoyable and even somewhat addictive may bring anotherpowerful and perhaps more pervasive benefit to our classrooms If our childrenreally enjoy playing a game, they won’t just play it at school They’ll play it when-ever they have spare time and wherever they happen to be—at school or at home

In other words, they’ll continue to practice the skills implicit in the game long afterthe classroom session is over

Think of it! They’ll be learning when they don’t even know they’re learning Theymight become so excited about these games that they turn off the TV and tune in instead to the people and the world around them This could prove to be the start

Words—

Hear them! Say them!

Think them! Play them!

Whisper them! Exclaim them!

Conceal them! Proclaim them!

Words—

Murmur them, mumble them, Burble them, jumble them Sing them and shout them Just daydream about them Words—

Taste them, smell them Scribble them, spell them Savor and relish them Adorn them, embellish them Adapt them, invent them, Change what is meant by them Words—

Act them, mime them Rhythm and rhyme them Print them, type them Holler and hype them Match and marry them Cash and carry them Words—

They’re treasure-trove and plunderful They’re hip hooray and fun-for-all They’re rag-bag and blunderful They’re mind blown-asunder-ful They’re lightning and thunderful!

Yes

I guess Words are just wonderful!

N a m ee C h a n tt s

About the Game

TTh hiiss a ac cttiiv viitty y m ma ak ke ess iitt e ea assy y ffo orr c ch hiilld drre en n tto o g ge ett tto o k

kn no ow w o on ne e a an no otth he err’’ss n na am me ess a an nd d ffe ee ell c co om mffo orrtta ab blle e a

ass a a g grro ou up p

How-To’s

Everyone sits facing inward in a circle It’s a goodidea for you to take part in order to model theactions

Explain that all of you are going to introduceyourselves by name (Children can use firstnames You may do the same or use Ms./Mr andyour last name.)

Begin by setting up this pattern of activity: Slowly,clap your hands twice, pat your knees twice, and then extend your handstwice in a giving gesture (palms up), at the same time chanting your name (forexample, Jennifer! Jennifer! or Ms Adams! Ms Adams!)

The class now repeats the whole pattern with you, including the chant of yourname

The next child in the circle now goes through the pattern, chanting his or hername (Clap! Clap! Knees! Knees! Hands/Name! Hands/Name!), and then every-one repeats it And so it continues around the circle

When the name-chanting has gone full circle, you start again This time, ever, you only do the two claps and two knee-taps to establish the rhythm.Everyone else follows, chanting each person’s name in turn: Clap! Clap! Knees!Knees! Jennifer! Jennifer! David! David! William! William! Josh! Josh! Linda!Linda!, etc

how-Skills: Developsself-confidence,social skills, and classrapport

Players: Largegroup or whole class

Materials: None

Have your children check out the library or media center to find poemsabout words Make your own class collection called Poems About Words.What about writing some class poems about word play, word fun, wordgames, and any other kind of wacky wordery? (The poem on page 6 canget you started!)

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a a w wo orrd d g ga am me e tth ha att iiss p plla ay ye ed d w wiitth ho ou utt w

wo orrd dss!! TTh he e m ma aiin n v va allu ue e o off tth he e g ga am me e— —a ap pa arrtt ffrro om m tth he e ffu un n o off p plla ay yiin ng g iitt— —iiss tth ha att iitt e en nc co ou urra ag ge ess c

ch hiilld drre en n tto o a ap pp prre ec ciia atte e w wh hy y w we e h ha av ve e w wo orrd dss a

Of course, because this is a circle, it won’t have a start or a finish A child whohas a birthday in December (or the end of the year) will come before a childwho has a birthday in January (or the start of the year)

To form the circle, children have to find out everyone else’s birthday

However—and this is the important rule—they must do it without speaking.They can use sign language, frame letters and numbers with their hands, oreven use their fingers to write a month or number on the back of someoneelse’s hand It’s up to the children to decide the best strategy

You may find it a good idea to join in the game You can model some of thestrategies if children seem to be stuck (In that case, of course, you aren’tallowed to speak, either!)

After all the children have found their places in the circle, a good way to plete the game is for the children to all sit down at the same time The childwith the first birthday in the year can give some kind of signal

Players: Largegroups or whole class

Start a collection called Greetings from Around the World

Have children write the greetings in speech bubbles and pin them on theappropriate country (or countries) on a map of the world

In addition to formal greetings (“Good morning,” “Bonjour”), include someinformal ones, too (“Hi”—USA; “How’s it going, Mate?”—Australia; “Top of themorning to you”—Ireland)

Encourage children to use the greetings with one another

Model them yourself—when taking attendance, for example

Help children find out more about the country in which the greetings are usedand the people who use them

THI S !

Friendly Greetings from Around the World

S

So om me e G Grre ee ettiin ng gss tto o S Stta arrtt Y Yo ou urr C Co olllle ec cttiio on n

Hello USA, UK, Canada,

Australia, New Zealand Apa kabar [AH-pah KAH-bar] Indonesia

Ciao [chow] Italy Salut [sah-LEW] France Bonjour [bone-JOOR]

Tag, wie geht’s? [TAHG, vee-GETS] Germany Hola [OH-lah] Spain, Mexico Kia ora [KEE-ah OH-rah] Maori, New Zealand Chao [chow] Vietnam

Goede dag [GOO-tuh DAHG] Netherlands Goddag [god-DAH] Denmark Szervusz [SAIR-voos] Hungary

About the Game

TTh hiiss g ga am me e iiss a an n o olld d ffa av vo orriitte e P Plla ay ye errss h ha av ve e tto o lliisstte en n c ca arre effu ulllly y a an nd d b be e tth ho ou ug gh httffu ull a ab bo ou utt w wh ha att tth he ey y ssa ay y IItt’’ss a allsso o a a g go oo od d g ge ettttiin ng g tto o k kn no ow w y yo ou u g

Player Two must answer all the questions out saying yes or no and without hesitating

with-If Player Two answers all the questions according to the rules, he or she winsthe round If not, Player One wins

Skills: Developsconcentration, self-confidence, socialskills, and listening skills

Players: Pairs(though it is a funspectator game forthe rest of the class)

Touch your left elbow with your right hand.

Touch your right elbow with your left hand.

Touch your hands behind your back.

Touch your hands in front.

About the Game

u de effiin niittiio on nss,, a an nd d a ab bo ov ve e a allll e en njjo oy y tth he e p po ow we err w

wo orrd dss h ha av ve e o ov ve err tth he e w wo orrlld d a arro ou un nd d u uss

How-To’s

One child thinks of a noun (it could be a part

of the body, like a finger; an object, like ashoe; or an animal, like a cat or pig) and anadjective that rhymes with it For example, a

“hink pink,” a “blue shoe,” a “fat cat,” a “bigpig,” or a “wary canary.”

The child then makes up an elaborate definition of the rhyming object Hereare a few examples to share with your class: an ink-stained little finger for an

“inky pinky”; a sky-colored object you keep your feet in for a “blue shoe”; anoverfed feline for a “fat cat”; an enormous lump of living ham for a “big pig”; acautious caged bird of yellow hue for a “wary canary.”

The other players now have to guess what the object is

Variation

Encourage children to write their Hink Pinks definitions on a class Hink PinksDisplay Board Other children can write their answers on a piece of paper andpin them up alongside the definitions Later on, the inventor can check themout and announce the real answer You might encourage children to publishtheir own books of Hink Pinks (with the answers on the back page)

Skills: Developsvocabulary, use of gram-mar terms like noun andadjective, and publishingskills

Players: Pairs, groups,

pajama taboo ballet muesli balcony schooner yacht

Get children to help you find more words borrowed from other languages, and add them

to the list Put up a map of the world, and see if children can find enough borrowedwords in the English language to take them around the world

About the Game

One player is chosen for questioning

The other players put their heads gether to come up with a suitable open-ing question such as “Where’s therutabaga?”

to-They now chant the question at the player, who can make up any plausibleanswer Then, the questioners turn thereply into another question, and so itgoes on, as in the following exchange:

Q

Qu ue estiio on ners s:: Where’s the rutabaga?

P Plla ay ye er r:: In the fridge.

Q

Qu ue estiio on ners s:: But where’s the fridge?

P Plla ay ye er r:: In the kitchen.

Q

Qu ue estiio on ners s:: But where’s the kitchen?

P Plla ay ye er r:: In the house.

This continues until the questioners decide it’s time to test the player’s

memo-ry They then spring the original question on the player—in this case, “Where’sthe rutabaga?” Now the player has to be able to run back through all theresponses given so far, in reverse order:

Q

Qu ue estiio on ners s:: Where’s the rutabaga?

P Plla ay ye er r:: In the house, in the kitchen, in the fridge.

After children have played the game a few times, the excitement mounts asthey wait for the memory test!

Of course, the game would become very predictable if it always started withthe question, “Where’s the rutabaga?” So the questioners need to dream upsomething different each time This can be a lot of fun, too

Skills: Develops zation skills, ability to concen-trate and generate ideas inlogical sequence, familiaritywith sets and subsets in math-ematics, social skills, andclass rapport

memori-Players: Pairs, or, better,large groups of up to 12

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a a ssiim mp plle e p pu un n ffu un n g ga am me e tth ha att m mo osstt p pe eo op plle e h

ha av ve e p plla ay ye ed d a att sso om me e ttiim me e B Be essiid de ess tth he e lla au ug gh htte err iitt c

ca an n c crre ea atte e,, iitt h ha ass tth he e e ed du uc ca attiio on na all m me erriitt o off e

en nc co ou urra ag giin ng g c ch hiilld drre en n tto o p plla ay y w wiitth h w wo orrd dss IItt c ca an n b

be e a an n iin ntte erre essttiin ng g c clla assss p pu ub blliissh hiin ng g p prro ojje ec ctt,, tto oo o

rela-When they have a good store of jokes, the game can begin!

One player starts by declaring “Knock! Knock! ”

Another player answers “Who’s there?”

Player One may now come up with something like

At this point, everyone groans and someone else starts up with “Knock! Knock! .”Here are some more examples to start the ball rolling:

Skills: Listeningskills, word study, andpublishing skills

Players: Pairs, but itworks best when there is an audience

to enjoy the puns

About the Game

TTh hiiss g ga am me e iiss c ce errtta aiin nlly y a an n o olld d ffa av vo orriitte e IItt’’ss b be ee en n a

am mu ussiin ng g a an nd d e en ntte errtta aiin niin ng g p pe eo op plle e ffo orr h hund drre ed dss o off y

ye ea arrss IIn n ffa ac ctt,, iin n 1 1660 0 S Sa am mu ue ell P Pe ep py yss w wrro otte e iin n h hiiss d

diia arry y a ab bo ou utt p plla ay yiin ng g C Crra am mb bo o o on n a a h ho orrsse e d drra aw wn n c

co oa ac ch h rriid de e

How-To’s

One player thinks of a secret word (let’s say

it is hand) and writes it down on a piece of

paper

The player then thinks of a wordthat rhymes with the secret word

(for example, band) and

announces to the group, Ihear, with my Crambo ear,something that rhymes with .band!

The player now asks the otherchildren in the group what theythink the Crambo word is

The child who guesses correctlygets to think of the next Cramboword

TH IS !

Put up a poster on the classroom wall with a heading like the title

of this box Better still, make up your own When a child uses orcomes across an interesting or unusual word, make a fuss aboutit—and then write it on the poster Better still, use the word andmake a stupendous fuss when one of your children uses it!

Cool Words in Our Classroom

Players: Groups

of four to eight

Materials: Writingmaterials

About the Game

Then the Timekeeper calls “Go!” andthe player has to say the tongue twister

as many times as possible in oneminute The rest of the group counts how many times the awkward utterance

Players: Any number fromtwo to the whole class—agood audience game

Materials: None

S

So om me e TTo on ng gu ue e TTw wiisstte errss tto o S Stta arrtt Y Yo ou urr C Clla assss C Co olllle ec cttiio on n

The sixth sheik’s sixth sheep’s sick.

Such pranks Frank’s prawns play in the tank.

Some shun sunshine.

What noise annoys a noisy oyster? A noisy noise annoys a noisy oys ter.

Mo orre e TTo on ng gu ue e TTw wiisstte errss ffo orr Y Yo ou urr C Clla assss C Co olllle ec cttiio on n

How much wood would a w ood chuck chuck

if a wood chuck could chuck w ood?

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers;

A peck of pickled peppers P eter Piper picked;

If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, How many pickled peppers did P eter Piper pick?

To tutor two tooters to t oot?

She sells seashells by the seashore, The shells she sells are seashells, I’m sure, For if she sells seashells by the seashore, Then I’m sure she sells seashore shells.

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a an no otth he err g go oo od d g ga am me e ffo orr e en nc co ou urra ag giin ng g c

ch hiilld drre en n tto o lliisstte en n tto o lle etttte err sso ou un nd dss a an nd d lle ea arrn n tth he eiirr a allp ph ha ab be ett,, w wh hiille e a att tth he e ssa am me e ttiim me e iim mp prro ov v iin ng g tth he eiirr ssk kiillllss w wiitth h rre effe erre en nc ce e tto oo ollss ssu uch a ass d diic c ttiio on na arriie ess a an nd d a attlla asse ess TTh he ey y m ma ay y a allsso o p piic ck k u up p sso om me e g ge eo og grra ap ph hy y a allo on ng g tth he e w wa ay y

How-To’s

Write on the chalkboard or on large cards thefollowing questions and a model answer:

((E Ex xa am mp plle e:: L Le et tt ter C C ))

Where are you going?

I’m going to Chicago

(proper noun)

What will you do there?

Catch some crazy cats.

(verb) (adjective) (noun)

Use the following method to give everyone in the group aletter of the alphabet Choose one child—let’s say his

name is Miguel Let him keep the letter m, and then go

around the rest of the class assigning each child a letter of

the alphabet starting from n (You may wish to omit such ters as q, x, and z.) When you reach the end of the alpha- bet, start over with a until everyone has a letter.

let-Children have to come up with answers that use theirassigned letter They can consult the atlas (or worldmap) and dictionary to help them

When everyone has finished, the whole groupasks each child in turn (in this case, startingwith Miguel), “Where are you going?” Miguel mayanswer, “Mexico.”

The group then asks, “What will you do there?”

Miguel: Munch lots of marvelous melons!

dic-Players: Large groups

or whole class

Materials: Pencil,paper, dictionary, andatlas or world map

Some words are just plain delicious to say Saying them is a tactile experience! Talkabout this with children Share your own favorite words, and encourage them tostart a class list of Great Words to Say

Here are a few of my favorites:

flimsy quip (and just about every other word that starts with Q) appendectomy

filch spindle fickle freckle sizzle salami spaghetti

About the Game

one-syllable word, such as red

The ball is then handed (not thrown!) to thenext player, who has to say a word that

rhymes with the first one—for example, bed.

The ball is passed to the next player foranother rhyme, and so on

Only the first word needs to be a one-syllableword After that, players can use as many

syllables as they like—for example, forehead,

or interpreted!

Players have to come up with the rhyming word the moment the object ishanded to them If a player can’t think of one, or fails to say it at once, therest of the group looks at him or her and says (kindly) “Oh! Ketchup!”

The player is now allowed to start a new round This time they might begin

with hot or fun or .

TH IS !

Each day, choose one word that you want to give VIW (Very Important Word) status

It might be a word related to something the class is studying at the moment or to anexperience the children have had recently Write it in big letters on the chalkboard,along with a definition, a sentence in which it’s used, and some clues as to how topronounce it

Our Word of the Day: Motivate

To make someone very keen to do something.

“She likes watching runners on TV because it can motivate her to work even harder at her own training.”

How to say it: MOH-ti-vate.

Word of the Day

Players: Any numberfrom four to the wholeclass

Materials: a Tennisball (or other object) topass around the groupand dictionary (to check out any wordsunder dispute)

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a a g grre ea att g ga am me e tth ha att h he ellp pss c ch hiilld drre en n ffo oc cu uss o

on n lle etttte err sso ou un nd dss!!

If the mystery letter is m, the game might go on

like this:

Player: Uma, do you live in the town or the country?

Uma: The country.

Player: That’s terrible! Ranjit, what time did you have breakfast today?

Player: That’s terrific!

The game continues until someone guesses the mystery letter

Skills: Listeningskills, spelling skills, andphonic awareness

Players: Any ber from two to thewhole class

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a an n “ “e elliim miin na attiio on n” ” g ga am me e tth ha att c ch hiilld drre en n c ca an n p

plla ay y a an ny ywhe erre e— —a att ssc ch ho oo oll,, o on n a a b bu uss,, a att h ho om me e w

wiitth h tth he e ffa am miilly y,, e ev ven a att p pa arrttiie ess

How-To’s

Together, the class picks a small word that is

used frequently in conversation—such as the,

and, that, or only This is declared to be the

“mum” word, a word no one can speak

One child is chosen to be the Mum’s the Wordtester He or she goes around the

group asking questions andtrying to trick the otherplayers into saying theforbidden word Anyplayer who does say itdrops out The gamecontinues until there isone “winner” left

About the Game

How-To’s

One child sets the game in motion by saying aword that could come at the start of a sentence

For example: “Once …”

Player One now points to another player, whohas to say the next word in this group-generatedsentence: “…upon…”

Player Two points to someone else, who has to carry on from there: “…a…”

And so the game goes on until the current player thinks the sentence has gone

on long enough or can’t think of a way of continuing it He or she thendeclares, “And they all lived happily ever after!”

Now another player is chosen to start a new sentence

Skills: Listeningskills, concentration,sentence-buildingskills, and social skills

Players: Anynumber from six tothe whole class

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a a lliiv ve elly y w wo orrd d p plla ay y a an nd d lla an ng gu ua ag ge ssttrre ettc ch hiin ng g g ga am me e IItt m ma ay y ttu urrn n y yo ou urr c clla assss iin ntto o tth he e w wo orrlld d’’ss b be esstt e ex xa ag gg ge erra atto orrss!!

e How-To’s

First, the group decides on a quality or anaction (see below for some suggestions) Let’ssay the group decides on the action “snores

so loudly.”

The first player, Patty, invents a fictitious relative or other character Let’s say she chooses an Aunty Flo: “My Aunty Flosnores so loudly that pictures fall off the wall!”

She now chooses Dave as the next player, and he has to try to

“top” her story: “My Uncle Don snores so loudly that

he keeps himself awake!”

The next player says “My Cousin Jim snores soloudly that the people next door put up theirstorm windows!”

The players continue until someone gets stuck

or everyone is laughing too much Then thegroup chooses a new quality or action, and thegame goes on

is so clumsy is so untidy is so noisy

is so forgetful is so smart is so mean

Some Toppers to Get You Started

Skills: Brainstorming,imaginative writing, andcreativity

Players: Pairs, groups,

or the whole class

About the Game

LLe ew wiiss C Ca arrrro ollll iiss c crre ed diitte ed d w wiitth h iin nv venttiin ng g tth hiiss g

ga am me e M Ma ay yb be e tth ha att’’ss w wh hy y iitt sse ee em mss tto o tta ak ke e y yo ou u iin ntto o a an n A Alliic ce e’’ss W Wo on nd de errlla an nd d w wh he erre e c ca attss c ca an n ttu urrn n iin ntto o d do og gss,, w wo orrk k iin ntto o p plla ay y,, a an nd d m mo orrn niin ng g iin ntto o e ev ve en niin ng g!!

How-To’s

If playing on their own, children start withtwo words that have the same number of let-ters (You may assign the words, or childrenmay choose their own.) One word is the top

of the ladder, where they start, and the other

is the bottom of the ladder, where they hope to end up How about cat and dog?

Children try to think of a word that differs by one letter from the top word If

possible, the new letter should be in the bottom-rung word: for example, cot.

(With some words, especially longer ones, this direct route may not be ble So it’s a good idea to use tested words.)

possi-Children change one letter at a time Each change must make a real word:

CAT COT COG DOG

Some other examples include turning a HAND into a FOOT:

HAND HIND FIND FOND FONT FOOT

You can also turn the MOON into a STAR:

MOON LOON LOOK BOOK BOOT BOAT BOAR SOAR STAR

For the group version of Word Ladders, assign the same starting and finishingwords to all groups Children in each group work together to see who can befirst to complete the word ladder

Tip: Start with words of only three or four letters You don’t have to finishword ladder in one sitting Set some word-ladder pairs as puzzles, and see ifthe children can solve them in their spare time A challenging word laddermight take days to complete—or prove impossible! You might have childrencontribute their word ladders to a class book Also encourage them to play thisgame at home with their friends and families Want some examples to start

with? Try turning flour into bread, or walker into runner, or cold into heat.

Skills: Spelling skills,and dictionary skills

Players: Individuals,pairs, or groups

Materials: Writingmaterials and dictio-nary

About the Game

TTh hiiss ssiim mp plle e g ga am me e m ma ay y b be e p plla ay ye ed d iin n a a ssp po ok ke en n o orr iin n w wrriitttte en n ffo orrm m

How-To’s

In the spoken version, one player startsthe game by saying any

word—for example, “cat.”

The next player has tosay a word that

starts with the lastletter of the previ-ous player’s word

With cat, the last letter is t, so the next player

might say “table.”

The next player does the same, this time looking for

a word that starts with e—for example, elephant.

The game continues like this It can stop whenexhaustion sets in!

The written version is the same, except that the wordsare written on a sheet of paper that is passed from player toplayer

Variation: Whole-Class Word Chains

Everyone in the class has a sheet of paper of the same size and writes a word

on it at the same time

When everyone is ready, each child passes his or her paper to the closestchild Each player writes a word starting with the last letter of the word on thesheet of paper he or she received Then, when everyone’s ready, they pass thepapers on again

This goes on until the players get their own sheet of paper back

Tip: These word chains can make very interesting classroom displays

Perhaps your class can invent a word chain that will go around all four walls

of your classroom, or even right down the school corridor!

Skills: Spelling skills,dictionary skills, andphonic awareness

Players: Pairs,groups, or whole class

Materials: aDictionary and writingmaterials for the writ-ten version

About the Game

TTh hiiss g ga am me e iiss a ass ssiim mp plle e a ass c ca an n b be e,, y ye ett e

ev ve erry yone e llo ov ve ess iitt M Ma ay yb be e tth ha att ssa ay yss sso om me tth hiin ng g a ab bo ou utt ssiim mp plliic ciitty y!!

from the alphabet except k, x, y, or z To

make a random choice, the Umpire couldopen a book with eyes closed, touch a fin-ger to the page, and pick the letter closest

to the finger

The Umpire announces the letter andstarts the timer Everyone begins to writedown as many words as possible that startwith that letter

If players are not sure about the spelling of

a word, they put a question mark after it

When five minutes are up, the Umpiresays “Stop!” The players now have oneminute in which they can use their dictio-naries to check—and, if necessary—correctthe spelling of any questioned words Thefirst player to do this says “Finished!” TheUmpire declares “Time’s up!” and all theplayers have to stop

The players now change papers with oneanother and use a dictionary to check thatthe words are spelled correctly They writethe correct spelling beside any incorrectlyspelled words, then count up how manywords the player spelled correctly Thetotal is that player’s score for the game,and the child with the highest score is thewinner of the round

Players: Pairs, groups,

or whole class

Materials: Writingmaterials; dictionary;and a timer, watch, orclock with a secondhand

About the Game

TTh hiiss g ga am me e iiss ssiim miilla arr tto o W Wo orrd d P Piille ess b bu utt h ha ass a a ffe ew w ssu ub bttlle e d diiffffe erre en nc ce ess TTrry y b bo otth h— —tth he ey y’’rre e g grre ea att ssp pe elllliin ng g g ga am me ess a an nd d ffu un n tto o p plla ay y

How-To’s

Choose an Umpire to be time manager anddispute settler

The Umpire chooses a letter—any letter at all

Players now have five minutes to write down asmany words as possible that don’t start withthe chosen letter but do include it somewhere

For example, if the chosen letter is g, players can’t use good or garden but can use hug or

cho-words If g is the letter, a word like bigger

would score two points, while digging would be

worth three points and zigzagging four!

Players: Pairs, groups,

or whole class

Materials: Writingmaterials; one dictionaryper player; and a timer,watch, or clock with asecond hand

About the Game

TTh hiiss ssiim mp plle e g ga am me e w wiillll sse en nd d c ch hiilld drre en n ssc cu urrrry yiin ng g tto o tth he eiirr d diic cttiio on na arriie ess iin n sse ea arrc ch h o off w wo orrd dss tto o c co om m p

plle ette e tth he eiirr tte elle eg grra am mss

How-To’s

Select a word to start the game One way to dothis is to open a book or magazine, close youreyes, and place your finger on the page If thenearest word to your finger has more than fourletters, use it If it doesn’t, choose again

Another way is to choose a word that islinked to a topic you are studying or is insome other sense significant to the class

If you’re really stuck, you can always chooseone of the following “all rounders.”

G

Go oo od d T Te elle eg gr ra am m W Wo or rds

5 letters 6 letters 7 letters 7+ letters sport summer America mathematics earth winter silence conservation happy people daytime communication peace animal traffic automobile music school giraffe television water friend stories swimming

The players have to use the letters from the word to make up a telegram.Their first word must start with the first letter, the second word with the sec-ond letter, and so on Some examples follow:

ANIMAL: A New Invention Makes Alligators Lovable WATER: Why All Tigers Enjoy Rhubarb

MUSIC: Maestro’s Uncle Still In Choir

Like ordinary telegrams, the language can be “telescoped”—that is, verbs andother words (as well as punctuation) can be left out as long as the meaning isclear The telegram doesn’t have to make too much sense because half the fun

in this game is getting the writer to explain what he or she actually meant!When everyone is finished, or after an agreed time limit, the telegrams are readaloud and displayed for everyone else to read

Players: Individuals,pairs, groups, or wholeclass

Materials: Writingmaterials and a dictio-nary per player

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a a g grre ea att o op pp po orrttu un niitty y ffo orr ssttu ud de en nttss w wh ho o h

ha av ve e sso om me e d drra aw wiin ng g a ab biilliitty y tto o ssh hiin ne e IItt w wiillll a

allsso o ssp pa arrk k e ev ve erry y c ch hiilld d’’ss iin ntte erre esstt iin n tth he e w

wo orrd dss a an nd d e ex xp prre essssiio on nss tth he ey y u usse e e ev ve erry y d

da ay y

How-To’s

This game can extend over several days,enabling children to take part wheneverthey have spare time For example, youmight begin a game on Monday and checkanswers on Friday

Before starting, explain that idioms arecolorful expressions we use every day,such as “He ran off at the mouth” and

“Her name rang a bell.”

One player thinks of an idiom, like “It wasraining cats and dogs.” She or he thendraws a picture depicting this literally

The player puts the picture on the displayboard Underneath it, pin a large, sealedenvelope that you have cut a small slit in

(The slit should be long enough for asmall piece of paper to fit through.) The other children now try to guess theidiom Each writes his or her guess on aslip of paper and slips it into the envelope

(With the sealed envelope, no one knowswhat others have guessed until the gameconcludes.)

At the end of the week (or when youdecide to end the game), the envelope isopened and there is great amusement asthe answers are read aloud to the class

Players: Large groups

or whole class

Materials: Drawingmaterials, display space

or display board, andsealable pre-slitenvelopes

differ-Our Letter F Collection

S

So om me e W We eiirrd d a an nd d W Wa ac ck ky y IId diio om mss tto o S Stta arrtt E Ev ve erry yo on ne e TTh hiin nk kiin ng g

He bit off more than he could chew.

She completely lost her head.

She was over the moon.

He had a finger in several pies.

I have a bone to pick with you.

He thought he was the cat’s pajamas.

Keep this under your hat.

He thinks he’s the big cheese around here.

The cat got her tongue.

We’re up the creek without a paddle.

She was on cloud nine.

About the Game

TTh hiiss iiss a a ssiim mp plle e rra ac ciin ng g g ga am me e tth ha att d de elliiv ve errss e ex xc m

ciitt me en ntt w wh hiille e h he ellp piin ng g tto o e ex xtte en nd d w wo orrd d ffllu ue en nc cy y

How-To’s

This list-building game requires children tothink of words that have something in com-mon For example, the list words might allhave double letters, have more than twovowels, or refer to something you find in ashopping mall

Either you or the children decide on thecommon feature You might have childrenwrite suggestions on pieces of paper and putthem into a container Then have a childchoose one at random

Set a time limit—say 10 minutes—and allow children to write as fast as theycan

When time’s up, the players all exchange lists to check that the words followthat round’s set rule and are spelled correctly This is where the dictionariescome into play! If a word is spelled wrong, it doesn’t count

The winner is the player with the most words

Skills: Vocabularyextension and

spelling skills

Players: Groups ofthree to six

Materials: Writingmaterials and onedictionary per child

About the Game

en njjo oy ye ed d m ma ak kiin ng g u up p w wo orrd dss ssu uc ch h a ass sslliitth hy y

((sslliim my y aan nd d lliitth he e)) aan nd d m miim mssy y ((m miisse erra ab blle e

Players can use the following categories tohelp them:

new creatures (animals of all kinds, monsters)

new plants (flowers, fruits, vegetables, etc.)

new gadgets (machines, vehicles, appliances, etc.)

new recreations (sports, hobbies, pastimes)

miscellaneous (anything combined with anything!)Each team picks a category and draws up a list of things that belong to thecategory Then they choose the most unlikely pairs and see if they can make

up an interesting new word by combining the first part of one word with thelast part of the other A new creature, for example, might be a cross between adog and a centipede—a dogipede or a centipog! A new plant might be a fruitcalled a cabapple (a cross between a cabbage and a pineapple) A new gadgetmight be a spork (a cross between a spoon and a fork)

When the teams have decided on their creations, they write the name on onesheet of paper and draw what they think it would look like on another

When both teams have finished, they exchange their papers and have fun ing to match up the words and pictures

Players: Pairs or groups

Materials: Paper(same-size sheets), pens

or pencils, and crayons orfelt pens

Make Your Own Acronyms

Sometimes we make words out of the first letters of a number of words—for ple, Scuba (Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) We also talk aboutUFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects), read in the newspaper about NATO (NorthAtlantic Treaty Organization), and take tests called SATs (Scholastic Aptitude Tests).Start your own class collection of acronyms Then make a puzzle out of them, andsee if children can guess what the letters stand for

exam-Perhaps your class could have some fun making up their own acronyms Forexample, instead of Working In Groups children might have WIGs You might askchildren to put their work on the FAP (Finished Assignment Pile) Some of your chil-dren may not go home after school but attend an ASP (After-School Program).Any other ideas?

TH IS !

spoon + fork = spork

centipede + dog = centipog

About the Game

TTh hiiss m ma ay y sso ou un nd d lliik ke e m ma ay yh he em m w wiitth h w wo orrd dss,, a

an nd d iin n a a w wa ay y iitt iiss H Ho ow we ev ve err,, iitt a allsso o h he ellp pss c

ch hiilld drre en n tth hiin nk k iin ntte en nttlly y a ab bo ou utt lla an ng gu ua ag ge e,, w

wo orrd d b by y w wo orrd d,, a an nd d m ma ay yb be e tth ha att iiss tth he e b

be eg giin nn niin ng g o off rre ea all p po oe ettrry y m ma ak kiin ng g

How-To’s

Each child takes one or more pages fromthe newspaper and magazine supply

Children cut out individual words that

strike their fancy—little words like to and

of and in and big words like expeditious

and querulous and firefighter.

Each child puts the chosen words into his

or her paper bag

When everyone has a reasonable number,they shake up the words to mix them up Then they pull out words one at atime

When children think they have enough words for a poem, they try organizingthem into whatever poetic shape seems suitable

When a child is happy with the result, he or she glues them in place ontopaper or posterboard Voilà! There’s a Cut-Up Poem!

Children can read their Cut-Up Poems to one another The results can be veryfunny, or they may have a haunting mood or meaning

Encourage children to talk about how these random collections of words affectthem How do the poems make them feel? What kind of thoughts do theyinspire?

Players: Individuals,pairs, or groups

Materials: papers or magazines,scissors, paper bags,glue, and posterboard

or make a pattern by stacking:

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

or make a word-square pattern:

About the Game

P

Po oe ettss o offtte en n p plla ay y w wiitth h tth he e llo oo ok k o off w wo orrd dss o on n tth he e p pa ag ge e,, a an nd d sso om me ettiim me ess tth ha att ssh ha ap pe e c co on n ttrriib bu utte ess tto o tth he e m me ea an niin ng g A Ac crro ossttiic c p po oe ettrry y iiss o

on ne e k kiin nd d o off v viissu ua all w wo orrd d p plla ay y

IIn n a ad dd diittiio on n tto o a ac crro ossttiic c p po oe em mss a an nd d c ciin nq qu ua aiin nss ((sse ee e p pa ag ge e 3 37 7)),, tth he erre e a arre e o otth he err w wa ay yss tto o ssh ha ap pe e a

a p po oe em m Y Yourr c clla assss m miig gh htt lliik ke e tto o sstta arrtt a a c co lle ec cttiio on n o off ssh ha ap pe ed d p po oe em mss— —b bo otth h tth he eiirr o ow wn n a

oll an nd d tth ho osse e o off o otth he err p pe eo op plle e F Fo orr sstta arrtte errss,, LLe ew wiiss C

Ca arrrro ollll a an nd d e e e e c cu um mm miin ng gss a arre e ttw wo o g go oo od d sso ou urrc ce ess

How-To’s

Explain that poets often use visual shapes

or visual tricks to help organize theirpoems Acrostic poetry is one kind of trick-ery anyone can try

Have children choose a topic and a key word that sums up that topic You maywish to help with suggestions

Children vertically write the key word down the page Then for each letter theythink of a word starting with that letter that has some connection with thesubject, as in this example:

G Ghoulish H

Haunting O

Odd S Sinister T Terrifying S

Only sound I hear is my own breathing N

Not a soul in the whole house E

Players: Individuals,pairs, or groups

Materials: Examples

of shaped poems lished and perhaps yourown)