Multi-Level Enrichment Game (SWRForum.com Sample Resource)
UPDATE: Our Kickstarter Campaign is open for contributions! This project will only be funded if it reaches its goal by Fri, May 6 2022 11:43 AM PDT.
See this post on our Kickstarter page.
If our minimum funding goal is met and we can build the SWR Forum & Resource Center, this is an activity that we are planning to include in the Resource Center. Visit SWRForum.com to make your contribution to our Kickstarter campaign on Friday, April 15, 2022!
Supplies:
- gameboard (Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, etc.)
- place markers
- cards prepared as below
How to play: Cards are face down. Players take turns reading a card and moving the number of spaces indicated on the card. If students get to the end of their stacks of cards before reaching the finish line, shuffle, turn them over and use them again!
Preparation: Write a phonogram or word on each card as well as a number (1-6 or see tips below). The cards may be prepared for individuals or teams working at similar SWR levels.
A co-op teacher shared this resource with me. She was teaching a class with students from a variety of backgrounds in phonics. Some used Spell to Write and Read at home; others did not. There was also a challenge with the age range of 3-8 year olds. Some of the students were learning to read; others were not ready. The youngest team demonstrated their knowledge of colors using the game's traditional color cards. For another team, the teacher marked phonogram cards with a number of spaces to move after reading the phonogram. And for yet another team, words from the WISE Guide spelling sections were simply written on pieces of paper along with the number of spaces to move.
Tips:
- Use mostly phonograms and words your student(s) are confident in reading. Only put in a few that are challenging. If reading the cards is a repeated drudgery, it won't be fun for anyone.
- Multi-level teaching: A different set of cards could be used for each student playing on the same gameboard.
- Have a separate stack of "challenge word cards" that a student could choose instead of the "regular" stack to move a large number of spaces. These cards could have multiple words on them. They could have derivatives of spelling words. For older students who are reading very confidently, these could be words outside the WISE Guide, perhaps sourced from books they are reading or words pertaining to the current unit study.
- While the students were playing, the adults helping noticed that one of the game boards had about a third as many spaces to reach the finish as the others. The students who used this board stayed engaged for the whole game, probably because they did not have as far to go. Students with the longer paths wearied sooner. Perhaps this difference could be overcome by putting larger numbers on the cards so the students move farther with each turn.
- Students could be further engaged by writing a math fact to figure out how many spaces to move after reading a word. Again, these should be facts the student knows confidently or the focus of the game will be different than intended.
- Try boards from different games. Perhaps Chutes & Ladders. Perhaps use the prepared cards instead of dice in Sorry and Trouble.