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Teaching Tips April 2010 |
Games are a great way to practice key skills without overwhelming the child with tedious drill. They have several advantages:
• they work with all sorts of learners • they can be used to break up the routine of worksheets and textbooks • they can give active children a chance to move around • by using other senses, they can increase the likelihood that the material will “stick” in long-term memory There are many good educational games available that reinforce the basic, vital skills in each subject area. You can find many of these through one of our sponsors, HomeschoolingBooks.com, by doing an advanced search by subject and using the Item Type of "Other." If you want to practice a specific skill, here's an easy way to develop your own game. Use a standard file folder, either manila or color. You can use the tab to write the name of the game (or skill being practiced). You will need some sort of playing piece. You can borrow one from a game you already have or use a small object such as a dime. You will also need a spinner (either color-coded or with numbers) or dice. Decide what specific skills are to be included in the game. Let's say your child is having trouble identifying the parts of speech – nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Create a game board design on the inside of the file folder. You can do this in several ways: drawing your own design with squares or colored circles. Colored circles are probably the easiest since you can find these in the labels section of your local office supply store. Place the different colored circles around the file folder in a random pathway, making sure you mark the starting and ending points. For more interest, you can add chutes, ladders, short-cuts, or squares that send the player back to the beginning. On each circle write a letter code for the parts of speech you want to practice, using the same color for the same part of speech: N = noun (red), V = verb (green) , ADJ = adjective (blue) , and ADV = adverb (yellow). The child will use the spinner or dice to move around the game board. When he lands on a circle, he must give an example of the part of speech listed. If he misses, then he moves back three spaces. The point of the game is to see how quickly he can reach the ending point. If you are unsure about your ability to know if the word the child gives is correct, then you can make up a card deck of possible answers using a dictionary or language arts textbook. Write the code for the corresponding part of speech on the front of the card and the example on the back. Place all the cards face up (so the word is visible) and mix them up in a draw pile. When the child lands on the colored dot, he must choose a word that matches the part of speech on the dot. To see if he is correct, simply turn the card over. If only one child is playing, the goal is to get to the ending point of the game board as quickly as possible. You can time the game so that the child tries to beat his best time. If more than one child is playing, the winner is the one who reaches the end first. If you have a very active child, you can follow this same procedure, but instead of using colored dots on a file folder, use sheets of colored construction paper. Laminate the sheets if you want to use them over again. Place the sheets in a varied pattern on the floor, throughout several rooms if possible. Then have the child roll the dice or spin the spinner as described earlier, and jump to the corresponding spot on the floor. 656 Words |
