Nock in the Knowledge-Game of the Week- March 23, 2008

Nock in the Knowledge is a game designed for kids by kids. Sorry you will not find this on any store shelf, at least at this time. Three of my 6th grade students created Nock in the Knowledge in 2007. The boys decided to base the design of the Nock in the Knowledge game board loosely after the layout of our school. I guided the question categories in the areas of antonyms, homographs, figurative language, analogies and descriptions. The boys looked through my books and lists for appropriate examples and actually choose or made up all the questions. They also created a brochure to explain the objective and rules of the game.We worked on the project about once a week for 2-3 months. A lot of work went into this. The kids were so proud of their finished product. The last time the boys and I played (as 7th graders) we realized they all understood the concepts presented and the game was almost too easy for them. Whenever I tell them I used the game with a younger group of kids, I can tell they are pleased.The materials were minimal post it notes, heavy board, card stock and clear contact paper. The questions were produced using excel and the brochure was produced in Microsoft works. Easy as pie and it was an invaluable learning experience. I continue to use the game as an effective therapy tool.

The Original Rules: From the student designed brochureNock in the KnowledgeTests your knowledge in the areas of: Analogies, Antonyms, Identifying descriptions, Homographs, Figurative LanguageObjective: To be the first one to finish the school day without getting in troubleAges: This game is designed for students in grades 5-8Number of Players: 2-6 players can play this game. One person should be the facilitator or person who ask the questions

Rules:

1. Roll the dice to see who goes first

2. Each player takes a turn in a clockwise rotation

3. Place your piece on the “Good Morning Arrow“.

4. Answer a question form the question pile-if there is no fascinator players must take turns asking the questions.

5. If you answer the question correctly roll or spin the die and move that number of spaces.

6. If you answer the question incorrectly go back to the last extra help space.

7. If you land on a green space, follow the directions.

8. If you land on a corner and follow the arrow up or down to the second floorFinishing the GameThe game ends when your game piece lands on the “End of the Day Arrow”. You must answer a question and roll the exact number to land on the “End of the Day Arrow”

Skills Targeted:Understanding in the areas of antonyms, homographs, figurative language, analogies and descriptions, Drawing Inferences/Conclusions, Auditory Comprehension, Vocabulary and Pragmatic skills

Sample Questions:

Smart Mouth-Game of the Week February 17, 2008

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  My students love playing Smart Mouth. The game itself is a little more challenging than you may initially think. The goal is to be the first to generate a word when given the parameters of an initial and final letter. This is one of the games in my collection that I use as a quick, 5-10 minute filler as the beginning or end of therapy.
  
• The Original Rules: Each pair of letters represents the beginning and ending or a word. The player that comes up with the best word receives a certain number of points. A 5 letter word would be worth more points that a 4 letter word. Words that end in ed, er, est or plurals are discouraged.
  

Modified Way to Play:Skills Targeted: vocabulary building, word retrieval and pragmatic skills

• Rather than making this a competition, I have the students take turns.
  
• If the student is unable to come up with an appropriate word, I will either let the others take a guess or move to the next student. It really depends on the student’s level and abilities.
  
• We don’t keep score, when they generate an appropriate word I slide the letter tiles over to them.
  
• Most of the kids either line up their tiles or count their matches. I often run out of time or very nonchalantly mention it is time to clean up. The fun actually seems to be the excitement of generating the word.
  
• I allow the kids to produce 3 letter words.
  
• For most therapy groups, I also let the students use words with common suffixes. I actually may remind them if they are struggling.

Working in the public schools, I often have students who are very language disable. For those students I will just present one letter at time. Most are successful at this level and seem to have fun. If for some reason my more involved students are not having success generating an appropriate word, I may give an extra cue to help them come up with a word.

Such and Such-Game of the Week February 10, 2008

Such and Such is one of the newer games in my collection. The answers come in pairs. Every response is ________ and _______. Such and Such comes from Patch Products. http://www.patchproducts.com/

The Original Rules:Each card contains 5 questions. Teams or individuals take turns reading the questions to each other. If you answer 5 out 5 correctly, you receive 5 points. You can brainstorm but answers must be presented as a pair. Players have 40 seconds to answer 5 questions. If you or your team passes on a clue, you cannot go back. The first team to reach 30 points wins.

Modified Way to Play: Skills Targeted: word relationships, auditory comprehension, pragmatic skills, word retrieval, general knowledge of our culture

• When working with a group I am usually the only one to read the clues and keep score.


• We may play individually or with teams depending on the student’s individual goals.
  
• I usually have to go through several cards to find appropriate cues that the students have a good chance of knowing. That is the one drawback to this game. A junior version would be great.
  
• If necessary, I will rephrase or repeat the cues.
  
• Sometimes I will play the game with them and make it the students against me. That is to show them that the answers are sometimes a little difficult and that I can’t get them all correct. The kids love it when they stump me.
  
• These clues are fairly easy to read. However, if there is a problem I have the students spell out difficult words so I won’t see the answers.
  I like the idea that the students have to come up with 2 related answers. It makes it a little more challenging and the students start to think about words and how they can relate to each other. The relationships vary and involve people, places and things. I have only used the game in therapy for a few weeks and so far, the older students seem to like it. The only drawback is that I have to flip through the cards to find appropriate cues but it is doable. The variety of the cues makes it versatile when working with middle school aged language groups where the abilities of the students often vary. Such and Such is recommended for ages 10 and up.

Sample Descriptions: Click on picture

Blurt Game of the Week January 27, 2008

Blurt is my absolute favorite game to use in therapy. I have actually worn out 2 game boards over the years. We play it a lot at home too.The

Original Rules:Blurt is advertised as a “Game of Word Racing”. The general idea is to be the first to Blurt out the correct answer after a general description. Players take turns reading the descriptions or one person becomes reader. To start someone rolls the dice. The number on the die determines which description to read and how many spaces the first person to Blurt out the answer will move. The player who moves their piece around the board first is the winner.

Skills Targeted: Word Retrieval, Pragmatic skills, Auditory Comprehension
Modified Way to Play:

• I take control of the dice just to save time
• When working with a group I am usually the only one read the description unless I have the older kids working in teams.
• Since my students often have difficulty coming up with the correct answers quickly I play several rounds of individual Blurt to get them moving around the board.
• Then I throw in a few “True Blurt” rounds just to add a little variety and excitement to the game. This means we play Blurt using the original rules to the game. Obviously, I am very careful to make sure that none of the students will feel bad or get upset if they are not successful. If I note this happening I switch quickly back to individual Blurt.
• I only choose descriptions that I feel the student has a reasonable chance of getting correct and may go through several cards in the process.
• Depending on the abilities of the student, I may rephrase or repeat the description, emphasize specific words or give an additional clue.
• If I only have one student with me, we will take turns reading the descriptions to each other. This is still fun and targets individual needs.
• If the student has difficulty reading the descriptions, I instruct them to cover the answer with their thumb and show it to me.
• Sometimes I will use the cards without the game board as a quick word retrieval activity.

I try to make sure the kids are laughing and having fun. Everyone gets lots of turns when we play Blurt and lots of chances to work on their specific needs. You can pace Blurt to move quickly or slow it down for students who need it. Blurt comes with two sets of question cards, a junior version targeting the 7-9 age group and an version recommended for 10-adult. This makes it extremely versatile with middle school aged language groups where the abilities of the students often vary.

Sample Descriptions:

Junior VersionA large, round fruit with a thick, orange rind, used for making pies and jack-o-lanterns.A place with runways where aircraft can land and take off.Someone who cuts and sell meat.Older VersionA long plank balanced on a support in the middle.Someone who makes things out of iron, such as horseshoes.To learn by heart.