WordBurst-Game of The Week March 8, 2008

Word Burst is a game I purchased through LinguiSystems, a company that specializes in speech and language materials. Word Burst is a word recall game. This game provides word retrieval practice using three main techniques: Visual Imagery, Synonyms, Word Association and Sound/Letter Cueing. I use this game with groups, teams and individuals. I may use this game as a quick 5 minute filler or for a whole session. I have been able to easily modify this game to fit with all levels and disabilities.

The Original Rules:The game consists of 100 cards, 25 in each of the categories mentioned above. Each card has 10 examples. To play the game you pick a category and place it in the red plastic sleeve, which makes the words visible. Then ask:

Visual Imagery Cards-Name all the things you might see in a kitchenSynonym Cards-present a word and have the student generate a synonymWord Association Cards-Name all the things that have to do with campingSound/Letter Cueing Cards-cue initial sound of a targeted word within a category (such as things that come in pairs, green things)
Using the grease pencil, you check off matching or correct answers or write in plausible responses. The kids find the grease pencil a bit of a novelty since overhead projectors are passé. Even the red plastic sleeve fascinates some of them even it is so old fashioned looking.I guess the idea is to tally up correct responses.

Modified Way to Play:Skills Targeted: Word finding strategies and Vocabulary, Pragmatic skills

• I modify this game in so many ways depending on the students I am working with it is almost impossible to list them all.
• I often review the word retrieval strategies targeted in this game. I have made up a set of strategy cards from the information provided in the WordBurst instruction book that I give to each student (see below)
• Some of the Vocabulary is higher level so I may omit certain items or provide additional cueing.
• I will write answers on a big board to get everyone more involved
• I will occasionally have the kids write out their answers then compare
• I let the students challenge me with items. I think it is good for them to see adults struggle with retrieval tasks to let them know you do not have to be perfect
  
  
  Strategy Reference Cards: Word Retrieval Strategies

Visual Imagery
Create a picture in your mind of the item or its associated environment. For example, for“Things You See at a Grocery Store”,You might say, “close your eyes and paint a picture of a grocery store. Imagine that you are walking down the fruits and vegetables aisle”.Tell us what you see.

Word Associations
Recall words by identifying related items such as objects, parts, descriptors and object/functions. For example, for bird, you might say, “nest, wings, fly, chirp” or “beak”.

Sound/Letter Cueing
Recall a given word by cueing with the initial sound or letter. For example for flowers, you might say, “It starts with the sound d.” The player says “daisy”

Synonyms
Think of a word that has a similar meaning. For example, for “big” you might say “large, huge” or “tremendous”.

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.