Wheel of Fortune-Inspired Spelling Game

Each week, we start practicing the spelling list by simply reciting the letters in each word. If my son gets the words wrong (usually five or six out of 12-15 words), I circle them and those are the ones we focus our afterschool study on.

This week our spelling practice was inspired by the game show Wheel of Fortune. I call it Word Reveal.

My son had fun with this activity (and, honestly, I kind of got a kick out of playing Vanna White).

What You Need

3-page Word Reveal PDF (download it here)

3 sheets of legal-sized paper to print on

Laminate

Fine-tip dry-erase marker

Spelling words (up to six)

Page Marker Post-It notes

 

Either of these sizes of Post-Its work with the game board.

Prep

With the "Word Reveal" PDF printed on legal paper and laminated, grab the spelling list. Write the spelling words (one word per each line of boxes and one letter in each box) with the dry-erase marker. Over the top of each letter, place a Post-It Note Page Marker (there are some guide lines to help you position the notes). Make sure you can't see the letter through the note (i.e. don't use the yellow Post-Its!).

NOTE: You can trim the three pages once laminated, use packing tape to form hinges, and make it into a tri-fold game board for easy storage.

It's helpful to write down the words your child is practicing to refer to.

Play

Invite your child to guess letters. You can either uncover every "a" (as an example) on the Word Reveal board, or just the "a"s that are in one word at a time (it's your choice).

As more and more letters are uncovered, encourage your child to try and guess which of their spelling words are on the game board. If they guess right, have them spell the word, peeling back the Post-Its as they recite each letter to make sure their spelling is accurate.

Once practice is done, reward your child for their hard work with a hug, high-five, or special treat!

Could that BEE a Synonym or Antonym?

This game is a prelude to what will (hopefully) become some better writing on my boy's part. His stories are simple sentences with unimaginative adjectives, nouns, and verbs.

I wanted to open his mind to a wider, broader vocabulary. I thought a little synonyms and antonyms game might help.

I made two pages of hexagon magnets, each shape containing three words. Their antonyms and synonyms were featured on adjacent hexagons.

I printed the pages on magnet paper, tediously cut them out, and then hit the library for some great books.

Are you rolling your eyes? I know. I know. You're probably tired of hearing me gush all over Brian P. Cleary's books. I can't help it if they're the most fun language arts explanations I've found; my son loves them as much as I do. 

For this lesson, we read Stop and Go, Yes and No: What is an Antonym? and Stroll and Walk, Babble and Talk: More about Synonyms. Wildly creative illustrations, a rhythmic tempo, great explanation of the parts of speech, and examples galore! If you've never opened one of the Words are CATegorical books, run to your local library and check one out now.

Prep

Download our synonym/antonym hexagons free. Print on magnet paper (it costs about $6 for a 3-pack of sheets at the craft store; feed it through your printer one page at a time). Cut out.

Access a 2-page PDF of synonym/antonym hexagons here.

Play
I put all the magnets word-side-down in a small flat tub. One was drawn and placed on our refrigerator (any large metal surface will work). Then each of us picked five hexagons as our "hand." (It doesn't matter if the opponent sees your magnets.) Then we went back and forth trying to add the magnets in our hand to the refrigerator, matching up synonyms or antonyms on the words on the shapes. It doesn't take long before a honeycomb shape emerges!

If we didn't have any magnets to play, we drew a new one from the bucket. Still can't play? Then you forfeit your turn and the opponent gives it a shot.

Every time you are able to add a hexagon magnet to the refrigerator, you get another turn to play any magnet from your hand (no drawing on the second - or subsequent - plays during a turn, though).

Watch as you build an entire honeycomb of antonyms and synonyms!

The first player to play all of the hexagons in their hand wins.

Repetition to Remember Synonym vs. Antonym

With each hexagon that was played, my son and I said aloud whether the words we were matching were synonyms (words with a similar meaning) or antonyms (opposites). This reinforced what we learned from reading Cleary's books!

There, Their, or They're: You Be the Judge

My son got off the bus last week with a long face. He'd failed the pre-test and came home with the easy list of spelling words. I was surprised; he's good at spelling. As soon as he handed me the list, I understood.

There. Their. And they're. That's what had happened.

Not only had his teacher expected him to spell them right, but he needed to know when to use which one in a sentence. My son had totally botched it up.

Those three words sound EXACTLY the same but are used COMPLETELY differently. How confusing!!

To help him study, I gave him a little lesson with some tips and tricks.

There

Within this word is another word: here. There usually represents a place.

Very often, if you can substitute here in place of there, you've used it correctly.

Their

This is a possessive pronoun. I reminded my son that "I" was also a pronoun, which was a hint to help him remember that this their is the only one spelled with an i.

If you can replace their with our and the sentence still makes sense, you've used it correctly.

They're

Among these three words (there, their, and they're), this is the only one that is a contraction. It's an abbreviation for they are.

If you can put they are in place of they're, you used the right word.

Now it was time to put his knowledge to the test.

Download a 1-page PDF of this worksheet here.

"You be the judge," I said. "Read the sentences on the post-it notes and decide if the correct there, their, or they're was used."

I reminded him that the scale on my DIY worksheet needed to be balanced, so an equal number of sentences should be on the incorrect side as the correct side.

This took LOADS of thought and he referenced the cheat sheet of hints I made several times. I was so proud when he caught two misplaced sentences moments before handing me the worksheet to check. He'd sorted all the sentences correctly!

I gave him eight sentences to sort. Here they are, along with some extras we'll be using for future practice:

Correct:

I put my shoes right there.

It was their team's turn to answer.

They're my favorite band!

There is the book I lost.

Their car is blue, not grey.

I asked, but they're out of town that day.

Let's go there.

Their house is the one with the picket fence.

They're too short to ride the roller coaster.

Incorrect:

Their are no cookies left!    <<should be there>>

There excited for the party.   <<should be They're>>

Why didn't they listen to they're teacher?   <<should be their>>

Are we almost they're?  <<should be there>>

Their daydreaming, instead of listening. <<should be they're>>

There project was the winner. <<should be Their>>

My favorite pizza place is right their.  <<should be there>>

I can't see them; there too many people here.  <<should be they're>>

Lots of people are stopping at there lemonade stand. <<should be their>>

Fun with a Funnel Phone

If you're talking about how your ear works or how sound travels, this activity is the perfect companion. 

It takes next to no time to assemble once you've made a stop at the local hardware store. To make yourself kids a funnel phone, you need the following:

• vinyl tubing (ours was 3/4 inch x 5/8 inch x 10 feet, found in the plumbing supply section)
• 2 plastic funnels, found in the automotive supply section
• duct tape

Assembly is quick and easy. 

Jam each funnel into the ends of the tubing and secure with a short length of duct tape.

Now hand over the phone to two children and watch them have loads of fun whispering secrets to each other. My boys LOVED this activity and the total cost was only about $9. I knew the phone was a hit with my oldest son when he asked, "Can I keep it, Mom?"

"Of course!" I responded. I'm sure this will get loads of use with his buddies during our next play date, too.

Extension ideas:

• Work on rhyming. You say a word and ask your child to whisper back a word that rhymes.
• Practice spelling. They listen for the word. You listen to make sure they spell it right.
• Math fact drills. Put down the flashcards and whisper addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division problems through the funnel. How quickly can your child whisper back the answer?
• Foreign language vocabulary practice. If you're teaching your child another language, see if you can practice words or sentences with the funnel phone.

I got this ingenious idea here.

Medieval Kingdom Card Game

My son has developed a love for non-fiction, and Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Tree House Fact Tracker (or Research Guides) have been a new favorite. When my son was reading the Knights & Castles book, he paid special attention to the hierarchy of people that lived in the Middle Ages, recording in a notebook the feudal system from King down to serf (peasant). 

His interest sparked an idea.

What if I made a card game of some of the people in the Middle Ages, and players would have to put them in order from the lowest person in society (i.e. prisoner) to the mightiest and most powerful (i.e. the king)?

With a week of isolation ahead of me due to radioactive iodine treatment, I seized the opportunity to make the illustrations for eleven game cards. 

Here's a diagram of the illustrations and the individuals' "rankings" in society.

The game is played similar to Skip-Bo Junior, a favorite in our house.

Download and print a 12-page PDF of these game cards here.

How to Win

The first player to play all of the cards from their stockpile is the winner.

How to Play

This is a two-person game. The dealer deals 10 cards facedown to each player; this is their stockpile. The top card is turned over (i.e. face-up) and placed on top of the rest of the cards. Next, the dealer deals three cards in three separate piles to each player face up next to the stockpile. The dealer does this with each turn.

In the playing area between both players, four kingdoms can be started. These four kingdoms, which are essentially piles, are played on by both players and must begin with a No. 1 card (the prisoner) or a Wild (Jester) card, played face up.

The youngest player looks at the three cards in their "hand" (those dealt face-up by the dealer on the table) as well as the one card on top of their stockpile to see if they can begin a new kingdom or add to an existing one. The player plays all the cards that they can, even those that may be revealed from under another card that was just played. For example, if there is a No. 2 (peasant) card face-up as one kingdom, a player can place the No. 3 (apprentice) or Wild (jester) card on top of it from their hand, as well as any other cards they may have to play.

If the card from the stockpile is played, the card underneath is turned over. It's the next player's turn when a player can no longer play any cards from their stockpile or hand.

NOTE: The card on top of the stockpile may not be moved to the player's hand, even if all the cards in one pile of their hand have been played.

Remember, each time it is a player's turn, three new cards are dealt on top of the existing hand from the last round of play. Once the new cards have been dealt, the player can take their turn.

When a kingdom has either been completed with the number cards 1-10 and/or a mix of wild cards, the pile is turned over and removed from the playing area, so a new kingdom can be formed in its place.

If the dealer runs out of cards and neither player has played all the cards from their stockpile, the piles of old kingdoms can be reshuffled to continue play.

My son and I had loads of fun playing this game. He was thrilled to see his notes come to life and the hierarchy of cards supported what he'd learned from the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker about various people's places in Medieval society!