End Of Term Fun

I am trying to find some interesting things to do with my one-to-one pupils. A whole hour can sometimes seems a bit long [especially late in the dark winter afternoons]

On my training course we were encouraged to play games with the children, as this stimulates their interest and "doesn't feel like real work" !! I wasn't over excited about the examples we were given, so I have made up a couple of my own

I am reproducing the boards and rules here in case they are of use to anyone else out there!

For the numeracy children, I have made a board game to develop simple calculation skills. This isn't a particularly original idea - but it livened up the last 10 minutes of my three sessions on Thursday - and child #3 came in and said "Can we do the game - the other two said it is really good!"

THE BOARD

THE INSTRUCTIONS -

Throw two dice. See if you can combine the two results in any way ( + - x or ÷ ) to make one of the numbers. Cover it with a counter. Can you get four counters in a row before your opponent?

This worked well, they soon learned quickly how to find the possible answers - and recognised division wasn't always possible, and that if you threw a '1' that also meant fewer possible results. They spotted that '12' could be reached with 6 & 2, or 3 & 4 - and that there were lots of ways to score '4'. I did work out carefully all my possibilities before I started - and decided against having a 'zero' square [mainly because that would have given 26 answers, not so good for the grid. I suppose I could have slung in a few repeats!]

What seemed to please them most was the fact that they were able to beat me!

For the literacy lot, I am developing "The Great Word Game"

This will be road tested in this week's lessons. I have made a laminated coloured board for playing in the lesson and done some black and white photocopies partly for the children to write in the words they discover as we play, and also so they can take one home and try it there if they want.

THE BOARD

THE INSTRUCTIONS

Mrs A’s Great Word Game.

Rules of play—youngest player starts!

Throw the die, move the counter that many places.

If you land on a word square, throw again to get your bonus move following these instructions

SCORE 1— move back ONE space
SCORE 2— move back TWO spaces
SCORE 3—how many rhymes can you find for your word? [max of 4] move forward that many spaces
SCORE 4—move back FOUR spaces
SCORE 5—how many synonyms [words meaning the same] can you find for your word? [max 4] move forward that many spaces
SCORE 6– how many words can you derive from the root of your word? [max 4] move forward that many spaces.
Example—fish could give you fishing, fishy, fisherman, catfish

If you land on another  word square, throw again!

First player to the end wins!

I will give some feedback on this one after it has been played a few times! Please do let me know if you try them out, and any glitches you discover.