Word Work Games

I love taking games that kiddos know and love and tweak them a little bit to make them more educational. Using Candyland as a sight word game has been around for a while. There are many versions and examples online. I have also taken a travel version of Connect 4 and made cards of sight words in yellow and red. My kiddos play in pairs, read the word, and then place a red or yellow chip in the game if they read the word correctly. I also have taken a Twister game and written comprehension questions on the color dots for my kiddos to answer after reading a story. I have many Memory versions as well that I write sight words, magic e words, and synonyms and antonyms on. (Memory games are always on sale for $5 or cheaper at Target and they now make season editions like Christmas and Easter) But the go to game in my word work center is Don't Break the Ice. I trade out my games every two weeks, but if I take that game out my kiddos freak! I have just written short and long vowel words on the ice cubes. I then made little white ice cards that state short i, long o, etc. My kiddos set up the ice cubes in the tray, pick a ice card, and find a word on the game that matches. They then use the hammer to break the iced word out of the game without knocking down the little red polar bear. Here is a look at some of my game board games...

Cleaning up my word work shelves reminded me of our end of year district prompt of how to play a game. I love the books Jumanji and Zathura by Chris Van Allsburg. This is the same author of The Polar Express that my kiddos LOVED hearing and watching around Christmas. Jumanji and Zathura are both stories about games that the main characters become apart of. I have created a unit, that aligns with the Common Core, for my kiddos to use over two weeks that includes literary elements, compare and contrasting, and persuasive opinion writing to help lead up to the prompt. After the district prompt I will then have my kiddos create their own game with a blank game board, game cards, and spinner craft. I cannot wait to see my kiddos creative minds at work! I have upload this unit in my TPT account for download. Click on the picture below.