Runaway Robots

Using a Board Game to Teach Reading and Spelling

Stage of Literacy Development:

Stage 1: Beginning Literacy
Stage 2: Consolidation / Fluency

Ages:

5-8

Grade Range:

1st 2nd

Food Groups:

Primary:
Phonemic Awareness, Spelling
Secondary:
Letter-Sound Correspondences, Motivation for Literacy

Transcript

Board games are a great way to help students get motivated to learn to read and to write. In my experience, students are so engaged whenever they play a game like this because they don't actually realize that they're learning to read. They're using the strategies that they know and that work best for them in order to gain points and hopefully beat their teacher.

Teacher: Capture a robot. Hmm what do I need? I made this board game because I felt that students ages six to eight really need something that they can connect with and games and fun, engaging scenarios for students are a great way to help them learn.

Teacher: So this is the rhyming pile.

Student: Fish.

Teacher: Fish. What rhymes with fish?

Student: Dish.

Teacher: Dish! That's right. Can you write both of those words down? Fish and dish.

It's really important to me that students truly feel that they are confident in their abilities and through a board game is the best, safest way to allow them to do so.

Activity Objective

The goal of Runaway Robots: Using a Board Game to Teach Reading and Spelling is to motivate students to learn while keeping them engaged in reading and spelling, even when they're struggling. This teacher asks students to write down words as they go to encourage them to build confidence in their reading, spelling, and writing skills.

Quick Tips

Additional Comments:

- Try to incorporate some words from your class word wall in this game.
- You can invite your students to help create the game by asking them to write out some words for the game cards.
- As students become more advanced, you can change the cards accordingly.