Best Game!

I'm joining the linky at The Teacher's Chair again today.  The topic is best game.  I want to share a game called, "Mr. Picky-Eater."

You can use this game/activity to practice all kinds of skills.  Here is how you play...

1.  Display a chart with text.  I usually use a poetry chart or morning message.

2. Make a t-chart like this: 

                      

3. Decide on a characteristic for sorting. The possibilities are endless- words with tail letters, words with 5 (or any number of) letters, words with 3 syllables, words with blends, words with inflectional endings, plurals, proper nouns, words with long vowels sounds, etc.

4.  Tell the students that Mr. Picky-Eater is hungry.  He is hungry for words.  BUT, he's very picky.  He's only hungry for a certain kind of word each day.  Their job is to figure out what kind of words Mr. Picky-Eater is hungry for that day so they can feed him.

5.  The students then take turns guessing words from the displayed text.  As they guess words, write them on the "yummy" side if the word has the desired feature.  Write other guesses on the "yucky" side.  

6.  After a few words have been placed on the t-chart, some kids will tell you they know what Mr. Picky-Eater is hungry for (even if they don't).  Tell them not to say what they're thinking but instead to give you a yummy word.  Keep playing until most of the class has figured out the sorting rule.

7.  Then allow students to guess the rule.  Test their guesses by going through the words listed on the t-chart.  If the rule holds up, see if there are more words you can feed Mr. Picky-Eater.  

Your kids will LOVE this game.  My students are always excited when they see the "yummy/yucky" chart on display in the morning. They know we're going to feed Mr. Picky-Eater and they NEVER get tired of doing it!

Here are some samples, see if you can guess what Mr. Picky-Eater is hungry for. :) I put the answers below.

                           

See how easy it is?  The answers are:

1. compound words

2. words with four letters

3. nouns

There you have it.  If you have any questions, leave a comment and I'll get back to you.  I can't wait to see what games everyone else has to share!  Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Mrs. C.