I’m working on a new game. A poetic version of Scrabble or Bananagrams, perhaps. Not quite sure if anything will come of it or if it’s even anything other than a connect-the-dots, writing-exercise solitaire. As I work through more exercises like these, I’ll likely only post those that are somewhat playable. I will also be unveiling a new space for research & dissertation discussion in the next week or two.
I’m getting tired reading different understandings of what constitutes a “game” as both “play” and “competition” or what have you. As I think about applicability in the classroom, I wonder what makes a game “fun” for you?
This looks very similar to an activity I use with my students where students are given 3-4 strips of paper,they write one sentence per strip (not related, just random), and all class sentences go into a bowl ( I use a crock pot and call it Language Stew). I redistribute sentences to students (they are in groups of 4) and they are to use the sentences (or parts of the sentences) and create a piece of communication; a poem, a paragraph, some cohesive thoughts. It is interesting to watch how different groups process and work together. This is a very successful activity that benefits all levels of learners.
word play is just fun in general to me… not sure that it would be at the TOP of many of my middle schooler’s lists… but they do enjoy the exercises in word games in class. at some level the element of competition drives enjoyment of most games… but this is not outside the box by any means…