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Games to promote Literacy
National Literacy and Numeracy Week will be celebrated in Australia from September 3-9, 2007. Boardgames Australia encourages students, teachers, parents, librarians and game buffs to celebrate with a game - or, better yet, several games!
- Great games for beginning readers
- Great games for ages 8 and up
- Great games for older children and families
Great games for beginning readers
| Game Name: | M is for Mouse |
|---|---|
| Designer: | Reinhard Staupe |
| Publisher: | Playroom Entertainment |
| Players: | 2-5 |
| Playing time: | 15 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 6 and up |
| You'll love it because: | M is for Mouse is not just one game but a collection of three, suitable for different levels of primary school. In each game, players aim to be the first to recognise a combination (on separate cards) of a picture and its initial letter. The simplest variant does not require speed, but more difficult games reward the fastest player to identify a match. |
| Literacy focus: | Starting sounds |
Great games for ages 8 and up
| Game Name: | Apples to Apples Kids (previously Apples to Apples Junior 7+) |
|---|---|
| Designer: | (uncredited) |
| Publisher: | Out of the Box |
| Players: | 4-10 |
| Playing time: | 30 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 7 and up |
| You'll love it because: | A hilarious game where players aim to play 'noun' cards (my grandad, smelly socks, snowmen, peanuts, fish fingers) that best match an adjective (beautiful, smelly, disgusting, lively, orange). Apples to Apples is great with large groups and there are plenty of cards so there's always variety. |
| Literacy focus: | Understanding words (cards have synonyms printed on them); comparisons. |
| Game Name: | Boggle |
|---|---|
| Designer: | Alan Turoff & Bill Cooke |
| Publisher: | Parker Brothers |
| Players: | 1-6 |
| Playing time: | 10 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 8 and up |
| You'll love it because: | First published in 1973, this timed word game has remained popular for over 30 years. Players have 3 minutes to find as many connected words as possible from the face up letters resting in a 16 cube grid. |
| Literacy focus: | Word recognition, spelling |
| Game Name: | Scattergories (Categories) |
|---|---|
| Designer: | (Uncredited) |
| Publisher: | Milton Bradley / Public Domain |
| Players: | 2-6 |
| Playing time: | 30 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 12 and up |
| You'll love it because: | It's a fantastic, funny game for any size group. Choose a category sheet or make up your own categories, pick a letter, and off you go! Think of a word in each category that starts with the chosen letter - and hope you're the only one who thought of it, or you'll score nothing for it. Explanations and justifications are always hysterical. |
| Literacy focus: | Vocabulary building, initial letters. |
Great games for older children and families
| Game Name: | Scrabble |
|---|---|
| Designer: | Alfred Butts |
| Publisher: | Hasbro / Mattel |
| Players: | 2-4 |
| Playing time: | 90 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 10 and up |
| You'll love it because: | It is a classic! Form letters in a cross-word style grid on the board. There is tactical play in trying to obtain the valuable multiplier squares as well as sheer vocabulary power in making long high-scoring words. A game that has withstood the test of time and brought joy to millions. |
| Literacy focus: | Spelling, building vocabulary |
| Game Name: | My Word! |
|---|---|
| Designer: | Reiner Knizia |
| Publisher: | Out of the Box |
| Players: | 2-6 |
| Playing time: | 30 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 12 and up |
| You'll love it because: | In this fast-paced game, players compete to be the first to recognise a word as cards with 'word parts' (1 or 2 letters) are dealt onto the table. It's quick, it's simple, and we're told it works really well in a classroom. |
| Literacy focus: | Word recognition, spelling |
| Game Name: | Apples to Apples |
|---|---|
| Designer: | (uncredited) |
| Publisher: | Out of the Box |
| Players: | 4-10 |
| Playing time: | 30 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 12 and up |
| You'll love it because: | A hilarious game where players aim to play 'noun' cards (Marilyn Monroe, travel, the great American novel, calculus, snowmen) that best match an adjective (exotic, dull, amazing, rancid, green). Apples to Apples is great with large groups and there are plenty of cards so there's always variety. |
| Literacy focus: | Vocabulary building (understanding words) |
| Game Name: | The Dictionary Game / Balderdash |
|---|---|
| Designer: | uncredited |
| Publisher: | public domain / Mattel |
| Players: | 3-8 |
| Playing time: | 60 minutes |
| Suitable for: | Ages 10 and up |
| You'll love it because: | This is a game of wit, knowledge and bluff. One player chooses an obscure word from the dictionary or from a card in the commercial game. Everyone writes a definition for the word, including the chooser who writes the correct definition. The answers are mixed up and then read out. Players vote for what they think the correct definition is. You can score points for picking the correct definition or for fooling others into picking your false definition! Add more fun by also voting for the funniest answer! |
| Literacy focus: | Building vocabulary, using a dictionary |