SLG: Reading Games

This is exactly how I feel about my first graders.  For me, playing curriculum-based games that involve social interactions are SUPER important.  I love to make, buy and modify games. I've been doing this for about 15 years and now have a good stockpile of reading games that focus on the phonics and grammar concepts that we teach.  I used to live right by a Lakeshore Learning, ahhhhh!

My reading games cabinet


Incorporating games into my small reading groups is fantastic!  The only difficulty I find is the whole independent piece...  I've been lucky enough to have parent volunteers come in and be in charge of this group, so that solves the independent problem.  But that's not always the case.  Here are 3 solutions:  1) Frontload the game instruction at the start of your groups (and hope they remember how to play later), 2) Leave instructions for playing the game with the group and they have to figure out how to play (written and/or recorded).  3) Once a few kids know how to play, ask them to be the teachers.  It's not perfect but doing a games group versus not doing one is best.

Since I do my small reading groups 3x a week, on Wednesday there is a new game, on Thursday they play the game again and on Friday it's free choice for the game(s) they play.

Where we keep the games we've learned to play. The 'Reading Station' also becomes a choice of things to do when students have finished all their work.

Some of the games I've bought at Lakeshore.

A game I made.

Another example of a game I made.

A game I got from TPT and modified a bit.

One thing I like to do in the springtime is have a new game available during our groups but not give any direction or front loading and tell students they have to work together to figure out how to play the game...which is fun to watch happen.

Our Anchor Chart for this group.

A Lakeshore letter sorting game.

This FANTASTIC mom comes in TWICE a week to be part of our small reading groups!  I am fully enjoying and appreciating her because I know this will never happen again.

And that's how we do reading games

Up next...sometime soon...it's all about Art Projects!