I have a quick teacher tip for you that is a fun way to keep students engaged in a whole/small group activity - Teacher vs. Students! Groups ask to play this daily, making any activity much more fun. Spoiler Alert: the teacher never wins, and that’s how the kids like it!
This activity is as low prep as ever - all it takes is a post-it note and some tally marks. Here are some ways that I use it with my groups:
1. Phonological Awareness Warm-Up
When we start each group, we practice phonological awareness. Each student takes a turn blending or segmenting a word, and if they get it right, their team gets a point - if they get it wrong, I get the point. Since this task can be tricky, I am always generous with the points!
2. Letter Sounds/Sight Words/High-Frequency Words/Phonetically Regular Words/any name you have for words on flashcards
Same concept as #1 - if they get the word right, they get the point, and if they don’t, I get it. Depending on the student, I often offer a hint or give them another chance to read the word. I’m sure you are beginning to see why I never win, but that’s ok because the smiles on their faces when they get the point and I don't are worth it!
3. Self-Monitoring
I’m sure we have all encountered a reader that just blows through the text and butchers sentences without stopping if something doesn’t sound right or makes sense. For this use of Teacher vs. Student, each student in the reading group gets their own scorecard. When I take turns listening to them read, I give them a point if they stop when something doesn’t make sense and another point if they use a strategy to decode the word. If I have to prevent them from saying they skipped a comment/missed a word/misread it, I get the point. The score is often much closer when we play this way, but it is an excellent way for kids to slow down and think about what they are reading.
Game Over:
When the game ends, the students are always happy with the win; sometimes, that is enough! Other times I let them get an extra sticker or let one of the students take the scorecard home. Once in a while, I rip it up into hundreds of tiny pieces and throw it in the trash, declaring that we will never play this silly game again because I never win!
Thank you so much for reading about how you can help engage and motivate your students with this simple game. Can you think of another way to use this game? Let me know in the comments!
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