But then I get a little overwhelmed. Well, a lot overwhelmed. So many great ideas, sometimes it is hard to know where to start. So here is one idea I gained today.
The Pyramid Game. Some of you may know of it as an old TV Game Show. I didn't know it before today so I learned more about it with Wikipedia. I love it. Just the right amount of competition and brain power.
Two children sit across from each other. One is given a pyramid with several topics on it. They must look at the topics and explain/describe them to their partner without saying any words written on the paper. They may pass if they are not sure how to give clues, but are encouraged to attempt as many as they can in the time limit. The more words your partner guesses correctly the more points you team wins. I like to say the bottom row is worth one point each, the second is worth two, and the top worth three. But you can add as many layers as you like and adjust the point value and time limit to fit your class.
You can make up your own pyramids of spelling words, social studies topics, parts of stories, genres, science topics, vocabulary, phonics blends and more. They are easy to create and help your children think outside of the box. I'm really excited to start creating and using them and will try to post some finished ones later. Here is an example pyramid. Just so you can get an idea.
If I were the one with the paper I would look at the pyramid. Generally the ones on the bottom are easier (and worth fewer points.) I would pick pronouns and say, "he, she, we, me..." Once my partner had guessed pronouns I would move on to conjunctions and say, "and, or, but.." If we moved quickly enough we could get through the whole pyramid in a very short time and get all the points.
