| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp |
| Copyright 2006 Julie Shepherd Knapp. All rights reserved. |
| about the book |
| The Homeschool Diner's Guide to Homeschooling by Subject Language Arts for Homeschoolers Word Retrieval Activities: Advanced Level by Julie Shepherd knapp, copyright 2006, 2008 Some harder games and activities to help kids become interested in words... The ability to find the right words to express an idea is known as word retrieval, word recall, or word-finding. The activities and games in this section provide a framework for children to practice thinking of and using all kinds of words – nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs. (Some activities use board games -- you can often find these games at yard sales, thrift stores and on eBay... or look for free online versions and downloads) Advanced Activities: What do you call this dish? Theme Scrabble UpWords MadLibs Metamorphosis Password 10,000 Dollar Pyramid Structured Poetry Descriptions of Advanced Activities: “What do you call this dish?” Make up new names for your family’s favorite dishes. For example, try combining the first few letters of the main ingredients to make a new word, such as “chick-noo-p” for chicken noodle soup or "pea-but-ches" for peanut butter sandwiches. Or, use alliteration that describes the food, such as “big, beautiful, bean, burritos” or “tasty, tangy, tomatoes”. The sillier - the better. Theme Scrabble Play the regular Scrabble game, but only use words that fall into a theme. Choose the themes for your child’s enjoyment -- possibilities include: cartoon world words, musical words, Star Wars words, fine arts words, wizardry words, etc. Allow “iffy” words if a player can justify how they fit the theme, for instance, “carpet” is OK for a Star Wars theme, because Princess Leia called Chewbacca a “walking carpet”. Choosing a theme can make it easier for a child to think of words to use – it gives a frame of reference and brings the word pool into a more manageable scale. Up-Words This is a board game similar to Scrabble, but tiles can be stacked on top of existing words to change them into new words. Upwords can be played online here. MadLibs Create funny stories by filling in the blanks of an unknown storyline. Calls for knowledge of the parts of speech. These are small booklets that can be found in toy stores and it can be played online. Metamorphosis This is a game that requires players to think of new words to fit an evolving criteria. The first player begins by choosing a word (let’s use “dish”) and saying, “I’m thinking of a word that begins with “D”. The next player then thinks of their own word that begins with “D” (let’s use “dog”) and tells everyone what the first two letters of the word are now. (Note that we are now talking about a different word than the first player chose.) So, the second player would say, “ The second letter is “O”… So, now the word begins with “D-O”. The third player thinks of their own word that fits the new criteria. Let’s say they think of “door”. They would say, “The third letter is also “O”… so now the evolving word begins with “D-O-O”. The situation is now ripe for the fourth person to complete the word by adding “M” or “R”. When a word is completed, that player gets to begin the next sequence. Feel free to give hints to players who can’t think of a word to use. You can add rules to fit your child’s ability level. Possible rules include: 1). Not allowing two letter words – for example, players cannot count “T- O” as a completed word... play must continue; 2). Add a “doubt it” provision for when players can’t think of any words that fit the current criteria. For example, if a player says he’s thinking of a word that begins “P-L-I” you may challenge him to prove there is such a word. (Of course there is – plink or Pliocene would both work.) 3). For mature spellers, you can elect to count as "complete" only words with six or more letters. Password A boxed game based on an old TV game show. Players try to get their partner to say a given word. Only one-word clues can be given… but you can use your tone of voice and gestures to give hints. For young children, wave the one-word rule, or play as a team with them. 10,000 Dollar Pyramid A boxed game based on an old TV game show. Players try to get their partner to identify a given category, based on a list of words that fit the category. Team-up with young children to help them play. Structured Poetry Poems that follow strict patterns help focus a child’s writing efforts. Following “the recipe” for a haiku or cinquain results in a complete product in much less time than most writing projects. Having a formula also breaks the writing into a step-by-step process that reduces the stress about what to write next. It also puts the focus on the process, rather than the words. Collaborate on the poem, taking turns thinking of topics, developing lines, or coming up with ideas for endings, then you write it out, or, if your child is willing, have them take dictation from you to write it out or type it on the computer. There are several types of structured poems that children typically enjoy writing and reading. Cinquain is a 5-line poem that is constructed from a series of nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Haiku is a 3-line poem that is constructed by syllable count. Diamonte forms a diamond shape when finished. Up-and-Down Poems have a word written vertically down the page, with related words written horizontally, as in a cross-word puzzle. There are several online children’s poetry sites where you can find complete instructions and examples of each type of poetry -- check out the Diner's Favorite Poetry Resources for a starter. A good resource is a book called “ Easy Poetry Lessons that Dazzle and Delight” by David Harrison and Bernice Cullinan. Use this book to discuss the different types of poetry, and to get ideas. Look for other books of children's poetry at the library -- read and enjoy together. If these activities are too hard go back to Word Retrieval Activities: Beginning Level Or, go on to Narrative Activities Narrative Activities to Jump-start Your Child's Storytelling and Writing Skills (Beginning Level) |
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| "By words the mind is winged." -- Aristophanes, dramatist (c. 448-385 BCE) Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet. -Roger Miller, musician (1936-1992) |