Games/Word Play

This is a good medium for learning technical aspects of the language, such as phonics, spelling, homonyms, and syllabic stress, because these aspects are treated as fun. Students can play with small units—words or phrases— in contexts that give them meaning, twisting them in ways that surprise and delight. Much authentic language development can thus occur in these smaller units without extracting them from a context.

Because it aims at language creativity, word play encompasses the highest skills of poetry, which exploit the full resources of language—sense, musicality, and movement—to spring the mind and spirit. The poet is a profound player with language. (Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner)

Games for Active Practice -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Tongue Twisters -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Puns and Conundrums -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Vocabulary Games -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Responding to Words -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Rebuses -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Picture Language -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Word Pictures -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Ciphers and Codes -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner

Guessing Games -- Taken from Student-Centered Language Arts and Reading, K-13 a handbook for teachers, 2nd Ed., Moffett & Wagner