Teaching Literacy Through Games

Playing Wordle to Learn More About Themes in Literature

Last night the literacy clinic at SUNY Old Westbury was held. One of my students has been working with fifth graders, and she makes her lessons interactive and fun! I told her she is the Queen of teaching literacy through play and games! Last night she was teaching the two students about themes that are found in literature. In order to teach this concept, she began with an overview about themes. To make this concept understandable for the students, she had them watch a Pixar Short Film - she even made that the films fun for the kids. She selected the first one they watched and then gave them a choice with which film they wanted to watch next. The students were able to identify the themes in the films - applying the concept that was being taught but with a visual text. My student did this work with the two fifth graders so that they had the support of each other and also her support.

In order to extend the work on themes, my student had the fifth graders play Wordle to discuss some of the themes that may be more challenging to understand and also less familiar to them. This was tricky! The fifth graders had some trouble with the first theme - I even asked if hints were allowed! But the game was a great way to lead into a discussion about some of the themes that the fifth graders were not familiar with - it was interactive and engaging. And, it was a better way to begin the lesson than just opening with a discussion.

Another student, who is also working with fifth graders, planned a scavenger hunt to get the students thinking about the different story elements that were in the book they were reading. This got the fifth grade boys up and moving around (which helped hold their interest throughout the rest of the lesson), and it hooked them into the book and what they would be reading about. It also allowed them to make predictions about what they would be reading about. Another fun way to begin a lesson!

Finally, a student working with a second grader played a matching game to teach homophones. The second grader got the concept right away, so in order to have him apply his knowledge, she asked him to write a story using homophones. He got it! His story accurately used homophones and showed his understanding of this concept. She was, therefore, able to clarify an area that he was confused about in a fun way and then have him apply his knowledge from the game.

This led me to think about how we can use games to help students connect with the content that we are teaching - whether it be a particular skill, strategy, or concept. The fifth graders were very engaged in the lesson - from the very beginning and they stayed engaged until the end of the lesson.

Have you used games in your teaching? If so, how did it go? Were the students more engaged in the lesson?

The playing cards from a homophone matching game.