Teacher Toy Reviews

The Pairs in Pears Game is an excellent supplemental material for your literacy block.  There are numerous possibilities for students of varying age levels and abilities.

With the Pairs in Pears Game, students who are emergent readers can complete matching activities and improve their memory skills.  With my emergent readers, I take one set of letter tiles, flip them upside down, and display a letter of the alphabet for the students.  I have them say the letter name, sound, and keyword.  Once they correctly identify all three, I have the student find the matching letter of the alphabet that is face down.

The letter tiles can also be used as manipulatives.  I write my students’ spelling/vocabulary words on a note card, set-up an independent work station, and have the students use the letter tiles to practice spelling/copying the words.  It is beneficial because the students can physically manipulate the letters to create the words.

Patterning/sequencing activities are also commonly used when playing with the Pairs in Pears Game.  Each of the 4 alphabet tile sets are different colors/patterns.  These differences allow me to develop AB, ABA, ABC, and ABBA patterns with the letter tiles.  I challenge my students to identify and continue the patterns I create, find missing pieces I have left out of my patterns, and test them by having them develop their own patterns.

I also use Pairs in Pears with my older students.  I arrange a small group of students and give them each a designated number of tiles.  The students then use word recall and construct as many words as possible.  Students earn points for the number of words they develop and a higher amount of points are earned for longer words created.  To throw in extra challenges, I will put rules in where students must develop rhyming words, words with the silent “e,” or other various grammar rules.

The Pairs in Pears Game is a wonderful resource to have in your literacy block.  There are numerous activities/skills that can be used to reinforce your literacy program.  It is a great hands-on tool that makes students interact with the words and letters.  I would recommend it for teachers who work with students of all ages.

This teacher review was brought to you by Kendall Kutska, a Special Education Teacher in an Illinois Elementary School. Kendall works in a 3rd through 5th grade instructional classroom, teaching many subjects, one of which is English.

What’s Gnu Children’s Game is a great educational tool to use in an elementary classroom to improve reading skills. This game is an excellent addition to any English block. It’s fun, it’s educational, and it can be played in minutes.

I work in an instructional classroom that is made up of 3rd through 5th grade students who receive Special Education services. What’s Gnu from ThinkFun gave my students the opportunity to use higher level thinking skills. They were required to use their word retrieval skills to create three letter words as quickly as possible. In addition, What’s Gnu also allows students to improve their resource skills. When “questionable” words are created, teachers can have students pull out a dictionary and find the word that was created during game play. I also have the students use the words in a sentence to ensure they know the meaning of the words they are making.

While an excellent addition to the classroom, it may take a few minutes for students to pick up on the game. However, through proper modeling, they will pick it up in moments. Once the skill is acquired, the tempo of the game increases dramatically.

Best of all, variations of game play are possible as well. I enjoy challenging my students to make as many words as possible. Using the letter tiles and cards, I have them see how many words they can create. Kids can take their time and manipulate the letters to develop new words, and whoever creates the most words, wins the round.

What’s Gnu is a great resource to add to an English block. It helps students improve their word retrieval and dictionary skills. Best of all, the kids enjoy the challenge of creating words the fastest – they have fun while working on important skills at the same time!

This teacher review was brought to you by Kendall Kutska, a Special Education Teacher in an Illinois Elementary School. Kendall works in a 3rd through 5th instructional classroom, teaching many subjects, one of which is English.

Who would have thought that one of the most popular party games to come out in recent memory could also be used as a learning tool? As teachers and parents know, the most effective way to inspire children to learn is when they don’t know they’re doing it! Playing games, watching a movie, and reading “fun” things have all been used by teachers for decades to enhance student learning. Well, it turns out, learning is as easy as comparing apples to apples … and believe me, as a pre-service teacher, I am always thinking about sneaky ways to enhance student learning.

The Apples to Apples Game from Mattel is the award-winning comparison game that helps kids focus on two types of language – adjectives and nouns. To begin play, each player is dealt 7 red “noun” cards. When the judge flips over a green “adjective” card, each player must choose from their hand the best noun to fit the adjective. When each player has played their noun card, the judge for that round chooses the winner based on which comparison they believe is the best answer. Apples to Apples is typically loved because it can provide hysterical and thought-provoking comparisons in and out of an educational setting.

Most nouns in Apples to Apples consist of proper names, historical events, time periods, and places, which serve as excellent learning tools for students in various subject matters. Each card (either noun or adjective) uses different techniques to explain what the word on the card means, including synonyms and illustrations, which require students to think outside the “orchard” (or think comparatively). This association technique helps to develop abstract and critical thinking skills in both children and adults when conventional methods receive unenthusiastic responses. The mere mention of the phrase “compare and contrast essay” provokes a collective groan from students – but ask them to justify their answers in a game of Apples to Apples and you will have them participating vigorously.

As a teacher, it is very difficult to develop educational material to properly fill a class period and a quick learning game is a wonderful way to use time effectively while continuing to teach. The game doesn’t take long to set up or to explain, making it ideal for those last few minutes of class. And because the success of the original Apples to Apples Game has prompted Mattel to expand their product line for different ages and subject areas, more children can experience the educational joy that these games can provide. Apples to Apples Junior and Apples to Apples Kids are two games geared towards a younger audience but with the same enchanting word play and imagination prompts.

Best of all, the Apples to Apples Games includes blank cards for personalized game play, a terrific asset to any teacher! Are you an English teacher? Fill the cards with well-known authors or famous books. Teach History? Explore famous events and interesting people. Use these cards to create content as general or as specific as you like related to your subject or area of interest.

So, instead of comparing oranges to apples with America’s youth, compare Apples to Apples, and educate your students while they, and even you, learn and grow! Forget the compare contrast essays, just pick up a deck of these cards, and you have it made!

This post was brought to you by Nicole McCann, a future secondary English Teacher. Here’s a little more info (in her own words) about this dedicated future professional:

I began my education at Penn State with a B.A in English, but have since chosen to persue a secondary education degree at Slippery Rock University. Since switching gears from appreciating language to teaching it, I find myself unable to stop thinking about ideas for classroom use. I am currently learning and discussing education on any and all levels—both the theoretical and the classroom aspects. I will be graduating with an M.A. in education in 2010, with future plans of being a secondary English teacher.