How to spell question words is hard for children to remember. Here’s a quick game to practice them!
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One Magnetic Spinner
You need one magnetic spinner*.
If you haven’t read my full post on the winner spinner you won’t want to miss it! It gives you a long list of game ideas that are so easy to run and super fun for the kids. Check out the full post here.
Setting up the Game:
Start off by having the campers brainstorm a list of words that questions start with (i.e. who, what, when etc.).
Write these words in two columns on the white board (a chalkboard can work just as well). One column of words is on the far left edge of the board, the second column is on the far right edge of the board.
Who, what, when, where, why and how are the most obvious and are typically spoken first.
Point out that words like Are, Is, Do, Can, Should, Shouldn’t etc. can also start question sentences. Work together to come up with a long list.
Then, draw a circle in the middle of the whiteboard and divide it into 8 sections and number the sections 3-10
NOW TO PLAY!
For smaller groups (up to 8) I divide the large whiteboard into 4 sections. A pair is assigned to each section.
For larger groups, (or if I don’t have a large whiteboard or chalkboard), I divide the group into pairs. I give each pair a small white board, dry erase marker and a sock to serve as an eraser. You can purchase a class pack on Amazon*.
One camper spins a number. Then, one partner from each pair has to list that many question words.
Once they’ve completed their list, campers don’t say anything. They just hold up their white board so I can see it.
I check to make sure each word is spelled correctly (since they’re up there on the whiteboard for them to see!)
If I see one word that is not, I hold up 1 finger, two words, 2 fingers, three words, 3 fingers, four words, 4 fingers. The camper then goes back and fixes any mistakes.
If (or when) all the words are spelled correctly, I give a thumbs up and the child puts a tally on his/her board for each word that he/she has written correctly.
Continue play until everyone has had a turn to spin or your allotted time has run out!
Print the Instructions
Here are the instructions for you to print out and use.
