This handwriting game is great for young writers who are learning letter names, sounds and how to write them.
THE WINNER SPINNER!
I played this game with a kindergartner that I was working with once a week. She’s not a very animated little girl. But when I brought out the magnetic spinners and she saw them spin, she cracked a smile!
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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.
COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS
Note also that this game can address the following Common Core State Standards: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.A and L.1.1.A.
Setting Up the Handwriting Game
- You’ll need two magnetic spinners and a whiteboard.
2. On the whiteboard draw two large circles. Divide the two circles into 8 sections.
3. Fill the left circle with 8 letters.
These can be letters that you want the child to learn or letters that the child has already learned and you want to review.
You can choose to focus on letters that have straight sticks only (A, E, F, H, I, K, L, M, N, T, V, W, X, Y, Z).
You can focus on letters with curves (B, C, D, G, O, P, Q, R, S). Fill the circles with whichever letters you want your students to work on!
4. Next, fill the right circle with the numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Adding zero is important for two reasons. One, it makes sure the students learn that 0 means none/nothing. When they understand that zero equals nothing, it becomes funny to them if they land on it!
NOW TO PLAY!
Small Groups (up to 8)
For smaller groups (up to 8) I divide a large classroom whiteboard into 4 sections. A pair is assigned to each section. One student in each pair takes a turn at a time.
Large Groups (8+)
For larger groups, or if I don’t have a classroom whiteboard, I divide the group into pairs.
Materials
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*.
- Two students spin for the whole group.
- One partner in each pair takes a turn writing the letter that was spun the number of times that was spun. So if the students spin a P and a 2. Students have to write a P two times.
- Continue play until each student has had a turn to spin or your allotted time runs out!
