Games to Help w/ Reading & Writing? (4th Grade)

colleen3724 · January 2011

Hi everyone,

Not sure if this is the right board but looking for some help if possible. I'm going to be mentoring a 4th grade starting next week. Our time together is supposed to be more fun but we are made aware of areas that the child is struggling in to help them with if possible.

My mentee is having trouble w/ reading & writing & I was wondering if any parents or teachers know of any fun games/activities that help teach comprehension, spelling, vocab, sentence structure, etc.? I was planning on reading a fun book together, keeping a journal of our sessions (something nice for her to look back on) & maybe doing something like a "Word of the Week".

Any help is greatly appreciated, thanks!!

LaLaBee · January 2011

There are lots of "word" games (scrabble, banangrams, boggle) but not too many that deal with sentence structure that I can think of. Maybe you could find some puzzles that help form sentences? I've also seen those word magnets that might be good for sentences. Also there is a great kit called Illustory, where the kid can make their own book. That might be fun.

It's great that you are mentoring!

neverblushed · January 2011

You might want to post this on the School-Aged Children board on The Bump too!

SueBear · January 2011

Studyisland.com and spellingcity.com are both helpful for school.

Spellingcity is more of a way to help kids learn/remember their spelling words, but it does help with comprehension of the meanings.

susiederkins · January 2011

I loved my Speak and Spell as a kid. Do they make that anymore? Then again, I'm a terrible speller so maybe that's not such a good idea.

I also remember using a computer program that helped us write a story. It was fun, and I bet they make something similar.

Check to see if there is a teacher supply store near you. We also have a kid's store here that that lots of educational games, so check some of your independent kid's stores in the area.

colleen3724 · January 2011

thanks everyone!!!

livingitup · January 2011

I pulled this from a workshop I went to in Buffalo.

Critical Thinking Skills ? Asking questions before and after reading helps to develop a child?s attention, memory, and builds vocabulary. Here are some steps that you can take when reading to a child:

1. Read the title. Ask questions such as:

? What do you think this book is about?

? Who do you think this book is about?

? Where do you think it takes place?

2. Look at the pictures in the book before reading and ask:

? Who do you think this is in the picture?

? What are they doing?

? Why do you think they are doing it?

3. Go to the beginning of the book and begin reading.

4. You may want to read the story from beginning to end. Or, while reading, you may want to stop and ask:

? When we just looked at the pictures:

? Is this what you thought was happening?

? Are they doing what you thought?

5. After reading, ask:

? Is this what you thought the story would be about?

? Did the pictures help you to know what was happening?

? How did the pictures help?

? Did you like the way the story ended?

? How do you think the story could have ended differently?

? Did you like the characters in the story? Why/Why not?

Learning Through Play ? Play is very important in the development of readiness and reading skills. Play activities allow children to try many different ways to solve problems and learn and reinforce skills. Play activities include activities like: motor development, writing and drawing, number recognition and sorting, pretend play, letter and word recognition, listening, and outdoor play.

MariaIsMarried · January 2011

TJ Maxx usually has some fun, educational games. My students LOVE this game and I've seen it here for only a few bucks several times. When I tutored third and fourth graders we used some of these games as rewards at the end of the session and they loved them (especially Apples to Apples):

Apples to Apples Junior