I created what I think is the coolest PowerPoint presentation for my class this week. It’s a spoof off of the app Four Pics One Word. I am calling my game One Pic One Spelling Word. The point of the game is to unscramble the jumbled letters to spell one of the 25 spelling words that we are studying. My students love cell phone game apps, so I’m quite certain they will love what I have planned for them!
Some of the pictures are pretty obvious. For example, one of our spelling words is “castle” and it’s quite obvious to guess what the answer is because the picture is, you guessed it, a castle. The difficulty varies to provide a fun challenge, a new way to introduce our weekly spelling words and an opportunity to use technology to enhance learning. I’m predicting that the students may lose patience after the first 10 words are presented. So my plan is to introduce 10 on Monday, 10 on Tuesday, and the last five on Wednesday. I am secretly hoping they beg for all 25 slides on Monday, though!
Concerns I have include: Should I use a timer to put a time limit on each word? Have I made it too difficult? Should I have a pretest before playing the game, like we normally do? If it is a hit with the students, should I do the game one a week or once a month? Any input is much appreciated! Also, please feel free to share cool ways you enjoy using technology to enhance learning. I’d be happy to email this PowerPoint to any other teachers that would like to use or copy it. The words are from MacMillan/McGraw-Hill Reading, Unit 6, The Riddle, 2005.
Can you unscramble the letters?
Put your answers in the comment box!
May 2013 update: After playing this game with my students a few times I have discovered it is best to use this activity in the middle of the week. In doing so, the students have had at least two-three days to work on their spelling activities and are more familiar with the words. The game then becomes, who can correctly unscramble the word in thirty seconds before the next slide is up? I have the students number a piece of paper and try their best. It’s not for a grade, just a fun review that enhances student learning and classroom enthusiasm. During this activity the following Common Core Standards are being met, since the spelling words usually come from the stories we are reading:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.7 Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem). [You need to ask the students to explain how seeing images related to the story contributes to the text].
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.5.2e Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
I am also proud that during this activity the students get to see things they may not have seen before. Two examples come to mind. One, I used a picture of the president pardoning a turkey for the scrambled word: pardon. The students had never heard of such a tradition. The second example comes from the spelling word: central. I chose to use a bird’s eye view of Central Park. Many students had never seen Central Park in NYC, so this was an opportunity to expand their knowledge of their country. I reminded them that our favorite fiction hero, Percy Jackson, was from NYC. I make a point to make sure only a few slides are that tough.
Overall, I think this is one of my favorite accomplishments from my first year of teaching. I’m looking forward to making many more of these Power Points! Of course if you operate with a Smart Board in your room you could have students come up and use their finger to unscramble the letters. That could even be done with a simple dry erase board. Oh, better yet, if each student had a dry erase board they could all write their answers down, hide them, and then hold them up when time is up. They could look around and hold each other accountable to checking for correct spelling.
If a student, or students, needed special accommodation the class could work in teams or with partners. I know my class always seemed to love to team up with boys verses girls.
