Words their way games

9 Activities for your Word Study Routine — Tarheelstate Teacher

I have a confession to make…Planning for word study is one of my superpowers. I like to think about it, I like to talk about it, I like to create activities to help students improve their word study and spelling abilities. You probably don’t want to hear about my dreams of gameboards at night, but I’m so glad my secret is out and that you are here to learn more about word study activities for upper elementary students! Today, I’ve got the ultimate list of word study activities that I use for a well-rounded Words Their Way word study program. If you use another program, you’ll still find ideas that you can incorporate here, including a free set of word study sorting posters. Let’s go!

Note: This post contains affiliate links to the word study resources that I recommend. This means that I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon. com. Read my full disclosure here.

For my word study curriculum, I use the Words Their Way word sort books as my go-to for differentiated word lists and printable sorts. If you would like to see the Words Their Way Word Sort Books, you can find them here on Amazon.

As you check out the activities I use in my word study routine, think of this list as a buffet of activities you can choose from to fill any voids in your word study plans. Need more engagement, to add in the fun, or something to push the depths of students’ understanding? Think about what’s missing and see if any of these activities make sense to add in. As you read these, keep in mind that everything in my word study routine is differentiated with students grouped based on an assessment they take at the beginning of the year.

9 ACTIVITIES FOR WORD STUDY

I introduce my students to their word study list with word searches. Students search through a word search that does not contain a word list. These word searches encourage students to “discover” or identify a common pattern being used among the words in the word search. When students discover the focus pattern(s) or concepts, they look for more words with that pattern and attune their minds to think about other words that could fit that pattern.

This assignment is designed for use at the beginning of a word study rotation as a way to introduce students to their new word list. I LOVE this activity as an inquiry-based way to launch my word study lists! You may want to add this to your word study routine if your students need some fun and challenge or if they’ve spent years doing word sorts and need a new way to engage with their word study lists. It’s an easy activity to print and go and since it’s repeated at the start of each word study list, students get better and better at them! (I’ve got lots of tips and tricks for success with word study word searches in this blog post. )

Want to give word study word searches a test drive? You can click the button below for sample word searches for each of the 4 word study levels. (I recommend printing one and having a go at it yourself to see what kinds of thinking your brain does while trying to find words with similar patterns. Have fun!) The PDF will open in a new tab.

FREE SAMPLES - WORDS THEIR WAY DISCOVERY WORD SEARCHES PDF - free sample

SEE WORD SEARCHES ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

2) WORD SORTING ACTIVITIES

Oh boy! Word sorts can be so much fun—but they are also an important way to help students discover ideas about the sounds and patterns in words. Since my upper elementary students have experienced pattern-based word sorts in past years, I like to spice it up for them with a “You Choose” menu of word sorting activities. I include the following main sorts on their choice board:

Sound Sort
Pattern Sort
Sound and Pattern Sort—this sort gets more detailed than just a sound or pattern sort for sorts where words may contain the same patterns but make different sounds.
OOPS! Sort—Students create a sort for a partner where they’ve misplaced one word in each column.
Parts of Speech Sort
“I Can Read the Word” Sort
Number of Syllables Sort
Memory Match—This is “sort of” a sorting activity; students play Memory/Match and record matches or pairs of words that have the same sound, pattern, or other connection.
Word Meaning Sort—Students sort their words into categories based on meaning. They can even create a concept map or web showing how the words are related when it works for the given sort!

While some word lists will work better for these sorts than others (for example, it wouldn’t be a great use of time to complete a syllables sort with a word list where all words contain the same number of syllables), it is a nice option to let students choose their activity. In addition, you may modify the You Choose boards for different groups based on their level and what they need to focus on most. An “I Can Read the Word” sort may be very beneficial for students at the Within Word Pattern level, but unnecessary for students at the Derivational Relations level.

If you are interested in adding these sorts to your word study routine, I’ll send the “You Choose” word sort boards along with direction posters for each type of sort to your inbox. Just subscribe below!

WORD STUDY SORT DIRECTION POSTERS + MORE!

Use these posters to teach your students different ways to sort their words. You'll also get a word sort choice board, directions for "How to Quiz Yourself," and more.

You'll be joining the Tarheelstate Teacher email community for 3rd-5th grade teachers and receive tons of other tips and perks along the way! Just check your inbox!

Word study notebooks are a way to encourage students to think deeply about the words on their word lists. I ask questions like: What do you notice about the way these words are spelled? What do you notice about the sounds in these words? What do you notice about the way the beginning/ending changed the meaning of the word? How did the spelling change when (something) was added? How did the spelling change when the tense changed? etc.

In a recent re-reading of Words Their Way (6th Edition), Bear (et al) recommended that students have a word study notebook to house their thinking about their word lists. They also included a list of activities that could be used like a menu of choices to prompt students to think more deeply about their words. But, after years of struggling to utilize a “catch all” word study notebook well, I finally created word study notebooks for Within Word Pattern, Syllables and Affixes, and Derivational Relations Spellers. With thoughtful activities for each sort, these word study notebooks help students engage with the complexities of their word lists.

You can try free samples of the word study notebooks for each level by clicking the buttons below. (A PDF will open in a new tab).

FREE WITHIN WORD PATTERN SPELLERS NOTEBOOK PDF

FREE SYLLABLES AND AFFIXES SPELLERS NOTEBOOK PDF

FREE DERIVATIONAL RELATIONS SPELLERS NOTEBOOK PDF

SEE WORD STUDY NOTEBOOKS ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

4) MEET WITH THE TEACHER

My students meet with me in small groups based on their developmental level. I try to meet with my two emerging spellers groups twice during their word study cycle, while my other groups meet once. During our time together, we may go over any of the activities listed here. I use this time to give my students a boost with their word searches (if needed), ensure that students understand how to complete their word study notebook activities, and have students play a round of the independent or partner game so that they know how to play when it comes up in their schedule.

(If you cringe at the word “games” for your classroom, let’s call these SUPER FUN, ENGAGING activities 💕!) I mix and match partner games and independent games and activities in my students’ routine. Depending on where we are in the year, my students may play games during their meeting with me, during a whole-group game day, or as part of their word study schedule. Check out different ways to incorporate them in your word study block here.

I’ve created board games, games with spinners, picture board activities, card games, and more to help students practice and reinforce the concepts meant to be taught by their word study lists.

If you’re thinking students will just goof off during game play, have no fear! I include a word study-focused recording sheet that helps hold students accountable, reinforces the concepts taught in the games, and allows me to check to see if students have any misconceptions I need to address individually or during our next meeting. This accountability along with a strong focus on teaching my students the organization, routines, and procedures of using word study games allows games to be a fun part of our routine!

SEE WORD STUDY GAMES + ACTIVITIES ON TEACHERS PAY TEACHERS

6) LOOK, SAY, COVER, WRITE, CHECK (SELF-QUIZZING)

In Look, Say, Cover, Write, Check (LSCW✓), students do exactly what it sounds like. They take their word lists (from their word sort slips), place them in an upside down pile in front of themselves, flip over the first word, and

Look at the word
Say the word
Cover the word (or flip it over)
Write the word down
Check it by looking at the word slip and comparing.

Then, students give themselves a check beside of the word if it is spelled correctly and record the correct spelling for any misspelled words right beside of their original try. In the word sorting activities download, I’ve included directions for how students can quiz themselves with LSCW✓.

7) WRITER’S NOTEBOOK DAY

I include a day that I call “writer’s notebook day” in my students’ word study cycle. (A writer’s notebook is simply a composition notebook that students use during our writer’s workshop to free write, work on drafts, etc.) During this activity, students go through a page or two of an entry in their writer’s notebook to look for misspelled words. Students can write directly on their writing sample (circling misspelled words and writing the correct spelling above it) or use a sticky note to jot down the correct spellings and attach it to the page.

Writer’s notebook day is important for helping my students make the connection from word study concepts to improved spelling in writing. This activity can be especially beneficial if you have time to analyze common patterns that students are misspelling or want data on the transfer of "word study" to authentic spelling during writing.

8) BUILDING WORDS ACTIVITIES

Building words is a beneficial activity for some students. In this activity, students take a word from their word slips, then

say the word,
build the word with letter tiles,
do a “Pencil-Touch check”—Students touch each letter on the slip and each letter tile back and forth with their pencil to check their spelling,
record the word they built in their word study notebooks.

You can modify this activity to make it a bit more challenging by having students flip over or cover the word before they build it.

9) “HEAR IT/SORT AND SPELL IT” OR “NO PEAKING” ASSESSMENT (BUDDY QUIZ)

To check students’ progress on learning to spell the words from their word list, you can implement a “Hear it/Sort it and Spell it” assessment. (I formerly called this a “blind” assessment, but I have updated the language for sensitivity and to more clearly describe what students do. This could also be called a buddy check or buddy quiz.)

Ideally, the teacher is able to call out words to students on their quiz day, but often times, it’s easier to set students up with a buddy from a different group who will read their word list to them.

WHAT IF YOU HAD THE DREAM WORD STUDY SCHEDULE?!

👉 We know that we have a wide range of spelling abilities in our upper elementary classrooms and that students are not on the same level in their word study and spelling development.

💜 A differentiated program helps students fill in the gaps in their learning of phonics, spelling, and how words work. Differentiated spelling routines put spelling success within students’ zone of proximal development.

👉 While spelling is often a minimalized instructional piece in upper elementary classrooms, students’ spelling abilities can be one of the most stigmatizing factors in their academic performance. Students who have difficulty spelling well may resist writing during your writer’s workshop or other content-area writing activities.

💜 The idea that all students are working to understand words better and become better spellers normalizes not knowing how to spell all words—no matter what level students start from.

How long does it take to make a difference in our students’ attitudes and abilities toward spelling?

Can you believe that a word study routine of 15-20 minutes 3-5 times a week can positively affect your students? It’s true!

If you want to see the word study schedules that worked in my classroom and made a difference in my students’ spelling abilities, click here to make your own copy of my sample word study schedules—perhaps you’ll see why word study quickly became one of my teacher obsessions!

SAMPLE WORD STUDY SCHEDULES - 7 AND 9 DAY CYCLES

HELPFUL RESOURCES FOR UPPER ELEMENTARY WORD STUDY

CLICK HERE TO PIN AND SAVE FOR LATER

Tammy RooseSeptember 23, 2021word study4 Comments

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Words Their Way, MY Way: Part 2

I’m baaaack!

My original blog post about running Words Their Way, called Words Their Way: MY Way, is my most-visited and most-pinned blog post EVER.

First of all, I’m totally flattered that anyone wants to read anything I have to say.

Second of all, I GET IT! Words Their Way is the monster under the bed that makes you decide that, well, you’d rather stay safely in your bed than risk getting out of it.

I love Words Their Way – don’t get me wrong – but it can be completely overwhelming and consuming if you don’t have an attack plan.

Thus, I present to you…

If you were directed here from my first post, thanks for reading! If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, I suggest you start there first.

Let’s dig in!

As many of you know, I started at a new school this year.

My new school does use Words Their Way, but I have had to change up my routine a bit to best fit my new classroom.

WORKBOOKS

First of all, my school provides these awesome workbooks for each student:

How lucky are we?

The workbooks are leveled. Inside are the numbered sorts, which students cut out every Monday. In other words, these books completely eliminate copying or printing different sorts every week and having to keep up with which group is on which sort!

For each sort, there is also a sorting page and a writing page. Students use the sorting page to practice sorting their words all week. On Fridays, they glue the words down so that they are permanently sorted in their workbooks to refer back to when needed.

If you don’t have workbooks, you should definitely ask your administration if you can get them! They are such time-savers for teachers and are beneficial for students.

GAMES

I’m not a fan of generic spelling, during which students practice writing their words in different colors. In my humble opinion, those methods are boring, mindless, and ineffective.

I’m not a huge fan of the games that come designed for Words Their Way, because you have to create them all (print, color, cut, glue, make cards, etc. ). That is a TON of work to do for a game that will only be used by one group of kids for one week. Yikes!

So, I decided to create my own line of Words Their Way games that can be used with ANY and ALL word sorts.

Yep, you read that correctly: ANY sort! I have been using most of these games in my classroom for over a year now and have yet to come across a sort that didn’t work.

These games are available individually in my TPT store, or at a discounted price in my Word Study Bundle.

Word Master was my first versatile game for Words Their Way. It incorporates a little bit of all aspects of word study: spelling, vocabulary, and pattern generalization. I allow up to 4 kids to play together, and they love it!

Spin It! is a line of spinner games including Spin It (Classic), Write It, and Define It.

Spin It includes a little bit of everything, while the other spinners target specific skills. Students can play with a partner, and some spinners can be used independently.

Beat Me to the Peak is the new favorite in my classroom. I allow my higher-level groups to play it, because it targets word meaning rather than spelling. I allow up to 4 to play at a time, and I just think it’s so cute!

My newest addition is Word Study Memory, a twist on the classic memory game. It gets students thinking critically about spelling patterns and generalizations.

All of the Words Their Way games are available at a discounted price in my growing Word Study Bundle.

SCHEDULE

My team runs word study on a one-week schedule, so I do things much differently than I did last year. Every day, we do word study for at 15 minutes first thing in the morning. Later in the morning, students have a “Word Work” station that they visit during Daily 5 rotations. All students get at least 30 minutes of word study in each day.

Here is what our word study block looks like first thing each day:

Monday: Students cut out new words during morning work. Then they meet with partners in their groups to attempt sorting their words correctly. They are also supposed to make sure they know how to pronounce each word and that they know each word’s meaning. During this time, I meander around the room to assist any students that need help with their initial sorts.

Tuesday: I put a timer on the board and kids do speed sorts with partners.

Wednesday: Students do writing sorts in their word work journals for morning work, then meet with a partner to play a word study game that I created.

Thursday: Students do blind writing sorts with partners to prepare for their quizzes.

Friday: I give word study quizzes in leveled groups.

Students get to pick how they practice their words during Word Work time when we do Daily 5. They can practice writing words in their notebooks, or they can practice sorting, or they can pull materials from the bucket, including my Words Their Way games!

There you have it.

If you are looking for more ideas about how to ORGANIZE and IMPLEMENT Words Their Way, please go read Words Their Way, MY Way (Part 1) where I explain all of my organization in depth.

Questions? Ask in a comment below and I’ll get back to you!

Please follow along on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and TPT for more ideas to make your teaching life a little happier!

Word games • Arzamas

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Author Lev Gankin

Primer “A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Oral games

Associations

Game for a big company. The host briefly leaves the room, during which time the rest decide which of those present they will guess (this may be the host himself). Upon returning, the player asks the others questions - what flower do you associate this person with, what vehicle, what part of the body, what kitchen utensils, etc. - in order to understand who is hidden. Questions can be very different - this is not limited by anything other than the imagination of the players. Since associations are an individual matter and an exact match may not happen here, it is customary to give the guesser two or three attempts. If the company is small, you can expand the circle of mutual acquaintances who are not present at that moment in the room, although the classic version of "associations" is still a hermetic game. nine0004

Game of P

A game for a company of four people, an interesting variation on the "hat" theme (see below), but does not require any special accessories. One player guesses a word to another, which he must explain to the others, but he can only use words starting with the letter "p" (any, except for the same root). That is, the word "house" will have to be explained, for example, as follows: "I built - I live." If you couldn’t guess right away, you can throw up additional associations: “building, premises, space, the simplest concept ...” And at the end add, for example, “Perignon” - by association with Dom Perignon champagne. If the guessers are close to winning, then the facilitator will need comments like “about”, “approximately”, “almost right” - or, in the opposite situation: “bad, wait!”. Usually, after the word is guessed, the explainer comes up with a new word and whispers it into the ear of the guesser - he becomes the next leader. nine0004

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Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Say the Same Thing

An upbeat and fast-paced game for two, named after a video clip by the inventive rock band OK Go, from which many people learned about it (the musicians even developed a mobile application that helps to play it from a distance, although it is currently unavailable). The meaning of the game is that on the count of one-two-three each of the players pronounces a randomly chosen word. Further, the goal of the players is, with the help of successive associations, to come to a common denominator: for the next time, two or three, both pronounce a word that is somehow connected with the previous two, and so on until the desired coincidence occurs. Suppose the first player said the word "house" and the second player said the word "sausage"; in theory, they can coincide very soon, if on the second move after one-two-three both say "store". But if one says “shop”, and the other says “refrigerator” (why not a sausage house?), then the game can drag on, especially since it’s impossible to repeat - neither the store nor the refrigerator will fit, and you will have to think, say, before "refrigerator" or "IKEI". If the original words are far from each other (for example, "curb" and "weightlessness"), then the gameplay becomes completely unpredictable. nine0004

Characters

A game for the company (the ideal number of players is from four to ten), which requires from the participants not only good imagination, but also, preferably, a little bit of acting skills. As usual, one of the players briefly leaves the room, and while he is gone, the rest come up with a word, the number of letters in which matches the number of participants remaining in the room. Next, the letters are distributed among the players, and a character is invented for each of them (therefore, words that contain "b", "s" or "b" do not fit). Until the word is guessed, the players behave in accordance with the chosen character - the leader's task is to understand exactly what characters his partners portray and restore the hidden word. Imagine, for example, that a company consists of seven people. One leaves, the rest come up with a six-letter word "old man" and distribute roles among themselves: the first, say, will be with indoor, the second - t erpel, the third - a secondary, the fourth - p asylum, the fifth - and mane and sixth - to ovary. The returning player is greeted by a cacophony of voices - the company "lives" their roles until they are unraveled, and the host asks the players questions that help reveal their image. The only condition is that as soon as the presenter pronounces the correct character - for example, guesses the insidious one - he must admit that his incognito has been revealed and announce the number of his letter (in the word "old man" - the sixth). nine0004 Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Recognize the song

A game for a company of four to five people. The host leaves, and the remaining players choose a well-known song and distribute its words among themselves - each word. For example, the song “Let there always be sun” is guessed: one player gets the word “let”, the second - “always”, the third - “will be”, the fourth - “sun”. The host returns and begins to ask questions - the most varied and unexpected: "What is your favorite city?", "Where does the Volga flow?", "What to do and who is to blame?". The task of the respondents is to use their own word in the answer and try to do it in such a way that it does not stand out too much; you need to answer quickly and not very extensively, but not necessarily truthfully. Answers to questions in this case can be, for example, “It’s hard for me to choose one city, but let today it will be Rio de Janeiro" or "Volga - into the Caspian, but this does not happen always , every third year it flows into the Black". The presenter must catch which word is superfluous in the answer and guess the song. They often play with lines from poetry rather than from songs.

Tip

A game for four people divided into pairs (in principle, there can be three or four pairs). The mechanics is extremely simple: the first player from the first pair whispers a word (a common noun in the singular) into the ear of the first player from the second pair, then they must take turns calling their associations with this word (in the same form - common nouns; cognate words cannot be used ). After each association, the teammate of the player who voiced it calls out his word, trying to guess if it was originally guessed - and so on, until the problem is solved by someone; at the same time, all associations already sounded in the game can be used in the future, adding one new one at each move. For example, suppose there are players A and B on one team, and C and D on the other. Player A whispers the word "old man" into player C's ear. Player C says aloud to his partner D: "age". If D immediately answers "old man", then the pair of C and D scores a point, but if he says, for example, "youth", then the move goes to player A, who, using the word "age" suggested by C (but discarding the irrelevant to the case "youth" from D), says to his partner B: "age, man." Now B will probably guess the old man - and his team with A will already earn a point. But if he says "teenager" (thinking that it is about the age when boys turn into men), then C, to whom the move suddenly returned, will say " age, man, eightieth birthday”, and here, probably, “old man” will be guessed. In one of the variants of the game, it is also allowed to "shout": this means that, having suddenly guessed what was meant, the player can shout out the option not on his turn. If he guessed right, his team will get a point, but if he rushed to conclusions, the team will lose a point. They usually play up to five points. nine0004 Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

IPU

Game for a big company. Here we are forced to warn readers that, having seen this text in full, you will never be able to drive again - the game is one-time.

Spoiler →

First, the player who gets to drive leaves the room. When he returns, he must find out what MPS means - all that is known in advance is that the bearer of this mysterious abbreviation is present in the room right now. To find out the correct answer, the driver can ask other players questions, the answers to which should be formulated as “yes” or “no”: “Does he have blond hair?”, “Does he have blue eyes?”, “Is this a man?”, “He in jeans?", "Does he have a beard?"; moreover, each question is asked to a specific player, and not to all at once. Most likely, it will quickly become clear that there is simply no person in the room who meets all the criteria; Accordingly, the question arises, according to what principle the players give answers. "Opening" this principle will help answer the main question - what is MPS. The Ministry of Railways is not the Ministry of Communications at all, but m oh p equal s seated (that is, each player always describes the person sitting to his right). Another option is COP, to then about answered n last (that is, everyone talks about who answered the previous question).

Contact

A simple game that can be played with a group of three or more people. One thinks of a word (noun, common noun, singular) and calls its first letter aloud, the task of the others is to guess the word, remembering other words with this letter, asking questions about them and checking if the presenter guessed. The facilitator's task is not to reveal the next letters in the word to the players for as long as possible. For example, a word with the letter "d" is guessed. One of the players asks the question: “Is this by chance not the place where we live?” This is where the fun begins: the host must figure out as quickly as possible what the player means and say “No, this is not“ house ”” (well, or, if it was a“ house ”, honestly admit it). But in parallel, other players also think the same thing, and if they understand what “house” means before the leader, then they say: “contact” or “there is contact”, and start counting up to ten in chorus (while the count is going on, the presenter still has a chance to escape and guess what it is about!), and then they call the word. If at least two matched, that is, at the expense of ten they said “house” in chorus, the presenter must reveal the next letter, and the new guesser version will already begin with the now known letters “d” + the next one. If it was not possible to beat the host on this question, then the guessers offer a new option. Of course, it makes sense to complicate the definitions, and not ask everything directly - so the question about "home" would sound better like "Is this not where the sun rises?" (with a reference to the famous song "House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals). Usually, the one who eventually gets to the searched word (names it or asks a question leading to victory) becomes the next leader. nine0004 Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Writing games

Encyclopedia

Not the fastest, but extremely exciting game for a company of four people - you will need pens, paper and some kind of encyclopedic dictionary (preferably not limited thematically - that is, TSB is better than a conditional "biological encyclopedia"). The host finds a word in the encyclopedia that is unknown to anyone present (here it remains to rely on their honesty - but cheating in this game is uninteresting and unproductive). The task of each of the players is to write an encyclopedic definition of this word, inventing its meaning from the head and, if possible, disguising the text as a real small encyclopedic article. The presenter, meanwhile, carefully rewrites the real definition from the encyclopedia. After that, the “articles” are shuffled and read out by the presenter in random order, including the real one, and the players vote for which option seems most convincing to them. In the end, the votes are counted and points are distributed. Any player receives a point for correctly guessing the real definition and one more point for each vote given by other participants to his own version. After that, the sheets are distributed back and a new word is played out - there should be about 6-10 of them in total. You can also play this game in teams: come up with imaginary definitions collectively. The game "poems" is arranged in a similar way - but instead of a compound word, the host selects two lines from some little-known poem in advance and invites the participants to add quatrains. nine0004

Game from Inglourious Basterds

A game for a company of any size that many knew before the Quentin Tarantino film, but it does not have a single name. Each player invents a role for his neighbor (usually it is some famous person), writes it on a piece of paper and sticks the piece of paper on his neighbor's forehead: accordingly, everyone sees what role someone has, but does not know who they are. The task of the participants is, with the help of leading questions, the answers to which are formulated as “yes” or “no” (“Am I a historical figure?”, “Am I a cultural figure?”, “Am I a famous athlete?”), to find out who exactly they are. In this form, however, the game exhausts itself rather quickly, so you can come up with completely different themes and instead of famous people play, for example, in professions (including exotic ones - "carousel", "taxidermist"), in film and literary heroes (you can mix them with real celebrities, but it’s better to agree on this in advance), food (one player will be risotto, and the other, say, green cabbage soup) and even just items. nine0004 Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Bulls and cows

A game for two: one participant thinks of a word, and it is agreed in advance how many letters should be in it (usually 4-5). The task of the second is to guess this word by naming other four- or five-letter words; if some letters of the named word are in the hidden one, they are called cows, and if they have the same place inside the word, then these are bulls. Let's imagine that the word "eccentric" is conceived. If the guesser says “dot”, then he receives an answer from the second player: “three cows” (that is, the letters “h”, “k” and “a”, which are in both “eccentric” and “dot”, but in different places). If he then says "head of head", he will no longer get three cows, but two cows and one bull - since the letter "a" in both "eccentric" and "head" is in the fourth position. As a result, sooner or later, it is possible to guess the word, and the players can change places: now the first one will guess the word and count the bulls and cows, and the second one will name his options and track the extent to which they coincide with the one guessed. You can also complicate the process by simultaneously guessing your own word and guessing the opponent's word. nine0004

Intellect

Writing game for the company (but you can also play together), consisting of three rounds, each for five minutes. In the first, players randomly type thirteen letters (for example, blindly poking a book page with their finger) and then form words from them, and only long ones - from five letters. In the second round, you need to choose a syllable and remember as many words as possible that begin with it, you can use single-root ones (for example, if the syllable "house" is selected, then the words "house", "domra", "domain", "domain", "brownie", "housewife", etc.). Finally, in the third round, the syllable is taken again, but now you need to remember not ordinary words, but the names of famous people of the past and present in which it appears, and not necessarily at the beginning - that is, both Karamzin and McCartney will fit the syllable "kar" , and, for example, Hamilcar. An important detail: since this round provokes the most disputes and scams, game participants can ask each other to prove that this person is really a celebrity, and here you need to remember at least the profession and country. Typical dialogue: "What, you don't know Hamilcar? But this is a Carthaginian commander!” After each round, points are counted: if a particular word is the same for all players, it is simply crossed out, in other cases, players are awarded as many points for it as the opponents could not remember it. In the first round, you can still add points for especially long words. Based on the results of the rounds, it is necessary to determine who took the first, second, third and other places, and add up these places at the end of the game. The goal is to get the smallest number at the output (for example, if you were the winners of all three rounds, then you will get the number 3 - 1 + 1 + 1, and you are the champion; less cannot be purely mathematical). nine0004 Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Frame

A game for any number of people, which was invented by one of the creators of the Kaissa chess program and the author of the anagram search program Alexander Bitman. First, the players choose several consonants - this will be the frame, the skeleton of the word. Then the time is recorded (two or three minutes), and the players begin to “stretch” vowels (as well as “й”, “ь”, “ъ”) onto the frame to make existing words. Consonants can be used in any order, but only once, and vowels can be added in any number. For example, players choose the letters "t", "m", "n" - then the words "fog", "cloak", "mantle", "coin", "darkness", "ataman", "dumbness" and other. The winner is the one who can come up with more words (as usual, these should be common nouns in the singular). The game can be played even with one letter, for example, "l". The words “silt”, “lay”, “yula”, “aloe”, “spruce” are formed around it, and if we agree that the letter can be doubled, “alley” and “lily”. If the standard "framework" is mastered, then the task may be to compose a whole phrase with one consonant: a textbook example from the book by Evgeny Gik - "Bobby, kill the boy and beat the woman at the baobab." nine0004

Chain of words

Game for any number of players. Many people know it under the name "How to make an elephant out of a fly", and it was invented by the writer and mathematician Lewis Carroll, the author of "Alice". The “chain” is based on metagram words, that is, words that differ by only one letter. The task of the players is to turn one word into another with the least number of intermediate links. For example, let's make a "goat" from a "fox": FOX - LINDE - PAW - KAPA - KARA - KORA - GOAT. It is interesting to give tasks with a plot: so that the “day” turns into “night”, the “river” becomes the “sea”. The well-known chain, where the "elephant" grows out of the "fly", is obtained in 16 moves: FLY - MURA - TURA - TARA - KARA - KARE - CAFE - KAFR - MURDER - KAYUK - HOOK - URIK - LESSON - TERM - DRAIN - STON - ELEPHANT (example of Evgeny Gik). For training, you can compete in the search for metagrams for any word. For example, the word "tone" gives "sleep", "background", "current", "tom", "tan" and so on - whoever scores more options wins. nine0004 Primer "A. B. C. Trim, alphabet enchanté. Illustrations by Bertal. France, 1861 Wikimedia Commons

Hat

A game for a company of four people, requiring simple equipment: pens, paper and a “hat” (an ordinary plastic bag will do). Sheets of paper need to be torn into small pieces and distributed to the players, the number of pieces depends on how many people are playing: the larger the company, the less for each. Players write words on pieces of paper (one for each piece of paper) and throw them into the "hat". There are also options here - you can play just with words (noun, common noun, singular), or you can play with famous people or literary characters. Then the participants are divided into teams - two or more people each; the task of each - in 20 seconds (or 30, or a minute - the timing can be set at your own choice) to explain to your teammates the largest number of words arbitrarily pulled out of the "hat", without using the same root. If the driver could not explain a word, it returns to the hat and will be played by the other team. At the end of the game, the words guessed by different representatives of the same team are summed up, their number is counted, and the team that has more pieces of paper is awarded the victory. A popular version of the game: everything is the same, but in the first round the players explain the words (or describe the characters) orally, in the second round they show in pantomime, in the third round they explain the same words in one word. And recently a board game has appeared, where you need not only to explain and show, but also to draw. nine0004

Telegrams

Game for any number of players. The players choose a word, for each letter of which they will need to come up with a part of the telegram - the first letter will be the beginning of the first word, the second - the second, and so on. For example, the word "fork" is selected. Then the following message can become a telegram: “The camel is healed. I'm flying a crocodile. Aibolit". Another round of the game is the addition of genres. Each player gets the task to write not one, but several telegrams from the same word - business, congratulatory, romantic (the types of messages are agreed in advance). Telegrams are read aloud, the next word is chosen. nine0004

even more different games for one or a company

Home games

Shadow theater, crafts and paper dolls from children's books and magazines of the XIX-XX centuries Ring and other games

Games from classic books

What do the heroes of the works of Nabokov, Lindgren and Milne play

A children's course on where games, jokes, horror stories and memes come from and why we need them

Children's room

Special project

Children's room Arzamas

Sources

Balandin B. B. Big book of intellectual games and entertaining questions for smart people and smart girls.
M., 2008.
Bocharova A. G., Goreva T. M., Okun V. Ya. 500 wonderful children's games.
M., 1999.
Geek E. Ya. Entertaining mathematical games.
M., 1987.
Fedin S. N. The best games with words.
M., 2001.
Firsova L. M. Games and entertainment. Book 1.
M., 1989.

the path to freedom - Monoclair

Headings: Culture, Latest articles, Philosophy

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How do our thoughts affect the way and quality of life and personal growth? How does the meaning of words change depending on the social context? Why can the same word be perceived differently by different people, and is it possible to overcome this barrier of misunderstanding? Cambridge philosophy professor Sandy Grant takes a brief tour of Wittgenstein's philosophy and talks about what language games are, how they work, and what we can do to break free from the rules of the language game and expand the boundaries of thinking. nine0194

University of Cambridge philosopher Sandy Grant astutely points out that almost every human activity involves speech and the use of words, but we are so accustomed to the fact that we can speak that we are no longer surprised by this. Usually we do not even notice how our thoughts and words are reflected in the image and quality of life. But they affect who we can become. In addition, language becomes a tool for drawing a conditional boundary of our world. Thinking is inseparable from language. The boundaries of our language are at the same time the boundaries of thinking. Consequently, the boundaries of the expression of thought are at the same time the boundaries of the world, so that the logic of language gives us a complete idea of the logic of the world. nine0004

We seem to be in captivity. Language is the verbal expression of our thoughts, so the way we think forms a language practice, which, in turn, determines, together with thinking, the type of our actions. But can we, by following the rules of the game that language sets, break out of captivity and expand the boundaries of thinking?

View Tatiana Chernigovskaya's lectures on the brain and language

This question was first asked by one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century, Ludwig Wittgenstein. He introduced the term "language game", seeking in his logical and philosophical concept to establish the boundaries of human thinking. He argued that words acquire meaning only in the process of their use, and in themselves they do not carry a semantic load. Thus, context is important, in other words, social practices that are carried out according to certain rules. This observation allowed Wittgenstein to compare human activity with play. nine0004

By "language games" Wittgenstein understands the whole system of communication, which includes language and actions with which it is closely intertwined. Based on simple games, we can, by learning new rules, build new and more complex games, thereby increasing the practice and activity of the language. The game implies following a certain rule that a person cannot formulate precisely, since each game requires its own rules. For different games, different “combinations” are set, moves that allow the game to function as such and distinguish it from another. A game without rules is not a game. It must also contain an element of creativity and imagination. nine0004

That is why he used the term "language game" to draw attention not only to the peculiarities of the language itself, but also to the activities with which it is directly related. For example, such exclamations as: “Help!”, “Fire!”, “No!” - they all call for certain actions: a quick reaction to danger, they carry a warning or a ban. However, Wittgenstein wanted to go further and identify the process itself, to describe exactly how words turn into actions.

More Evolution and Metaphorical Language: On Our Ability to Think in Symbols

At this stage, the philosopher faced a problem, because such a process is not easy to explain and theorize. According to his theory, language is not any static system. It is dynamic and varied. And the language game is the unity of the language and the activity of the whole in the process of human life. There are an infinite number of language games, according to Wittgenstein, and their infinite variety is the abundance of life practices. It is impossible to classify these conceptual speech practices and games due to the fact that there are a huge number of possible variations of games and practices, as well as their types and varieties. nine0004

At the same time, he sought to find out exactly how language "speaks" to us and how it integrates into our daily activities and becomes a "form of life." In Philosophical Investigations (1953), Wittgenstein gave an example demonstrating how language fits in with "forms of life." At the construction site, one of the workers points to a brick and says “Tile!”, while the second builder picks up the brick and gives it to his partner. So what's going on here? The assistant complied with the request of the commander and did it meaningfully, and not like a devoted dog who simply reacted to the command. Humans are the only creatures that use language by referring to specific social practices. nine0004

Focusing on "language games", Wittgenstein asks readers to try to understand what exactly they are doing. However, if our activity is so closely dependent on linguistic practices, then are we even able to draw a line between words and reactions to them, and also to single out language as a separate area for study. Wittgenstein's idea was subjected to fierce criticism, he was accused of being obsessed with language, which diverts attention from reality. The main opponent of Wittgenstein's linguistic theory can be called Herbert Marcuse, who in his text "One-Dimensional Man" (1964) declared Wittgenstein's work flawed and limited. According to Marcuse, we will not be able to gain freedom from language, nor will we be able to know the true reality by studying linguistics in detail. He criticized the logical analysis of language, arguing that this method would not produce results. Marcuse made serious accusations. However, how wealthy are they? Will his arguments stand up to scrutiny?

Marcuse stated that Wittgenstein's linguistic theory is defective and poor, because it is fixated on language and has no way out of the objects of reality. Wittgenstein, in turn, saw a special meaning in the term "language games", because it clarifies many points of his theory. However, Marcuse said that the term is stupid and does not bring any clarity. So who is right? In the text "Culture and Values" (1977) Wittgenstein admits that he had to go through a very difficult path in order to learn to see what is actually always before our eyes. He writes with regret that people too often overlook the obvious. Obvious things are the most difficult to understand because they are too close and it is not customary to think about them reflectively. When we use words, each time we participate in transferring the meaning of the word to a new context and discovering a new way to use it. In other words, we create a new language game. Wittgenstein was able to see in the obvious an unusual phenomenon. nine0004

One of the points that Marcuse criticizes in Wittgenstein's language theory concerns his broom example: "My broom is in the corner...". Marcuse is very embarrassed by this example, he condemns this "almost masochistic reduction of speech to the simple and general." But drowning in his indignation, Marcuse missed the main meaning of this example. Even in the ordinary case, one can find an unusual practice of transferring the meaning of words, just what Wittgenstein draws attention to. Moreover, if you look closely at the turns of speech, then even the most banal statements will not be quite what they seem at first glance. However, there are many other examples in Wittgenstein that Marcuse ignores. nine0004

This feature of a person - inattention to obvious facts - is too deeply rooted, therefore not everyone can easily perceive Wittgenstein's idea. Wittgenstein draws the reader's attention to how the daily "language games" we play take over us. That is why he carefully monitors what he himself does and says. He believes that the task of philosophy is primarily therapeutic, in the sense that it allows you to "work on yourself" and clarify thoughts. This idea is reflected in the Philosophical Investigations, the reading of which encourages introspection. nine0004

It is quite remarkable that sometimes when we say the word "time" , we mean "it's time to repay debts", and sometimes - that we expect someone to visit. We are not accustomed to viewing language from this angle. And we can indeed resist a new vision by not wanting to dwell on the obvious. But can this really be called a "mocking" of the language, as Marcuse did? In a sense, it is necessary to force yourself to see the language in a new light, this requires a deep logical analysis of the language and introspection, but the refusal or inability to see the unusual properties of the language may mean that the person is simply not smart enough to do it. Therefore, if we want to change, first of all it is necessary to overcome the habit of “being blind and stupid” in ourselves and begin to strive to know ourselves. Marcuse could accept this idea if he agreed that our daily activities are shrouded in linguistic "magic and sorcery." However, he preferred to remain captive to the language and not waste time on reflection. nine0004

Perhaps Marcuse's second objection will be more valid? It lies in the fact that Wittgenstein is limited and obsessed with language. Marcuse says that the philosopher views language one-sidedly. However, this is not confirmed by reading the writings of Wittgenstein, in which he describes language as a multidimensional, immensely diverse phenomenon that is not so easy to translate accurately. Wittgenstein painstakingly shows how language changes with changing habits and daily activities. Language is conditional and temporary, but "linguistic games" cannot change so freely. As time goes by, the context changes and there are many options for seeing the familiar situation. One of the most famous examples that support this idea is the jigsaw puzzle:

Look at this picture and you will see a duck on it. Look again and carefully, and you will also notice a hare. This is a very clear example, it shows what "linguistic games" are. The same image or word can be perceived differently by different people. A more modern example is provided by the situations that develop in the debates that often occur at conferences. The speaker can refer to "expert opinion" or say, "That's my point of view." However, if the opponent has a different mental context for using the words that are in dispute, then there is no way to resolve the conflict. People simply operate with different meanings, although outwardly they pronounce the same words. These examples invite us to think about the features that our everyday language contains. At the same time, Marcuse does not consider in his criticism the example of the “duck-hare” and does not reflect on the consequences that can be deduced from this case. nine0004

Thus, the use of language includes controversial points that relate to different understanding and perception of the same phenomena and concepts by different interlocutors. On the other hand, Marcuse denies this and even says that social practices do not support Wittgenstein's assumptions. According to Marcuse, communication would not be possible if what Wittgenstein writes about were in fact embodied in reality.

In fact, Wittgenstein's position is more radical than Marcuse notices. He says that each new utterance of a phrase always becomes a new language game. This cryptic remark may mean that we need to play language games differently if we want to change anything. But what follows from this? It is noteworthy that, according to Wittgenstein, we cannot independently, alone, play linguistic games. They arise through the sharing of language. For example, game polari is a secret language used among homosexuals in Wittgenstein's time. Language games, with their deceptive traps and multiple meanings, raise the issue of collective action. We will not be able to comprehend the meaning of the words if we act alone. Wittgenstein writes:

“This language [polari] came about because man was forced to think in a certain, unaccustomed way. Therefore, only those people who instinctively rebel against ordinary language can succeed in creating new language games; and we cannot attract the attention of those who use language thoughtlessly, for the mere expression of opinion or emotion. ” nine0004

The rebels live in a state of dissatisfaction with the language. They feel alienated, cut off from other people, as well as from the language itself. Reading Wittgenstein awakens in a person an interest in a new understanding and perception of the language. At the same time, we have found no convincing arguments in Marcuse's objections to Wittgenstein's linguistic theory. He failed to prove that Wittgenstein's undeniably difficult study of language games was stupid and useless. In fact, Marcuse's comments only heighten interest in the problems posed by Ludwig Wittgenstein in his writings. nine0004

Language and speech are an integral part of human life. We seem to live inside a language. Wittgenstein is convinced that a person stands on the border of thinking and reality, and language allows us to more clearly define this border. At the same time, since each of us becomes the boundary of his own world, this means that we will always face the problem of misunderstanding between people.