Roy the Zebra

Throughout my educational career I have found that it is easier to find math games than any other subject so today I decided to hunt for language arts related games. One website I came across was Roythezebra.com.  This site has online books about Roy, a zebra who likes to sing and all of his friends at the zoo. There are also a collection of reading and writing games starring Roy and his friends. The games are often simple to play and colorful to be appealing to children. There are games for several reading skills such as making words with consonant blends and vowel pairs, rhyming, putting words in ABC order, singular vs. plural nouns, capitalization and punctuation and reading sentences to see if they make sense. Most of the games are geared towards K-2 students.  Below are two of the games that I enjoyed playing.

Title: Singular or Plural

Publisher: Tim Bowerbank (creator of roythezebra.com)

Game Summary: Players read and sort words by singular and plural. Within the sort they also match the singular form to its plural form. The game gives immediate feedback as well as a chance to try again when a mistake is made. When players finish the sort correctly they get to choose a present for Lucy's room. After completing four sorts, Lucy's presents are delivered and her room is transformed. There are five different levels for differentiation or increased challenge. When students finish one level they can move on to the next.

Educational Value: I would use this game on the interactive whiteboard as a word study lesson or as independent practice in the computer lab instead of a worksheet. The only down fall is that this game doesn't track data, but students could complete a quick exit card at the end of the lesson to demonstrate learning. This game could also be used as part of a computer center or small group activity for students who need additional practice.

Link: Singular or Plural?

Title: Double Consonants

Publisher: Tom Bowerbank (creator of Roythezebra.com)

Game Summary: Double Consonants was one of my favorite games on the website. Players make words by dragging groups of letters (double consonants) to the end or beginning of a word. After players create four new words they help Wellington clean up the ocean by dragging a piece of trash in the recycling bin. After five rounds all of the trash is gone and Wellington will drag the recycling bin out of the ocean.

Educational Value: This game gives students practice making words and using their decoding skills to read the words. There is a mix of frequently used words and more challenging words. It would be nice if the game had a feature where it would read the words out loud or give a definition if needed for further developing vocabulary. There is some feedback given. If students create a nonsense word they are asked to try again. While the main focus is making and reading words with double consonants, the 'story' also provides a subtle message to recycle and take care of the Earth/oceans.  I would either use this game as independent practice or as a center for students who need additional practice. There are five different levels that each practice specific double consonants which allows for differentiation. Students can work on the sounds they need more practice with. Teachers could pair up stronger readers with students who are still developing for additional help with reading the words.

Link: Double Consonants