Boggle

I am back!  And this time we're playing Boggle!  Another childhood favorite, Boggle contains a tray with 16 squares, 16 letter dice, and a lid to keep the letter dice from scattering when you give the game a good shake.  My sister and I used to play this game for hours on snow days and later, during college, my dear friend Melanie would thoroughly trounce me (it was painful!).  I also shared my love of this game with my third graders in St. Louis. 

I would begin by drawing a 4 x 4 grid on the board, giving the game a good shake, and then writing the letters in appropriate squares.  Students then had a limited time (but usually more than the egg timer provided with the game- wait time is important!) to create as many words as possible using the letters provided.  Each letter may only be used once, and the letters must be contiguous, that is they letters must be next to one another and share a border.  For complete instructions, Hasbro has provided them via a pdf. 

One of my favorite schools to visit in St. Louis, the New City School would have these school wide, killer Othello competitions.  However, they noted that the boys seemed to make it to the playoffs more than the gals did (Please note this statement does not indicated that I think, feel, or believe that boys are more capable than girls!).  So the wonderful faculty decided to add a Boggle tournament!  Remember to share a variety of games with your students and children.  Some children are wordsmiths while others are spatially talented.  By playing a variety of games with them, you give them an opportunity to practice those skills in a nonthreatening way!