Have you ever given thought to how your children can learn and play with language? Perhaps you want to add a bit of fun to your language arts curriculum. Try playing games!
Language Arts with Games
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Sometimes playing with language can mean incorporating chalk markers on our windows for our dictation lesson. Or a quill and ink with our copywork. Other times it means creating weird and funny poetry on the refrigerator with poetry magnets. These are all fun ways to play with language.
Did you know that Brave Writer encourages playing with language? Brave Writer understands that there is much to be gained through gameplay rather than always relying on boring workbooks.
Playing language games helps my kids with literacy, oral language, grammar, spelling, and vocabulary skills. Plus they are tons of fun and a great addition to our language arts lessons.
I’ve created a list of over 20 of our favorite language arts games. I hope your family has as much fun with these games as we do!
*I have found several games that my 11-year-old son enjoys, but are a bit too advanced for my 5-year-old. So I made sure to give you the age recommendations. But you know your kids and their abilities best. So use your best judgment.*
Language Games
Quiddler Card Game is a great family game in which you try to arrange all of the cards in your hand into one or more words! For ages 8 and up.
Mad Libs is a humor inducing game that helps kids learn parts of speech! Recommended for ages 10 and up.
FairyTale Spinner is all about collecting the elements to create your story. Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Scattergories is a fast-thinking game of words. The more creative the answers, the more points you’ll earn. It’s recommended for older kids ages 12 and up.
Apples to Apples is great for a family game night. With it, you select the card from your hand that you think is best described by a card played by the judge. If the judge picks your card, you win that round. Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Rory’s Story Cubes are a blast for young and old alike. Roll the dice and create your story using the pictures on the dice. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Taboo is a game about forbidden words. To get your team to say pinball, would you say arcade, game, flippers, tilt or roll? In this game, all of the obvious words are strictly forbidden. Another game for older kids 13 and up.
Boggle is a race against your opponent to see who can find the most words to win. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Zingo Word Builder is perfect for kiddos needing a fun way to build vocabulary and exercise spelling! Recommended for ages 5 and up.
Word Spiel is the game where each word played spins off the last word. Be the first to get rid of all of your cards by making words. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Language Arts Games
Bananagrams is reminiscent of Scrabble but without the board and players are racing each other to build crossword grids! Recommended for ages 7 and up.
Scrabble is a classic game of letter tiles and crossword grid. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Spinergy is the game where you take three words, and then try to make a shocking headline out of them! Recommended for ages 13 and up.
Balderdash is a classic bluffing game. Players make up phony answers along with the real answers and everyone votes on which answer they think is real. Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Cooking Up Sentences Game is a fun way for kids to practice grammar and parts of speech. Recommended for ages 7 and up.
Educational Insights Blurt is a perfect game for the family game night. You’re given a definition and you must race to respond with the correct word. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Family Game Night & Playing with Language
Loaded Questions is a fun game that includes creative questions. Everyone writes down their answers to the question and then you have to match the answers to the players. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Play On Words is a fun game that combines the elements of Scrabble and Anagrams in which you try to build words from 8 card stacks. Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Hangman is the game where you think of a word. Tell your opponent how many letters the word has and now the game begins. Recommended for ages 6 and up.
Rhyme Out Listen to three clues – be the first to shout out three answers that rhyme and you win the round. This is a fantastic way to add in playing with language. Recommended for ages 10 and up.
Guess Who is a classic two-player game where opponents attempt to guess which character their opponent has picked. When you feel that you are sure you have the right person, Guess Who. Recommended for ages 6 and up.
Wordical is the game where you roll the vowel dice and combine the letters with the consonant cards in your hand—try to build the highest-scoring word and you win the round! Recommended for ages 8 and up.
Now tell me, what are your favorite ways of playing with language?
If you love games, then you may enjoy:
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The Art of Strewing Games in Your Homeschool
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Playing with Language Games Your Kids will Love
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Exploring Art: Art Books and Games for Kids
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50 Favorite Games The Whole Family Will Love
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Brownies, Books, and Games in the New Year
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Learning Math with our Favorite Games and Apps
Do you want to learn more about the Brave Writer Lifestyle? Then be sure to check out these other posts:
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Incorporating the Communication Game into Your Child’s Language Arts
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Homeschool Art Appreciation and the Brave Writer Lifestyle
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How to Create an Enchanting Experience with Copywork
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No Stress Poetry Teatime and the Brave Writer Lifestyle
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Poetry Tea Time and the Brave Writer Lifestyle
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Becoming A Family Of Brave Writers
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Big, Juicy Conversations in our Homeschool
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25 Movies You Can Pair With Books
Sarah Bean says
One thing I Really love about Homeschool. WE believe you can learn anywhere, with anything!!Love your post.