You will notice that the game charts have a column labeled LEARNING STYLES.  If you have Discover Your Child’s Learning Style, you will understand what the notes mean.  If not, here is a brief key:

Modalities:

Print means that most content is in print.

Picture means there are a lot of pictures or other graphics.

Visual means that both print and pictures are used in the game.

Verbal means there is some to quite a bit of talking involved.

Listening means that listening is involved.

Auditory means that both Verbal and Listening skills are used in the game.

Hands-on means that there is significant hand movement of cards, pieces, etc.

Whole Body means that the whole body is moving.

Writing means that writing is involved.

Dispositions:

Move means that there is significant physical activity.  These games are great for the very active child who hates to sit still.

Produce means that there is a clear (to the student) and quantifiable learning objective.  These children like to have a game labeled “educational” whereas that adjective is the kiss of death to most of the other dispositions.

Invent or Discovery means that there is discovery and/or experimentation involved.

Interact means that there is significant social interaction.  This learning style enjoys most games so it is only listed it when the group interaction is above average.

Create means that the game requires significant thought and/or creativity.

There is another vital element of learning that is important in regard to physical movement or what schools like to call Physical Education.  This is explained in depth in Smart Moves by Carla Hannaford.  Therefore, we have included the notations Vestibular and Proprioceptive to help you pick out P.E. games and activities that give your child reinforcement  in these sensory areas.

Vestibular refers to awareness of body balance and movement.

Proprioceptive  refers to the relative position of different parts of the body and the strength of effort used in movement.

Most games combine multiple elements, so we listed only the salient ones.  Likewise, any one child’s learning style is far more complex than these simple definitions and each child’s personality includes a combination of several modalities and dispositions.  Watch for the elements in games that your child likes and look for those or similar elements in other games

By this age many students are beginning algebra so most of the games chosen above contain algebraic concepts.  You choices will depend on your student’s learning style and the mathematical concepts you wish to solidify.  The conceptual bingo games all have 6 levels of play so they can be used with a very wide age range.  If your student is not already proficient with Cartesian coordinates, you may want to pull out the Battleship Game to help nail down that concept.  Fifty years ago, we did not encounter Cartesian coordinates until 10^th grade, but today they are introduced routinely in grade school.  Battleship or any game that plays on a grid pattern using coordinates is very helpful in making the concept understandable.

If your student is ready for more focused writing, use Stepping Stones – the Expository Writing Game to teach four types of essays.  Take your time and have some fun with Create-a-Story writing creative stories if your student enjoys them.  Remember, it is generally not a good idea to require that every story be written down.  Tell the stories orally and write down only the best ones.  You may want to keep those in a loose-leaf journal to enjoy later.  You will also be able to see the progress your student makes over the years.

The other games listed are to enhance and perfect spelling and vocabulary.  Play your favorites often and you will see that you and your students are picking up speed and proficiency.

EARTH AND SPACE

Earth and Space include a huge body of knowledge.  Don’t try to learn it all this year.  You can choose one topic and go deep or you can do a survey of many topics.  We provided a variety of games to choose from.  You can use them to enhance your study of Earth & Space or you can start with the games and go research the topics that interest your student most.  Lyrical Earth Science is a great way to learn the basics of Earth Science through music.  The set includes a text, a workbook and a CD with songs that teach the foundational concepts of earth science.

American History & Constitution

The Constitution Quest Game will literally teach everything in the United States Constitution!  Hail to the Chief teaches about all the presidents and how the Electoral College works.  The other games reinforce U.S. history and geography to prepare your students for more in depth work in High School.  If your students are beginners in world geography, choose Geo Dice.  No prior knowledge of the world is necessary.  If you want more advanced play, choose Where in the World (learn several details about all the countries of the world) or World Dash (quick game of countries, continents and oceans).  Go Fish: Constitution and American History Memory were created by an eighth grade teacher and can be played multiple ways.  An informative booklet comes with the Go Fish game.  The 12 historical playing card games will introduce or reinforce knowledge about the American Revolution, the Civil War and our Presidents.  You can play multiple card games or make up your own way to use the cards.  Choose those that interest you most.

*Out of print but worth searching for!

BOOK SUGGESTIONS:

The best way to learn about history is to read a large number of interesting books.  Games can help seal people, places and events in your memory, but the stories background stories hold the real import.  The number of great books about history is vast so we will list only a few favorites here, but good atlases (current and historical) are extremely important.  Be sure to look up locations of the places you read about.

• Never Before In History by Gary T. Amos
• William Bradford – Plymouth’s Faithful Pilgrim by Gary D. Schmidt                                  
• The World of Captain John Smith by Genevieve Foster
• Songs of the Journey (Book & CD)
• The Captain’s Dog by Roland Smith
• The World of Abraham Lincoln by Genevieve Foster