Compound Word Games to Use in a Classroom for Third-Graders
Compound word games give students the repetition they need to correctly identify and spell compound words. Identifying compound words (two words joined together to make one word) is usually a simple concept for third-graders since they already use compound words on a daily basis. The main objective for teaching compound words is to ensure that students correctly join the two smaller words instead of writing them separately. Practice the games to quickly familiarize students with the most common compounds so that they can avoid spelling mistakes later on.
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Compound Word Match Game
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Divide the class in half. Give each student in the first half a card with the first part of a compound word on it. Give each student in the other half a card with the second part of the compound word. For example, you would split up words in this manner: back/ground, bed/room, foot/print, moon/light and skate/board. Have students walk around the classroom to find their partner word. Reward the students who correctly join the words.
Compound Word Bingo
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Fill in blank bingo cards randomly with the first parts of compound words. Make sure that each bingo card is different. Call out the second half of each compound word (do not reveal the first half). Ask students to figure out the complete compound by checking if the word you called out can be joined to words on their cards. Instruct students to write the complete compound word on their bingo cards if the word you called out matches what is on their cards. Give prizes to students who correctly score bingo.
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Create Your Own Compound Word
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Provide students with one large piece of paper and crayons or markers. On one side of the paper, instruct students to create their own silly or unusual compound word. For example, students might create funny animals such as a "chickenpig" or "flowerbull"; they might also create unusual objects like "pillowshoe," "shadehat" or "buttonbelt." On the other side of the paper, have students draw a picture of their object or animal and ask them to each introduce their "new" compound word to the class. Have students vote on the silliest creation.
Compound Word School Tour
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Take students for a walk throughout the school and ask them to point out objects that are spelled as a compound word. Each time a student correctly identifies a compound (such as blackboard, backpack, newspaper or hallway), give them a small object (a card, penny, slip of paper or poker chip) in order to keep track of how many words they identify. Whoever ends up with the greatest number of words wins. You might also divide the class into two teams to play this game.
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References
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