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Christmas Puzzles

12/09/2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Kinney Brothers Publishing Christmas Puzzles

It’s the time of year to start planning for Christmas parties! Like Halloween parties, I’m tasked with organizing a series of activities that are easy to set up and repeat over multiple days for dozens of classes ranging in age from wee little ones through junior high students.

Many games I use in class are for introducing and reviewing vocabulary. Once a year I have a window of opportunity to introduce or repeat holiday vocabulary that I otherwise never get the chance to use during the rest of the school year. Over time, and with repetition, my students pick up Halloween words like mummy and jack-o-lantern and Christmas words like elf and wreath.

Many of the paper activities I use have been created over many years and recycled as my kids grow up and move on. I’ve also used these puzzles in my adult classes as a quick warm-up during the holiday season.

You can download a free collection of paper puzzles to play in your own classes. Merry Christmas! These activities are great for introducing holiday vocabulary before parties, as a cool-down activity during parties, or a last-chance review after the holidays. Hopefully, they will spark some ideas for creating your own puzzles! They include answer keys and word banks.

Kinney Brothers Publishing Christmas games

https://www.kinneybrothers.com/DOWNLOADS/CHRISTMAS_PUZZLES.pdf

If you’re looking for more Christmas cheer, check out these Bingo, Tic-Tac-Toe, and (free) Pairs activities from my online store! Whether you’re playing in class or online, these games are easy enough to play with your youngest students. Christmas I Have/Who Has is only available as a bonus in the Christmas Game Bundle!

Donald's English Classroom Christmas games

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2021!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: christmas, christmas bingo, christmas puzzles, Donald's English Classroom, english language learning, esl, ESL Activities, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, flashcard activities, flashcard games, kinney brothers publishing

Blank Board Games

10/20/2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Swimming with Sharks Kinney Brothers Publishing

Growing up in a family with six siblings, there was no end of board games to play. I remember playing Candy Land and learning colors. Checkers and chess taught me strategy. Monopoly presented a world of real estate, property taxes, and banking. The Game of Life taught me about life insurance and the cost of living. There was Scrabble, backgammon, and tons of card games. Negotiating the rules, playing fair, and of course, arguing, were all important elements of the learning process. There were also important life lessons in all these games: playing a game is an exercise in cooperation, taking risks can be thrilling and advantageous, and when supportive, competition can push you to be better.

Fast-forward twenty years, and I found myself making board games for my ESL classes. When I was building the textbook, Phonics & Spelling, Book 2, interactive games and puzzles were important and I included many, as well as a game on the back cover! On one page, I constructed a simple CVC game board that I decorated with shark clip art and titled Swimming with Sharks! Like every page in the book, I tested the game in class many times. Of all that I created, none of the board games excited my kids like the threat of being eaten by a shark.

Click on the image to see larger.

Phonics and Spelling Book 2  Kinney Brothers Publishing

Swimming with Sharks! is very simple. Players take turns rolling dice, moving their counters around the board, and saying the word they land on out loud. The goal is to be the first to reach the “Safe” ship. If they land on “net,” they can cross over to the next space. Landing on “red,” means returning to the previous “red,” or “Start.” If players land on the “shark’s nose” toward the end of the board, they have to go all the way back to “Start.”

So popular was this board game, my brother, Michael, urged me to create a blank board so that different vocabulary could be inserted in place of the CVC words.

Michael explained in his blog post how he used the blank version of the board for dialogue drills, such as What’s your name? How old are you? Where do you live? Do you like…? Do you have…? What’s this? and What’s that?

Swimming with Sharks free download

“To practice simple dialogues, I use a separate Swimming with Sharks! game board that has blank spaces instead of words. When students land on a blank space, they must ask another player a question. If the student cannot think of a question to ask, they must go back the same number rolled on the dice. Likewise, if the student who is asked cannot answer the question, they must move their counter back that many places on the board. The same rules apply for landing on “net,” the color “red,” and “shark’s nose” as the original game in Phonics & Spelling, Book 2.”

The blank version of Swimming with Sharks! can be used with any set of vocabulary, Q&A, or dialogues you want your students to practice. I always have several laminated boards in my desk ready at a moment’s notice. You can download the blank game board here. It’s on us! Enjoy!

Board games to get your kids talking!

Blank Game Boards Bundle Donald's English Classroom

If you like to play board games in class, take a look at this Blank Game Board Bundle from Donald’s English Classroom.  These blank boards offer teachers the flexibility of creating their own games. For preschool through adult language learners, board games give students repetitive practice in a format that makes learning fun!

As always, best of luck in your classes!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: blank game boards, Donald's English Classroom, english language learning, esl, ESL Activities, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, flashcard activities, flashcard games, kinney brothers publishing, phonics and spelling, swimming with sharks

Halloween 2020

09/19/2020 by admin Leave a Comment

Halloween 2020 Kinney Brothers Publishing

It’s hard to believe it’s time to start preparing for Halloween. I hope you don’t let the holiday pass without celebrating, even if it means doing things a little differently.

I was thinking about Halloweens past. There is one that stands out most in my memory.

The fall of 1967 was an especially difficult time for my family. After months of awful fighting, my parents separated. With four kids in tow, my mother moved us from town into a very old farmhouse deep in the Iowa countryside. Halloween soon rolled around, but there was no “neighborhood” for trick-or-treating. The nearest house was miles away and our old car was a clunker. Making the best of circumstances, we cut out paper jack-o-lanterns, taped them to the windows, and put on old costumes. Then my mother sent us out to collect candy — at our own house! The four of us (and the dog) went out the back door into the frosty night air, came round to the front porch, climbed the dark stairs, and knocked loudly on the farmhouse door. Nobody answered. We knocked again yelling “Trick or Treat!” and waited for the door to open. Suddenly, there was a loud BOO! from behind us and we all scrambled off the porch helter-skelter! My mother stood behind an old tree in the yard laughing heartily. Amidst our scolding her for scaring us so completely, Mother handed us candy from a large Tupperware bowl, and then…we did it again! And again! We took turns giving out treats and trying to scare each other. After all the candy from the plastic bowl was transferred to our pillowcase bags, we sat at the kitchen table and ate it. Our family Halloween, all alone in the dark countryside, was the best Halloween ever.

Sometimes unusual conditions bring about the best memories.

Two years ago, I outlined 13+ Halloween games you can play in class (or at home!) for your Halloween parties. They’re especially recommended for teachers needing activities they can set up quickly and repeat for multiple classes.

Last year, I wrote about introducing Halloween to the Japanese kindergarten where I taught. I also brought out some of my favorite paper puzzles you can hand out to your younger students. You can still download these games for free here, or by clicking on the image below.

Halloween Games Kinney Brothers Publishing

For 2020, I’ve put together some classic games you can play in your online classes: Halloween Bingo and Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe on Google Slides. These games are super easy to set up and fun to play! Give them a try!

Halloween Games on Google Slides Donald's English Classroom

You can download these games separately or download them in the full Halloween Game Bundle from Donald’s English Classroom. The bundle includes:

Halloween Bingo – A classic game with 30 boards in two sizes. With just 25 images, this is a Bingo game you can play with your youngest ESL students.  The bundle also includes the paperless version on Google Slides!

Halloween Tic-Tac-Toe Another classic that kids love playing!  With 12 boards in two sizes, this set includes draw cards for an easy Bingo game! Plus, you can upload the paperless version to Google Slides for your online classes!

Halloween House is a folding craft activity and 3D learning tool that you’ll want to keep around all year!  With ghosts and goblins in every room, just print, cut, and fold!

Halloween Concentration is free, so please download and enjoy!   

Halloween I Have Who Has is a fun activity for small groups or the whole class. This set includes two games and is only available in the Halloween Game Bundle! 

Here’s wishing you a happy and safe Halloween!

Donald Kinney
Kinney Brothers Publishing

Filed Under: Kinney Brothers Publishing Tagged With: Bingo games, Donald's English Classroom, english language learning, esl, ESL Activities, ESL Games, esl textbooks, ESL Worksheets, flashcard activities, flashcard games, google slides, halloween, kinney brothers publishing, Tic-Tac-Toe

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