Last week while we were finishing reading class I allowed some students to pass the next 7 or 8 minutes by playing hangman on the chalkboard. Yes, I still like using the chalkboard. WOW! I was flabbergasted!!! First off, some students had never played this game and did not know how to play. Secondly, most of them did not know how to write on the chalkboard. Third, many students could not come up with a sentence to use (I said they had to use at least four or more words per sentence or phrase). I explained how the rules were going to work and then I modeled how to play. I used a random sentence for them to solve. Some students realized this game was similar to "Wheel of Fortune." They thought that was cool.  

    The first time one of the students wrote out their blanks on the chalkboard, the other students complained because the writing was too small. Then the students complained because the writing was too sloppy or because there were no spaces between words so it didn't make sense when solving it. The students quickly realized that writing to please everyone is difficult. Overall, the students loved writing on the chalkboard. It took them a time or two to decide what to do when a mistake was made. I had to give them the eraser. 

    This week, I have played it several more times with my older students. My students have come in ready with sentences or phrases to use. They look forward to getting to be the letter writer/ hangman drawer. We have had a lot of fun playing an old-fashioned game that makes the students think. This game involves using phonics knowledge of vowel teams, digraphs, diphthongs, consonant blends, prefixes, suffixes, and using some spelling knowledge when trying to decipher the words. My students have come into class excited to get to play this game and I have enjoyed reviewing skills with them. I have also enjoyed watching them try to figure out how to write on the chalkboard (most don't like the screeching chalk sound). Many have said how difficult it is to write on a chalkboard. I didn't think about that but all have adapted.