with BARRIER GAMES

1 Developing Oral LanguagewithBARRIER GAMESA lison Jarred & Nadja RoelofsOver 40 original BARRIER Gameswith Blackline MastershandsonconceptsTMDeveloping Oral LanguagewithBARRIER GAMES written byAlison Jarred & Nadja Roelofsillustrated byNadja RoelofshandsonconceptsTMText by A. Jarred & N. RoelofsIllustrations by N. Roelofs 2003 Hands On ConceptsApart from any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review, as permitted underthe Copyright Act, no part may be reporduced by any process without written permission. Enquiresshould be made to the publisher at the address for educational purposesUnder the copying provisions of the Copyright Act, copies of parts of this book may be made by aneducational institution.

2 An agreement exists between the Copyright Agency Limited (CAL) and therelevant educational aurthority (Department of Education, university, TAFE, etc.) to pay a licence forsuch copying. It is not necessary to keep records of copying except where the relevant educationalauthority has undertaken to do so by arrangement with the Copyright Agency in Australia bySerles Pty Ltd T/A Hands On ConceptsPO Box 487, Bentley WA 6102, AustraliaContents PageIntroductionDeveloping Oral Language7 BARRIER Games7 Getting Started8 Barriers8 Catering for Different Abilities9 BARRIER GAMES : An Overview10 Threading10 Construction 3D10 Construction 2D10 Modelling Clay10 Draw a Picture11 Scenes11 Spot the Difference11 Shelves and Shapes12 Maps12 Grids12 Coordinates12 Dressing Up13 Focus on Words13 BARRIER Game Hints14 Identify Game Pieces14 Rules on Barriers14 School Set of Barriers14 Backs as Barriers14 Children Making Games14 Using BARRIER GAMES to Link into Writing14 About Me BARRIER Games15 Clothes Dress Up16 Letter Boxes19My Room22 Toy Shop25 Pet Shop28 Fruit Shop30 Contents continued & Fantasy BARRIER Games33 Little Pig Cards34 Little Pig Spot the Difference37 Little Pig Lunch40 Wolf Stew Listen & Draw43 Dress The Bears45 Three Bears Spot the

3 Difference48 Bear Things51 Fairytale Scene53 Nursery Rhyme Scene55 Dragon Map57 Bunyip Mix & Match59 Bunyip Brothers63 Bunyip s Lagoon Spot the Difference65At the Lagoon68 Bunyip s Belly71 Log Bridge74 Nuts & Bolts76 Build-a-Robot79 Robot Listen & Draw84 Robot Relatives86 Animals BARRIER Games88 Farm Animals89 Farm Number Cards91 Piggy Pattern Block93 Jungle Animals96 Mountain Animals98 Australian Animals101 Aussie Animal Pattern Block103 Fish Number Cards106 Treasure on the Beach108 Sea Creatures110 Spotted Caterpillar113 Number Butterflies115 Dinosaur Land118 Dinosaurs120 Grid BARRIER Games123 Grids1247 2003 Hands On ConceptsIntroductionDeveloping Oral LanguageOral Language underpins the development of other language skills such as readingand writing.

4 By focusing on activities which develop oral language skills, childrenlearn to manipulate and control language to suit their purpose. BARRIER GAMES are agreat oral language tool as they provide opportunity to develop skills for both speak-ing (composing) and listening (reception/comprehension). BARRIER GamesBarrier GAMES have been in existence for many years, and include GAMES whichrequire players to give and receive directions while being separated by some kind ofbarrier. A common BARRIER game many of us will have played is Battleships, a hit/missgame using GAMES are a flexible teaching tool which can easily be adapted to cater for awide range of ages and abilities.

5 The complexity of the language used will depend onthe task. The GAMES can range from simple sequencing of coloured counters togiving lengthy instructions for locating objects in a detailed GAMES also provide opportunities for developing and assessing children s orallanguage skills. Players need to interact and use language to play the game. Bymonitoring children s language, you will gain many insights into how they give andreceive instructions. Careful listening is necessary to follow directions when playingbarrier GAMES . Listeners need to monitor the information they receive and ask ques-tions to clarify or get more information. As children grow more experienced at playingbarrier GAMES , they show evidence of planning and sequencing the directions theygive.

6 Children begin to anticipate what the listener might need to know and theirdirections become more complete and important part of the game is the stage where the BARRIER is removed and playerscheck the placement of the pieces. At this time children should be encouraged toreflect on any differences that occurred and any problems they may have to common problems could be brainstormed and role-modelled with thewhole Oral Language with BARRIER GamesGetting StartedWhen teaching children how to play a BARRIER game, choose a partner and play thegame while the rest of the class observes. This modelling approach is useful forexplaining: how to set up the gameThis includes how to position the BARRIER so that you can t see the other player sgame pieces and how to sort the playing pieces so that they are all visible, the rightway up and easy to find.

7 In GAMES with multiple pieces, it will be useful to sort thepieces into groups according to colour, shape, type of kind of object, : Young children may find it easier to sit beside each other with the BARRIER be-tween them rather than sitting opposite. This can avoid lateral problems, particularlywhen the BARRIER is removed and children are checking their work. rules of playingThis includes speaking and listening courtesies, such as asking the other player ifthey are ready before giving directions. Remind children about the no looking ruleas it is very tempting to look over the BARRIER . It is also important that the player givingthe direction also follows the direction themselves so that the game items match when the BARRIER is taken away.

8 Language useModel any specific language needed. Most BARRIER GAMES use vocabulary associatedwith nouns (the names of items), attributes (their size, shape, colour etc.) and loca-tion (where they are to be placed, top, bottom, near to, etc.) also model how toask questions when you need more information. how to end the gameDemonstrate how to remove the BARRIER and compare the game pieces before pack-ing them away. Model how to reflect on why differences may have barriers using large hard-cover books opened on the desk, or fold thick card-board in half with some knotted string through one side. Larger barriers for groupgames can be created using room dividers, cupboards or even a desk tipped on your partner ready?

9 Listen carefullyAsk questionsNo looking!9 2003 Hands On ConceptsCatering for Different AbilitiesMost BARRIER GAMES are very adaptable and can be easily modified to suit a range ofabilities. When introducing a new style of BARRIER game, it is often useful to play it in asimpler way and then increase the difficulty as players become more skilled. In gen-eral, factors which effect difficulty include: number of itemsReduce the number of items to reduce the difficulty of the game. attributesConsider the number of attributes required to describe an item. Colour is the easiestattribute to identify. As you combine more attributes, colour, size, shape, patternand texture, the game becomes more challenging.

10 Item similarity/differenceTo reduce the difficulty, start with a range of items that are quite different and easy toidentify. The more similar the items, the more careful the description has to be inorder to differentiate between them. languageConsider the players familiarity with the names of items. Players need to have acommon language for naming and describing items. This is where prior modellingand opportunities to sort and describe items before playing can be important. number of playersPaired BARRIER GAMES : The most common barriergame is played between two players with a barrierbetween them. This style of play is most successfulbetween players of similar language BARRIER GAMES : Younger children often benefit from playing Buddy BarrierGames, where two children are on each side of the BARRIER .