Boggle Board Madness!

Two week ago,  I put up a Boggle Board in my Classroom. It has been a HUGE HIT!

I have been looking for a way to continue to add ways for students to make choices and think critically as part of the Technology standards that I work with as Media Specialist. So I've been slowly adding stations to my Media Time. I work with students in small groups with technology to complete projects and tasks to enhance technology skills and then students work at other stations to increase technology, language arts, and library skills.

I'll be doing another post shortly about all the stations, but today I wanted to highlight by Boggle Board.

What is a Boggle Board?

A Boggle board is a simple game that consists of a grid of letters (4x4 or 5x5). Players have a certain amount of time to find as many words as they can that are hidden in the grid. Words must snake through adjacent letters by running up, down, sideways, or diagonally across the board. 

It's actually a digital game that I made into a board in my classroom. It's even on TV; well at least it was. 

Here's a link to the digital game: http://www.ea.com/boggle-ipad

I loved playing it on my phone when waiting in line or otherwise trying to occupy 5 minutes here and there, I figured my students could use this! 

Here's how I did it: 

1. First, I made letters and printed them out - 3 each. I laminated them so they would last. Then I cut them out to make the circles - I wanted mine to look just like the game. 
2. Then I put them on a tri-fold display board - mainly because my bulletin boards were already full (haha), but also because then I could move it wherever there was room that day. 
3. Then I made copies of my student recording sheet - to hold students accountable. 
4.  Next I talked about the game with my students, explained the directions and scoring, we practiced as a whole group. 
5. Then I let them go!

Pictures coming soon!

Turns out they find words I didn't know were in the board! Students did need constant reminders about the fact that 2 letter words don't count. But they had so much fun and they were so proud of themselves when they found 4 or 5 letter words or bigger! 

Why is a boggle board a good idea in my classroom?

·      A fun game that practices multiple skills at the same time

·      Critical thinking skills

·      Differentiation made easy – put a time limit for higher students or make the grid 5x5 for higher students, allow lower students to find 2 letter words

·      Vocabulary and spelling word practice

·      Word Work Station

·      Great for early finishers

Click here to buy my kit from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store to get you started!
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Boggle-Board-Display-Kit-2475759