Connect Four has long been a favorite game of many. Since it requires virtually no language to play, it has been a staple in my new arrival and beginner-level classes for years. It’s a nice way for my students who can’t yet verbally communicate with one another to connect and begin forming friendships. At some point, I started making games using the basic concept of getting four items in a row, hence the name Four In A Row. In the past, I’ve written about Context Clues Four in a Row and Modal Verb Four in a Row. I’ve also shared how I use a general Four in a Row game board (free download below the picture) as an alterative use for task cards. Today, though, I’d like to talk about vowel sounds, specifically distinguishing between the different short and long vowel sounds.
My students generally do fairly well distinguishing between short and long vowels. That’s really just a matter of them becoming familiar with the terms short and long vowels. They are also quite good at distinguishing between the five long vowel sounds. They even do fairly well distinguishing between many short vowel sounds. A few get very tricky, though, especially e/i, a/e, and even o/u at times. I have a couple of commercial games to help them practice, such as Scholastic’s File Folder Games, but it’s difficult (and expensive) to get enough copies for the entire class. I finally decided to make a couple of my own games and turned to two of my students’ favorites: Four in a Row and Fishing For… (details on this game to come later).
The Game in General
Four in a Row is an excellent game for practicing distinguishing between vowel sounds because it gives my older students a way to work on a foundational skill without feeling as though they have to do “baby” activities. This particular version of the game has a few more pieces than some of my other Four in a Row games (such as modal verbs with only a game board). The board has the five vowels listed along the bottom and alternates the words short and long up the left side. There are then 454 word cards sized to fit within the squares of the board. Unlike other Four in a Row games, there is no need for dry erase markers or other covers; the word cards are the playing pieces. To play, you’ll need one game board and two sets of cards (227 per student, each on a different color of cardstock) for every two students. It is also helpful to provide each pair with a copy of the vowel sound reference list (free download below the picture) so students can check their answers.
How to Play
Between myself and my students, we’ve come up with three different versions of play for this game:
Four In A Row
This is the traditional way to play. Each student takes a set of word cards (remember, each student should have a different color) and looks at them. On a student’s turn, he/she chooses a word from his/her set and places it in a corresponding section of the game board. (e.g., CAT would go in one of the short boxes.) Any word placed incorrectly must be removed, and the turn is forfeited. The winner is the first student to correctly place four words in a row.
Blind Four In A Row
This version is slightly more challenging because students aren’t allowed to choose which word they place each turn. Each student still takes a set of word cards (each still gets a different color), but they do not look at the words this time. Instead, the words are either placed in a messy pile in front of them or in envelopes for them to draw out of. On a student’s turn, he/she chooses a word at random and places it in a corresponding section of the game board. If all of the corresponding cells are full, the card is discarded, and the turn is over. Again, if a word is placed incorrectly, it must be removed, and the turn is forfeited. As always, the winner is the first player to correctly place four words in a row. If the board is covered, and no student has been declared the winner, the student with the most cards on the board is the winner.
Cutthroat Blind Four In A Row
This version was conceived of by some of my most competitive students. For those who prefer a less violent name for this version, sometimes I call it Replacement Blind Four In A Row. As in Blind Four In A Row, students each take a set of cards but do not look at them. Again, on a turn, the student randomly chooses a card and attempts to place it in a corresponding cell on the board. This time, though, if all the corresponding cells are full, the student may replace one of his/her opponent’s cards, discarding it from the game. Any word placed incorrectly must also be removed from the game, resulting in a forfeited turn. The winner is the first student to correctly place four cards in a row. Again, as in Blind Four In A Row, if the board becomes covered and no student has successfully placed four cards in a row, the student with the most cards on the board is declared victorious.
Conclusion
Vowel Sound Four In A Row was not a difficult game to make. The most challenging part was coming up with all of the words (454 words are a lot of words!). If you want to make your own, you only need to make the word cards. There is a free game board template and word list below the picture in this post. If you prefer to get a set that is already made, you can purchase one in my TPT store. Happy teaching, everyone!
If you’re looking for more short/long vowel recognition practice and don’t want to wait for the blog post, take a look at Fishing For Vowel Sounds. Or for practice specifically with short e and short i, try Short E Sound, Short I Sound Card Sort. That one would be perfect to use with some of the ideas in my post on alternative uses for sort cards.
The Gaming Grammarian 