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Roll to Write {Writing Game}

August 19, 2009 by Ami 17 Comments

Elijah has been struggling with writing more than a few sentences each day, and I really want to boost his handwriting endurance and confidence.

Today we tried a game, Roll to Write. Idea adapted from Peggy Kaye's Games for Writing book.

To play you need:

  • two pencils
  • paper
  • a die (or two)
  • some titles (see printable file below)

How to Play:

Randomly select a title (draw one out of a bowl). Elijah chose "Chocolate for Lunch." Start the game by rolling the die and writing the corresponding number of words on the paper. If you roll six, write six words. Then the next player rolls the die and adds the corresponding number of words to continue the story. Do not write more or less than what the die says. Try to finish the story up as you run out of room to write.

This was so much fun!  Even though Elijah doesn't like to push his pencil, he didn't complain about writing (not ONE time).   We laughed a lot. I also had the opportunity to explain when and why to add end punctuation. 

Our Roll-to-Write Story

Chocolate for Lunch
One day I thought I should have chocolate for lunch. I started out with a fat Hershey bar. Next, I ate a chocolate bunny. I also gobbled brownies with chocolate ice cream and delicious hot fudge sauce. For dessert I had chocolate covered pretzels. The next day I was feeling icky. I went to the dentist. He was not happy with me! The End  

Filed Under: workboxes, working through writing Tagged With: games, homeschool writing, writing, writing game, writing motivation

Comments

  1. Candace says

    August 19, 2009 at 12:25 pm

    Oh my goodness, what a fun game! Hannah would LOVE this!! Gotta try it!! 🙂 THANKS!!

  2. Tristan says

    August 19, 2009 at 12:56 pm

    Great idea Ami! We made a file folder game that has sentence parts. Inside are 5 pockets:
    – who or what? (nouns)
    – when?
    – where?
    – did what? (verbs)
    – describing words (adjectives/adverbs)

    In each pocket are word or phrase strips like your titles. (I color coded each pocket and set of strips so it can all get jumbled and sorted easily). Draw one slip from each pocket and make it into a sentence. I would have my DD make 5 sentences and write them down.

    🙂

  3. MichelleL says

    August 19, 2009 at 1:30 pm

    Love it! I am gonna try that tomorrow!

  4. Rachel NC says

    August 19, 2009 at 10:36 pm

    That is a neat idea! My dd6 will love it, actually I think both dd will! Thanks for sharing

  5. Jocelyne says

    August 20, 2009 at 1:08 am

    Parker would love this. And, I too have this book on my shelf (though not for the past five years given that Parker is only five!).

    And thanks for the tip about e-mailing Mark Shasha – on our to-list for tomorrow 🙂

  6. Jimmie says

    August 20, 2009 at 3:51 am

    You are a great mom. You made something otherwise a chore (to E) FUN through the game element. Plus it was silly. Also YOU did it with him, engaging alongside rather than giving an assignment to do solo.
    AND it’s very controlled and bite sized — no more than six words at a time. Super easy, but it’s writing! So your plan worked!

  7. Lynsey says

    August 20, 2009 at 6:38 am

    Just wanted to thank you. You are so inspring and have such great ideas. Love your blog.

  8. Kylie says

    August 20, 2009 at 10:26 pm

    What a great idea! I have a reluctant writer, I’m definitely giving this a go. Actually I eventhink I have that book, off to check my shelves now. Thanks for the reminder. 🙂

  9. MichelleL says

    August 21, 2009 at 4:17 pm

    We just tried it! He did great! I blogged about it!

  10. LisaM says

    August 22, 2009 at 5:57 pm

    Ami, I love this idea! Thanks for sharing it!

  11. Honey says

    September 19, 2009 at 4:38 pm

    I love your ideas. Thank you for sharing about Peggy Kaye, her books look amazing.

  12. SchoolinRhome says

    September 22, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    This is a great idea. At first I thought it was copywork from the book that is chosen but they are self-written stories, just so many words at once. I really like this idea and plan to use it as well.
    Thanks for sharing!
    Carol of SchoolinR’Home

  13. fran waters says

    October 29, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    thesese are really adorable ideas. In reference to working through writing i was unable to access the fonts you used for your lists. when i clicked all that came up was a blank page with the word done at the bottom. Do you know why? thanks fran in nc

  14. admin says

    November 4, 2009 at 9:36 am

    Hi Fran,

    I’m not sure what the problem might be. The pdf is opening for me. Do you have Adobe Acrobat Reader?

    Thanks 🙂 Ami

Trackbacks

  1. Walking by the Way » Blog Archive » Got Candy? (Part 2) says:
    November 3, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    […] we will be doing this in the days to come…I am stashing candy away just for this purpose ~Write a story — "Chocolate for Lunch" ~make M&M pancakes for breakfast or lunch ~use M&M’s or Skittles to make an artistic […]

  2. 365 Days Hands-On Homeschool Activities (Year Long Learning) says:
    February 15, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    […] TowersSight Words with Winter Tic Tac ToePlay charades to learn vocabularyName Writing Nature HuntRoll to WriteSandbox Writing Printable […]

  3. Some neat at home opportunities! – Philadelphia Homeschool says:
    March 15, 2020 at 10:35 pm

    […] Walking by the Way- Roll to Write (Game) […]

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Welcome! I’m a big believer in inspiring kids, cultivating curiosity, delight directed learning, living books, field trip adventures, and keeping your sanity while homeschooling. I hope you find something encouraging here today! You can learn a bit more about me here.

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