Say What?

In my classroom, when I am introducing a new pocket chart story we have a fabulous game we always play at the end of the introduction.  It is called "Say What?"  It is a great way to get the students to understand that they have to pay attention to the words as they are reading.  Basically we take the story we just learned about and practiced together a few times and then I read it and the students have to listen to see if I make a mistake.  Here is a pocket chart story we did this with:  {This pocket chart story is from my Farm Unit which you can grab here.}

I take the pointer and point to the words as I read: "I am a pig."  But, instead of saying "I am a pig" I may say "I am THE pig".  If the students hear the wrong word, then they all say "Say What?"  I have to try it again and most of the time the second time I read that sentence I say it right, but sometimes I mess it up two times in a row for variety.  I also will sometimes read the sentence correctly just see if they are paying attention to the words and what I am reading.  The students LOVE this game when we do it as a whole group, but guess what?  They love it even more when they get to play this game with their partner at the pocket chart center.

My students usually have about 3 jobs at the pocket chart center:  read the story, match the picture cards to the correct sentence, and fill out the recording sheet.  When they finish with their jobs at the center, they can play "Say What?"  They giggle and laugh and most of all LEARN!  I love it!  Do you have any fun and easy games like this?  I would love to hear about them.

Be on the lookout for a GIVEAWAY that I am excited to be a part of with some other fabulous bloggers.  Kimberly Ann at Live, Laugh, I LOVE Kindergarten is hosting it.  You don't want to miss out!  I will post about the giveaway as soon as it starts too!