The game of Bananagrams, named for its banana-shaped, yellow zipper case, challenges the players to arrange the letter tiles to spell words in horizontal and vertical rows, just like a crossword puzzle. My family, friends, and I usually play this game as a friendly spelling competition and brain exercise. In English lessons, I play this game with both children and adults. The student can practice spelling with either a limited or full selection of tiles. First, we practice the phrasal verbs and adverbs to start the game:
Alternately, as a free response practice exercise, the student uses all of the tiles to spell anything. Here I ask my younger students what games they play at school:
Taking a break from spelling, two of my students use the tiles to play dominoes:
- Set up the tiles.
- Lay out the tiles.
- Flip the tiles upside down.
- Flip the tiles rightside up.
- Hand out the tiles.
- Hand the tiles out.
- Pass out the tiles.
- Pass the tiles out.
- Spell out the words.
- Spell the words out.
- What can you spell with these tiles?
- What words do these letters spell?
- Do these tiles spell anything?
- Switch the letters. Now what does this spell?
- play games
- throw and catch
- hide and seek
- ice wolf
- Play dominoes!
- Place the tiles slowly and carefully.
- Line up the tiles.
- Make a long line!
- The tiles fall down!
- Place the tiles close to each other.
- Closer!
- Too far apart! Tiles don't fall down.
- Try again! (+)
- Lose! (-)
- Fail! (-)
- Win! (+)
- Succeed! (+)