Curriculum Suggestions

Activities for: Once There Was a Bull...frog

1. Read the story out loud to the class. Have the kids clap or stand up and then sit down every time they hear a compound word.

2. Play "I'm Going on a Trip".
   1. The first player says, "I'm going on a trip and I'm going to take a _____." The player then names a compound word.
   2. The second player then says, "I'm going on a trip and I'm going to take a _____ and a _____." The player repeats the first player's compound word and then adds their own compound word.
   3. Each additional player says, "I'm going on a trip and I'm going to take a..." They then repeat all of the previous players' animals, and then add their own.
   4. You can end play a couple of ways. The game can be over when everyone's had a chance to play. Or, if a player is unable to repeat all the animals, they are out, and the game is over when there is only one player left.

3. Play "I Spy"
   1. Choose someone to be "It". They say, "I spy with my little eye a compound word." It can be a thing, or the name of the thing.
   2. Kids then start asking yes/no questions to help them figure out what "It" sees.
   3. When someone guesses right, someone else, perhaps the person who guessed correctly, is "It".

   Variation. Play "I'm Thinking Of..." The game is played the same as "I Spy", but "It" doesn't have to be able to see the thing they're thinking of.

4. Play "Hangman". Players guess which compound word "It" is thinking of.

5. Have a spelling bee, with players spelling compound words.

6. Have a reverse spelling bee, where players have to spell out the compound words--backwards.

7. Play "Compound Word Pantomime". One player is chosen to be "It". They come to the front of the class, and then act like they're either a specific compound word, or that they're interacting with the compound word. For example, they can act like they are a butterfly, or that they're chasing a butterfly. The rest of the players guess what the compound word is. The first person to guess right is the next "It".

8. Play "Compound word Bingo".
   1. To prepare, write thirty compound words on small pieces of paper. Put them in a hat or a sack.
   2. Have the kids draw a Bingo grid on a piece of paper. (Show them a grid on the board. A Bingo grid consists of twenty-five squares--five squares across and five squares down.)
   3. Have kids X out the middle square.
   4. Read out the compound words. As you read each compound word, kids write the compound word down in one of the blank squares on their grid. They can skip any six of the compound words.
   5. Put all the compound words back in the hat or bag. Then pull them out one at a time and read them. If a kid has the compound word on their bingo grid, they cross it out.
   6. When a player has five squares in a row crossed out, they shout out "Bingo". The game can end there, or you can keep playing until everyone has a Bingo, or until all the squares on all the grids are full.

   Variation: Instead of writing the whole compound word in a square, players write each half of the compound word in different squares. In this variation, you can use just 15 compound words.

9. Play "Leapfrog".

10. Play "Wrong Letter". Players can be in a circle, or play can go up and down aisles, or around tables, however you define it. Choose one player to be "It". "It" says..."I'm thinking of a compound word. It has ____ letters and starts with a '__'" The player tells how many letters the compound word has, and what letter it starts with. The next player guesses what the second letter is. If they guess right, the third player guesses the third letter. If they guess wrong, the third player guesses the second letter. Players take turns guessing until someone gets the letter right. Play continues, with players guessing the next letter, until finally someone completes the word. Then another player is chosen to be "It".

    Competitive Variations:

    1. Class competes against itself. Score five points for each correct guess, lose one point for each wrong guess. Try each game to top your best score.
    2. Divide class into two teams. Teams take turns playing the game. Score five points for each correct guess, lose one point for each wrong guess. After each team has done five words, the team with the most points wins. Strategy here can be fun, since longer words can get the team more points, but they might also allow for more wrong answers.

11. Play "Toss the Compound Word". Players sit in a circle, or at their desks or tables. One player has a beanbag and starts the game. They shout out a compound word and toss the beanbag to another player. They then shout a compound word and toss it to another player. Players keep shouting out compound words and tossing the beanbag until someone can't think of a compound word, repeats a compound word, or shouts out a word that is not a compound word.

    Competitive variations:

    1. All players stand while playing. If they repeat a compound word, can't think of a compound word, or say a word that is not a compound word, then they are out and sit down. The last player standing wins.
    2. Divide the class into two teams. One team lines up on one side of the room, the other team on the other side of the room. Players toss the beanbag bag and forth, from one team to the other, and shout compound words. If they can't quickly think of a compound word, or if they shout out a compound word that's already been said or a word that's not a compound word, the other team gets a point. The first team to get five points wins.

12. Play "Once There Was A ... ". Select half as many compound words as there will be players. Write them on the board. Write each compound word half on a different piece of paper. Choose someone to be "It". Seat players (except "It", who sits in the middle of the circle) in a circle, then hand one half of a compound word to each player. "It" chooses a compound word (but not the word their half is part of) from the board, and says, "Once there was a .... ______," shouting out the compound word. The two players who have the two parts of the compound word have to change places. While they're changing, "It" tries to take one of their seats. If "It" succeeds, then the player who doesn't get a seat becomes "It". If "It" chooses, he can say, "Once there was a...n everybody!" And everyone has to change seats.

 
 

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Picture Credits
Original bunny climbing rope picture by Paige Miglio (copyright 2000 ©) from One More Bunny authored by Rick Walton.
Original purple monster picture by Renee Williams-Andriani (copyright 1998 ©) from Really, Really Bad School Jokes authored by Rick Walton.
Original bullfrog seated picture by Chris McAllister (copyright 1999 ©) from Bullfrog Pops! authored by Rick Walton.
Electronic modifications by Ann Walton.