I love this game to help build math vocabulary and rich descriptive language!
Materials:
Barrier Game grid for each player
Pattern blocks
Divider for each partnership
Directions:
1. Work with a partner. Sit side by side with a divider standing between you.
2. Player 1: Place one pattern block in each space on your grid without letting your partner see your work.
3. Player 1: Tell your partner how to place pattern blocks to match your grid. Use the names of the pattern blocks and positional language to describe where to place them.
4. Remove the divider and look at the two grids to see how closely they match.
5. Swap roles and play again.
You can also extend the lesson by making it more challenging!
In the pictures below, the Southgate K-1 teachers were required to take it a step further and use two shapes in each box. Player 1 selected two shapes to put in their 3 boxes and they had to use descriptive words to help their partner figure out which shapes to put in their squares. We were adding on layers of difficulty by not letting them say the shape or the color!
Playing at that level might be too high for some students, but it helped the teachers understand how kids feel and the need to persevere, like in Math Practice 1!
Click HERE for the barrier game directions and grid.
Source: www.k-5mathteachingresources.com
