Brain Changers: Musical Brain!

Musical Brain (Musical Chairs)! Say the Word, Letter & Sound, Sentence, or Picture: Musical Brain, is a brain-based game for a beginning, intermediate, advanced, and English Language Learning group of students. When using this game for a beginning group, have learners to identify a picture or a letter and letter sound. Students can play this game in the following manner: Have ten students walk around nine chairs, while fun and exciting music is playing. When the Music stops the learners must find a chair to sit in. The student that has not found a seat has to return to his/her chair. Before returning to his/her spot the student must identify the letter and letter sound of the teacher’s choice. For example, the teacher holds up the letter “b.” The student should then say the letter name, “b” and sound, /b/. If the student says the correct sound and letter name then a token should be given rewarding the learner for providing the correct answer. If the correct answer is not given, the teacher should aid the student in discovering what the correct answer is. Instead of using letters, pictures can be used. You may have a picture of a cat. The student should say the word, “cat.” The other nine students are to identify the picture or sound and letter cards in their seats as well. After all students have identified the cards, a chair is taken away and the game continues in the above manner. The last student standing, that responds correctly to the card, is the winner of the game (a special reward should be given to him or her). To adapt this brain using game to an intermediate group of learners, the teacher could have words or short sentences in each chair, “cat” or “ Look at the cat.” For advanced students, the learner(s) could correctly read a couple of sentences or read more advanced words. This game is excellent for phonics practice, fluency, sentence reading, vocabulary identification, as well as alertness. Adapt it to suit your learners’ needs!

Game by Mrs. R. Leite

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Summer Homework for Parents and Teachers: Play Musical Brain with your child today!

References
Bonnie’s Fitware (n.d). Movement Learning. Retrieved August 2, 2010 from http://www.pesoftware.com/Resources/moveLearn.html
Funderstanding (2008). Brain Based Learning. Retrieved August 2, 2010 from http://www.funderstanding.com/content/brain-based-learning
Parker, F., Riley, K. (2010). Linguistics for Non-Linguists: A Primer With Exercises (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.