The ideas are ones that you may already use for English but might not have considered for learning Arabic. There are ideas for when your student is learning the alphabet, some ideas to use for spelling and vocabulary, and a few for grammar.
- Alphabetize the words
- Conjugate verbs
- Spelling Pyramid: Great for writing practice and spelling. Write the first letter of a word on one line. Drop down to the second line and write the first two letters of that word. Continue dropping down a line each time adding one letter of the word until the whole word is written. Repeat a few times.
- Write misspelled words several times (5, 10, etc)
- Pronunciation: Have student pronounce all the words correctly.
- Fill in the blank with the correct word
- Write each word in a sentence. Try to use the grammar skill you are working on in the sentences.
- Meaning match: match words with their correct definition
- Plurals, write the plurals of nouns
- Unscramble words or sentences
- Go together, what belongs, what doesn’t? In a list of words which go together.
- Keep a journal of the misspelled words for review
- Tic Tac Toe (Must spell the word correctly to place your X or 0). Draw miscellaneous shapes/letters instead of X's or O's.
- Picking Apples/Climbing Ladder/Stairs (write letters or words on apples, student must read the word or give the definition to "pick" the apple; for the ladder/stairs, write the words on rungs or steps and students must read the word or give the definition to "walk" up the ladder/stairs (this has always been a winner for us) Sometimes I would place a treat (money, candy--we usually just use pictures of these and not the real thing) at the top as incentive. If the student reads incorrectly, I usually tell them the correct answer and have them start back over from the beginning.
- Bang: Place a letter, or word cards in a can. Place one or two cards with the word "Bang" on them in can with the other cards. Child picks out one card at a time and read it. If he reads the card correctly, he continues. If he gets a "Bang" card, he must put all cards back and start over. Child wins when he has read all cards.Note: for smaller children, I would only put 1 "Bang" card in the can.
- Bingo/Cover Up. Write the letters or words on a bingo board. Call out letters, or words and student covers up. Student wins when a complete row, column, or diagonal is covered. Variation: Cover up: Child must cover the whole board.
- Clue/Riddle Game. Student is given a list of words that he is working on. Teacher gives a clue about one of the words. Student scans the list for the word and writes the word down. Continue with the rest of the words.
- Read/Draw. Provide student with a list of words with surrounding blank space. Student reads the word and draws a (non-image) picture. Variation: Provide pictures and student writes the word.
- Speed Contest. Student or teacher selects a word. Set a timer for 45 seconds. Student and teacher compete to see who can write the word the most times in 45 seconds (or you could write just a letter). If students are beginning writers, a rule can be set up that the teacher must write the word, say, 3 times as much as the student. Ideas from Peggy Kaye's series of books, "Games for....."
- Unscramble the Word. Scramble words the student is working on. Have him unscramble them and write them correctly.
- Supply the Missing letters. Leave out a letter or letters from words.
- Match pictures to words
- Hangflower. Variation of hangman, just use a different picture, say a flower. Student must supply letters to guess a word before the picture is completely drawn.
