Review by Stacy Zeiger, Common Sense Education | Updated November 2013

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Language Adventures Quiz Game Show - Gr. 1-3

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Jeopardy-style game covers basic skills in a fun way

Common Sense says

3

Rating Details

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Grades

1-3 This grade range is a recommendation by Common Sense Education and not the developer/publisher.

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4 images

Hip characters provide help as kids play.

Choose from timed questions or audio narration.

Pros: The game features 11 categories and can be played with up to four teams.

Cons: Many questions focus on simple recall and identification.

Bottom Line: Language Adventures Quiz Game Show covers a wide range of categories, but many questions lack depth.

Lesson & Activity Ideas

Teachers can use Language Adventures Quiz Game Show as both a basic review game and as a time filler. On days filled with last-minute schedule changes or when students finish a lesson more quickly than expected, it's the ideal game to pull out and help reinforce some of the basic skills they need to know. At the beginning of the year, it may also serve as a way to help gauge what students know or just help students learn to work together and feel comfortable around one another.

Tool Overview

Kids love games. Language Adventures Quiz Game Show draws on this interest by creating a game to help kids review basic language arts concepts. The game can be played with anywhere from one to four teams, and those teams can be made up of one or many students each. Once the teams have been decided, they must decide on the categories. Students choose four different categories from a list of 11. Categories range from vocabulary and word parts to parts of speech and sentences/punctuation or even library skills and fact vs. opinion. Once selected, those categories are displayed on a Jeopardy! style board with four possible point values for each category. After choosing a point value, students see a multiple-choice question. The first team to select the correct answer earns the points and play continues. At the end of the game, the team with the most points wins.

While the game itself is simple, it does have some drawbacks. For example, when playing with multiple teams, students must tap the team number on the screen before answering the question. This could lead to multiple fingers scrambling to tap the screen and blocking others from being able to read the question. Instead of reading the questions themselves, students can opt to have a narrator read the questions for them, which works well with early readers. However, the narrator does not read the answer choices. Instead, players must click on each individual choice to hear it pronounced. The team of the student tapping the answer choices has a clear advantage over other teams when it comes to answering the question.

Learning Value

When it comes to reviewing basic language arts skills, Language Adventures has a lot of potential. After all, it does cover 11 different categories. However, because it covers so many categories at once, it's difficult to use the game to review a specific set of skills. It's also not ideal for promoting higher-order thinking skills. While the reading comprehension category has students making inferences, drawing conclusions, and predicting, many of the other categories focus on basic recall and identification. Still, it's a very engaging way for students to get some basic-skills practice.

Rating Details

Overall Rating

3

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

4

A common game show format, fun sound effects, and the ability to play individually or as part of a team make this game appeal to kids.

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

3

Kids select the categories to focus on in the game and compete as teams to answer questions. They only get one chance to correctly answer each question, and correct answers are provided without explanation.

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

3

Audio narration helps early readers or struggling readers understand the question, but it cannot be combined with timed questions. Could provide more data about the type of questions teams miss.

Common Sense Reviewer

Stacy Zeiger Homeschooling parent

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Teacher Reviews

3

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Featured review by
Ruth O. , Technology coordinator

Technology coordinator

Victory Elementary School
Portsmouth, VA

3

Nice Review Tool

I like the product. It is versatile as a review tool. My teachers can use it for both small group work when there are a limited number of iPads available as well as use it front of the room when there is only the "Teacher" iPad. It's important thought to pay attention to the level of the readers that you are using it with and to modify the activity appropriately.

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© Common Sense Media Inc. 2017 All rights reserved. Common Sense, Common Sense Media, Common Sense Education and Common Sense Kids Action, associated names, associated trademarks, and logos are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. (FEIN 41-2024986) Teaching strategies and digital citizenship tools for educators.

Language
L.1: Conventions of Standard English
L.1.1	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.1.2	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.2: Conventions of Standard English
L.2.1	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.2.2	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
L.3: Conventions of Standard English
L.3.1	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

L.3.2	Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalization, punctuation, and spelling when writing.
Reading Foundational Skills
RF.1: Phonological awareness
RF.1.2	Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).
Print Concepts
RF.1.1	Demonstrate understanding of the organization and basic features of print.
RF.2: Phonics and Word recognition
RF.2.3	Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.
Reading Literature
RL.1: Craft and Structure
RL.1.4	Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
Key Ideas and Details
RL.1.2	Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.
RL.2: Craft and Structure
RL.2.5	Describe the overall structure of a story, including describing how the beginning introduces the story and the ending concludes the action.
Key Ideas and Details
RL.2.2	Recount stories, including fables and folktales from diverse cultures, and determine their central message, lesson, or moral.
RL.3: Craft and Structure
RL.3.4	Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, distinguishing literal from nonliteral language.

RL.3.5	Refer to parts of stories, dramas, and poems when writing or speaking about a text, using terms such as chapter, scene, and stanza; describe how each successive part builds on earlier sections.

Language Adventures Quiz Game Show - Gr. 1-3

Jeopardy-style game covers basic skills in a fun way

Subjects and Skills: Language Adventures Quiz Game Show - Gr. 1-3

Take a look inside

Lesson & Activity Ideas

Tool Overview

Learning Value

Rating Details

Overall Rating

Engagement Is the product stimulating, entertaining, and engrossing? Will kids want to return?

Pedagogy Is learning content seamlessly baked-in, and do kids build conceptual understanding? Is the product adaptable and empowering? Will skills transfer?

Support Does the product take into account learners of varying abilities, skill levels, and learning styles? Does it address both struggling and advanced students?

Key Standards Supported

Language

Reading Foundational Skills

Reading Literature

Teacher Reviews

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