We’ve all felt it before – the phone or laptop sapping our attention away from a more worthwhile pursuit like picking up a book or reading articles. Recent research suggests that our worst fears are true – screens negatively impact literacy development in both kids and in late elementary and middle schoolers.
With literacy skills at the forefront of the educational conversation, it’s important to find a variety of strategies to help students build their vocabulary, reading, and speaking fluency. Board and card games provide an engaging way to build those very skills!
1. Word Games Help Develop Vocabulary
The sheer variety of games available today means that each genre has a number of well-designed titles that work well for family play or in a classroom setting. Recently, lexicographer Susie Dent talked about the importance of word games in developing and building vocabulary, sharing about how they pair nicely with family reading and a focus on engaged conversations.
An upcoming word game that gives players a chance to use vocabulary in unique ways is Fantasy Loot Brawl. In this game, players build a fantasy lineup of vocabulary words they draft to then compete against the opposing team. Players must win a debate about why their words are a better fit for their team role than their opponent.
2. Board Games Add Value to Academic Literacy
Many subjects in school require a well-designed lesson and conversations with educators and peers to help provide context and discussion. In addition, opportunities to practice the skills in realistic contexts and with a variety of variables at play increases the retention. A 2024 randomized controlled study of over 500 elementary children revealed that adding relevant board games to academic topics led to better achievement than regular instruction.
One such game that provides those additional authentic practice contexts for a key literacy skill is Doomscroll, which allows players to understand how social media companies manipulate users via emotion and confirmation bias. By both learning about how algorithms work on social media from class lessons and practicing the principles via playing Doomscroll, students receive a more holistic opportunity to engage with the content.
3. Board and Card Games Enhance Our Grammar and Writing
One of the magical aspects of board and card games is that they do not just review materials for recall and identification, but they also challenge players to use their knowledge in a situation or scenario. When it comes to party games, players must take their assigned topics, words, and prompts and then impress a judge or the other players via persuasion and humor. Research shows that interventions with games that build these situations improve students’ grammar and vocabulary use in their reading and writing more effectively than traditional approaches.
Gamestormers is a great example of this contextualized vocabulary practice in action via playful learning. In the game, players use the cards and visuals dealt to them to weave together a five-card narrative to impress the judge for the round. Through the act of creating their story, they have the chance to practice grammatical use of the words on their cards, as well as the phonemic and graphemic makeup of the terms. All of these speaking and listening skills during Gamestormers reinforce those literacy skills in an engaging and playful way!