Multisensory Monday- I’m Going on a Picnic

Posted by Brainspring on 9th Jul 2024

What is the “I’M GOING ON A PICNIC” Game?

The game is called, “I’m Going on a Picnic…” This game is a phonological awareness exercise. It makes students think about the patterns they hear in words. This game can be used as a phonological awareness practice, or it can also be used for higher-level skills and applied to mathematics.

You begin by saying, "I'm going on a picnic and I’m bringing ________.”

Next, each student gets a turn to respond by saying, “Can I come to the picnic? I’ll bring ________.”

The student's goal is to determine the rule or pattern you use to decide who can attend the picnic. If the student's response fits the rule, you say, “Sure, you can come and bring _____.” If their response doesn't fit the rule, you say, “I’m sorry. We don’t need _________.”

Educational Benefits

Phonological awareness - players must listen for the skill or rule that fits the game.
Memory skills - remembering what items were said to recognize the pattern.
Vocabulary - learning new words and their meanings.
Strategic thinking - players must choose items they think fit the pattern.

“I’m Going on a Picnic” Game Example

Teacher: I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing marshmallows.

Student 1: Can I come on the picnic? I’ll bring graham crackers.

Teacher: I’m sorry. We don’t need graham crackers.

Student 2: Can I come on the picnic. I’ll bring sandwiches.

Teacher: I’m sorry. We don’t need sandwiches.

Student 3: Can I come on the picnic? I’ll bring matches.

Teacher: Sure you can come and bring matches.

Student 4: Can I come on the picnic? I’ll bring a melon.

Teacher: Sure you can come and bring a melon.

As you may have figured out, in this case the rule was things had to begin with the sound /m/. Let every student have a chance before asking if anyone figured out what the rule was.

Here is a more difficult rule that I used with my student today. Since this was a one-on-one tutoring session, we went back and forth until she guessed the rule.

Teacher: I’m going on a picnic and I’m bringing hotdogs.

Student: Can I come on the picnic? I’ll bring buns.

Teacher: I’m sorry we don’t need buns. I’m also bringing mustard.

Student: Can I come? I’ll bring ketchup.

Teacher: Sure you can come and bring ketchup. I’ll bring brownies.

Student: Can I bring juice?

Teacher: I’m sorry we don’t need juice. I’ll bring Kool-Aid.

Student: Can I bring napkins?

Teacher: Sure we can use napkins.

…

Since this was our first time playing, I made the game a little easier by offering another item I was bringing that followed the rule after each of her guesses. The harder way to play would be to have the student keep guessing items on their own.

I love that this game requires students to think about patterns and problem solve! It is a perfect game to fill those small minutes of time. Think of playing this while students are standing in line, when there are only a few minutes before lunch or the end of the day, as a way to refocus after recess, on the bus for a field trip, while waiting for an assembly to start, ect.

Rule Ideas

Here is a quick list of some of the rules you can use for this game, arranged roughly in order of difficulty. This game can easily be played with older students, just make the rules more sophisticated.

Item must start with the same letter as the student’s name (ex. Mary can bring marshmallows, but Tony can’t. Tony can bring tacos though)
item must begin or end with a certain sound
Item must be a rhyming word
Item must have a certain number of syllables
Item must follow the Double f,l,s,z rule
Item must be a singular or plural noun
Item must be a certain color
Item must be a school supply, something you wear, something that grows from the ground, ect.
Item must be a homophone
Item must have an R-controlled vowel

Math Version

As I was thinking about this game and different rules I could use to play it, I realized this would be fantastic for math as well. (I loved teaching math back when I worked in a school.) Use this for math by playing with numbers instead of items. I would try calling it something that relates to numbers like “I’m Going to the Store…”

Follow the same procedure but fill in the blanks with numbers instead of words. Ex. “I’m going shopping and I’m bringing 42.”

Here are some rules you could use for the math version:

Numbers must be odd or even
Numbers must be divisible by a certain number
Numbers must be multiples of a certain number
Numbers must be prime numbers
Numbers must be greater or less than the number said previously
Numbers must fall within a certain range
Numbers must contain a certain digit in a certain place (ex. a 3 in the ones’ place, an 8 in the hundreds’ place)

Please take a moment to copy the email to your representative from last Thursday’s post. Then comment here to show your support! I know you all care deeply about helping your struggling students, especially those with dyslexia. I see how hard you work in your classrooms and the extra effort you put in during after –school programs. Take a few moments to support this legislation because it could help out students who aren’t lucky enough to have teachers who know the strategies you use.

Bumpy Letters

Dite at Ladder Learning Services has a new tactile tool this week. Her post is about Bumpy Letters, which can be used like sandpaper letters to help students make letter-sound connections.

http://atlantareads.org/2014/08/multisensory-monday-bumpy-letters/