Difficulty: Easy
First graders are beginning to read and learn basic numbers. Teachers play a variety of classroomgameswith their students to help reinforce daily learning. Marilyn Jager Adams of Reading Rocketsreminds teachers that playing games can help children succeed atschool.

Egg Carton Addition
This game from The Virtual Vine is a tool that first grade teachers can use to help students learn andreinforce their addition skills. The teacher collects empty egg cartons so that pairs of students have acarton to share. She has preprinteda set of stickers for each carton. Each set of stickers has thenumbers one through 12 printed on them. Each student pair sticks each number randomly into thebottom of each section of their egg carton. When play begins, each student pair is given two beans toput inside the carton. Player one shakes the carton, and when he stops, he opens the carton to seewhere the beans landed. He writes a number sentence adding the two digits together. For example, if the beans land in the "4" and "8" space, the player writes 4 + 8 = 12. Then a second student takes her turn. After writing her number sentence, whichever player has the largest sum wins the round.

Sparkle
This game can be played with the whole class, helping first graders practice their spelling. The teacher begins the activity by having students form a circle. The teacher is part of the circle and students willremain standing for the duration of the game. The teacher starts by saying the word to be spelled. Thestudent next to her says the first letter of the word. The next student will say the following letter, and soon until the word is spelled completely. If a student gives an incorrect letter, he sits down. Playcontinues until one student is standing and is declared the winner.

What Am I?
This first grade game gives students the opportunity to practice giving clues and categorizingvocabulary words. The game begins with the class sitting in two teams. The teacher chooses onestudent to be the "guesser" and the student leaves the room, stepping right outside the classroomdoor. The teacher gives the class a word, such as "apple." When the "guesser" returns, the other students give her clues about the mystery word. Some clues might be, "I am a fruit," or "I can be in juiceor pies." The teacher decides how many clues can be given before the round ends. If the child guessesthe word, her team gets a point and play continues with a "guesser" from the other team steppingoutside.