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Copyright Text Copyright: © 2012 by Adrianne Meldrum Photographs Copyright: © 2012 by Adrianne Meldrum Games Copyright: © 2012 by Adrianne Meldrum Fonts by: Kevin and Amanda All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced in any shape or format without written consent from the author. These ideas are not intended for mass production. Please don’t steal my ideas. Contact me at TheTutorHouse@Hotmail.com
Jenga® is Trademark protected. Jenga® is owned by Hasbro. They have in no way endorsed, promoted, or compensated Adrianne Meldrum to write a book about the game Jenga® . Krylon® is Trademark protected. Krylon® is owned by Krylon Products Group. They have in no way endorsed, promoted, or compensated Adrianne Meldrum to write a book using Krylon® Chalkboard paint. Plaid® is Trademark protected. Plaid® is owned by Plaid Enterprises. They have in no way endorsed, promoted, or compensated Adrianne Meldrum to write a book using Plaid® Colored Chalkboard paint. Wallies® is a Trademark of McCall Pattern Company. They have in no way endorsed, promoted, or compensated Adrianne Meldrum to write a book using Wallies®. Within this e-tutorial, there are affiliate links.
I would like to thank a few people for encouraging me to write this e-book. First and foremost, my wonderful husband for helping me to see clearly. My family members, for scouring over the wording and pictures. All of my teacher friends who helped me brainstorm: April McNair of A Modern Teacher Rachel Lynette of Minds in Bloom Christi Fultz of Ms. Fultz Corner Laura Candler of Corkboard Connections Lorraine Vasquez of Fabulous 4th Grade Froggies Last of all, my Savior for guiding me through this adventure.
Foreword by Rachel Lynette............................................pg. 8 Introduction.......................................................................pg. 10 Chapter 1: Finding Jenga速................................................pg. 12 Chapter 2: Letters & Numbers Jenga速.................................pg. 16 Chapter 3: Chalkboard Jenga速........................................pg. 20 Chapter 4: Dry Erase Jenga速..........................................pg. 26
"Hey kids, would you rather do this worksheet full of math facts or play Jenga®?." Rare is the child who would choose the first option. As an educator myself, I am a big believer in making learning fun. I have never understood the point of drill-and-kill worksheets when the same goal can be accomplished with a game. Studies have shown that students learn more and remember more when they are having fun...and Jenga® is fun! About a year ago I came up with my own twist on Jenga®, which is how I met Adrianne. While I stopped at just three games, Adrianne was hard at work creating a DIY Jenga® revolution! She realized that those simple wooden blocks could become portals of learning in so many different ways. Now that the ebook is finished, I am even more impressed. My personal favorite is Dry Erase Jenga®. Something about that shiny white surface and those colorful markers is just so appealing. And of course, I love that you can write anything on the blocks, from vocabulary words to math equations, and then erase them for a whole new game! Another thing I like about this concept is that it can be extended beyond the classroom. Because people generally play Jenga® in pairs or small groups, it is an ideal activity for homeschoolers. It could also be used in families, either to reinforce a concept being taught at school or with open-ended discussion questions. In addition, it would make a fun activity to use with scout groups and youth groups. I even had someone comment recently that she was planning to use my get-to-know you Jenga® game on a date! Adrianne has given you a great place to start. After you make your set (or several sets) of educational Jenga® blocks, you are sure to find all kinds of ways to use them. Your students will be learning exactly what you need them too while having fun. What could be better than that? Rachel Lynette
enga® is such a natural and instinctual game. It would seem that it has been around for centuries being played by our ancestors. The reality is that the first people to play Jenga® are still walking the earth today! You may be thinking that can’t be right, especially if you were born after 1980 (as Jenga® has been around your entire life). Leslie Scott created this popular game in the early 1980's. It's been one of the top selling games for many years next to Monopoly. Some may call it a classic. In my home, Jenga® is a family favorite. Everyone can play it and I learn a great deal more about my children's personalities just by watching them play the game. Some of my children carefully pull and wiggle the block out of the tower. While others reach in and yank it with no worries. I've had a long history with Jenga® and so have my children because all of us have had it around since we were born. As I've been raising my family, I decided to get back into teaching by tutoring children after school in my home.
When you first start a tutoring business, you want to do everything as cheaply as possible. My favorite place to visit for materials and games was my local dollar store. I was walking up and down the toy isles looking carefully for items that I could use with my students. I happened upon an imitation version of Jenga®. During that phase in my life, I was an avid crafter too. In that moment of looking at the little tower, a light went off in my head. I knew that I could combine crafting, teaching, and gaming all together in a Jenga® game. This book will show you three different ways to alter a Jenga® game. Each chapter will give you a step by step guide of how to make them. You’ll discover all the amazing ways to use this game in the classroom and with tutoring students. Jenga® is a wonderful game that appeals to all ages when changing it into an educational game, it appeals to all students too.
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he title of this chapter may seem like a lame suggestion, but I want you to be aware of all the options out there. Once you discover the power of using Jenga® to teach, you'll want several of them in your classroom. This can add up! Jenga® retail price can run from $12.00-$20.00 a piece. If you want a classroom set, you'll need to get creative. Imitation Jenga® games can be found in all of your big box stores. Most imitations run about $5.00$8.00, however I must warn you that the quality is not quite the same. My experience has been that the blocks are not all the same size and some end up having gaps in between each other when you stack them. Other games will have a very rough surface or may have a raised grain on them.
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My suggestion would be to spend a few weekends at garage sales or thrift shops looking for used Jenga® games. They may have lost pieces or pieces chewed up by pets, but this won't matter much by the time you gather together 4-6 games. You can mix and match blocks until all the towers have an equal number. Not very many of your students would notice if there were pieces missing. A good price for a used Jenga® can range from 50 cents to $2.00. Don't pay more than $2.00. Move on! You will find a deal elsewhere.
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hanging Jenga into an educational game is easy and worthwhile. In the following chapters you’ll see the different ways to adapt it for your needs. The first tutorial shows you that just taking the blocks and writing numbers or letters on it proves valuable because then you can pair it with a worksheet of your choice. This method works particularly well with older students who may be studying the names of states or parts of a plant. You can combine the game with a worksheet. For example, an otherwise straightforward worksheet becomes something much more! It changes the activity into something more engaging for your students.
You could write basic math operations on it like multiplication and addition. There are many math games you could make for all grade levels. Another great choice is to use it for reading practice. You could write sight words or word families on the blocks. Grammar is another great fit for this game, write synonyms on the blocks. Students pull a block and tell the group a word with the same meaning. The choices of what you could write on the blocks are endless! You can download a few ideas from me for free or buy guide books for a small fee.
The last two tutorials show you how you can have an erasable surface to write on. These materials are readily available and provide an opportunity to write anything you want.
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sing a Jenga速 game with letters and numbers on it make putting this game to educational use a snap. Simply pull out the game and a worksheet of your choice. The worksheet should be simple enough that the answers are quick for players to say to the group. A worksheet about State Capitals works great for this A few additional thoughts. Players that use Jenga速 with letters and numbers on it need to be able to match the letter or number to a corresponding worksheet. This method brings together worksheets and a game. This type of Jenga速 usually appeals to an older student.
1. Jenga速 Game blocks 2. Permanent marker {17} DIY Jenga Games
On one end of a Jenga速 block, write the numerals 1-54 individually on the block.
On the other end of the Jenga速 block, write the alphabet letters individually on the block from AZ. After you've run out of singular letters to write, you can then write double letters such as AA, BB, CC, and so forth.
Pair game with a worksheet of your choice
Players will gain educational practice. The winner is the last player not to knock over the tower
The youngest player in the group will pull a block first. Play will continue clockwise around the table. The players will pull a block of their choice, find the number on their worksheet and perform the task written next to the letter or number. For example, a player pulled a number 12 block out. For example, if players were identifying states on a map, they would look for the number 12 and tell the group the name of that state on the map. Play is over when the tower falls down. Continue to build and play until a set time is over.
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aking Jenga® into a changeable game is a cinch when you get chalkboard paint involved. Now you’ll be able to write whatever you would like on it.
1. Jenga® game blocks 2. Tinted Plaid® chalkboard paint OR 3. Krylon® spray chalkboard paint 4. Foam brush Optional: sand paper, tacky cloth, canvas
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Using 120 grit sandpaper, lightly sand the surfaces of the blocks. Look for any dinged up edges and smooth them out. Sanding helps improve with adhesion of the paint. Wipe it down with a tacky cloth to remove all traces of dust.
Lay out canvas to protect your table. A good reason to use canvas is that it absorbs any drips that slide down the sides. Canvas prevents the blocks from sticking too. If you want to protect with another cloth of some sort you can, just beware that it may stick to the paint as it dries and leave strange edges on your game.
Open the chalkboard paint and mix it with a stick for a few minutes. Make sure to get the stick all the way to the bottom and back up to the top. Think of stirring it in an oval pattern (up and down). Pour out the paint in the paint tray. Using the small foam roller, begin to pick up the paint. Roll on a thin layer of paint and let each side dry. Repeat painting layers on the blocks until you have three coats on each block. It's your choice if you want to paint the ends of the blocks. Let the paint cure for 24 hours.
After letting the paint cure, lightly rub chalk on the surface of the blocks to help the stickiness of the paint go away. This is how you prep the surface for writing.
Our goal with painting these blocks is to get them as smooth as possible
Place all of the Jenga® blocks down on the table flat and separated out. Decide if you are using spray paint or regular paint. Follow instructions on Krylon’s® spray can and skip to step 5.
Write on the blocks using a regular piece of chalk or a chalk marker. Make sure after each time you play, you erase the surface with a damp cloth. Sometimes chalk marker will leave behind a residue. It looks kind of like a shadow of what you wrote. But don't despair, if it does that-you can just touch it up with a little bit of paint.
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Players will gain educational practice. The winner is the last player not to knock over the tower.
The youngest player in the group will pull a block first. Play will continue clockwise around the table. The players will pull a block of their choice, read what is written on the block and follow up with action (solving the problem, reading the word) and then place it on top. Play is over when the tower falls down. Continue to build and play until a set time is over.
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his is by far my favorite way to alter Jenga®. Dry Erase is everywhere. To play the games using this surface, I recommend using wet erase markers. When players pull them out, they won’t erase what’s written on them.
1. paper cutter 2. Jenga® blocks 3. ruler 4. scissors 5. Wallies Dry Erase sheets 6. permanent marker 7. E-6000 adhesive (optional)
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This is an optional step. Adding a craft adhesive to the backs will ensure that you’ll get a lot of years of play with the dry erase surface. Lay out Wallies Dry Erase paper. Place heavy books on top of the sheets to flatten them out. Leave them there overnight. You will want to work with flat pieces of dry erase paper.
Measure the biggest side of the Jenga® block. On the backside of the dry erase paper, mark out the dimensions of the block surface using the permanent marker. Draw out enough to cover the entire game. Two sheets is enough for one full size Jenga® game. Using the paper cutter, slice the dry erase paper into pieces.
Now just peel and stick the Dry Erase rectangles to the blocks. They are repositionable. If you plan on using this game frequently, then you’ll want to do the following step and make them permanent.
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Get the dry erase pieces, E-6000, craft sticks, and the paper plate. Here is where it gets a little messy and time consuming. Squeeze out a small amount of e-6000 on the paper plate. Using the craft stick, spread a thin layer of E-6000 on the Jenga® block. As you are spreading, make sure to get all the way to the edge of the block. Now get a dry erase rectangle and place on top. Try to get it evenly on the block. Press down in the center and rub working outwards. You only have a few minutes for work with this glue and then that's it! The glue is stuck and that dry erase paper isn't going anywhere. Continue to glue dry erase rectangles on each block. You can decide if you would like it on both sides of the block, but it's not necessary. Let all of the blocks dry for 24 hours.
Players will gain educational practice. The winner is the last player not to knock over the tower
The youngest player in the group will pull a block first. Play will continue clockwise around the table.
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The players will pull a block of their choice, read what is written on the block and follow up with action (solving the problem, reading the word) and then place it on top. Play is over when the tower falls down. Continue to build and play until a set time is over.
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Adrianne Meldrum is a professional tutor and author of the blog, The Tutor House. She loves engaging her students in fun and creative ways. Tutoring has given her freedom and financial freedom too. She lives in Idaho with her amazing husband, sweet boys, and adorable boxer. When she’s not running the kids, cleaning the house, or hanging at the church-you’ll find her blogging away about how awesome tutoring is! Adrianne welcomes you to visit her blog and look around. She’s got a great store with even more great learning ideas just for you.
Come visit me at my blog: The Tutor House Follow to learn more about how you can start and run your own tutoring business. You’ll find great education tips and video tutorials! Visit me on Facebook.