Let the Games Begin: Quizlet and Board Games for LD Students Integration

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INCLUSION - A CHALLENGE?
Inclusion, in my opinion, is the understanding that each and every classroom is heterogeneous to a certain extent. Some classes are more heterogeneous than others and some less, but as teachers, we constantly struggle with the challenge of diversity. Integrating students with learning disabilities creates even a bigger gap. My term for it is 'multi-levelled teaching'. This type of teaching requires more time for lesson preparation, you also have to struggle to find resources and collaborations. Also, if you teach a big class, more difficulties are to be expected.  How can we turn it into a benefit? This is where fun and creativity come in. Using games, visual aids, and varying strategies to suit the diverse needs of your students and to keep them engaged is the key. 

'Quizlet' sets are easy to create and save tons of time, paper, and money on flashcard preparation and purchasing expensive teaching gadgets. Once combined with some simple and easily varied board games, they become a powerful multi-levelled teaching tool for vocabulary acquisition. Besides, the games can be played independently, which is a great benefit for class management.  

‘Quizlet’-based games to beat the challenges

In the table below I juxtapose the typical problems students with LDs experience and the solutions the games provide:

Problems	Quizlet Solutions + Our Games
•       Perception:	•       ‘3-D Flashcards’ to support all perception channels
ü  Visual	ü  Pictures for each word
ü  Audial	ü  Audio (automatic or recorded) to clarify the pronunciation
ü  Tactile	ü  Easily-made printouts, board games, motion games
Problems	Quizlet Solutions + Our Games
•       Memory:	Several study modes and board games to activate different types of memory
ü  Working& Short-term	A variety of stimuli to engage several perception channels
ü  Long-term	ü  ‘Learn’ and ‘spell’ modes to improve the memorization ü  Step-by-step and Monopoly to use words in the context to strengthen the associations
•       Organizational problems/time planning:	•       ‘Quizlet Learn’ to create a study plan
ü  Inability to organize learning material and tools	ü  Splitting the material into sets
ü  Inability to keep deadlines and work on schedule	ü  Setting deadlines for each set and getting reminders and study goals
Attention deficit:	Token economy (levels, game points)
ü  Inability to focus on a task and shift attention	ü  Turning study tasks into interactive games

Here are some games you might prepare yourself and play with your students:

DIY GAMES:

1) 'Quizlet' -based step-by-step game

Materials:

qprinted game board,

qgame pieces,

qDice

qCards

Game description:

1.Roll dice

2.Open a card from the set

3.Translate the card

4.Create a sentence with the word

5.If you are right, you can move

6.If you are wrong, you must remain in the same position

2) RUN & MATCH

vCan be played in couples or in small groups.

Materials:

qA big screen,

qa projector

qa stopwatch

Game description:

vGroups take turns in matching words and definitions

vEach group sends a representative to the board who has to touch the word and its definition and run back quickly

vThe team with the shortest time wins

vInstead of competing you can ask the teams to help each other and finish the task in the shortest possible time

Enjoy your teaching!