Every year I struggle to find activities my students can do during our center time. I want activities that are fun, engaging, meaningful, low prep, and easy to change through out the year. I want to be able to change the skill my students are working on without having to teach a brand new activity every time. I created these Connect 4 games just for those reasons.
My students absolutely love playing these games. I use them as something students can choose to do after they have completed their center activity. It keeps them engaged and they are learning at the same time. The best part is that when we move on to a new skill or concept, all I have to do is change out the gameboard. The game is played the same way, no matter the content. In this post I will explain what Connect 4 is, how I use them, and how to play. So, let’s get started!
What is Connect 4?
Connect 4 is a game I created for my students to play during literacy centers. I wanted a game that my students would love, that had simple directions, and that I could use all year long. Each gameboard focuses on one skill or concept. These concepts and skills range from beginning sounds, rhyming, syllables to CVC words. Students take turns spinning the spinner, reading the word (or picture) and placing a counter on the picture on the gameboard that matches what they spun. Students want to get four in a row to win.
How I Use Connect 4:
In my classroom I use Connect 4 as an engaging activity for students to do after they have completed their center activity. Each day students have one center activity that they need to complete. When they have finished their center work, they need to choose a learning activity to do for the rest of our reading or math block. Connect 4 is one of the learning activities that students can choose to do. These games would also be perfect for an early finisher activity or morning activity.
Set Up:
There are a few different choices for each gameboard. There are two different color versions and one black and white version. Choose the version of the gameboard you want and print it out along with the spinner. I always print out two of each black and white gameboard and the spinners on the same color cardstock. Then I laminate the gameboards and spinners for durability. I store each gameboard and spinner in a gallon sized ziploc bag. When I want to put the game out for students to play, I add counters or unifix cubes to the bag. You need two different colors of counters and about 20 of each. You can also include a transparent spinner in the bag. I use these, Learning Advantage Transparent Spinners.
You can also print out and laminate the I Can page that goes with each gameboard. The I Can page explains in kid friendly language how to play.
How to Play:
1. Player one spins the spinner and reads the word/letter/etc. They put a counter or cube on a picture that matches the word/letter/etc.
2. This continues, each player takes a turn spinning and placing a counter or cube. They are trying to get 4 in a row. You can get 4 in a row going in three different directions: horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
3. Players are welcome to block each other from getting four in a row. They can place counters or cubes on squares that can stop the other player from getting four in a row as long as the picture matches what they got on the spinner.
4. The game continues until one player gets 4 in a row. He or she is the winner!
Connect 4 Games:
Connect 4: Alphabet Literacy Games
This set of Connect 4 games includes 23 different gameboards to help students practice letters and their sounds. For these games, students spin the spinner and read the letter. Then they put their counter on a picture that starts with that letter on the gameboard. These are perfect for allowing students a fun opportunity to practice beginning sounds.
I know that some teachers like to introduce students to the letters of the alphabet in order. I have included 13 gameboards for introducing 2 letters at a time from a to z. Here are the 13 gameboards:
- -Connect 4 #1: Letters A and B
- -Connect 4 #2: Letters C and D
- -Connect 4 #3 Letters E and F
- -Connect 4 #4 Letters G and H
- -Connect 4 #5 Letters I and J
- -Connect 4 #6 Letters K and L
- -Connect 4 #7 Letters M and N
- -Connect 4 #8 Letters O and P
- -Connect 4 #9 Letters Q and R
- -Connect 4 #10 Letters S and T
- -Connect 4 #11 Letters U and V
- -Connect 4 #12 Letters W and X
- -Connect 4 #13 Letters Y and Z
I have also included 9 gameboards for introducing 3 letters at a time. I personally like to introduce students to 3 letters a week following this letter sequence:
m, a, s, d, t, p, c, r, n, i, f, b, h, k, e, g, l, o, v, j, u, q, w, x, y, z
This is the letter sequence I used to create these 9 gameboards. I introduce the three letters we are going to work on that week, and then I introduce the new gameboard that has those same three letters. Students get to have fun while practicing the letters we are working on! Here is a list of the gameboard included in this section:
- -Connect 4 #15 Letters M, A, & S
- -Connect 4 #16 Letters D, T, & P
- -Connect 4 #17 Letters C, R, & N
- -Connect 4 #18 Letters I, F, & B
- -Connect 4 #19 Letters H, K, & E
- -Connect 4 #20 Letters G, L, & O
- -Connect 4 #21 Letters V, J, & U
- -Connect 4 #22 Letters Q, W, & X
- -Connect 4 #23 Letters Y & Z
Also included is one gameboard that includes all 26 letters of the alphabet. I use this gameboard after we have learned all letters of the alphabet.
This set of Connect 4 Literacy Games contains 24 gameboards that allow students an opportunity to practice different literacy skills. The gameboards included in this packet are:
- -1 Rhyming Gameboard
- -13 CVC Gameboards
- -1 Syllables Gameboard
- -4 Blends Gameboards
- -1 Silent E Gameboard
- -1 CCVC/CVCC Gameboard
- -3 Digraph Gameboards
My students absolutely love these Connect 4 games and they catch on quickly to how they are played. Here are a few pictures of these gameboards in action.
*Clip art in photos is from Educlips.
I absolutely love using these games with my students, and better yet, they absolutely love them and they learn something by playing them. I hope you and your students get to enjoy them as much as we do!