Bid-A-Letter

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players look at tiles in their hand and on the game area for potential moves.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Remind children to look at all the potential tiles they can play on each their turn, considering how they may Build, Expand or Change a word. Also, remind them that they may fill an empty space to create a word or play a tile to earn a Tiebreaker token. This will encourage patience and discourage impulsivity.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Remind children to look at all the potential tiles they can play on each their turn, considering how they may Build, Expand or Change a word. Also, remind them that they may fill an empty space to create a word or play a tile to earn a Tiebreaker token. This will encourage patience and discourage impulsivity.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players determine potential words to create and spaces available to Build, Expand or Change a word chain; to fill a gap to create a word: or to earn a Tiebreaker Token. They must then decide which of their letters they will bid to start the turn.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Remind children to look at all the potential tiles they can play on each their turn, considering how they may Build, Expand or Change. Also, remind them that they may fill an empty space to create a word or play a tile to earn a Tiebreaker Token. This will encourage patience and discourage impulsivity.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Bid-A-Letter is a strong game for teaching spelling and word memory. It also helps develop spatial reasoning and directionality as children examine a constantly changing game area for opportunities to make scoring moves. Remind children to look at all the potential tiles they can play on each their turn, considering how they may Build, Expand or Change. Also, remind them that they may fill an empty space to create a word or play a tile to earn a Tiebreaker Token. This will encourage patience and discourage impulsivity.

Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
If a player has options to place tiles in different locations, they compare advantages and disadvantages of each option. To help children learn to assess their different options, ask them to describe aloud the different word chains they can Build, Expand or Change and the potential consequences for themselves and opponents for each option.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children learn to assess their different options, ask them to describe aloud the different word chains they can Build, Expand or Change and the potential consequences for themselves and opponents for each option.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Making mental models of different word chains involves advanced, complex cognitive skills that support learning spatial relations, pattern recognition and creative problem solving. To help children learn these skills, ask them to describe aloud the different word chains they can Build, Expand or Change and the potential consequences for themselves and opponents for each option.

Remember

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Every move in Bid-A-Letter is an opportunity to use one's memory for words and spelling as they try to Build, Expand or Change a word chain.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Remind them to also think about how others have bid and moved on prior turns. This may help children decide which letter they want to bid on this turn.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Remind them to also think about how others have bid and moved on prior turns. This may help children decide which letter they want to bid on this turn.

Predict

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players need to predict what others will bid in order to rank higher or lower, depending on their goal. Also, players need to think about what will happen if they put tiles in a certain spot which may include blocking others or creating opportunities to Build, Expand or Change word chains on their next turn.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Parents can ask children to imagine the different possible moves that could be made based on the visible Letter Tiles, and what they think other players are likely to do based on their prior moves.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
The type of prediction involved in Bid-A-Letter involves risk and reward analysis, sequential thinking and observational skills. Educators can ask children to imagine the different possible moves could be made based on the visible Letter Tiles, and what they think other players are likely to do based on their prior moves.

Plan

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will try to sequence their tile bids to avoid gaining Penalty Letters. Also, they will plan placement of tiles to so they do not get blocked in by opponents which creating a range of possibilities for their next turn.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To be successful in this game requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. Parents can remind children to think about what could happen next so children will plan accordingly. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important well beyond game play. Also, encourage children to move their tiles around when it is not their turn. This technique, i.e. physically changing objects, is good for visualizing new patterns, words, and changing perspective needed to solve Bid-A-Letter.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Educators can encourage children to look at options for reaching a goal. Ask questions like "Where are you trying to Build or Expand that Word Chain?" or "Can you make a earn a Tiebreaker?" or "How can you bid letters to be higher than your opponents?" Also, Bid-A-Letter is a good game for helping children develop organizational skills as they plan moves, and adaptive skills as they creatively respond to moves of opponents. Organizing is essential to effective planning and is an important executive functioning skill. To be successful in this game requires thinking about consequences beyond a player's immediate move. Educators can remind children to think about what could happen next so children will plan accordingly. This type of long-term, sequential thinking is important well beyond game play.

Solve

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players use problem-solving skills as they decide what letters to bid, playing tiles offensively or defensively, and responding to other player moves.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
Encourage children to remain flexible in their approach to the game. It is difficult to predict what opponents will do. Thus, it is important to adapt based on prior moves. Adapting is key to building resilience and creative problem solving.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
This game is rich with a variety of thinking skills to solve the game, including use of directionality, if/then problem solving, spatial reasoning, risk and reward analysis, vocabulary and spelling. As children play they constantly learn new information as different Letter Tiles are played. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach for bidding, placing their tiles, and ultimately solve the game. Encourage children to remain flexible in their approach to the game. It is difficult to predict what opponents will do. Thus, it is important to adapt based on prior moves. Adapting is key to building resilience and creative problem solving.

Demonstrate

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
When a player places a Letter Tile, they must say one or two words that the letter helps spell or the final word spelled.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children develop their strategic thinking, discuss the results at the end of each bidding is revealed and at the end of each round. Ask the winning bid to explain their thinking about why they chose that letter. Similarly, ask the person whose bid was lowest to explain their thinking.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
To help children develop their strategic thinking, discuss the results at the end of each bidding is revealed and at the end of each round. Ask the winning bid to explain their thinking about why they chose that letter. Similarly, ask the person whose bid was lowest to explain their thinking.

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Bid-A-Letter is a difficult game for children with cognitive delays. The rules are complex and words shift with different plays, making the game confusing for children who are very concrete thinkers. These children may be able to play the game with modifications.

If children knows sound/letter matches for beginnings of words and how to spell simple words, they can create simple words. Change the rules to be more like Scrabble, so simple words are created on the board in a connected pattern. Deal only five tiles, so words will be short, keeping the game simpler for the delayed child. Players play as many letters as they can from their hand to create a word. Replace tiles used. Give points for the number of letters in a word. The winner is the one with the highest score.

Play with partners, so the child has a guide to help think through the options and see possible places to place letters. The partner can remind the child of the rules as the game proceeds.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children who have difficulty with spelling and vocabulary may have a hard time with this game. Play with a partner is recommended to help the child generate possible words.

Children who have difficulty with verbal communication may be able to play, as only the word indicated by the tile being placed needs to be communicated. The player can also write the desired word on paper if this is easier.

An alternative to talking is to have the player with communication concerns place their letter and have other players guess the intended word.

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Though the tiles are large, children with fine motor concerns may have difficulty with placement of tiles between other tiles or in exact relationship to the tile next to it. The player may be able to state the desired word and say where the tile goes, so another player can place it.

Playing with a partner is another option, so they generate words options together, but one player places the tiles on the board.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with social emotional issues may find Bid-A-Letter frustrating, particularly if the spatial arrangement of tiles is confined, with few options available. Playing with the tiles as in Scrabble may be less stressful.

Playing with a partner may reduce anxiety and consequent frustration and enable the child to relax and think of words.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
The tiles are large, so a child with low vision may be able to see them. Children with more severe visual limitations may not be able to play Bid-A-Letter.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children who are hard of hearing may not understand the word other players are saying. Use of sign language or writing down the intended word is an option to enable them to play Bid-A- Letter.

*Data compiled from CCSSI ELA Standards, WA Science Standards, and Washington Social Studies Standards

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Create a new game where each player is given 15 tiles. Using a timer, players have 2 minutes to make most words out of their tiles, writing down each word. Score 1 point for every letter, or invent your own scoring method.

Materials Needed
Pencil or pen. Paper.

Developmental Benefits
This variation helps children practice spelling and vocabulary memory skills. Additionally, children will develop new vocabulary as they hear new words from other players. Encourage children to ask for definitions and uses of words that are new to them.

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Players take turns placing one letter tile at time trying to spell words horizontally. For example, "B" plus "E" makes "BE". Next player plays "S" to make "BES". Next player plays "T" to make "BEST". Players score one point for each letter of a complete word they make on their turn. For example, BE was worth 2 points and BEST was worth 4 points. BES had no value because it is not a word. In this version, only make words horizontally, not connected horizontally and vertically in a grid. Once a word is finished, a new word is begun.

Materials Needed
Pencil or pen. Paper

Developmental Benefits
Children are learning how to add on to existing letters or words to make more advanced words.