Gumball Words

Explore

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players needs to look at various spots on the board looking for viable places to move their Coin Pawn. More advanced players will also look one or two moves ahead, as in chess or checkers.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When first learning, encourage children to just focus on collecting letters rather than planning further moves ahead.

To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Gumball Words is very good for developing spatial reasoning and spelling skills.

When first learning, encourage children to just focus on collecting letters rather than planning further moves ahead.

To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Determine

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players decide where to move their Coin Pawn, which letters they want to obtain and which moves they may be able to make on their next turn.

Additionally, they will create the highest scoring words possible with the letters they have picked up during the game.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
When first learning, encourage children to just focus on collecting letters rather than planning further moves ahead.

To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Gumball Words is very good for developing spatial reasoning and spelling skills.

When first learning, encourage children to just focus on collecting letters rather than planning further moves ahead.

To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Compare

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will examine each of the four different spaces they can move their Coin Pawn to determine which is the best choice.

Additionally, they will compare different letter combinations to make the highest scoring words.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

As children become more skilled at the game, encourage them to look ahead at least one move to help make the best choice of where to move their pawn.

During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Gumball Words has numerous implicit levels of mastery in strategy and spatial reasoning. The more children play, the more skilled they will be at comparing options and planning one or two moves ahead.

To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

As children become more skilled at the game, encourage them to look ahead at least one move to help make the best choice of where to move their pawn.

During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Plan

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players will try to plan where to move their Coin Pawn, which letters they want to obtain and which moves they may be able to make on their next turn.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

As children become more skilled at the game, encourage them to look ahead at least one move to help make the best choice of where to move their pawn.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Gumball Words has numerous implicit levels of mastery in strategy and spatial reasoning. The more children play, the more skilled they will be at comparing options and planning one or two moves ahead.

To help children visualize their options, suggest that they rotate letter tiles 90° at a time. This'll help them more easily determine where they're pawn can be moved.

As children become more skilled at the game, encourage them to look ahead at least one move to help make the best choice of where to move their pawn.

If you notice that a child is collecting too many vowels or consonants, suggest the they seek out other letters that will be helpful in creating words at the end of the game.

Practice

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Gumball Words provides players with great opportunity to practice spelling and word formation.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
No special adult support required.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
To teach specific words, educators may set up the board with all the required letters. Then give the players words that they are hunting for. The player who spells the more words from the list wins the game, or play the game collaboratively to see if the children can work together to collect all the needed letters.

Solve

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
The game board is constantly changing as players pick up Letter Tiles and place their Coin Pawn on other tiles.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
As the game is being learned, children may place their pawn in non-strategic ways, e.g. in a way where they cannot move the pawn on their next turn, or they may not spell all the words they are capable of. If you see this, ask the child to explain their thinking and discuss what they might do differently next time.

After children have mastered the basics of the game, they learn new information constantly during game play. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach for playing their pawn, collecting Letter tiles and ultimately solving the game.

Additionally, this ability to shift strategies based on new information can help children cope with the stresses of change in other areas of their life.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
Gumball Words involves uses of visual spatial problem solving, directionality and if/then problem solving.

After children have mastered the basics of the game, they learn new information constantly during game play. This information directly effects how children strategize an approach for playing their pawn, collecting Letter tiles and ultimately solving the game.

Demonstrate

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
Players build demonstration skills as they show their words and score for those words to other players.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
No special adult support required.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
No special adult support required.

Create

What Does Child Do To Use Skill In The Game?
While spelling is not creative, building grids of words and word combinations to maximize scoring is a creative skill building part of Gumball Words.

How Parents Can Assist Learning
During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Learning Implications and Educator Support
During the scoring phase, remind children that they can repeatedly move letters around in any arrangement to make the most words and use as many of their letters as possible.

Cognitive

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Gumball Words requires a high degree of spatial reasoning, both for moving the tokens and for making connected words. When first learning the game, have all players create individual words, rather than connected words ala a crossword puzzle. This will be easier for the child with cognitive delays and make the scoring more equitable. Additionally, help the child by making part of a word for them and see if they can add a letter to make it a word. Note that the beginning letter is easiest to find.

Play the game with a partner. This will allow someone to help the child with cognitive delays interpret the directional dots on the letter tiles. The partner can also help with word formation at the end of the game. Encourage the partner to involve the child in forming a word by making a word minus one letter and seeing if the child add a letter or can find a place to put the word on the letter grid.

High frequency letters include e, t, a, i, n, o, s, h, r, d, l, c. Encourage children with cognitive delays to find these letters as they will be able to formulate more simple words.

Communication

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Practice phonological awareness by sounding out the letters as they are picked up, and then sounding out and spelling the words that are made at the end of the game.

Remind children to find both vowels and consonants. Children with reading difficulties will benefit from knowing frequently used letters. High frequency letters include e, t, a, i, n, o, s, h, r, d, l, c. Write these on a piece of paper to give the child a little help in playing the game.

Sensorimotor

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
The letter tiles are magnetic, so this helps players avoid accidentally moving the pieces. Manipulating the letters to make words may be challenging. If needed, children can say the word they want to make and let another player place the letters where the children indicate they should go.

If the child has severe challenges with fine motor movements, Gumball Words may be too challenging.

Social Emotional/Behavioral

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Play with a partner to make the game collaborative. This will teach children to negotiate and discuss options before making a quick judgement.

Gumball Words requires attention to details and patience to study options. Remind players to take their turns in steps: 1) Look at the directional dots on the bottom of the letter tile where their token is located, 2) analyze the options in a pattern (Where will I land if I go left, right, up, or down), 3) which direction lands me on a letter I want or need? Having a systematic way to think can help children who are impulsive or easily frustrated.

Vision

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with low vision will have difficulty with the complexity of the board and seeing the small directional dots at the bottom of the letter tiles. For this reason Gumball Words is not recommended for children with low vision.

Hearing

Suggestions for How to Modify Play Experience
Children with hearing concerns should be able to play Gumball Words.

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

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Modify Gumball Words by adding an element of chance. During the board part of the game players carefully make moves to get the letters they want on the board. Before they start making their words, have each player contribute two letters to a pile, mix them up, and then draw two back.

Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
This expansion allows players to get rid of potentially redundant or letters that are difficult to use and potentially gain letters enabling them to make new words. Of course, they may end up with their own letters again too!

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Place starting tiles in the corners. If a player moves to this tile, they can then move to any other corner of the board.

Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
Normally, each turn allows a player to move across 2 to 4 spaces on the board. This expansion allows player to be able to access another part of the board without having to move there space-by-space. It adds an additional element of spatial reasoning and strategic planning.

Extra Ways to Play the Game
Try playing Gumball Words without the board. Instead, layout all of the tiles in a 10x12 grid. Play the game according to the rules.

Materials Needed
No additional materials needed.

Developmental Benefits
This expansion increases the options for planning and strategizing a sequence of moves.