Folder Gamesare easy and inexpensive to make. They take very little room to store.Schoolfolder games can be created by teachers or students. Folder games are a hands on opportunity for learningthat makes understanding a skill more of an adventure instead of a task. Kids like games and givingthem learning opportunities through play offers the teacher another way to reinforce a lesson.

Silly Sentences
Glue envelopes in place on the inside of the folders. Put them on both sides of the folder flap sidefacing front. Write single words on small cut pieces of 3-by-5-inch cards. To make the cards and wordslast longer, cover each cut out piece with clear sticky shelving paper on both sides. Fill each envelopewith the word game pieces. Put serious and funny words in the envelopes. Make sure there are a largevariety of words that can form a complete sentence, nouns, adjectives, verbs and so forth. Let onechild or a small group of children take turns picking words from the envelopes to lay out on the table or desk to form sentences. They can be silly or fun sentences and long or short. Provide paper andwriting utensils to reinforce the activity and ask them to write their silly sentences down to share withthe rest of the class later.

Textured Printing Practice
Some children can reinforce writing by stimulating the senses. Use plain 3-by-5 cards. Write a letter oneach card, upper case and lower case. Put all the letters of the alphabet in one large envelope andglue the envelope to one side of the folder on the inside. Put pieces of Velcro on one side of smalllocking plastic sandwich or snack-size bags and the matching attaching piece for each bag on thefolder, a spot for each bag. In each bag put something that offers a different texture for children totouch, about the same size as the 3-by-5 cards. Examples might be a piece of sandpaper, a piece of felt or fake fur fabric, a piece of aluminum foil, or even a small bag of sand and a piece of paper to pour it on. The child picks a letter from the letter envelope and practices writing the letter on the differenttextures with the tip of his finger or fingers. If you are working on particular letters or groups of letters inclass, only leave those in the letter envelope for the the child to choose.

Rhyming Words
Write single words on 3-by-5-inch cards. Make word cards that rhyme: hot, spot and cot for example.For older kids or kids who are mastering reading more easily, use more complex words mixed in with thesimple words and put in words that are difficult to rhyme to challenge their reading skills, even a fewthat have no matches. Mix a large selection of words up and put them in big envelopes inside the gamefolder. Tell the kids to pour out the envelopes and pick out as many words that rhyme as they can find.Have them work in pairs or small groups and take turns. If they run into something they find difficult,they can help each other problem-solve to figure out the words and find rhyming ones. Very youngchildren or slower learners may also need a picture on each word card to give them visual clues.