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How To Use Writing Games To Improve Grammar & Literacy?

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Grammar is the worst nightmare for learners of different ages, as most of them find grammar lessons incredibly boring. Nevertheless, the lack of knowledge of grammatical terms and structures makes students incapable of developing good writing skills. 

Many youngsters who struggle with learning disorders such as dysgraphia and dyslexia face literacy issues, which prevent them from upgrading their writing style. Fortunately, there is a myriad of writing games and courses that help students improve their language and grammar skills. 

These are the ways in which different types of activities can improve both grammar and literacy in learners.

Sensory learning games

Sensory learning is a knowledge acquisition style that refers to the use of one’s visual, auditory, and sensory-motor sense in memorizing information and developing skills. Consequently, students differ in terms of learning styles; some prefer visual instruction, others auditory, whereas certain learners prefer sensory-motor education. 

Visual learners acquire and retrieve information through seeing illustrations, written guidelines, handouts, etc. These individuals use their vivid imagination to memorize or remember information, usually closing their eyes in the process. In contrast, auditory learners acquire knowledge through listening to lectures, discussions, CDs, conversations, and other auditory forms of information. These students prefer oral guidelines and have an excellent capacity to remember lyrics. 

In addition, sensory-motor learners have a unique hands-on approach to learning, which involves using tools or touching surfaces. They aren’t exactly good at following oral guidelines but are excellent in games that involve activity.

Nevertheless, each type of activity involves a different kind of instruction, generally multi-sensory instruction. For instance, writing involves both visual and sensory-motor learning, as students are required to use their imagination, as well as their motor skills. Make sure you visit this page to check out the best ways to improve fine motor skills. 

Descriptive writing games are designed to encourage learners to become proficient in providing vivid descriptions of scenes. With the use of colorful adjectives, ornamental adverbs, and descriptive verbs, learners not only enter the world of descriptive writing but also improve their grammar and literacy. Additionally, more advanced students learn how to recognize and use metaphors, similes, and personification in their writing. 

Suspense writing games also make students better at using descriptive language, introducing them to the best methods of building tension. While competing against each other, students of different levels use picturesque adverbs and adjectives, metaphors, onomatopoeias, and other figures of speech to beat their opponents. 

Grammar-oriented games

Moreover, other writing games are more focused on applying grammar and different parts of speech to improve one’s language skills. The aim of these games is to introduce learners to a variety of grammar terms while competing with other students. For example, some activities are solely designed for improving one part of speech, such as prepositions. Most of the online writing games are available for learners of all levels, not only elementary students but also middle school and high school players. 

Additionally, certain writing games are designed to improve one’s memorizing and categorizing skills, which is beneficial in recalling grammar terms. Learners are expected to provide the main idea and details related to a particular topic. The more details the player strives to provide, the more he/she develops its memory. The following link, www.healthline.com/nutrition/ways-to-improve-memory, includes some beneficial tips for improving your memory.

Although grammar is a nightmare for most youngsters, there are certain online writing games whose purpose is to introduce them to the parts of speech by using their categorizing skills. For example, beginners are expected to place the given word cards in the right category, such as nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, pronouns, etc. On the next level, learners are required to categorize the provided words in a more extensive choice of categories by adding more specific ones like articles and conjunctions.

Moreover, once players become proficient in categorizing words in their corresponding part of speech, they can move to a game that asks players to categorize nouns. The most advanced learners are advised to practice review activities that put different parts of speech in context for them to recognize or replace with other words from the same category. 

Literacy-oriented games

When it comes to improving literacy, there is a myriad of handwriting activities that tackle the formation of words and letters. Most of these activities are designed to assist learners who struggle with dysgraphia or dyslexia. The former refers to a learning disability that manifests with illegible writing, slow handwriting progress, spelling difficulties, inability to think and write simultaneously, etc.

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In contrast, the latter refers to a learning disorder that causes reading difficulties and trouble in speech sounds identification. Consequently, learners read slowly and experience visual problems in the form of blurred letters while reading. Nevertheless, online handwriting activities use different approaches for practicing letter formation and placement. These games try to improve discrimination between upper and low case letters, sizing, and leaving enough space between words. 

Paragraph building activities

Paragraph building activities place the focus on proper language structure, which is when the ideas of the writer are sequenced in the right manner. In order for a learner to have a good writing rhythm, he/she is expected to pay attention to the length of sentences. Short sentences are concise and move straight to the writer’s point, while longer sentences serve to provide more details. One is supposed to be careful with the latter, as one long sentence should express no more than a single idea. 

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Apart from composing factual sentences, students are also required to order them properly in order to achieve better cohesion. The use of transitional words is crucial between paragraphs for different ideas to be connected adequately. Therefore, paragraph-building activities enable students to build paragraphs by placing sentences in the correct order or encourage them to put linking words in the right places. 

Final thoughts

Writing games are a fun method for youngsters to overcome their problems with grammar and literacy. 

Investing in such activities is definitely worth it!