Countdown

Object:  Create the longest word up to 9 letters in length using a series of selected letters from the game board.

Setup:  Have a good dictionary available for this game.  Divide the class into teams based on how many students you have.  You can divide them into 2 or more teams and students can work together.  Make sure each team has pencil and plenty of paper.  Select two students to be the word masters in charge of the dictionary. Select a third student to write the letters on the whiteboard in the classroom and to serve as scorekeeper. 

Play:  Click on Slide 3 and put it in Presentation mode.  Do not let the students see slide 4 as this contains the location of the letters for the game.  Select a team to start the game.   One student from that team selects a total of 9 letters from the game board.  They do this by calling for Consonants or Vowels and then saying which number they want.  For example, the student will say Consonant 4 or Vowel 20.  The teacher clicks the number to reveal the hidden letter behind the number.  As each letter is revealed, the student at the whiteboard will write that letter on the board large enough for everyone to see.  The teams must select at least four consonants and three vowels from the board. 

     Once 9 letters have been revealed, all teams must use as many or all the letters to form as long a word up to 9 letters in length as possible.  There is a time limit (hence the name of the game Countdown).  You may give the students 30 seconds or 1 minute to come up with a word.  All teams participate in writing down a word from the 9 letters.  The timers are located at the top left and top right corners of the game board.  Click the appropriate timer.   

     When time is up, an alarm will sound.  You can click the timer again to stop the alarm.  Starting with the team that selected the letters, ask them how many letters are in their word.  The other teams in turn also say how many letters are in their word.  Starting with the team with the fewest number of letters, the team reveals their word.  Then the other teams reveal their word.  If there is a question about whether a word is legitimate, consult the Word Masters to check the dictionary.  If the word is not in the dictionary, it does not count.  The team with the longest correct word scores one point per letter.  If there is a tie for the longest correct word, both teams score the points.  For example, if a team gets a 7-letter word, they score 7 points.  If a team forms a correct word with all 9 letters, they get 18 points. 

Winning:  Play as many rounds of the game as you like.  The team with the most points wins the game.