Zingo Word Builder

Zingo Word Builder - Letter recognition, vowels vs consonants, word building, lots of ways to learn.

Zingo is a series of games that include the Zingo Zinger, a unique and fun card dispenser (red object in image above). Zingo games have won multiple awards from different groups. I have already blogged about several Zingo games and you can find those links at the end of this post. 

Zingo Word Builder consists of one heavy-duty plastic Zinger, plastic letter tiles with one letter per tile, and spelling cards that each have six words on them. The Zinger is made up of two pieces. The red part of the zinger that says Zingo (image above) comes off. Stack the tiles randomly in the Zinger and replace the lid. If you prefer, you can also stack the tiles by pushing them in through the slot toward the top of the Zinger. This will take time and may get tedious. Tiles are squared off on the bottom and rounded on the top so you can easily keep them all right-side-up as you stack them inside. When done, place the lid back on the Zinger. To use the Zinger you will grab hold of the tall part and pull it forward, then push it back again. Two tiles will drop out in the process. You will have to remove them to play again.

This image is from Bingo Zingo. Your tiles will have letters, not pictures.

The letter tiles are hard plastic and would be a challenge to break, so heavy-duty. All letters are upper case and all letters of the alphabet are included except Z and Q. The consonants are printed in black and the vowels are printed in red. The same letter is printed on both side of a tile.

The cards are laminated, a little less than 1/8 inch thick, 2-sided with six words on each side. There are two levels of play - the yellow side of each card is beginner level and the back of each card, the orange side, is advanced. The beginner side only requires you to fill in one letter per word. Each word has several options for filling a blank space, such as BU_ can be bug, bum, but, bud, etc. It will be up to the player to recognize whether a word can be formed with the letters that come up on the Zinger. The advanced side will have two words that require one letter and four words that require two letters to complete a word. For instance L _ _ can be lid, let, lad, low, etc. It all depends on what letters come up on the Zinger.

Object:
Be the first to fill your card with words.

Set up:
Randomly place all the letter tiles in the Zinger and replace the lid. Give each player a card. Place the Zinger where all players will be able to see the letters that are dispensed.

Play:
Either appoint a dealer to operate the Zinger throughout the game or decide that each player will get to operate it on his turn. Slide the Zinger forward and back to reveal two letters. Players all scan their cards to see if they can use either letter to complete a word on their card. If the word has only one letter missing, the person must call out the word. First person to do so gets the tile. If the word has two missing letters, you must call out the letter you want. Letters collected this way will be placed on the cards. If letters are not claimed on a turn, they are pushed into the slot at the top of the Zinger, ready for the next game. Once someone has filled their card, the game is over. 

Click on each link to see other ZINGO games I have blogged about. 

ZINGO Sight Words
ZINGO to Go
ZINGO Bingo
ZINGO Bingo Number 1-2-3

Try this:

• Start by playing with the cards and letters only. Look at the letter tiles and name the letter on each or several. Look at a beginner card. Take one word at a time and talk about all the possibilities, adding one letter after another to show how words can be made.
• Talk about the sound each letter makes.
• Complete a word on your card and then use it in a sentence.
• Talk about the difference between vowels and consonants. Talk about where vowels tend to appear in words and give examples on the cards.
• Play alone. Place 1-6 cards in front of you and reveal the letters. Try to fill all of the cards.
• Place the tiles on a flat surface. See how many words you can build. Can you use them all? Make two letter words, three letter words, four letter, five, etc. How high can you go? Look around the room and build words for things you see around you. 
•  Work on visual discrimination, sequencing, spelling three letter words, visual closure, visual form constancy, eye-hand coordination, executive functioning skills, process skills, socialization skills, play and leisure exploration and participation

In the box: 1 Zingo Zinger, 72 letter tiles, 6 double-sided spelling cards

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.