Race Across the USA

Race Across the USA

Learn important facts about each state as you Race Across the USA. Included are two sets of question cards: one set for 3rd and 4th grade level, and one set for 5th and up. 

The game board is rectangular, brightly colored and measures about 20" x 10". There are six different colors for the states and each state on the board shows the state name and something associated with that state. For instance New Mexico is pictured with a chili pepper and Wisconsin with cheese. Several major rivers and bodies of water are labeled.

The state cards measure about 2.25" square. Each card pictures the state, capital name and the nickname for the state on one side and a fact and matching illustration about the state on the other. There are 50 cards, one for each state, so two players will never be going for the same state.

The question cards measure 3 3/8" x 2 1/4".  Each card has a question on each side and most of the answers are multiple choice. The questions and answers are printed in black ink except for the correct answer, which is printed in blue ink. Someone else must read the question to the player so they don't see the answer. Questions are divided into two different age (grade) groups. Here are examples:

• 3th and 4th grade
• Which of these states shares the longest border with Canada? (Alaska)
• St. Augustine was the first permanent European settlement in the US and is now a city south of Jacksonville. In which state is it located? Florida)
• 5th and up
• Which are farther west: the Central Plains of the Great Plains? (Great Plains)
• What city was largely destroyed by the Great Fire of 1871? (Chicago)

The score cards are all the same and each has six blocks of color where the six state cards will be placed as you reach each one (see image above). They measure 5.5" x 8.5".

The pawns are plastic airplanes and included is a typical 6-sided die.

Object:
Be the first player to collect 6 state cards and return to your home state.

Setup:
Place the board between the players. Give each player a score card. Decide which question cards you will be using, shuffle those cards and put them near the board. Divide the states into piles by color (6) and deal one state card of each color to each player. Players look at their state cards and the game board, plotting the quickest route to reach all six. Each player chooses a pawn and puts it on their home state on the game board.

Play:
Players take turns. Throw the die and move that number of states in a direction that will help you reach one of your states. If you do not land on a state that you have a state card for, your turn is over. If you do land on a state you have a state card for, pick the top card off the question pile and give it to the person on your left to read. If you answer the question correctly, put that state card on your score card and your turn is over. If you do not answer correctly your turn is over. On your next turn you may stay put, without throwing the die, and try answering another question. Play until someone has moved all of their six state cards to their score card and returns to their home state, winning the game.


In the box: Game board, 4 airplane pawns, 110 question cards for 3rd and 4th grades, 110 question cards for 5th grade and up, 50 state cards, 4 score cards, 1 die

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

 

Pictionary Junior

Pictionary Junior - Draw objects by category

Pictionary Junior has been one of my favorite games since I started telehealth. And the best part for you is that you probably don't even need to buy the game. The game is meant to be played with teams, but can work 1:1 in therapy too. This version is for kids and there is also an adult version of Pictionary.

Pictionary has been around for a long time, and if you haven't ever played it, it is a drawing game. One person draws a picture, the rest of the players try to guess what it is. So even though you don't have to be a great artist, you do have to feel that you draw good enough to want to try. As a matter of fact, with only one minute to draw, drawing gets real basic. The more unnecessary details you add, the more time you may waste.

Pictionary Junior includes a game board, fun pencil pawns, a die, a timer, Pictionary cards, drawing paper and pencils. The game board has 47 spaces from start to finish. The timer runs for 1 minute. The pencil pawns are so cute that I will have to figure out how else to use them. The die is a standard die (1-6). 

The picture cards are blue on one side (easier to draw) and green on the other (more difficult to draw). There is a category at the top and five items listed under it. These are the items that will be drawn. Each item is printed in a box of a different color. Here are examples:

Green - Harder to draw.                               Blue - Easier to draw.

Zoom has a sharable white board. You can give remote access to other participants and they can control the writing pencil, line thickness, colors, etc. I work with one person who has an Apple tablet and she uses an Apple pen to draw. I would love that, but my tablets are too old at this point to be compatible with a pen.

If you're working on eye-hand coordination, spatial skills, pre-writing shapes and symbols, etc. it can be a fun way to get real handy with a mouse. I have used this with a variety of kids at different levels, not sure how they would do drawing with a mouse, and they have all enjoyed playing and draw well enough for the objects to be recognizable. For kids who can't draw from memory, I just pick a card and draw an image for them to copy. Draw one or two lines at a time and work your way up to drawing an entire object and then letting them draw it. If they can't or don't want to draw with a mouse, I ask them to use a white board and dry erase marker on their end. 

For telehealth we don't bother with the board, pawns and die. We just take turns drawing. Set a timer for 2 minutes and try to draw all five items on your card. You can either keep track of the number of correct guesses and declare a winner at the end, or just draw for fun. Kids haven't even been interested in keeping score. Before playing, drop some of the cards off at the individual's homes.

You could also skip this game and use the Zoom white board with Back Seat Drawing Junior if your kids need something to look at while they draw. I have also had kids copy my Zoom drawing on their own dry erase board while I draw on the ZOOM white board. (Click here to see my opinion on dry erase boards.)
 
I use only the cards when playing on ZOOM, and this is where I think you could make up your own game. Throw out a topic and take turns drawing something you feel falls into that category.

Object:
Sketch your way from start to finish. First person (team to get to the finish square first wins the game.

Set up:
Place the board in the middle of the players. Give each player or team a piece of paper, pencil and pawn. Each team's pawn is placed on the start square of its color. The color of the pawn will also tell players which of the five color-coded items on a card they will be drawing. Shuffle the picture cards. Choose one person from each team to be the first Picturists (people to draw).

Play:
Both teams play at the same time. The two Picturists throw the die and the one with the highest number starts the game. Pick the top card and read the category out loud. Check the board and see the color square that both players are sitting on. Look for that color on the card and that is the item you will be drawing. Secretly show the card to the other Picturist. Turn over the timer and both Picturists will be drawing this item for their team to guess. The first person to yell out the correct answer wins the card for their team. The Picturist throws the die and the winning team moves their pawn that many spaces forward. Another card is drawn, a new Picturist is chosen for each team and both teams play again. If no one guesses the item before the timer runs out, a new card is chosen, new Picturists are chosen, but the die is not thrown and no one moves forward on the board. Keep playing until one team has advanced to the finish square and wins the game. 

Try this:

• Work on visual closure. You draw an object. See how soon they can guess what you are drawing without seeing the whole object.
• Skip the game board. Set a timer for 2 minutes and see how many you can draw before the timer runs out of time.
• Skip buying the game, just give a category and take turns drawing something from the category, with the observer guessing as often as they want as the person drawing draws.

In the box: Game board, 144 word cards (10 items listed on each card) 2 pawns, die, timer, pad of paper, 2 small pencils

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