I’ve always been a lover of board and card games. I have many fond memories as a child growing up playing different games with family members. I even love them now as an adult! And now that I have children of my own, I much prefer my children to spend time playing board games over the addicting screen and video game options they’re so drawn to playing in today’s day and age.
While there are lots of games that are great for learning, one of my favorite games for school-aged kids is “Guess Who?” In addition to being simple and fun, it is a game that can be played quickly if short on time (one or two rounds), or played over and over to extend the fun. New characters can be drawn for each round (although sometimes it can be fun if the same character gets drawn - some kids don’t see this coming!).
What I love most about this game, however, is how great it is for supporting the growth of speech and language skills!! I’ll start with the areas of receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language.
Playing “Guess Who?” promotes:
Joint attention (two people paying attention to the same thing, intentionally and for social reasons)
The recognition of basic concepts and vocabulary (basic and descriptive)
Visual and auditory processing
Listening comprehension
Asking and answering questions
Even though it may seem simple, the process of asking and answering questions is sometimes problematic for those who struggle with language skills. The repetitive and predictable nature of “do you have _____?” or “does your person have _____?” helps provide a framework for how to ask a yes/no question using appropriate sentence structure and grammar. As the opposing player, one can build the awareness and ability to answer yes/no questions.
Other skills such as comparison (having to look at and compare what pictures one has left to determine the most helpful question to ask next) and negation (e.g., “no, he doesn’t have brown hair”) are also skills inherently included.
Playing “Guess Who?” is also great for improving articulation and speech fluency. If a child is working on a specific sound, he/she can focus on that sound on each turn (e.g., If working on /r/, one may say, “Is your person wearing a hat?”). Likewise, if a child is working on fluency-enhancing techniques, this game provides a structured activity for practicing. The game also shows the names of the people or items so it's great for spelling and reading practice too!
I have used this game during speech and language therapy sessions more times than I can count. When a therapist or parent is there to support the children playing, they can provide proper models of grammar, articulation, fluency, and more. The adult can also facilitate turn-taking and also encourage the children to ask for help if needed (a great skill in and of itself!). As one might guess, younger children may require extra support for this game, especially when playing for the first time.
All-in-all, “Guess Who?” is a fun and cost-effective way to improve and practice speech and language skills! Children hardly know they’re “working” and yet so much can be accomplished. I highly recommend checking it out! There are some additional "Guess Who?" options below as well.
Happy guessing!!
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