Hasbro Scrabble Crossword Game
Mindprint Rating
Tags
Skills
Mindprint Expert Review
Pros
- Students will improve their vocabulary and spelling by working with combinations of letters, asking questions, and using a dictionary.
- Children will practice basic addition and multiplication as they add up the score of each word, and double-digit addition if the child acts as scorekeeper.
- The game provides great opportunities for students to think flexibly as they adapt to the letters in their hands and their opponents' moves.
Considerations
- Scrabble can be frustrating for children with weaker verbal, working memory, visual or flexible thinking skills unless playing with an understanding adult.
- Players often dispute about the "legality" of words which can be problematic for students with control issues.
- This version uses a flat game board and the letter tiles can slide and cause confusion, so parents should consider purchasing the more expensive version with built-in squares to hold the tiles in place.
Mindprint Expert Review
The classic game of Scrabble provides excellent practice with vocabulary, spelling, flexible thinking, and basic addition and multiplication skills, but some students may find it too long and not sufficiently fun for the time required. Players have seven letters in their hand. They take turns forming interlocking crosswords competing to form words with the highest point value based on the letters' number values and the double and triple squares on the board. Players must think flexibly as they scan the board and try to find words which will result in the highest score. The game can be challenging, particularly for younger students who are still improving their vocabulary and spelling skills, students who have difficulty maintaining long periods of attention since games can be long, and students who can simply be overwhelmed by the number of options available both in their hand and with the 225 squares on the board. We believe Scrabble can still be a good choice for all students, but may require some modifications such as playing in teams, playing to a maximum score rather than until all the tiles are gone, or allowing students to use a dictionary. Parents could also consider giving students the app version which has a built-in dictionary and hints, or themed versions of the game which might provide a higher level of engagement.
Academic Benefits
Improves academic skills
- Provides sufficient and varied types of practice problems to maximize understanding and generalization of the targeted skill/concept
- Manufacturer claims alignment with Common Core/Known Standards
- Presents educational concepts accurately
- Explains answers so students can learn from mistakes
- Better for teaching the skill to new or struggling learners
- Better for practicing or refreshing the skill
- Skills are practiced through authentic, meaningful problems (not just rote practice)
Fun
Engaging for the Mindprint recommended age range
- Appropriate for a broad age range to use and enjoy
- Visually appealing to children in the target age range
- Adults would enjoy playing with a child
- For electronic games, gives positive or encouraging feedback
- Offers ongoing, progressive challenge
- Overall - Enjoyable. Given the option, students would choose this option
Easy to Use
Understandable for children in the Mindprint recommended age range
- Provides teaching guidance for adults to support the child and set appropriate goals
- Student should be able to use independently after first use
- Student graduates to the next level or topic only after meeting a benchmark
- Can effectively understand and monitor student's progress (email report or in product)
- Does not require excessive set-up time after first time use
- Can be fun as a single player game
- Multi-player game which fosters collaboration or cooperation
- Well-made for the cost
- For electronic games, can play without sound
- For electronic games, allows user to save work
- For electronic games, voice/sounds are appealing and pronounces words properly
- Provides options to play in languages other than English/Good for ELL
- Presents information in multiple formats (voice over, pictures and text, etc.)
- Overall - Easy to use
Cognitive Concerns
May not be advisable for students with the following cognitive needs
- Attention
- Age inappropriate amount of work which could overwhelm or discourage students
- Visually distracting with too many pictures, problems or moving objects
- Organization
- Age inappropriate amount of work which could overwhelm or discourage students
- Requires remembering and completing a sequence of visual steps
- Social Awareness
- Multi-player activity that requires cooperation or has potential for disagreements
- Multi-player activity with a clear 'winner' and 'loser'
- Visual Discrimination
- Requires scanning in multiple places for words, objects or numbers
- Visually distracting with too many pictures, problems or moving objects
- Working Memory
- Requires scanning in multiple places for words, objects or numbers
- Requires remembering and completing a sequence of visual steps
Manufacturer Description
Classic crossword game. For 2 to 4 players ages 8 and up. This product is manufactured in United States.