Ways to Play the Game Scrabble in the Classroom

National School Scrabble Program

• Several years ago, the National Scrabble Association teamed up with Hasbro to create the National School Scrabble Program and, in 1992, the program was made available nationwide. Teachers can order School Scrabble kits through the program and find innovative ways to incorporate Scrabble into the classroom. (See Reference 1.)

Traditional Scrabble

• Help kids have a fun, educational experience by playing Scrabble against each other. Divide the class into several teams, or place several Scrabble boards throughout the classroom. Have a tournament over a period of a week; allow students to play Scrabble for 30-45 minutes at a time, and whoever has the highest score at each board when time is up wins. The next day, allow the winners to play each other and the losers to play each other. Continue until you have one winner. (See Reference 2)

  You can also use Scrabble to help students learn math skills; the combination point value of words helps students practice basic addition. This is a great way for young kids to practice basic math skills. For older students, have competitions to see who can score closest to a set point value.

Speed Scrabble

• Play a version of Scrabble with only the game pieces; you will not need the board or letter racks. Divide the class into groups of 4-6 and set each group at a table. Give each group one set of Scrabble letters; they must place all of the letters face down in the center of the table. Every player draws seven tiles. When you say "go," the players turn over their tiles and try to form words in "Scrabble fashion" by connecting words horizontally and vertically. Whenever someone in the group uses every letter to make words, that person says "go," and everyone in the group draws another two tiles. Every player must now incorporate those letters into his or her words, forming new words or adding to old words. Play continues until there are no tiles left; the winner at each table is the last person to say "go." Have a competition or tournament to see who can win the most games.

  For a twist on Speed Scrabble, write the week's spelling words on the board. Players must try to incorporate those words and whoever has the most words when the tiles run out wins.