ChiTag Event
One of the events that I like to attend is the Chicago Toy and Game Show, that usually is held in November at Chicago’s Navy Pier. This show is a great place to find innovative and different toys, games and technology that can be used with students for counseling. This event is fabulous, and once many of the venders find out you work for a school or an organization that assists students, they often will give you a discount, freebies, or even offer you a samples of their games or items. You can meet the inventors of the games, and see the games and toys tried out by people at the events. This is how I could envision many of the therapeutic effects of the games. If you haven’t gone to an event such as this, and you love toys, tech and games, you shouldn’t miss this event next year.
Life size operation game
Above is the inventor of the game, Operation.
Great game for SEL
I love this game, as it is like the old game you played with your friends “Concentration”, without a board. You get a category and think up words within that category, and you are eliminated when you can’t guess a word. The twist in Tapple is, you have to find words that begin with a certain alphabet and each letter is tapped out until only a few letters are left and you have to guess a word in that category that starts with one of the remaining letters.
A variation of the game could be teaching the students emotion words and having them use the Tapple tool to tap out the various emotions that begin with different letters. This addresses Common Core Standards and you have so much fun! Go to the Tapple game site USAOPOLY to see a description of Tapple and another game that I find promising, SELFIE (and yes, it relates to selfies taken with a cell phone and how you appear to others, no cell phone needed).
thesocialworkpad
thesocialworkpad 