Playful Way to Teach Grid Reading or You Sunk My Battleship

So Mudge pulled out my travel Battleship to play this afternoon.  And he tried to explain to me that he "knows how to play it."  But in actuality, this nearly 6 y.o. did not.

Battleship is a classic game.  It started out as a pen and paper a long, long time ago. Then Milton Bradley created the one we know and love today that requires fine motor coordination, letter and number recognition, spatial awareness, and grid reading skills.  Grid reading can be broken down further into following a vertical and horizontal line to the place at which they intersect.  This is not necessarily easy to get.  This is a precursor skill to being able to manage charts and graphs, maps, multiplication tables, or super geeky: plotting points on a Cartesian plane.

Of course, we played. And, of course, he thought it was great to sink my battleship.  But it took time to get there. He needed the demonstration of how to read a grid.  Now that I think of it, Battleship appears to teach plotting a little backwards because you state A,1 for example which is actually the Y axis first. True plotting is x axis first.  If the first number in the ordered pair is positive, move to the right. If it's negative, move to the left. Hmmmmmm. Anyway...

I found a website called FunBrain.com which has little educational games from grade K through 8th, that has some plotting activities.  You can also sign up for Khan Academy.  If you haven't already, Khan Academy is a free website that parents, teachers and students, or anyone for that matter, can test their math IQ then challenge themselves by learning new concepts, or get support in something they are struggling.   This is a PHENOMENAL resource.  The founder of Khan Academy originally just made YouTube videos to help his struggling niece; now it is a educational platform supporting millions of users at home and at school.

So math can FUNdamental, not just mental.  Sometimes you have to look at things outside the quadrilateral parallelogram in order to find the joy….

Oh, and just for a modification, the plastic travel version that I have had no contrast between the raised letters and numbers and the background which made it difficult to read. So I just use a black  permanent marker to highlight the raised alphanumerics.  Result- higher contrast, happier eyes.

Before, no real contrast

After, with contrast

The therapeutic use of a Beyblade...

So after playing Beyblades for over an hour with a sick Mudget today, I did whatever any mom who happens to be an Occupational Therapist would do: I did an Activity Analysis’ of the Beyblade.

For those of you who aren’t privy to “Letting it Rip,” a Beyblade is a line of high-spinning tops distributed by Hasbro(http://www.beyblade.com), costing usually under $10 depending on type and where you go.  Activity Analysis is basically the ability to justify anything as therapeutic.  As an Occupational Therapist, I use the therapeutic use of play (in this case) to increase independent function, enhance development and prevent disability.  OT may also include adaptation of task or environment to achieve maximum independence and to enhance quality of life. 

Because an activity analysis can be very looooonnnnggggg, I decided to only pick a few items to share,.  So here it goes:

Performance Area: Play

Performance Components:

You need to be able to grasp the top and the launcher (bilateral coordination, dexterity, strength, tone, praxis). 

Then you need to lace the rip stick into the launcher (visual motor integration, midline, dexterity, praxis)

You need to be able to gauge your force with which you pull the rip stick (proprioception, tactile, right/left discrimination)

You need to be able to aim for the battle stadium (depth perception, figure ground, spatial relations, position in space).

You need to be able to hear your opponent (auditory processing) as well as say “1, 2, 3, Let it rip” (oral motor control, functional communication,).

You need to be able to pull the rip stick to engage into battle (range of motion, strength, postural control). 

Once in battle, you must be able to wait to see who will be the last Beyblade standing (postural control, endurance, level of arousal, attention span). 

Then if you lose, you must be a good loser (Values, interests, Self concept, Role performance, Social conduct, Interpersonal skills, Self expression, Coping skills,  Self control)

Performance Context:

Recommended age is 8 and up (temporal aspects)

It must be allowed in your home (cultural, social and physical)

Imagine, it just took a Bachelors’ in Science to do this. And Kyle thinks all I do all day is play with kids.  So next time you have an argument with someone about something you or your kids want to buy, try using activity analysis to justify it.  You will be amazed with the results…