This one’s for the teachers.
Within the last couple of years, we’ve been stretched quite thin when it comes to budgetary matters, and very few sectors of our economy have witnessed as dramatic a cut in services as our schools. With this in mind, I’ve made the decision to put my greediness aside, and offer some help instead.
In 2004, I wrote and illustrated WordPlay Café (Williamson Publishing, an Ideals company). It’s a fun, educational romp through the more common aspects of linguistics for kids, and was driven by my desire to not only present the humor in wordplay, but also explain how it works, so that kids may begin to build their own unique brand of phonetic fun.
Here’s the deal.
Below you will find links to the book as chapter-by-chapter PDF files. Some chapters are as large as 5MB, so allow some time to download (right click or control click), especially if the site is busy. (Front Matter & Chapter 1, and Chapters 5 & 6 are combined into one file.) Viewing will require the use of the Adobe Reader, which is available at their website for no charge. Be sure to have your students read through the front matter first, as it explains how the book works.
All I ask in return is that the files remain in the classroom and be treated in a scholarly manner. In addition, I would appreciate any feedback on the book and would ask that any purchase or review of the book go through amazon.com. Should you assemble classroom activities around a particular page or idea, I’d love to share it on the website with other teachers. Be sure to pass this link to other educators as well. A Parent’s Choice® award winner. Join me on Facebook or Pinterest! And if you have extra moment, check out my blogs on the Kids Discover website for more unusual insights for parents and teachers.
Teach. Learn. Enjoy!
-Michael Kline
If patience (or hard disk space) isn’t your virtue, the entire book can be viewed online at FiledBy. Be sure to tell them “Thanks!”
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Got this link from The Homeschool Mom; thanks so much to you for providing this free. As a linguist myself and a homeschooler these books are invaluable for teaching. I look forward to learning and playing some new word games!
You’re very welcome. Let everyone else know too. Thanks!
i just got it from the same link – we are homeschooling, too! it’s wonderful to have a resource like this to encourage her language play – thank you!
Whenever I give demonstrations or talks at local libraries, the homeschoolers are consistently the kids with all the answers, so kudos to you!
Looks like a lot of fun! Thanks! My daughter loves to play games as a part of our school day. I am sure there will be much for me to learn as well.
Homeschoolers and Classroom Teachers:
It’s fantastic to get this all for free – THANK YOU DOGFOOSE! But you may want to consider how much it’ll cost you or your district in ink to print it out vs. purchasing it since it’s not expensive and it is a fantastic book. This book is SOOO COOOOL!
As a homeschooler, I went ahead and downloaded all of it so I could cleanly print out individual pages when I really need to. But I’m just going to spend the 10 bucks and get the book. Even though I go for everything free that I can, I know that this one is a keeper – and for keepers, I open the wallet!
Have fun!
Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I was laughing most of the time while writing WordPlay Cafe (which is the way it should be…). If anyone has a spare moment, please go to the book’s page on amazon and write a review, and be honest. Woe is the person (okay, author) that refuses to learn–one way or the other.
Hi..Thank you so much for this wonderful resource..I’ve been having huge bummer getting my son to love reading and writing and anything that has got to do with language art..playing with words might just do the trick.
Thank you so much.
@Ian
Hey Ian, tell your son that if he reads the book and engages in just one of the activities, I will send him a personally autographed copy–replete with a drawing of my cat Baxter.
Hi Michael,
Just wanted to say thank you.
My children will love this!
Blessings
thanks so much for providing this
Thanks for providing such an amazing resource. It will be used quite frequently in the classroom.
Thank you for making this available. It looks fantastic and I’m sure we’ll use it a lot in our homeschooling.
What a gem! As a speech-language pathologist, I’m always looking for great resources to use when I visit classrooms. This is it! I’ve been passing this info along to everyone I run into! I bought it at an education supply store and thought I got a great bargain, but this one beats all! Thanks!
Thanks for the nice comment. It absolutely was my intention to write WordPlay Cafe as a serious language skills builder disguised as fun. If you’d like an “Easter Egg” to share with your classrooms, see the Punzle on page 57. Occasionally I will employ edible items in my artwork, so for the bricks in the building I stuck several pieces of Dentyne to a sheet of sandpaper, then scanned it into the illustration. And there are others… I’ll let you guess.
In keeping with my visits to classrooms, I’ll make you a deal too. If you’ll suggest to your “audience” that they send me their comments on the book (en masse), I’ll forward an autographed copy to that classroom. I so much enjoy hearing what kids think of the book, and it always helps with the next one… Thanks again!
Looking forward to using some of these ideas.
Thank you for this GIFT! Just shared it with my teachers! Your generosity is a blessing in this year of cutbacks. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You are most welcome. Some things are more important than royalties…
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Thank you so very much for sharing this invaluable resource. As a third grade teacher I can see myself and my students getting a lot of use out of this resource this upcoming school year.
Just downloaded this to save on my computer (saving ink by not printing). Even quickly scrolling through I have got an idea to make a resource for (vertical scrabble) and I plan on using it with my year 6 class next week!
Thanks Sarah! Glad to hear that you’re taking the basic ideas and running with them. That’s exactly what I intended.
-mike
Thank you for this resource! I got the link off of pinterest. I’m excited to play some games with my students tomorrow!
Thank you. My grandchildren will love this.
Thank YOU for your kind words.
Thanks for this!! Found it pinned on pinterest! Can’t wait to use it in my classroom!!
I repinned it too!!
Cool! Send me an address for the school, and I will forward a real copy of the book to your classroom. Thanks Heather!
-mike
I am thrilled with this! Thank you so much for providing it- I’m going to show it to my daughter’s teacher- she is such a neat woman, and I love all that she does for her classes. I just know she will enjoy some fresh ideas!
Thanks for sharing this… I can’t wait to use it with my kids… =D
Hi Lisa,
You are certainly welcome, and thanks for sharing!
-mike
Thanks so much for this! My students this year came with very few skills, and getting them to practice is a chore! I hope these games will mix it up and help them get excited!
Thanks Mildred!
Thank you so much. I am the homeschooling mom to two girls who love words and reading. I am constantly amazed at just how clever children are when given the chance to be creative. The games you introduce in your book are a fantastic addition to their collection. Well done, and thank you once again for your generosity.
Andrea
Hi Andrea, Thanks for the nice comment. If you’ll send your snail mail address to mikey@dogfoose.com, I’ll send a bona fide paper version of the book for your girls to enjoy. Thanks again!
-mike
WOW! Can’t wait to download the rest of the chapters. My students and my own children are going to have so much fun. Thanks so much
What an amazing resource!! I cannot wait to use some of these activities with my students. I teach special education and I am always looking for a new and clever way to teach the same old stuff!! Thank you so much for these wonderful ideas! It really means a lot to all of us teachers out there on a minimal budget!
Mrs. H
mrshsresourceroom.blogspot.com
PS-I posted about this on my blog and reviewed on amazon for you!
Hi Mrs. H,
Thanks so much for the nice note, and especially for the review on amazon.com. I’m hoping that more educators will find the book as delightful and informative as you did. If you will send a snail mail address to mikey@dogfoose.com, I’ll send an autographed version of the real thing to your classroom.
Thanks again!
-mike
Wow! I have yet to download these, but am excited to! I am so thrilled with your generosity in letting teachers access these materials for free in their classrooms, but moreso in your compassion in noticing how much education has been affected by cuts. I am NOT a political person at all, but I am a teacher in Vancouver, BC and we are currently striking on a variety of levels because of the depths of these cuts and their effects on the most important thing of all- the children.
Oh my!
What a jewel I have stumbled upon!!
We homeschool and I can’t wait to use these great ideas with my kiddos.
Thank you so much for the free download.
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Just pinned this from Pinterest and skimmed through and am so excited by what I see. As a kindergarten teacher and mother of two young boys, I am constantly looking for new, engaging, fun ways to teach all these little jewels! Along with that , for the past 5 years I have had ESE students in my classroom and any new, hands-on way to teach is always welcome. I am SO looking forward to reading the rest and putting some of these great ideas to use both in the classroom and at home! As a teacher, I am always spending my money on items and books and new ways to enrich my students and just want to thank you for offering this resource for free!!
Hi Vanessa,
Glad you liked it. WordPlay Cafe is a real hit with the education crowd. Let me know what else you like (or don’t like) about it.
Thanks!
-mike
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