Kevin Green
Speech and Language Therapist
December 2000
USA

Dear Al,

Thanks for sending me Apples to Apples. It has quickly become the favorite language game of my students and their teacher as well. The game is not only hilarious to play, but it is easy to learn. We mastered it in just a few minutes. My students would play the game daily if given the choice, I'm sure.

There are several reasons why I like using this game with my students. First, the game involves practice in comprehension and use of descriptive words, often with multiple-meanings. The game requires students to identify/select a card (persons, places, things, events) in their hand which can be represented in some way by a descriptive word card (including synonyms for the given word) which has been chosen by one of the other players (the judge). I find that the junior version cards are appropriate for my lower-ability students. The regular version cards present a great challenge for my students with stronger vocabulary skills and background knowledge and affords the opportunity to talk about pop culture and historical people/events with which they may not be familiar. Another reason I favor this game is because it also requires some divergent thinking as students must think "outside the box" when they do not have a card which can be easily and conventionally related to the descriptive card. The students quickly learn that they can select a card to form an incongruous/ironic meaning relationship. This often results in a "funny" association that is sometimes chosen by the judge as the winning card for that hand. Students also learn to gauge the interests, knowledge and sense of humor of the judge in making their selections. This metalinquistic skill is also very important for my students. Finally, the game levels the playing field for all participants in several ways. There are no hard and fast rules for how to judge the cards, it's just a matter of opinion and all players get to take turns in this role. Also, students are given the opportunity to learn about word meaning relationships without the risk of being singled out for incorrect responses.

One of my students explained why the game is fun by saying "It's fun to think about the different meanings of words". When was the last time you heard an 8th grader say that about a learning activity.

Al, please keep in touch and let me know about and new middle-school friendly products you may be developing in the future. I may even come up with a few game ideas for you to consider. Thanks again.

Back to Apples to Apples Junior Reviews page