Description

Ages: 7 and up

Grades: 2nd and up

Connectegories

Connectegories is a strategic language game that challenges students to find the hidden links between seemingly unrelated items. Unlike standard categorization games where items clearly belong together (e.g., apple, banana, grape), Connectegories requires players to identify the overlapping attributes—such as “things that are blue” and “things that fly”—to find the “connector” word.

Why It Stands Out

• Higher-Order Thinking: Moves beyond simple naming to “convergent” and “divergent” thinking, forcing students to analyze multiple attributes of an object simultaneously.

• Semantic Networking: Strengthens the brain’s “filing system” by helping students see how words can belong to multiple categories at once.

• Flexible Difficulty: Can be played with simple concrete categories (Colors, Shapes) or complex abstract ones (Emotions, Materials), making it suitable for a wide range of grade levels.

• Collaborative Problem Solving: Encourages students to explain their reasoning aloud, which builds expressive language and persuasive speaking skills.

How it Works: The “Connection” Logic

The game relies on finding the intersection of two distinct categories:

Therapeutic Applications

• Word Finding: Helps students who “know the word but can’t find it” by practicing retrieval through different semantic pathways.

• Flexibility of Thought: Great for students who struggle with “stuck” thinking, as it requires them to look at one object from two different perspectives.

• Description Skills: Promotes the use of adjectives and functions to justify why a word fits both categories.

What’s Included

✔️ 99 word cards

✔️ 24 category cards

✔️ category card stand