Stop, Plop, and Roll: A Simple Dice Game to Get Students Thinking

You know I love a good dice game! So, when a colleague shared an instructional strategy with me called Stop, Plop, and Roll, I was immediately intrigued. They know how much I love finding creative ways to bring dice into the classroom, and this activity had me thinking about all the ways I could adapt it for my ASL students.

After checking out the strategy from lead4ward, I started brainstorming ways to use this idea in my own classroom. I love activities that get students thinking, talking, and participating without requiring a ton of prep from the teacher. This one checks all those boxes!

The original strategy uses partner reading and dice to help students think more deeply about a text. Students take turns reading short sections, rolling a die, and responding to a corresponding question or task. Instead of simply reading and moving on, they stop to process what they have learned and share their thinking with a partner.

But here’s what got me excited: You don’t have to use this strategy only for reading! With a few tweaks, it can become a fun way to review vocabulary, practice comprehension, build conversations, and get students using ASL.

How Does Stop, Plop, and Roll Work?

The idea is simple!

1. Stop: Students pause after completing a small chunk of learning, watching a video, reading a text, watching a lecture, viewing a story, or practicing a skill.
2. Plop: Students put down their materials and focus on the task at hand.
3. Roll: Students roll a die to determine which question, prompt, or challenge they will complete.

Students can work with a partner or in a small group. After responding, they can switch roles, roll again, and continue learning.

The beauty of this activity is that the dice add an element of surprise. Students don’t know which question or challenge they’ll get next, so they have a reason to stay engaged and think on their feet.

When Can You Use Stop, Plop, and Roll in Your ASL Classroom?

Once I started thinking about this strategy, I came up with so many possibilities! Here are a few ways you could use it with your ASL students.

• After watching a signed story or video: Pause the video and have students roll to answer a comprehension question, identify a key detail, summarize what happened, or predict what might happen next.
• For vocabulary review: Create six prompts related to vocabulary in the story/section of the material. Students might describe a sign, identify a category, use a vocabulary word in a sentence, or give an example of when they would use it.
• After a cultural reading or mini-lesson: Have students explain an important idea, identify something new they learned, make a connection, or share a question they still have.
• For conversation practice: Use six conversation prompts related to the content. Students roll, respond in ASL, and then switch roles. This is a great way to get students practicing without everyone answering the same question in the same order.
• As a learning station: Put the instructions, prompts, and a die at a station with a recorded story. Students work through the activity with a partner while you meet with another group or check in with individual students.
• For an exit ticket: Have students roll one final time and respond to a question that shows what they understand, remember, or still need to practice.

A Few Tips to Make It Work

You know I’m all about keeping classroom activities manageable, so here are a few things I’d keep in mind when trying this strategy.

• Keep the prompts short. You want students spending their time thinking and communicating, not trying to figure out complicated directions or responses.
• Model the activity first. Demonstrate how to roll, find the matching prompt, respond, and switch roles.
• Keep it in the target language. In the ASL classroom, students can respond in ASL rather than switching to English to complete every task.
• Give students thinking time. Not every response needs to be immediate. Allow students time to process the question and prepare their response.
• Make the prompts match your learning goal. The dice are the fun part, but the questions should still support what you’re teaching.
• Don’t overcomplicate it. A die, a partner, and a handful of good prompts are often all you need.

Give It a Try!

One of the things I love most about teaching is finding a strategy that someone else shares and figuring out how to make it work for my own students. Stop, Plop, and Roll is a great reminder that a simple tool like a die can add variety to classroom practice while giving students more opportunities to think, respond, and communicate.

A big thank-you to my colleague for sharing this idea with me, and to lead4ward for the original instructional strategy and resources, and this video that shows you how it works!

Now I’m curious: How would you use Stop, Plop, and Roll in your ASL classroom? Would you use it for vocabulary review, video comprehension, fingerspelling, or something completely different? Come share your ideas with us in the Creative ASL Teaching Facebook group. I love seeing how teachers take an idea and make it their own!

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Thanks for stopping by Creative ASL Teaching! I love sharing ideas that make teaching ASL more creative, fresh, and fun. I hope you found something you can take back to your classroom!

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