What is Domino?
Domino is a generic term for a type of game or toy that features a stack of flat, rectangular pieces with one face adorned with an arrangement of dots. The other face is blank or identically patterned. Each domino is normally twice as long as it is wide. Dominoes are also called bones, cards, men, or tiles and can be used in many different ways to entertain children and adults. They are often lined up together to form a long row that can be knocked down by the players or by a dominoes whacker, a large toy that is designed to hit and topple the dominoes.
A domino set consists of 28 tiles that are marked with an arrangement of dots, or pips, on one side and are blank or identically patterned on the other. These pips are sometimes referred to as the domino’s value. The values are organized into a simple hierarchy, with double-six being the most common value. Dominoes with fewer or more pips can be combined to create new dominoes with different values.
While dominoes are most often made from polymer, they can be made from a variety of materials. Some sets feature a surface that is carved, painted, or inlaid to create a novel look, while others are made from natural materials such as bone, silver lip ocean pearl oyster shell (mother of pearl), ivory, and dark hardwoods like ebony, with contrasting black or white pips inlaid or molded on. Some sets of dominoes are also produced in precious metals; others are constructed from other hard and durable substances, such as marble, granite, or soapstone; or even ceramic clay.
In addition to blocking and scoring games, dominoes can be used to play a number of other games. Some of these are adaptations of card games, such as solitaire and trick-taking games, which were once popular in some areas to circumvent religious proscriptions against playing cards. Other domino-based games are more creative, such as a variant of Concentration where two matching dominoes (one’s touch one’s and two’s touch two’s) are scored if the total number of pips on their exposed ends matches the specified amount.
As the name suggests, dominoes are most frequently used to play the popular game of domino. However, a more important application of this generic toy is to identify and respond to learning challenges in students. The analogy of dominoes is useful because the impact of a single missing skill can be devastating to student learning. It is important to identify and address learning challenges as early as possible before they cause a domino effect of missed opportunities and frustration for students and their families. The best way to do this is to involve parents in the development of curriculum, providing them with a toolkit for support and strategies to assist their child at home. These tools can include a learning profile that identifies key skills and provides recommendations for the student.
