20 Fun Filled Games

20Fun-Filled Games That

Build Early Reading SkillsQuick & Easy Literacy Games That Get Emergent Readers

Off to a Great Start!

by

Caroline Linse

N E W Y O R K • T O R O N T O • L O N D O N • A U C K L A N D • S Y D N E Y

M E X I C O C I T Y • N E W D E L H I • H O N G K O N G

S C H O L A S T I C

BPROFESSIONAL OOKS

20 Fun-Filled Games That Build Early Reading Skills © Caroline Linse, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Dedication To Fran and the Early Childhood Center,

American School Foundation, Mexico City for modeling stellar education.

Acknowledgments This book would not have been possible without wonderful students and

teachers scattered throughout the globe in Korea, Hungary, Guadalajara, Mexico,North Carolina, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the contents of this book for classroom use only. No other part of this publicationmay be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to ScholasticInc., 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

Cover design by Pamela SimmonsCover artwork by Shelley Dieterichs

Interior design by Solutions by Design, Inc.Interior artwork by Margeaux Lucas

ISBN: 0-439-16520-2

Copyright © 2001 by Caroline LinseAll rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.


Contents

Introduction 4

GAME TITLE SKILL AREA PAGE

Alphabet Red Light, Green Light vowels and consonants 7

Blends Go Fish! sound blends 8

Hide the Digraphs digraphs 12

Color and Shape Word Race color and shape words 15

Initial-Sound Board Game initial sounds and letters 19

Letter-Sound Bingo initial sounds and letters 23

Read-the-Message Simon Says simple commands 26

Word and Shape Matchups word configurations 29

End-Sound Snake Around final sounds 34

Two-Letter Switcheroo letter names 39

Tongue Twister Challenge initial sounds 43

Sight-Word Scurry number words 44

Spell-and-Tell Word Race letters of the alphabet 47

Read, Write, and Win simple words 49

Calendar Words Tic-Tac-Toe days and months 51

Opposite-Word Concentration opposite meaning 54

Rhyming Words Relay rhyming words 57

Word-Match Dominoes rhyming words 58

Vowel Dice Toss long and short vowels 63

Collaborative Crossword Puzzle Dolch words 65

Reproducible Templates 69



IntroductionDear Friends,

Children like to play games at home, in the car, on the playground, and in the classroom. Why not use fun, skill-building games to reinforce basic concepts? When children play the games in this book, they hardly realize that they are learning and not just having a good time.

In this book, you will find 20 games designed to help children develop and reinforce their emergent literacy skills, in both basic phonetic awareness and sight word recognition. As your students play these games, they will gain proficiency in identifying letters and sounds, consonants and short and longvowels, words that rhyme, and words both related and opposite in meaning. They will also have valuable practice in reading and vocabularybuilding. Incidentally, in developing these games I kept in mind the needs of childrenlearning English as a second or foreign language.

The games, for the most part, are variations of favorite childhood games childrenplay purely for recreational purposes. For example, Simon Says becomes Read-the-Message Simon Says, a game in which “Simon Says” and the commands are displayedas written words that children have to read. Go Fish concentrates on blends. The gameTic–Tac-Toe is used to help children practice reading the days of the week and themonths of the year.

Preparing the Games

Many of the games require nothing more than simple classroom materials such aspaper and pencil. For other games you will need game-playing pieces andgame boards. Reproducible templates are included with the necessary game

cards and cutouts for game boards and playing pieces. Playing pieces immediatelyfollow the general instructions for each game.

The number of students who can play each game is flexible. For example, manygames that are normally played by several groups of children at the same time can

be adapted to smaller group settings. The numberrange of players listed for each game allows for suchadaptations.

Some of the games require a “first player” to bechosen. You may wish to decide in advance whatstrategy or strategies you will use for such choices—for example, asking for volunteers, taking turnsaround the class, or some method involving chance.For games that require score keeping, you may alsowish to decide in advance how that will be done.


In games that encourage children to venture correct answers, consider setting upsimple routines. For instance, if a child answers a question incorrectly, pause gameplaying. Invite all students to work together to determine the correct answer.

Using the Games

There are many different ways to incorporate game-making and game-playing into your daily curriculum. All of the games can be

used as a reward for completing one’s work. Those that do not require any materials can usually be played with the whole class and are a great way to practice skills during a five- or ten-minute period of time.

Other games can be set up in learning centers. You may wish to have a game-playing center that children go to during their literacy block or when they have finished their other work. The game center can be an independent center, or it can be staffed by a parent, school volunteer, or paraprofessional. Store the games in file folders or in large manila envelopes. You may wish to rotate the games in the learning center.

Link families and children, home and school with the fun, learning-filled games in thisbook. You’ll find lots of the game boards and card games can easily be sent homewith children for the whole family to play. Encourage students to teach their familiesthe basic rules of the games.

Making More Games

Children delight in making their own games. At the end of this book, you will find templates for making Bingo, Concentration, and Go Fish games, andcollaborative crossword puzzles. You simply supply your own information and

follow the instructions with the model games shared in the book.I hope that you and your students enjoy playing the games in this book. Have fun!

Best wishes,Caroline Linse

6 20 Fun-Filled Games That Build Early Reading Skills © Caroline Linse, Scholastic Teaching Resources

7

Objective: To practice identifyingvowels and consonants.

Players: 2 to 40 children

Materials: none

Preparation: Review vowels andconsonants with students.

To Play the Game

Have children line up againsta wall facing you. You should

be five to ten feet away fromstudents.

Tell students that you aregoing to say consonants and

vowels. If they hear a consonant,they freeze. If they hear a vowel,they take a baby-step forward.

Say consonants and vowelsrandomly until a student

reaches you. That student is thewinner.

Variation

Have different students play therole of the leader.

3

2

1

Alphabet Red Light, Green Light

This is a simple variation of the childhood-favorite game, Red Light, Green Light.


Objective: To practice identifyingmatching sound blends.


Materials: Go Fish! game cards

Preparation: Cut out the BlendsGo Fish! game cards. You may wishto laminate the cards or coverthem with contact paper.

To Play the Game

Explain that the purpose ofthe game is to get as many

pairs as possible. A pair is twocards with the same sound blend.

Shuffle the cards. Deal fourcards to each player and

put the remaining cards in a pile.Remind the children to hold theircards so that other players cannotsee them.

Have each child put all cardsthat begin with the same

letter together.

The first player decides on ablend that could be paired

and asks the second player if s/hehas a card that starts with thatblend. For example, with a br card,the first player might ask for a cardstarting like the word bride.

If the second player has aword that starts with the

requested blend, s/he gives it tothe first player. If not, the secondplayer says, “Go Fish!” The firstplayer then draws a card from the pile.

The second player repeatsthe process with the third

player. Play continues until all thecards in the “go fish” pile are gone.The winner is the child with themost cards.

Variations

This game can be played withpartners. Assign two players orpartners to each set of cards.

Make your own Go Fish! gamecards using the template onpage 72.

6

5

4

3

2

1

8

Blends Go Fish!This is a variation of the childhood favorite, Go Fish.


9

Blends Go Fish! Game Cards

blink blank

blossom blue

bread Brian

bring brother

dragon draw

drink drum

✄20 Fun-Filled Games That Build Early Reading Skills © Caroline Linse, Scholastic Teaching Resources

10


flat flip

float fly

grape green

grow skin

skip skull

skunk try


11


ground snake

snail sneeze

snow step

Steven sting

stop train

truck trunk


12

Hide the DigraphsThis is a variation of the childhood favorite, Hot and Cold.

Objective: To practice readingwords with digraphs.


Materials: digraph word cards

Preparation: Cut out the digraphword cards.

To Play the Game

Review the digraphs sh, ch,th, and wh with students.

Show students a digraph wordcard. Have students sound out thedigraph and read the word aloud.

Ask a volunteer to leave theroom. While the volunteer is

out of the room, have studentshelp you hide the digraph wordcard in a place that is slightlyvisible. All of the children in theclass need to know where theword has been hidden.

Bring the volunteer back tothe classroom, and have him

or her try to find the card. The restof the class gives hints by chantingthe sound and the word (forexample, “Ch, ch, ch, cherry”). Theclass chants more loudly as thevolunteer gets closer to the cardand more softly as the volunteermoves farther away.

Continue with other volunteer“hunters.”4

3

2

1


13

Hide the Digraph, Word Cards

shape sheep

shirt shot

shy chant

Charles chart

chain cheese

cherry chicken✄


14

Hide the Digraph, Word Cards

child thanks

that think

thunder Thursday

whale wheel

while whisper

whistle white✄


Color and Shape Word RaceThis is a simple board game that helps children

practice identifying shape and color words.

15

Objective: To practice identifyingshape and color words.


Materials: game board, crayons,game markers, one die (The gamecan also be played with two dice.)

Preparation: Put the two repro-ducible pages together to makethe circular rainbow game board.Color the spaces as indicated.

To Play the Game

Have each player select agame-playing piece: Smiler,

Singer, Dancer, Runner, Jumper,Flyer. Each child puts his or hermarker on the Start space.

The first player rolls the dieand moves forward. The

player reads the words in the

space. The player remains on thespace unless there are instructionsto move forward or back. If theplayer moves, s/he also reads thewords in the new space.

Continue with the followingplayers. The winner is the first

player to reach the space labeledWin. Children do not need anexact count to win. For example, if a player needs a 3 to win andthrows a 4 on the die, the playerstill wins.

Variations

This game can be played withpartners. Assign two players orpartners to each marker.

You can make quiet dice bycutting a cube from a spongeand marking the dots on each side.

3

2

1G

o b

ack

one

space

.

Go

forw

ard

thre

e sp

aces

.

red circle

green oval

STARAR T

WIN!

blu

eo

val

red

rectangle

orange

recta

ngle

blue

triangle

pur

ple

tria

ngle

pink

triangle

gre

en

sq

ua

re

red line

Go back

two spaces.

Go forward two spaces.

START

WIN!

blue circle

yello

w circle

pin

k

circ

le orang

e

oval

blackrectangle

greenrectangle

bro

wn

triang

le

orange

triangle

pink

square

pur

ple

squa

re

pu

rple

o

val

blue line


16

Color and Shape Word-Race Game Board

Go b

ack

one

space

.

Go

forw

ard

thre

e sp

aces

.

red circle

green oval

START

WIN!

blu

eo

val

red

rectangle

orange

recta

ngle

blue

triangle

pur

ple

tria

ngle

pink

triangle

gre

en

sq

ua

re

red line


17

Color and Shape Word-Race Game Board

Go back

two spaces.

Go forward two spaces.

START

WIN!

blue circle

yello

w circle

pin

k

circ

le orang

e

oval

blackrectangle

greenrectangle

bro

wn

triang

le

orange

triangle

pink

square

pur

ple

squa

re

pu

rple

o

val

blue line


18

Color and Shape Word Race Game Markers

RunnerSingerSmiley

Dancer JumperJumper

Preparation of Markers

1. Photocopy this page.

2. Cut out the markers and their bases.

3. Glue the figures and bases toposterboard for durability.

4. Cut along the dotted lines at thebottom of each marker and at the top of each base.

5. Assemble the markers as shown here.

Flier


Initial-Sound Board GameThis is a simple board game that helps children practice

identifying initial sounds and letters.

19

Objective: To practice identifyinginitial sounds and letters.


Materials: game board, gamemarkers, penny, small piece of redconstruction paper, small piece ofgreen construction paper, gluestick

Preparation: Put the two repro-ducible pages together to makethe game board. Cover one sideof a penny with a red piece ofpaper and the other side with agreen piece of paper.

To Play the Game

Explain to players that they’llneed to say a word that

names the picture their piecesland on. Every player needs tolisten closely to the word and thinkabout the first sound they hear.

Have each player select agame piece marker: Dog,

Dragon, Dinosaur, or Monster. Eachchild puts his or her marker on adifferent Start space.

The first player flips theprepared penny. If the color

green is faceup, the player movesone space forward and identifiesthe beginning letter and/or soundof the name of the picturedobject. If the color red is faceup,the student does not moveforward.

If the player incorrectlyidentifies the letter and/or

sound, play pauses. All playerswork together to determine theinitial sound and/or letter.

Continue with other players.The winner is the first player to

reach the Winner’s Circle.

Variation

This game can be played withpartners. Assign two players orpartners to each marker.

5

4

3

2

1


START

START

START

START

20

Initial-Sound Game Board


21

Initial-Sound Game Board

START

START

START

START


22

Initial-Sound Board Game Markers








23

Letter-Sound BingoThis is a simple variation of the favorite game, Bingo.

Objective: To practice identifyinginitial sounds and letters.


Materials: Bingo cards, callingcards, construction paper

Preparation:

Cut out the Bingo cards and theletter-sound calling cards.

Cut out, or have students cutout, ten pieces of constructionpaper each as markers. The markers should beapproximately 1/2" square.

To Play the Game

Pass out one Bingo card toeach student. Make sure

each student has a set of tenmarkers.

Tell students that they shouldput a marker on the space

with the word FREE.

Explain that you are going tosay letters and their sounds.

Each time you say a letter and

sound, students should look to seeif they have a picture of somethingthat begins with that letter andsound. If so, they are to put amarker on the picture. Forexample, if you say “f” and theyhave a picture of a fish, theyshould put a marker on the pictureof the fish. Once a child hasmarkers in a line on spaces goingup and down, or across (includingthe FREE space), s/he is to call out“Bingo!”

Turn up the first calling card,say the letter printed on it,

and make the sound. Continueturning up calling cards and sayingletters/sounds until a student calls“Bingo!” That student is the winner.

Variations

To increase the number ofplayers, have two students shareone Bingo card.

Make copies of the blank Bingocard on page 69 to create yourown Bingo games.

Give older students the optioncalling “Bingo!” when themarkers form a diagonal line on the game board.

4

3

2

1

FREE

FREE

FREE

FREE

FREEFREE

Letter-Sound Bingo Cards

FREE

4

FREE

FREE

FREEFREE


FREE

FREE

FREE

Let

FREEFREE


FREE

d Bingo Cards

FREE

FREE

FREE

FREE


24


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE



Letter-Sound Calling Cards

25

Bb

Cc

Dd

Ff

Hh

Ll

Mm

Nn

Pp

Qq

Rr

Ss

Tt

Ww20 Fun-Filled Games That Build Early Reading Skills © Caroline Linse, Scholastic Teaching Resources

26

Objective: To practice readingand following simple commands.


Materials: Simon Says CallingCards

Preparation: Cut apart the command cards.

To Play the Game

Let the students see the cardsbefore starting the game.

Explain to the children thatthis is a variation of the game

Simon Says. You will not say anywords at all. Instead, you will show

a card that is either blank or hasthe words “Simon Says” on it, andthen you will show one of thecommand cards. If you show the“Simon Says” card first, studentsare to follow the command all atonce. If you show the blank cardfirst, students are to remain still.

Play continues until the “Clapyour hands” card is shown.

Variations

Create a list of your owncommand cards.

Let students take turns as leader.

3

2

1

Read-the-Message Simon Says

This game combines early literacy with the childhood favorite, Simon Says.


Raise your hand.

Touch your head.

Whisper your name.

Say, “Hello.”

Wave.

Say, “Good-bye.”

Point to the window.

Knock on the table.

Open your mouth.

Close your eyes.

Stand up.

Simon Says Calling Cards

27✄


28

Sit down.

Point to the door.

Walk.

Cry.

Laugh.

Touch your foot.

Smile.

Wiggle your nose.

Clap your hands.

(blank)

Simon Says

Simon Says Calling Cards


Word and Shape MatchupsThis game helps children develop sight-reading skills.

29

Objectives: To identify the configurations of written words.

Players: 2 to 4 children in eachteam. The game can be playedwith up to 5 teams.

Materials: word cards and wordshape cards

Preparation: Cut out the wordcards and word-shape cards.

To Play the Game

Explain that the children willtry to match written words

with their shape or outline asquickly as possible. As an example,you might write a word and drawits shape on the chalkboard or alarge piece of paper.

Give each team a set ofwords from one of the five

categories noted below. Have theteams match the word-shapecards and the word cards in thirtyseconds or less. The team that cancorrectly match the word cardsand word-shape cards the fastestis the winner.

Variation

If you limit the number of teamsto just a few, you can recordeach team’s completion time.After a few rounds, add thetimes of each team. The onewith the shortest total time is the winner.

2

1

Things inFruit Clothes Food People a House

cherry shirt butter mother lamp

lemon shoe tortilla father table

orange sock bread sister bed

apple pants hot dog brother chair

banana dress salad uncle sofa

grape aunt book


30

Word and Shape Matchups Cards



31✄


32



33



End-Sound Snake AroundThis is a simple board game that helps children

practice identifying final sounds.

34

Objective: To practice identifyingfinal sounds.


Materials: game board, gamemarkers, game cards

Preparation: Put the two repro-ducible pages together to makethe snake. Cut out the game cardsand markers.

To Play the Game

Have each player select agame-playing piece: Elephant,

Lion, Rhinoceros, Zebra, Giraffe,Leopard. You might explain to thechildren that these animals (andthe snake on the board) are foundnot only in zoos, but in their homeon the African grasslands.

Place the game cardsfacedown on the space

marked Game Cards.

Have each child put his or hermarker on the Begin space.

Each player in turn draws agame card and moves

accordingly. If the game card

shows a plus number (such as +3),the student goes forward the samenumber of spaces and identifiesthe ending sound of the wordpictured. If the game card shows a minus number (such as -1), thestudent goes backward thatnumber of spaces (except on thefirst move, when s/he remains on the Begin space) and alsoidentifies the ending sound. Thestudent remains in place if thecard shows 0.

Play continues until onestudent reaches the head of

the snake.

Note: If a player misidentifies theending sound, you may choosewhether to prompt a correction orimpose a penalty such as movingback one space.

Variations

Assign two players or partners to each marker.

Invite players to work togetherto determine the final sounds.

5

4

3

2

1


35

End-Sound Snake Around Game Markers








36

End-Sound Snake Around Game Cards

Begin


End-Sound Snake Around Game Board

37

Game

Cards


38

End-Sound Snake-Around Game Cards

+ 4

-1

+1

+2

+3

+3

+1

+2

-2

0

+ 4

-1

+1

+2

+3

+3

+1

+2

-2

0✄


Objective: To practice identifyingletter names.

Players: 3 to 25 children + teacher

Materials: letter cards

Preparation: Cut out the lettercards.

To Play the Game

Place chairs in a circle. Thereshould be only one chair for

each student.

Give each child a letter card.Have children sit in the chairs.

Ask them to look at their cards andremember the letter on their card.Then ask them to hold their lettercards facing toward the center ofthe circle.

Stand in the center of thecircle. Explain that you will

call two different letters. Thestudents holding the letters mustthen change places. They shoulddo it as quickly as possible becauseyou will try to sit on one of thechairs!

Look at the letters being held.Call two different letters. As

the students holding those letterschange places, sit on one of the

chairs vacated so that one studentis left standing in the middle. (If youwish, you can let the students winthis time.)

The student in the middlelooks at the letters being held

and calls two more letters. This timethe caller tries to sit on one of thevacated chairs.

The game continues in the same way for as long as

you wish.

Variations

Give students the option ofcalling “all vowels” or “allconsonants.” All of the studentsholding vowel cards or all of thestudents holding consonantcards then change places.

Cut apart the letters to create aset of uppercase cards or a setof lowercase cards. You maywish to draw small happy faceson the lowercase b, d, p and qto help avoid confusion. Thehappy faces will help childrenorient the letters more easily.

6

5

4

3

2

1

39

Two-Letter SwitcherooThis is a variation of the childhood game, Fruit-Basket Upset.


40

Two-Letter Switcheroo Letter Cards

A aB bC cD dE e

F fG gH hI iJ j


41


K kL l

M mN nO o

P pQ qR rS sT t


42


U uV vW w

X xY yZ z

✄


Objective: To practice identifyingwords that have the same initialsounds.


Materials: index cards, list of 15 to20 words students are currentlystudying

Preparation: Print words on indexcards that students are studying.Print one word on each card.

To Play the Game

Have students stand in acircle. The first player takes

the top card and reads the word—for example, “dog.” The secondplayer says the first player’s wordand adds a second word thatstarts with same sound—forexample, “dog, Dave.”

Continue with as manyplayers and as many words

that start with the same sound as children can identify (orremember). After each new word,

the entire class chants the chain ofwords so far. Encourage thechildren to see how quickly theycan say or chant the wordsequence—which will be a tonguetwister!

Continue with another round,making sure that the new

word has a different starting sound.The game can continue as long asthe children enjoy it, so that all ofthem are winners.

Variation

Have children write down thetongue twisters that they havecreated with the add-on game.These tongue twisters can beused as the basis of student-made tongue-twister booklets.

3

2

1

43

Tongue Twister ChallengeThis simple game helps children create their own tongue twisters.


Objective: To practice identifyingnumber sight words.


Materials: number sight-wordcards

Preparation: Cut apart the num-ber sight-word cards. You maywant to mount them on tagboardor card stock and laminate them.

To Play the Game

Divide students into twoteams. Have the teams line

up facing each other several feetapart. (The farther apart they are,the more activity there will be.)Place the number sight words (inrandom order) faceup on the floorbetween the teams. Designate theorder of players for each team.

Tell students that you will becalling out numbers. When

you call the first number, the firstplayer of each team is to try totouch the number card before theother one does. For example, if yousay “eighteen,” the first player ofeach team should rush to touchthe eighteen number card. Theteam of the student who firsttouches the card keeps it.

Continue the same procedurewith the other pairs of players

on each team. The winning team isthe one with the most cards at theend of the game.

Variation

Play the same game using otherpicture and word cards.

3

2

1

44

Sight-Word ScurryThis is a simple variation of the childhood game, Steal the Bacon.

20 Fun-Filled Ga

five

ninetwo


45

Sight-Word Scurry Cards

one

two

three

four

five

six

seven

eight

nine

ten✄


46

Sight-Word Scurry Cards

eleven

twelve

thirteen

fourteen

fifteen

sixteen

seventeen

eighteen

nineteen

twenty✄


47

Objectives:To identify letters of the alphabet.

To use letters to form words.

To identify groups of words belong-ing to one category.


Materials: list of categories ofwords (See page 48.)

Preparation: Students will needpaper and pencils.

To Play the Game

Have each child write thenumbers 1 to 5 down the left

side of his or her piece of paper.Explain to students that they aregoing to print five words, one letterat a time. Students are to figureout the words and the category orgroup the words belong to.

Dictate the words letter by letter. For example,

“One: c - a - t.” Then ask, “Whatword is it?” Continue with the other words (in this case dog, pig,hen, and goat). Ask, “What arethese words? How are they likeone another?” Encourage childrento respond, “They are all animals.”

Continue with other wordgroups. If you wish to make

the game competitive, the firstchild to identify the group is thewinner for that round.

Variation

Use other words that studentsare currently studying.

3

2

1

Spell-and-Tell Word RaceThis game gives children practice with dictation, one letter at a time.


48

Spell and Tell Word Race Words

Animals

cat

dog

hen

pig

goat

Clothes

hat

coat

sock

skirt

dress

School Supplies

pen

paper

book

pencil

ruler

Parts of the Face

nose

eye

ear

lip

mouth

Parts of the Body

leg

arm

hand

head

foot

Fruits

apple

pear

grape

orange

banana

Vegetables

corn

carrots

peas

beans

lettuce

Nature

flower

tree

sky

sun

moon

Things YouUse to Eatand Drink

plate

cup

glass

knife

fork

Transportation

car

bus

train

truck

boat


49

Objective: To practice memorizingand copying simple words.


Materials: index cards, list of 15 to20 words that students are current-ly studying

Preparation: On index cards, printwords that the children are study-ing. Print one word on each card,but print as many cards for eachword as there are teams (seedirection #1 below).

To Play the Game

Divide the class into teams offive to seven students each.

(With a very small number ofstudents, have one “team” andplay just for fun.) Have each teamsit in a row as pictured on page 50.Give each child a blank index card.

Using cards with the sameword printed on them, place

one of the prepared index cardsfacedown in front of the first playerof each team. Explain that playerswill have only one second to see

what is printed on a card, startingwith the teams’ first players. You willcue them when to turn the cardover and when to turn it down.

Tell each first player, “Turn thecard over,” and one second

later, “Turn the card down.” Eachfirst player writes on the blank cardwhat s/he saw on the printed card.

Now explain that each firstplayer will show the word

s/he has just written to the secondplayer for one second. The secondplayer will write down what he orshe saw printed on the card.

Tell each second player,“Show the card,” and one

second later, “Stop showing.”Continue with the rest of theplayers on each team. The winningteam is the one whose last wordmost closely matches the first.

Continue with other words.6

5

4

3

2

1

Read, Write, and WinThis is a written variation of the childhood favorite,

Grapevine (or Telephone).


50

Read, Write, and Win


Objective: To practice readingdays of the week and months ofthe year.


Materials: calendar sight-wordcards, masking tape

Preparation: Draw a large tic-tac-toe-style board on thechalkboard. Print a numeralbetween 1 and 9 in each space.Tape one of the month or day-of-the-week sight-word cards underthe number in each space.

To Play the Game

Divide the class into twoteams: team X and team O.

The aim for each team is to havethree X’s or O’s across, down, ordiagonally before the other team.At each turn, three team membersplay or participate in the game.

Team X begins the game.Team member 1 picks a

number. Team member 2 reads the word. Team member 3 uses the word in a sentence.

If all three team membersrespond correctly, the team

writes an X in the square selected.If the answer is incorrect, thesquare remains blank.

Three members of team Otake their turn.

Three different members ofeach team now take turns.

The winning team is the first teamto have three X’s or three O’s in a row.

Variation

Use words from students’content areas.

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Calendar Words Tic-Tac-ToeThis game combines sight-word learning with the

childhood favorite, Tic-Tac-Toe.

Septemberards

June

Tuesday


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Calendar Words Tic-Tac-Toe Cards

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October✄


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Calendar Words Tic-Tac-Toe Cards

November

December

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday✄


Objectives: To practice learningwords with opposite meanings.

To increase visual memory skills.


Materials: opposite-word picturecards, optional 5" x 8" index cards

Preparation: Cut out the opposite-word picture cards. You may wishto mount them on 5" x 8" indexcards. Stack the cards and placethem facedown on a table or thefloor.

To Play the Game

Ask students to shuffle thecards and lay them

facedown in rows.

Players take turns turning overtwo cards at a time, looking

for two words with oppositemeanings. When a player finds twocards with opposite meanings,s/he may take another turn.

Continue with other playersuntil all of the cards have

been matched. The winner is thechild with the most cards at theend of the game.

Variations

The game can be played inteams to accommodate moreplayers.

Use the Concentration templateon page 71 to make your ownConcentration game.

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Opposite-Word ConcentrationThis is a variation of childhood favorite, Concentration.

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Oppos

front

ration Cards

back

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night

kill Scholastic Professional Books

day


Opposite-Word Concentration Cards

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hot cold

biglittle

happy sad

thin thick

in out


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Opposite-Word Concentration Cards

front back

tall short

asleep

awake

white black

night day


Rhyming Words RelayThis game is ideal for rainy or other bad weather days. It is a modified

relay race. It gets children up and moving in a controlled way!

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Objective: To practice findingwords that rhyme.

Players: up to 5 teams of 3 or 4children each

Materials: chalkboard or whiteboard, and a piece of chalk orwhite board marker for each team

Preparation: Print team headingsand sample rhyming words on theboard as shown below. You maywish to review rhyming words.

To Play the Game

Divide the class into teams. Ifthere are more than 20

children in the class, you candivide the class into two sets ofteams and play two sets of games,one after the other.

Have the teams stand in linesabout five feet away from the

board. Give the first player of each

team a piece of chalk or a marker.

When you say, “On yourmark. . . Get set. . .Go!” the

first player of each team runs tothe board. The child reads theword aloud and then prints a wordthat rhymes with it. For example,s/he could write the word matunder the word cat.

The first players then take themarker or chalk to the

second players, who repeat theprocess with a different word thatrhymes. This continues with theother team members.

The winning team is the first tohave completed its list of

rhyming words.

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Sample Words That HaveWord Families

mat mad bedpot gold millnest hay cansent chin liptack seat tall


Word-Match DominoesThis game is a variation of dominoes. Instead of matching up dots,

students match words that rhyme.

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Objective: To practice identifyingrhyming words.


Materials: rhyming-word dominoes

Preparation: Cut out, or have stu-dents cut out the dominoes.

To Play the Game

Shuffle the dominoes andplace them facedown on a

table or desk. Have each playertake five dominoes.

A player with a doubledomino (the same picture at

both ends) places the doubledomino in the center of the table.

Players add dominoes in turn.Each player checks his or

her dominoes to see if any of themmatch either end of the domino(es)on the table. A domino matches if(a) it has the same picture, or (b)has a picture of an object thatrhymes with the pictured object.(For example, a domino with a

goat at one end and a hen at theother could be added to an enddomino that shows another goat,another hen, a coat, a boat, apen, or men.)

If a player cannot add adomino to either end, s/he

draws another domino from thepile and waits for the next turn.

The player who runs out ofdominoes first is the winner.5

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Word-Match Dominoes

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Word-Match Dominoes


Word-Match Dominoes

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Word-Match Dominoes

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Objective: To practice identifyingshort and long vowels.

To practice making words withshort and long vowels.


Materials: vowel dice template,scissors, and glue

Preparation: Use the reproducibledice cut-out to make long-voweland short-vowel dice. Follow thedirections on the page.

To Play the Game

Place the long- and short-vowel dice in a bag.

Have the first player pick outa die and toss it.

If the die shows a vowel, the child must say a word

containing that vowel. Forexample, if the short vowel aappears, the student could say,“Short vowel a. The word cat hasthe short a vowel.” The child scoresone point for identifying the short avowel and one point for identifyinga word with the short a vowel, for atotal of two points.

If the die shows Skip a Turnthe child scores no points. If

the die shows 3 Bonus Points, s/hescores three points.

Continue with the rest of theplayers. You may have the

children play one round or several.The winner is the child with themost points at the end of thegame.

Variations

The dice pieces can be mountedon tagboard or heavy-weightconstruction paper.

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Vowel Dice TossThis game combines learning vowel sounds

with the fun of playing with dice.


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Vowel Dice Toss

GLUE

GLUE

GLU

E GLU

E

GLU

E

GLU

E

GLU

E

a eu

i o

3BonusPoints

GLUE

GLUE

GLU

EGLU

E

GLU

E

GLU

E

GLU

E

a eui o

Skipa

Turn

Long-Vowel Die

Short-Vowel Die

Preparing the Dice


2. Cut out along the dotted lines.

3. Fold along the dotted lines and gluewhere indicated.


Objectives: To practice readingsimple Dolch words.


Materials: crossword puzzle stripssheet (on the reproducible)

Preparation: Photocopy the puzzlestrips on page 65. Cut along thedotted lines. Then, fold along thedotted lines. Glue the white-facingsides together, forming puzzle stripsthat may be used on the horizontalor vertical.

To Play the Game

Have each player take fourstrips. Put the remaining strips

in a pile.

Explain that the purpose ofthe game is to play all of

one’s word strips as quickly aspossible by fitting its letters to thosein other strips.

The player with the longestword begins by reading it

aloud and then placing the stripwith the horizontal word faceup onthe table.

The next player placesanother word on one of the

letters of the first word so that itbuilds the beginning of acrossword. For example, if the firstword is pretty horizontally, thesecond player could use therevertically by placing the t over oneof the t’s in pretty. If a studentcannot play any word, he or shedraws a strip from the pile. Studentsmust read each word aloud beforethey place it on the crossword.

Each added word must fit thewords already on the table. It

must make a word with any lettersit touches.

The first student to use all ofhis or her strips is the winner.

Variation

Students can make their owncrossword games using theCrossword-Builder Grid on page70.

Note: The upper levels of Dolchwords were chosen because theyare slightly longer than the earlierlevels of Dolch words. This gameworks better with longer wordsthan with shorter ones.

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Collaborative Crossword PuzzleThis game is based on the concept of crossword puzzles. Dolch words

are printed vertically on one side of a strip of paper and horizontally onthe other side. Students use the strips to build a crossword.


pp r e t t y

r e t t y

p

p l e a s e

l e a s e

c a m e

c a m e

f o u r

f o u r

g o o d

g o o d

h a v eh a v e

m u s t

m u s t

t h e r e

t h e r e

t

t h i n k

h i n k

t

t h a n k

h a n k

t

t h o s e

h o s e

b

b l a c kl a c k

Collaborative Crossword Puzzle Strips

66

fold

fold

fold


uu n d e r

n d e r

w

w h i t e

h i t e

t

t h e s eh e s e

i n t o

i n t o

l i k e

l i k e

r i d e

r i d e

s

s o o n

o o n

w

w a n t

a n t

t

t h e y

h e y

t h a tt h a t

w e l l

w e l l

t h i s

t h i s


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fold

fold

fold

fold

fold

fold


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ww h a t

h a t

w

w a l ka l k

t

t a k e

a k e

t

t a l e

a l e

w

w h e n

h e n

s o m e

s o m e

w e e k

w e e k

w o r k

w o r kw i s hw i s h

w a s h

w a s h


fold

fold

fold

fold

fold

✄


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Letter-Sound Bingo Cards Template

FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE


FREEFREE



Crossword-Builder Grid

70 20 Fun-Filled Games That Build Early Reading Skills © Caroline Linse, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Concentration Cards Template


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Documents

20 Fun Filled Games