Since I will only be posting one more day on this blog, I thought I would share five awesome ideas that I found blog hopping. All of these ideas can help your reader with sight words or high frequency words:
1. Where's the Bear?- Get about four Dixie cups and write a sight word on each one. Then hide a plastic bear under one of the cups. Each student gets a turn lifting a cup, reading the word, and trying to find the bear. You can read more about this game here.
2. Rotten Apple Sight Word Game- This game is played with a paper tree that has cut out apples on it. Each apple has a sight word written on it. A few of the apples have worms in them. Your student is to "pick" each apple off the tree and read the word on it. If your student can't read the word, the apple goes back on the tree. If your student gets an apple with a worm, ALL of their apples go back on the tree. You can read more about this game here.
3. Sight Word Island Jumping- Write sight words on index cards and tape them to pillows that are neatly placed in a circle. Say a sight word to your student and then they are to jump to the pillow that has that particular sight word. You can read more about this game here.
4. Sight Word Flip Books- Check out these awesome sight word flip books to help reinforce some of those tricky words. You can download the books for free here.
5. Clothespin Words- Write one letter on each clothespin. Then give your student a bunch of sight word flashcards. Have them match each letter of the sight word with the correct clothespin. You can read more about this game here.
I hope you enjoy these great games!
Time for another fun sight word game. Try playing the game Spill and Spell. This game is for up to 4 players. All the players do is draw sight word cards, roll the dice, and try to spell the words on their cards. When the players spell the words right, they record them on their scorecards. Then they draw new cards and go through the process again.This game is super easy to play and is fast paced. Kids who are competitive would really enjoy playing this game. This game includes 100 cards and 2 levels. You can take a look at it here. Have fun!
Everyone loves playing and watching Jeopardy! Try playing Sight Word Jeopardy with your students. They will enjoy playing. You can make your own or go to this website to play it online. In Sight Word Jeopardy a player gets more points if the sight word is more difficult to read. What a fun way to practice and find out what sight words your students know. Have fun!
If you love to watch or play Wheel of Fortune, you will love the game Word Reveal. Get your student excited to practice sight words by playing this fun game. This is all you do:
1. YOU WILL NEED: Word Reveal Game Board found here (make sure to print it on legal paper), fine tip dry erase markers (or pencils if you choose not to laminate), page marker post-it notes, laminator (optional), and a list of six sight words.
2. PREPARATION: Once you have printed the Word Reveal Game Board and have laminated it, get your sight word list. Write the sight words (with one letter in each box) with the dry erase marker. Then place a post-it note page marker over the top of each letter. Don't use yellow post-its because your student will be able to see through!
3. TO PLAY: Ask your student to guess letters.
4. Uncover the letters as your student guesses them.
5. Encourage your student to guess which of their sight words are on the game board. Once they have guessed correctly, have them spell the word, peeling the post-its off as they say each letter. This will help them know they are right and have won!
You can check out this fun game here. Enjoy!
Try reading with your student every moment that you can. Below is a fun idea to do while grocery shopping. Just keep in mind that you will spend a lot more time in the store, but it will be a great opportunity for your student to practice reading. Here's the idea:
While at the grocery store, give your student your grocery list. Then give your student a letter of the alphabet. Your student then must tell you the items on the list that begin with that particular letter. For example, if you said C, your student might read: Cheerios, cupcake mix, cheese, crackers, cantaloupe, carrots, etc. Let them help you get the items (obviously your student will need assistance finding the items). Then go on to a different letter until your list is finished and you have everything on your list. As a reward let them pick out a treat that begins with the letter of their choice!
I found this idea here. Grocery shopping was never so much fun!!
Have you ever played the game Crazy Eights? If not, you should, but put a word family twist to it. Here is what you do:
1. Make a set of cards that can be divided into four different word families. For example: -an (fan, can, ran), -et (bet, let, set), -it (hit, fit, lit), and -og (hog, log, fog).
2. Pick an equal number of words from each word family and write them with one word on each card. Mix up the colors in a word family because you don't want any one word family to be all of the same color. So, use four different colors to write on the cards.
3. Make a few Wild cards, Skip cards, and Reverse cards.
4. Give each player seven cards. The remaining cards should be face-down in a neat pile.
5. Flip one card over from the stack.
6. Try to match either the color or word family that appears. For example, if you saw the word can being played and it was green, you would put down a card that was either green or was part of the -an family. If you didn't have a card to play, you would draw a card from the stack until you got a card that you could play.
7. When one of the players only has one card left, they must say "Hop!" If the player neglects to do so, the player will not be able to go out that round.
8. The first player to run out of cards is the winner.
You can download this game here. Have fun!
Time to make reading really fun! Try playing the Sentence Game for Juniors with your student. This board game has two options of how to play it:
OPTION #1: On one side of the board there are pre-made sentences. This is the easier version. Each player takes a turn reading two of their tiles and placing them on top of the corresponding words on the game board. Each time a player completes a sentence, he earns a point. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.
OPTION #2: On the other side of the board the spaces are blank in order for players to create their own sentences. This is the more advanced version. All of the tiles are divided evenly between all of the players. On your turn, you place two or more tiles on the board to make a complete sentence. You can also add one or more tiles to a sentence that is already on the board. Points are received for each tile that is placed on the board.
As the teacher, decide which option is the most appropriate for your student to enjoy the game.You can buy this game here. Have fun!
On this blog I have given lots of ideas for board games you can play to practice reading. What about card games? Try playing the game Quiddler. This is how you play:
1. This game is for 1-8 players and the game consists of eight rounds.
2. In the first round each player is dealt three cards. In the second round each player is given four and so on until the final round being a total of ten cards.
3. Each card has one or two letters on it with a certain amount of points.
4. Player 1 draws a card from the top of the deck or discard pile. Then Player 1 discards one card. When the player is able to use all of the cards in his hand to spell words, he may go out by putting the words on the table.
5. The other players then get to drawn one last time and must play as many cards as they can.
6. The scoring is done by adding up the points on the cards used in the words on the table and then subtracting the card value points not used. The player with the most words and the player with the longest word each get 10 bonus points.
You can buy this game here. Have fun playing!
Ready for another awesome reading practice board game? Try the game Wingo. Here is how you play:
1. Each player puts one or two boards in front from them.
2. On the player's turn, he spins the spinner and chooses one of the blocks that matches the color of the spinner.
3. If the player can play the piece he selects on a matching color spot on either of his boards to make a real word, he gets to keep it there. If the player can't use that block to make a real word, he must discard it.
4. The first player to fill up his board wins!
You can buy this game and find out more about it here. Have fun!
I just found out about a great reading practice game called Chip-O! This is how you play:
1.Deal four cards to each player.
2. Player 1 selects one card to play, reads it, and puts a colored marker on top of its picture on the game board. All players get a turn doing those three things (selecting one card, reading it, and putting a marker on the board). Each picture is found on the board twice.
3. The point of the game is to get four of your markers in a row, diagonally, vertically, or horizontally, while preventing other players from getting four in a row.
4. The winner is the person who gets four in a row first!
You can buy this game here. Have fun!
Time to practice vowel digraphs! Try out this great game called Rolling for Vowel Digraphs. This is what you do:
1. PREPARATION: Go to the following website: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_rA_RSZDbdOOTg2YTcxOGYtNWRhZS00NDcyLTk4YTItODg1OWNmOWNmMjYz/edit?pli=1
2. Print off the game.
3. Put your students in pairs.
4. Give each companionship two recording sheets, a die, and a set of word cards.
5. TO PLAY: Player 1 rolls the die, then Player 2 has to read that amount of word cards to Player 1. If all of the word cards are read correctly, then Player 2 gets to write them on his record sheet.
6. Switch roles so Player 2 gets to roll the die and Player 1 reads.
7. The first person to fill up their recording sheet is the winner.
Have fun trying out this new game!
A fun way to practice digraphs is to use digraph puzzles. I found an awesome one on www.lakeshorelearning.com. You can check it out here. It is a perfect hands-on activity! The puzzles include a picture on top that gives a clue as to the letters needed below. Students must fit the puzzle pieces together to build the word using a digraph and other letters. Each piece of the puzzle represents a different sound in the word. The game comes with 12 puzzles. Have fun watching your student put these fun puzzles together.
Teaching digraphs can be tricky, so why not try making it fun with a board game! This is all you do:
1. Go to the following website: http://www.kayedstudio.com/1/post/2012/06/freebie-5-initial-digraph-board-games.html
2. Pick one of the board games and download it.
3. You will need a die and game pieces.
4. TO PLAY: Player 1 rolls the die and moves that many spaces on the board. Player 1 then makes the sound of that particular digraph and says a word that begins with that sound. If Player 1 lands on a star, he gets to roll the die again.
5. After Player 1 finishes his turn, Player 2 goes. The first person to make it to the end wins.
Have fun learning those digraphs!
I just found another really fun way to practice silent e words. Try doing a canned sort. You can read about it here. This is what you do:
1. PREPARATION: Get/Make/Buy silent e flash cards and CVC flash cards.
2. Get two cans (soup cans are fine). Label one of the cans 'Silent e'. Label the other can 'CVC words'.
3. TO PLAY: Mix the silent e and CVC flash cards together and put them in a stack face down. Player 1 chooses the card on top, reads it, and puts the card in the correct can. For example, if the card said note, Player 1 would put the card in the 'Silent e' can.
4. Player 2 then has a turn reading and putting the card in the correct can. Players continue taking turns until all of the cards are sorted.
5. At the end of the game, the teacher dumps out the cans and checks student work. Teacher may ask students to read each word as she goes through the cans.
Have fun practicing!
Try playing the game Jake the Snake to practice silent e words. This is how you play:
1. PREPARATION: Go to this website and print off the game.
2. You will need: one die and a game piece for each player.
3. TO PLAY: Player 1 rolls the die, if he lands on a short vowel sound word, his turn is over. If he lands on a long vowel sound word, he gets to roll the die one more time.
4. The player that gets to the end of the snake first wins.
Have fun mastering silent e words!
If your student is a visual learner and thrives working in small groups, you should introduce them to the Silent e Board Game. This game provides excellent practice with reading silent e words. Here is how you play:
1. PREPARATION: Go to the following website: http://r3600f11silente.wikispaces.com/Learning+Center+Activities. Scroll down to the section that says Silent e Board Game.
2. Print off the board game. You will also need: two dice, game pieces, and flash cards with silent e words.
3. TO PLAY: Player 1 rolls the dice and picks up a silent e flash card from the stack. Player 1 must be able to read the word on the card as well as the word without the silent e. For example, if the card said: cape, the student would also say cap.
4. If Player 1 can read the word with the long and short vowel sounds, they can move however spaces they roll with the dice. If Player 1 can't read both words, then they must move back one space on the board.
5. The first player to get to the end wins the game.
I hope your student enjoys playing this game!
Ready for another fun board game? Try the Learning Lift-Off with CVC words game. It is both exciting and educational. The game is for up to four players. To play, a student spins a spinner and moves on the game board. Then they answer a question on the puzzle piece and lift the piece to see the answer. Kids love this very hands-on game and best of all it's not very expensive. Check it out here. Have fun!
Looking for a cheap way to practice CVC words with your student? Try making the CVC bottle cap game. I am sure you have a bunch of old milk lids or plastic bottle caps lying around. On each bottle cap write a letter with a permanent marker. Then place all of the lids with letters on your student's desk. Tell them a CVC word and then have them spell it using their bottle caps. You could also show your student a picture of something and have them spell it using their bottle caps. You can see an example of this CVC game here, under Reading the Alphabet. Have fun using all your old bottle caps!
Does your student enjoy putting puzzles together? If so, you should try out this puzzle-game called Match It! It might be the answer to get your student to read more CVC words.
In this game each of the 20 words are made into a small puzzle with each letter on a different puzzle piece. If the word is cat, there is a picture of a cat and its name cat made into three puzzle pieces that fit together. There is of course reading and spelling involved in doing the puzzles.
As teacher, I would have my students play Match It at center time. It is a perfect game they can do without the help of a teacher. Plus it is ideal for a small group. Most of the words are three or four letter words. You can take a look at this game here.
Have fun watching your student learn more words!
Ready for yet another awesome board game? The CVC Sound Game is the game for you. Here is what you do:
1. PREPARATION: Go to the following website: http://thegototeacher.wordpress.com/reading-ideas/
2. Scroll down until you see CVC Initial Sound, CVC Medial Sound, CVC Final Sound.
3. Click on the one you would like your student to work on and print it. It would be wise to laminate it or print it off on cardstock.
4. TO PLAY: Get a pencil and paperclip. Have Player 1 spin it in the letter circle.
5. Player 1 then moves to the nearest box that makes a word using that letter.
6. Player 2 then spins and so on.
7. The first player to get to the finish wins!
Have fun!
