The key to introducing preschoolers and elementary-aged kids to reading is to make it fun. Kids learn best when they think they're just playing, anyway. Phonics activities and games are a great way to teach reading.
This word matching game is easy to put together at home and fun to play together with a child. It can be adapted to fit the age and skill level of each child, and can easily be personalized to help each child master the letters or phonics concepts they struggle with the most.
Beginning Reading Matching Game
The basic idea of this game is a little like Memory, but instead of trying to match pictures the players are trying to match one half of a word to the other. To make it easier for beginning readers, there is more than one possibility for successful matches.
The sample games in this article use 12 cards, but more or fewer cards can be used to fit the needs of players.
Phonics Game Preparation
The supplies needed for making this reading activity are simple: scissors, red and blue paper, and a marker.
- Cut out 12 rectangular cards. Half should be red and half should be blue.
- Write possible beginnings of words on the red cards.
- Write possible endings of words on the blue cards. (Suggestions for beginnings and ends follow.)
Ideally, the words and letters on each card should challenge the child slightly but still be doable. Adults may want to throw in a few easy ones with the hard ones to keep the child motivated to keep playing. See below for variations and ideas depending on reading level.
Sample Game for Reading Three Letter Words
For the child who is working on sounding out 3-letter words, a matching game is really easy to whip together. Write each of the following letters on two red cards:
- h
- t
- p
On the blue cards, write common word endings like:
- at
- in
- ap
- ot
- et
- ug
The idea is to have endings that will work with more than one of the initial letters, but not all of them.
How to Play the Phonics Game
Now that the cards are all cut out and labeled, it's time to play!
- Lay the red cards face down in one area, the blue cards face down in a separate area nearby.
- The first player turns over any red card and says its sound aloud. Repeat with any blue card.
- Put the sound on the red and blue card together (parental assistance may be required).
- If it's a real word, the player gets to keep the match. If it's a nonsense word, it gets put back.
- Player two's turn.
- After all possible word combinations have been made, any cards left are "dead cards." Players count up all the matches in their hand; the player with the most matches wins.
Kids love this fun phonics game. Making a silly, made-up word is almost more fun for young children than making a real word! Either way, they are learning to read.
Variations for More Advanced Readers
Children who have mastered reading three-letter words can move on to phonics games featuring four-letter blends, diagraphs (two consonants in a row that make a single sound,) and other phoenetical rules. Here are some possible variations for more advanced play:
- For kids working on consonant blends, red cards could say 'st,' 'cl,' 'gr,' 'sp,' 'dr,' and 'bl.' Blue cards could read 'op,' 'un,' 'at,' 'ab,' 'ip,' and 'ub.'
- For kids working on diagraphs, red cards could say 'ch,' 'th,' and 'sh' (two times each.) Blue cards could read 'ip,' 'in,' 'at,' 'op,' 'ed,' and 'ut.'
- For kids working on more complex phonics rules, red cards could say 'pl,' 'cr,' 'fr,' 'sh,' 'sl,' and 'br.' Blue cards could read 'ight,' 'ock,' 'amp,' 'uck,' 'eep,' and 'ick.'
As an added benefit, kids will be introduced to all sorts of new words like "drab", "frock", and "slight". Parents can build kids' vocabularies by taking a minute to talk about the meaning of each word before moving on with the game.
This highly adaptable phonics activity not only helps children learn to read, but it lets them develop skills at taking turns, following directions, good sportsmanship, and counting. They also think critically and expand their vocabularies as they determine whether to keep or discard words.
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