Classroom Games and Activities

Index

A Reading Games for Phonics

1. Snowball 4
2. Slam 5
3. What’s Missing 6
4. Four in a Row 7
5. Battle RPS 8
6. Make Four 9

B Writing Games for Phonics

1. Run to the Board 10
2. Bingo 11

C Integrated Games for Phonics

1. Write and Draw 12
2. Running Dictation 13
3. Listen and Draw 14

D Teacher Resources and References

1. Online Resources 15
2. References 15

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 A Reading Games for Phonics
A2 Slam
A1 Snowball Type : Reading Game
Level : All levels
Type : Reading Game Materials : Flashcards
Level : Lower levels
Materials : Flashcards
Instructions

1 Select target flashcards and spread them on the table with the letter sides face up.
Instructions
2 Put students into two groups.

1 Select target flashcards and spread them on the table with letter sides up. 3 Ask a student from each group to put their hands on their heads.

2 Students take turns reading the cards cumulatively. 4 Read one of the letter cards. The student who first slams on the correct card wins
· Student 1: ham a point for his/her team.
· Student 2: ham, map 5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 .
· Student 3: ham, map, jam
6 When students feel confident, have them take your role reading the cards.

Adapting the Activity

· Conduct activity on the board.

Adapting the Activity · Give students flyswatters to slam the correct answer.
· For more advanced classes, add new words with the target sound(s).
· Add a rhythm or chanting element.
· For large classes, conduct chorally and increase the speed each turn.
· For large classes, post the flashcards on the board.
· For more advanced classes, introduce new words with the target sound(s).

4 Classroom Games and Activities Reading Games for Phonics 5

 A3 What’s Missing A4 Four in a Row
Type : Reading Game Type : Reading Game
Level : All levels Level : All levels
Materials : Flashcards Materials : Flashcards, checkers or go game pieces (these could substituted with
coins, colored tokens, or colored sticky notes)

Instructions Instructions

1 Select target flashcards and spread them on the table with the letter sides face up.
2 Put students into two groups.
3 Group 1 hides a card while group 2 keeps their eyes closed.
4 Group 2 looks at the flashcards and says what the missing card is. If correct, they
win a point.
5 The two groups switch their roles and repeat steps 3 and 4 .
1 Select 16 target flashcards and arrange them on a large table or on the floor in a
4 x 4 grid.
2 Put students into two groups and give each group a set of game pieces.
3 Groups take turns reading a card. When reading correctly, they can put their team's
game piece marker on the card.
4 When the game pieces are placed on all the cards, calculate the points each group
earned: 2 points for the game pieces that are placed two in a row, 3 points for the
markers that are placed three in a row and 4 points for the game pieces that are
placed four in a row.
5 The winner is the group with more points.

Adapting the Activity

· For larger classes, break the class into smaller groups. Adapting the Activity
· For more advanced classes, add new words with the target sound(s).
· For larger classes, break the class into, smaller groups.
· For more advanced classes, create cards with sentences that have the target words.
For example: Target words - nine; bike
It is nine. Tom has a bike.

6 Classroom Games and Activities Reading Games for Phonics 7

 A5 Battle RPS A6 Make Four!
Type : Reading Game Type : Reading Game
Level : All levels Level : All levels
Materials : Flashcards Materials : Flashcards, group headings for sorting

Instructions Instructions

1 Select target flashcards and line them up on the table with the letter sides face up. 1 Place the target flashcards in a pile.

2 Students take turns selecting a card from the pile and placing it on the table under
dam
map

ram

pan

mat
cap
the correct heading. Help students arrange the cards as shown below:
can

bat

hat
~am ~ap ~an ~at
2 Put students into two groups. Each group lines up at either end of the table.
ram map fan cat
3 Students from each group move up one card at a time while reading the card. When
they meet in the middle, they play Rock-Paper-Scissors. The winner stays. The loser pan hat
goes back to the starting point and another student from the group takes over.
4 Repeat step 3 . bat
5 The winner is the group to first reach the other end. mat

3 The student who places the fourth card in a column can take the all four cards.

4 Continue the game until all the cards are played. The winner is the student with the
Adapting the Activity most cards.

· For more advanced classes, add new words with the target sound(s).

Adapting the Activity

· For more advanced classes, add new words with the target sound(s) or have
students think of new words to place under the headings.

8 Classroom Games and Activities Reading Games for Phonics 9

 B Writing Games for Phonics
B2 Bingo
B1 Run to the Board Type : Writing Game
Level : All levels
Type : Writing Game Materials : Flashcards, a bingo board (5 x 5)
Level : All levels
Materials : Flashcards
Instructions

1 Give each student a bingo board.

Instructions
1 Split the class into two teams. Have the two teams line up at the back of the
classroom.
2 When ready, show a flashcard with the picture side facing the students.
3 The first students in each line run to the board and write the word for the picture.
4 The first student who writes the word neatly and correctly gets a point for his/her
team.
5 Repeat steps 3 and 4 . The winner is the team with the most points.
2 Select 25 target flashcards. Read each card as students write the word on their
bingo board. Make sure students understand that they can write the word anywhere
on the grid as they like. (Instead of reading the card, you can show each card with
the picture side.)
3 Play Bingo: Call out the target word. Students mark the square with a check, dot or
other symbol.
4 Repeat step 3 . The winner is the student who creates a line. This line can be
straight or diagonal.

Adapting the Activity

Adapting the Activity · For less advanced classes, show both sides of the flashcard.
· To make the game longer, have students make a square, a cross, an X, or another shape
· For less advanced classes, post the target flashcards on the board. Read out the to win.
target word and have students touch the correct flashcard.
· To make the game shorter, use a smaller bingo board (3 x 3 or 4 x 4).
· For more advanced classes, add new words with the target sound(s).
· For more advanced classes, read the target word with a short sentence. Have the
students write the sentence.

10 Classroom Games and Activities Writing Games for Phonics 11

 C Integrated Games for Phonics
C2 Running Dictation
C1 Draw and Write Type : Integrated Game
Level : Higher levels
Type : Integrated Activity Materials : Pre-prepared target sentences on paper
Level : Higher levels
Materials : Worksheet with four boxes with lines
Instructions

1 Create a list of target words or sentences and print on cards.

Instructions
2 Go to an open area or move the desks to one side of the room. Post the cards on
one side of the classroom. Separate the class into pairs. One student will be the
1 Create a worksheet with four boxes and lines to write below the boxes. runner. The other student will be the writer.
2 Use the target words from the unit and create simple sentences.

3 Write the sentences on the board. Have students write the sentences on the lines. writers at desks
cards posted on wall
Have them illustrate the sentences in the boxes. Sample
Classroom
Layout

Runners going back and forth

3 The runners go to the card, read it, and run back to the writer. The runner tells
(dictates) the writer what was on the card. The runner goes back to the card as
many times as necessary.
I bake cakes. The rake is in the lake. 4 The team to finish the dictation first wins.
I bake cakes. The rake is in the lake.

Adapting the Activity

Adapting the Activity
· For less advanced classes, create a list of words instead of sentences.
· For less advanced classes, print the target sentences on the worksheet and have · For more advanced classes, create longer sentences or introduce new words with the
them only draw the pictures. Have students read the target sentences. target sound(s).
· For more advanced classes, have students label the different target words in their
pictures.
· For more advanced classes, create sentences with new words with the target sound(s).

12 Classroom Games and Activities Integrated Games for Phonics 13

 D Teacher Resources and References
C3 Listen and Draw
Type : Integrated D1 Online Resources
Level : Higher levels
Materials : Notebook, drawing paper, crayons or pencil crayons Activity sheets and other resources
http://www.funfonix.com/
Free downloadable activity sheets
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/
Instructions
Printable resources for letters and sounds
1 Write a list of target words on the board. Tell students to choose one or more http://www.letters-and-sounds.com/
target words and make a sentence with them in their notebooks. Collection of links for teachers of young learners
2 Circulate around the room and give feedback to students on their sentences. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/kplus_phonics.htm
Make corrections as needed.
3 Put students into pairs. Tell the students they have five minutes to complete the
activity. Student A will show student B his/her sentence. Student B will write the
sentence on the bottom of a piece of drawing paper and draw a picture to
illustrate the sentence. Student B will show his/her sentence to student A. Student
A will write the sentence on the bottom of a piece of drawing paper and draw a
picture to illustrate the sentence. D2 References
4 After each student is done drawing, have the pairs check to make sure the picture
is correct. Repeat as time allows.
· Bear, D.R. & Templeton, S. (1998). Explorations in developmental spelling: Foundations
for learning and teaching phonics, spelling and vocabulary. The Reading Teacher 52(3),
222-242.
· Cunningham, P.M. & Cunningham, J.W. (2002). In Farstrup & Samuels (Eds.), What
Adapting the Activity Research Has to Say About Reading Instruction (3rd ed.), 87-109.
· Stahl, S. (1992). “Saying the “p” word: Nine guidelines for exemplary phonics instruction.”
· For more advanced classes, have students write a short story with the target words. The Reading Teacher, 45(8), 618-625.
· For more time, create a story with the target words. Make a booklet with the story and
· Stahl, Duffy-Hester, & Stahl. (1998). Everything you want to know about phonics
have the students illustrate it. For more advanced students, create the story as a group
and have them create a booklet for the story. (but were afraid to ask). Reading Research Quarterly, 33(3), 338-355.
· Trachtenburg, P. (1990). "Using children's literature to enhance phonics instruction"
The Reading Teacher. May. 648-654.

14 Classroom Games and Activities Teacher Resources and References 15

Also Available with New Smart Phonics

Phonics Game Cards Flashcards

Phonics Builders Big Game Books

Phonics Fun Readers

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