Reading Practice Games
- Alphabet recognition and sound identification/production are crucial skills required for reading. Children learn these skills in kindergarten and first grade. Teachers should make games part of the daily routine to help their students practice these skills. Alphabet Bingo is a fun game to play with the entire class. Each child gets a card and bingo chips. The teacher calls out a letter, and the students place a chip on the letter if they see it on their card. The goal is to fill in a row or the entire card, identifying letters correctly. Play the game in other ways as the children advance in knowledge. For example, the teacher can call out the sound instead of the letter or display a picture and and have the kids place a chip on the letter that makes the beginning sound of the object in the picture.
- Decoding (sounding out) words is a phonemic skill necessary for reading. After children learn sounds, they learn to blend them to form words. Teachers can practice this skill with their students by playing "Break It Down." The teacher says a word, usually one that follows a C-V-C (consonant, vowel, consonant) pattern like cat, sit or dog. Then, the students will say each sound they hear in the word. Every time the child says each sound in the word correctly, he gets a sticker or other small prize. This is an effective game to play with the entire class or in a small group setting.
- Sight words are high-frequency words that children encounter in books every day. Most of these words cannot be decoded and must be memorized. Teachers usually drill students often to help them remember, but games can also reinforce these words. The teacher can write sight words on index cards and place them on the floor with the word showing. Children take turns throwing bean bags at the words. If they can say the word that the bean bag falls on, they get to pick it up. The child with the most cards wins. Children can also use these cards to play Sight Word Concentration, which will help them memorize the words.
- The Internet has many learning resources for reading practice. Starfall is a site that specializes in early reading skills. It has interactive games that reinforce alphabet recognition and sound identification. There are also reading passages that students read based on their ability. They can advance to new passages as they become more fluent readers. Readquarium is another site with beginning and advanced reading games. There are phonics, vocabulary and comprehension games located here that are appropriate for readers in third through sixth grades. Students read passages and answer questions that address specific skills like main idea, inferring and predicting. The game keeps score, and students can see their progress.
