How to Make Reading Games
Reading games are a wonderful way to encourage students to practice their phonics, vocabulary and comprehension skills. They are also an effective way to engage other students in a meaningful way while you work with small groups. Using materials with which your students are already familiar makes creating reading games easier for both of you.
Instructions
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Making Reading Games
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1
Develop your own version of Memory. Memory is the game where you lay out the cards and each player takes turns lifting two cards, hoping for a match. Use index cards to make your own version of Memory. Write on the blank side of the index cards. You can write letters to help with letter recognition or words you'd like the students to memorize, such as sight or spelling words. You can also do this with vocabulary words and their meanings.
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2
Create your own version of Go Fish. Write different letter chunks (such as "oa" or "ay"), letters, prefixes (such as "re") and suffixes (such as "ing") on your index cards. Then teach the students Go Fish. Instead of making matches, students should make words.
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3
Work on word families. On construction paper, write a list of words from the word family on which you're working. Then cut the pieces into puzzle pieces and laminate them. Have students put puzzle pieces together to draw pictures of the word from the word family. You can also do this with vocabulary words and their meanings.
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Put your students to work. After reading a chapter or detailed picture book, have students create board games about the book. They can do a version of Trivial Pursuit or Candyland.
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Tips & Warnings
There are lots of books about making file folder games for reading. These games require hours of work on your part and not much effort on the part of your students. Don't waste your time.
Be very thorough in teaching your students how to play the games, and make sure to hold them accountable for their work.
