Do you have kids? Whether they are toddlers, preschoolers, or young children in elementary school, reading and writing can be hard to teach. This is where games come in! There are many different games that people use to help their kids read and write. In this article, you will learn some of the most popular ones so get ready for a fun read!
Play “I Spy”
I spy is a game that children can use to read and write. It’s a great way for them to interact with the words they’re learning because it relies on word recognition as well as what is being read aloud.
The game starts with one person listing an object in the room and taking turns reading a sentence aloud. When they read the sentence, other players try to guess what word is being read by asking questions like “What color?” or “How many letters are there?” The first player then says either yes or no as their answer. If you’re playing this game at home and want your child to read words that start with different letter sounds, think about adding some silent vowels (a-e-i-o) before each of them when you make the list of objects for people to spy on.
This helps kids to read and write in the sense that they read unknown words, then spell and read aloud the word in question to see if their guess was right. If not, they try again and read it a little differently. In this game, children are listening for sounds in words as well as spelling them out using letter sounds which are two really important skills that help kids to read!
Draw pictures with your kids and have them guess what they are
Drawing pictures of unknown things and teaching your kids what they are is a great way to read and write with them. You can draw pictures of things in the kitchen, backyard, or any other place you are at together.
Drawing a picture is an interesting activity for children that will help build their vocabulary as they learn about different objects around the house. It’s also a great teaching tool when it comes to showing your kids how words work because there are many letters in each word!
For example, if you’re drawing something like “flowers” on paper then be sure to include all 26 letters while doing so! Your child might not know what some of those letters mean but they’ll certainly notice by seeing them over and over again. This way they’ll learn to read the word “flowers” and see how it’s made up of letters from A-Z.
This will also enhance their curiosity which will lead to more read and write games in the future.
Word puzzles
Word puzzles are the ultimate read-write combination. You read the word aloud, then write it down. There are many different types of word puzzles that you can use to teach your kids to read and write from simple letter matching games to more complicated sentences such as “The _____ was wearing a red T-shirt” where the reader has to fill in one or two words.
These games enhance the reading and writing skills of your kids while ensuring they have a fun time. Through them, they will develop their spelling skills and keep learning new words.
With word puzzles, you can teach your kids how to read through a variety of methods including letter matching games (such as anagrams) and fill in the blanks sentences with one or two words. For a good tool that could make it easier for them at an earlier age visit unscramble.org where it will be made easier for them but still get them to think better and harder next time. This will help them because they can play with anagrams all day.
Play Hangman or Boggle
Hangman is a game that kids can play to teach them how words are spelled. The first player draws a word by committing one letter at a time, and the other players try to guess what it is before they run out of guesses or the hidden letters on the board spell out “H-A-N-G M-E”. Some kids may have heard of a variation, known as ‘Boggle’.
Games like Hangman are excellent ways for children who want to learn spelling without even realizing it! Players try to guess the hidden word and if their guesses match or come close enough, then players get closer and closer until one player gets three in a row or more likely, sooner than that point when other players run out of ideas.
Since each mistake gets them closer to losing, they will be more careful to read the letters correctly. They will start thinking better and the words will start coming easier to them.
Charades
Charades are a really fun game that you can play with your kids while helping them learn to read and write. It works really well especially when you are teaching them new words.
The rules of the game are that one person will read a word or phrase out loud, while everyone else has their backs turned. The group needs to work together in order to guess what is being read without using any clues but body language. You can also use charades if your child is playing by him/herself as they take turns guessing how different items would be spelled based on sound effects created from making an animal noise for each letter (i.e., M-O-U-N). This teaches kids about spelling through phonics!
Bingo
Bingo is yet another game that can be used to teach reading and writing. The game is often played by filling a bingo card with different letters, numbers, or colors. When someone gets five in a row on their card they have won the game. A parent could take an alphabet bingo sheet from one company (such as those found here) and print it out so that all 26 letters are available for play. Alternatively, you could fill up the spaces yourself by printing off sheets online like these ones.
If your child has mastered letter sounds and knows what every single letter looks like, you can print out the bingo sheet with all of them on it. The aim is for your child to read each letter when they get a match and then write the letter down in their “basket” or tray where they are playing from.
The next time you find yourself on a playdate with your kids, try to incorporate some of these games. You’ll have fun and they will too! Kids are naturally curious about the world around them and it’s important that we foster this curiosity by playing together. Games like these will help them develop way faster and achieve way more.