School holidays can be fun and tiring all at the same time. The usual routine goes out the window, and when boredom sets in, everything becomes more difficult. When my kids were little, quick games that had a hint of literacy learning were always a hit. Games about words help start a discussion about words. Building words helps to develop decoding and spelling skills. Learning to read takes time, and reading books is the end goal, but learning about words doesn't always have to be about reading books.
Create space daily for quick activities that build knowledge, skill and connection.
Word building is a game that primes little learners for print and engages older children in wordplay. A cost-effective, quick and efficient activity that builds sounds and letter awareness.
Here are some quick word building play ideas to try over morning tea.
Head to an earlier post about why word building should be an integral part of any early years literacy session head here.
Boggle
We often play Boggle as a quick-thinking game. I love the actual game with the dice. But for literacy sessions, I always curate a set of alphabet tiles to use for spelling. Boggle is a fun twist on word building. It works as soon as students know the first six sounds S A T P I N.
The tiles also work brilliantly with a list for decoding. Students then spell out the words they just read with the tiles. Rereading and spelling help fluency because they gain confidence as they develop automaticity. Repetition supports students in internalizing the knowledge and skills needed for fluency.
I often start a session with a curated set of movable alphabet tiles to review past learning and sharpen those spelling and decoding skills. For literacy purposes, using the alphabet tiles is a win because you can select the letters or letter strings to use, and a list of possible words is also an excellent tool because once the timer has gone, you can then work through the list as a word building activity or as dictated practice.
To extend the game further, add the words made to sentences.
Define words and think of similar words too. Boggle is a fun game that inspires wordy fun.
This game can also be played with grapheme tiles for repeated practice of target spellings. We use the word tiles and word lists pages from the phonics and spelling instruction pack. The curated lists and word tiles make Boggle an excellent repeated practice home activity.
This is one way we use the lists and tiles for repetition and review of initial sounds all the way through to vowel sounds and spellings. As Boggle is a game that was previously played, and the tiles are set up in a similar way, repetition doesn't seem quite so hard or boring. The tiles list makes set up easy as it is grab-and-go. We use small sets of tiles for different games. I often cut the lists as game cards, too, so that after we have played, we can use the list to build more words.
Rhyming Strings
Develop the skills of blending and segmenting sounds through rhyming. Rhyming can be difficult for some children, so read many rhyming stories and play rhyming games before creating your own rhyming strings. Rhyming can also happen with more complex words—amuse, excuse, refuse. It is a fun way to help your child manipulate the sounds in words to create new words.
Rhyming can also be a great discussion about spellings, as not all rhyming words follow the same pattern. If you find your child has difficulty, try word building to show the visual sounds as tiles. Segment each word and link to sounds to show the rime.
Word Strings
Make word strings with the sound switch game -Change one sound to create a new word each time. Manipulating sounds develops the sound awareness skills needed for fluent reading later on. Research suggests that this is the strongest predictor for later reading success.
Mixed Up Words
Perfect for initial sound words all the way through to consonant digraphs nad vowel spellings. Start with short consonant vowel consonant words (CVC), e.g. cat, cup and leg. A picture can be a good scaffold.
Show your child the movable alphabet letters mixed up.
Get your child to tell you the first sound.
Ask your child to find the first sound. This is another activity that lines or Elkonin boxes work well for. Hunt out toys or use pictures.
Later on, mix up longer words for older children. Always keep the sounds together. The word boat has 4 letters and 3 sounds.
boat becomes <oa> <b> <t> or <t> <b> <oa> A movable alphabet is perfect for this game as the grapheme tiles help to consolidate spellings. Don't be tempted to split the letters in a literacy session. The letters <o> and <a> stay together to form the /oa/ sound in boat. Some call these letters vowel teams.
Always say the letter sounds as you point to each letter. Manipulate the letter cards, and say each sound as you make the word.
A movable alphabet is a great scaffold for learning. After building some words, have your child or student write the words on a whiteboard or in their journal. As they write, always get them to say the sounds as they write the letters to link the sounds they say to the symbols they are writing.
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