Ideas for Working with Words at Home
Children need many opportunities to work with words not only at school in the classroom but
also at home.
Playing with words…
-helps foster fluent reading
-helps foster fluent writing
Below are some games that can be played at home to reinforce word play.
I Spy
Need: 1 set of word cards with focus pattern(s) (can be written on index cards)
To play: Lay out all of the cards on the floor or table. The adult gives a clue about a word they see (“I spy a word
with four letters.” / “I spy a word that starts the same as the word ________.” /”I spy a word that rhymes with _______.”,
etc.) The child tries to find a word that matches the clue given. If the child correctly guesses the word they then pick
up that word. Play continues until all words have been picked up.
**Focus patterns for each week for 1st and 2nd grade can be found at
http://www.katyisd.org/curriculum/Pages/SpellingWords.aspx
**Kindergarten: Write simple, 3-letter words with a variety of vowels (i.e. cat, sit, ten, run, hog, etc.)
BINGO
Need: 1 set of word cards with focus pattern(s) for each player and 1 set for the draw pile (can be written on index
cards)
To play: Each player chooses 9 or 16 cards from their set of word cards and lays them out face up in a grid (3x3 for 9
cards/4x4 for 16 cards). Players must both choose either 9 or 16 so that both players are playing with the same sized
grid. The extra set of word cards is then placed face down and will serve as the draw pile. Players take turns drawing
a card from the draw pile. The player that drew the card reads the card out loud. All players with that word turn it
over on their grid. Play continues until a player makes BINGO by turning over all cards in a row (horizontally, vertically
or diagonally) on their grid.
**Focus patterns for each week for 1st and 2nd grade can be found at
http://www.katyisd.org/curriculum/Pages/SpellingWords.aspx
**Kindergarten: Write simple, 3-letter words with a variety of vowels (i.e. cat, sit, ten, run, hog, etc.)
Go Fish
Need: 2 sets of word cards with focus pattern(s) (can be written on index cards)
To play: Shuffle word cards and place in a stack face down. Each player draws 5 cards. Players try to collect a
match for each word card in their hand. Starting with the oldest player each player takes a turn asking the other
player for a card they need. (For example: If Player A has the word card cat they would ask Player B “Do you have a
word that rhymes with cat?” or “Do you have a word with the –at word family?” If Player B has the word being asked
for they must give it to Player A. If not, Player B says “Go fish.” Player A must then draw a card from the word card
stack.) Play continues until all of the cards are matched. The first player to match all of their cards is the winner.
**Focus patterns for each week for 1st and 2nd grade can be found at
http://www.katyisd.org/curriculum/Pages/SpellingWords.aspx
**Kindergarten: Write simple, 3-letter words with a variety of vowels (i.e. cat, sit, ten, run, hog, etc.)
Memory
Need: 2 sets of word cards with focus pattern(s) (can be written on index cards)
To play: Shuffle word cards and place in rows face down. Players take turns turning over 2 cards. If the two cards
have the same word family or pattern the player has made a match and will get to take both cards. If a player
makes a match they get to take another turn. If the words on the 2 cards that were turned over do not match, both
cards are turned face down again and it is the next player’s turn. Play continues until all cards have been matched.
The player with the most matched cards is the winner.
**Focus patterns for each week for 1st and 2nd grade can be found at
http://www.katyisd.org/curriculum/Pages/SpellingWords.aspx
**Kindergarten: Write simple, 3-letter words with a variety of vowels (i.e. cat, sit, ten, run, hog, etc.)
Flashlight Fun!
Need: Flashlight and 1 set of word cards with focus pattern(s) (can be written on index cards)
To play: Place the word cards around one room in the house. Turn the lights off in that room. The adult calls out one
of the words. The child uses the flashlight to find the word. Once the word is found the child shines the light on the
word and reads it out loud. Play continues with different words until all of the words have been found.
**Focus patterns for each week for 1st and 2nd grade can be found at
http://www.katyisd.org/curriculum/Pages/SpellingWords.aspx
**Kindergarten: Write simple, 3-letter words with a variety of vowels (i.e. cat, sit, ten, run, hog, etc.)
Word Dominoes
Need: 2 sets of word cards with focus pattern(s) from two different weeks of study (can be written on index cards)
To play: Shuffle word cards and deal out cards 7 cards to each player. The remaining cards are stacked face down
in a pile. Player A starts the game by laying down a word card from their hand. Player B must choose a word from
their hand that “connects” to Player A’s card in some way (i.e. words have the same spelling pattern /words begin
with the same letter(s)/words end with the same letter(s), etc.). If a player does not have a card with a connection
then they must draw a card from the draw pile. If the player draws a card that matches they may put it down next
to the card it matches. If the player does not draw a card that matches play moves to that other player. Play
continues until all cards have been used or no more matches can be made.
**Focus patterns for each week for 1st and 2nd grade can be found at
http://www.katyisd.org/curriculum/Pages/SpellingWords.aspx
**Kindergarten: Write simple, 3-letter words with a variety of vowels (i.e. cat, sit, ten, run, hog, etc.)
Word Fun Board Games
-Bananagrams
-Appletters
-What’s Gnu
-Scrabble: Junior Edition
-Word Rummy (tile and card versions available)
-Boggle Jr,
-Snap it Up!
Word Fun Websites
http://www.pogo.com/word-games?pageSection=hp_gc_4word_seeall
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/word-games/hangman-games/animal-hangman-games.html
http://www.abcya.com/kids_reading_games.htm?utm_source=msn&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=word_games_for
_kids_phm&utm_campaign=USA
**Katy ISD is not responsible for content on external sites or servers. Katy ISD does not support or endorse the sites or app
listed. Students accessing these sites from a Katy ISD computer on the district's network will be filtered to prevent access to
inappropriate content. When accessing from home, a parent or guardian should supervise access to monitor inappropriate
advertising or links to other sites.
Word Fun Apps
-
Fun Rhyming
ABC Touch
Word Shaker
Wooords
Word Bingo
Hangman for Kids
Sight Words Grades 1 and 2
Rhyming Bee
Pop Words
Long Vowels
**Katy ISD is not responsible for content on external sites or servers. Katy ISD does not support or endorse the sites
or app listed. Students accessing these sites from a Katy ISD computer on the district's network will be filtered to
prevent access to inappropriate content. When accessing from home, a parent or guardian should supervise access
to monitor inappropriate advertising or links to other sites.