5 Free Spelling And Reading Games

Are you after some fun reading games and spelling games to incorporate into your literacy program?

Reading and spelling games are a fun and engaging way to help your students revise and consolidate what has been learned.

I have found that using games is a great way to not only begin a lesson, but it’s also a different way to review how your students are progressing.

I’ve put together five fun games that cover a range of words, from CVC words, to digraphs and long vowel sounds. Here you’ll find something to suit the different needs and grade levels of all your students.

1. 4 in a row game – CVC Words

In this game your students will take turns to spin a word, read the word and then write the word on the grid.

The winner is the first player to get 4 words in a row in any direction.

2. Bingo game – digraph /ch/

This bingo game is good to use in a center or with small groups. Two versions of the bingo game have been included: simple and advanced.

The simple game is just like any bingo game. If a player has a matching picture on their board they cover it with a counter. The first player to have all pictures covered calls bingo and is the winner.

For the more advanced game, the players use the clues to find the matching picture on the bingo board.

3. Fly the kite spelling and reading game – sound /ie/

This game is suitable for 2-4 players. Students take turns rolling the dice. They move around the game board in a clockwise direction.

If a student lands on a word, they read the word. When a student lands on a picture, they write the matching word on their whiteboards. If a student lands on an instruction, they follow that instruction.

The first student to reach the kite in the middle is the winner.

4. Chatterbox / cootie catcher – sound /ee/

Who doesn’t love this game? I’ve taken the classic children’s game: cootie catchers (also called chatterboxes and fortune tellers) and combined them with some practice in reading and spelling words that have a particular phonics focus.

My kids have been enjoying using them as a way for us to review words and sounds that we’ve worked on in the past.

Included are two cootie catchers for the sound /ee/, spellings: e, ea, y, ee, ey.

I’ve also put together a video below that shows you exactly how you can use the cootie catchers with your students.

Can’t see the video, watch it here.

5. Sound bingo – sound /ae/

Sound bingo is great for spelling practice that is an alternative to spelling tests.

Your students write one of each of the spellings on the bingo board in random squares. They repeat the spellings until all the squares contain a spelling for the sound.

The teacher randomly chooses words and calls them out. Students select a square with the correct spelling for the word. They write the word in that square and then cross out the spelling.

Students call bingo when they have 3 words in a row or when all squares are filled.

Download the free spelling and reading games here.

More spelling and reading games

If you liked these games, then you’ll love The Complete Phonics Kit. The individual items in this 1100+ page kit follow a systematic and structured approach to introducing sounds and spellings.

For beginning readers small regular words are introduced – CVC words (consonant-vowel-consonant).

Then as your students progress through your teaching program the items in the kit support your teaching of digraphs (ck, ng, ch, sh, th, wh, qu, le) and the more advanced concept of one sound, but many spellings.

One, two and three syllable words are included to help differentiate for your student abilities.

The sounds featured include:

/ae/ – spellings: ay, ea, a-e, ai, ai, eigh, ei
/ee/ – spellings: e, ea, y, ee, ey, ie
/oe/ – spellings: o, oa, ow, o-e, oe
/er/ – spellings: er, ir, or, ur, ear
/e/ – spellings: e, ea, ai
/ow/ – spellings: ou, ow
m/oo/n – spellings: oo, ew, ue, u-e, o, ui, u
/ie/ – spellings: i, ie, y, i-e, igh
b/oo/k – spellings: oo, u, oul
/u/ – spellings: u, o, ou, oo
/s/ – spellings: s, ss, st, c, ce, se, sc
/l/ – spellings: l, ll, al, el, il, le, ol
/or/ – spellings: or, aw, a, ar, au, al
/air/ – spellings: air, are, ear, ere, eir, ayer, ayor
/ue/ – spellings: ue, ew, u, u-e

This kit is ready for your download right now by clicking here.