Reading Games for Kids

This post contains affiliate links.  The following post was written by Corinne Jacob from Alternate Tutelage.  

Reading is a fundamental skill that has to be learnt with repetitive practice. There are a few core skills that young children need to master as they begin to learn to read. The stronger the base, the easier it is to build more complex reading skills upon it.  Important skills that young children should know are phonemic awareness, vocabulary, sight words, phonics and letter recognition. Making the process fun and less of a chore makes it easier for kids to absorb what they learn. Online reading games can be coupled with other games to bring variety to the table.

Reading Games for Kids

Children learning the alphabet can be taught to recognize the lower and upper case letters with a little game. Draw a square grid and write the alphabet in lower case in each box. On a Post It, write an upper case letter and stick it on a toy car. Ask kids to park the car in the box which has the corresponding lower case alphabet.

Kids can also listen and trace upper and lower case letters with the app Letter Lab.

Sight words are high frequency words. To help kids recognize them, I write them on Post Its and arrange them on a flat surface. As I call out words, kids have to swat the correct word with a fly swatter.

The same can be reinforced with K-3 Sight Words, an app that lists the Dolch Sight Words.

Kids begin associating words with objects long before they begin to learn words in school. I put a few familiar objects in a basket and ask the kids to feel the object without looking at it, and to name it. Sometimes they need helpful prompts like what the object is used for before they can come up with the name of the object. My Word Wall is a great tool that gives kids ample opportunity to see, listen, write and say words that include both sight words and word family words.

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By the time kids get to first grade, they have learned to hold books, make sense of words and sentences, and write simple words. You can send them on a word hunt by writing a sight word and asking them to find it in the book. Interactive book apps like Bob Books #1 – Reading Magic makes reading fun for kids with its animations. It is an excellent way to get kids started on phonics-based reading.

Rhymes are another way to help kids become better readers as they use common sounds. Also, kids enjoy playing with rhyming words. I write a mix of words that rhyme on Popsicle sticks and ask kids to sort out the words with similar sounds. In the app Dora ABCs Vol 2: Rhyming Words, kids have to match rhyming words to get ahead in the game.While the above reading games get into the details and technicalities of reading, the reading habit can be cultivated by reading to children, getting them to look for information on road signs or advertisements, and by encouraging them to read books.

About the Author:

Corinne Jacob is a wannabe writer who is convinced that kids learn best when they’re having fun. She is constantly on the lookout for new and exciting ways to make learning an enjoyable experience. Corinne loves all things that scream out un-schooling, alternative education and holistic learning.  You can find Corinne at her blog, Alternate Tutelage.  

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