Fun Ways to Teach Phonics

8/11/2019 Fun Ways to Teach Phonics

1/8

Fun Ways to teach Phonics, Reading and Vocabulary

Teaching home page

Title: TPR and Vocab

Type: Listen and Do.

Method: tudents are in teams. !ach team member is gi"en a

"ocabulary item # eg a color. There is one o$ each colour in

each team. !ither tell each person their colour, or gi"e them

a card %ith that colour. The teacher says, &'$ you ha"e a red

card, please stand up.& (r: &'$ you are red, please stand

up.& (r: &The $irst red to stand up gets a point $or theirteam.& (r: &Reds, please stand up.&

Title: Point to 't

Type: Listen, Loo) and Do

Time: a $e% minutes at most

Method: tudents merely point to the item that the teacher says.*llo% students to loo) at their $riends+ responses $or this.

This can be used $or the presentation stage o$ the lesson,

but needs to be )ept brie$. 't can also be used to re"ie%

items prior to a spea)ing acti"ity in games such as na)es

and Ladders and Follo% the Wire.

Rationale: Perhaps it is easier to learn $rom $ello% students rather

than $rom the teacher.

Title: Put the ards in (rder

Type: Listen, Loo) and Do.

Time: a $e% minutes at most

Method: tudents ha"e a selection o$ cards, say ten. The teacher reads

some -say $i"e and the students rush to put them in order.

/est to )eep this brie$.
http://www.reggie.net/teaching/index.htmhttp://www.reggie.net/teaching/index.htm


2/8


3/8

Method: (ne member $rom each team stands at the blac)board.

When the teacher calls out the item the team shouts the

ans%er to the person at the $ront, %ho %rites it. The %ritten

ans%er can be: a the re$erence number, or letter o$ the itemuare -eg

the bottom le$t corner to the $inish s>uare, mo"ing only

"ertically or hori?ontally.

tudents put one $inger on the start s>uare. The teacher calls

out the ne7t s>uare on the path and students mo"e their

$inger to it. '$ any student is seen to touch the %rong s>uare

%ith any hand, the teacher e7plodes -%ell, pleasantly@ *ll

students ha"e to return to the start s>uare. The teacher canma7imise the listening by repeating the item a number o$

times. 't doesn+t matter i$ students are learning $rom other

students, ho%e"er, be%are o$ letting the class blame a

%ea)er student $or causing an e7plosion.

(rigin: 'n the days %hen electronics %as a hobby, ' made a 9$ollo%

the %ire; game in %hich, i$ you touched the %ire, a bell

%ould sound. There are no% more sophisticated "ersions on

Aapanese TV game sho%s.

Title: na)es and Ladders

Type: Loo) and ay

Method: tudents ha"e a grid o$ say si7 ro%s by ten columns, and one

die per group. tudents ta)e turn to thro% the die and mo"e

$or%ard the number o$ s>uares. They read only the item on

the s>uare that they land on. '$ this s>uare is a ladder, they

climb up it, but i$ it is a sna)e, they slide do%n it.


4/8

Title: (thello B also )no%n as Re"ersi

Type: Loo) and ay

Time: Cp to =1 minutes depending on comple7ity o$ items

Method: tudents in pairs -or t%o teams o$ t%o ha"e a grid o$ si7

ro%s by si7 columns $illed %ith items. They also ha"e =3

s>uares o$ counters cut $rom card that is one colour on one

side and a di$$erent colour -let+s say blac) and %hite on the

re"erse. The rules are the same as (thello. tudents ha"e to

read the item on the s>uare %here they place their counter,

and the items o$ the opponents+ counters %hich they turn

o"er. To speed the game, a$ter a team had said three o$ the

items, they can turn o"er the remainder.

(rigin: Mario Rin"olucri+s "ersion used cards %ith the target

language on one side and translation on the other. This

"ersion allo%s both students to ha"e the same target.

Title: Dont ta)e the last card

Type: Loo) and ay

Time: !ach game is Eust a $e% minutes, but allo% students to play

$our or $i"e times.

Method: tudents ha"e ten cards arranged in a pyramid B one on the

top ro%, t%o belo% it, three under them, and $our on the

bottom ro%. The students can ta)e -and say one, t%o, or

three cards at a time. The student %ho ta)es the last card is

the loser.

*n alternati"e set o$ rules is that a student can ta)e cards

only $rom one line in any one turn, up to all the remaining

cards in that line.

Title: Thro% si7 to say

Type: Loo) and ay

Method: tudents in groups o$ $our or $i"e ha"e one die per group and

a page %ith ten items or so on it. They ta)e turns to thro%the die. *s soon as one student gets a si7, the student starts


5/8

reading the %ords in order: &This is a boo), this is a bag...&

The other students continue to thro% the die in order, trying

to get a si7 be$ore the $irst student has read all ten %ords.

The ne7t student to get a si7 starts reading, interrupting the

$irst student. 't may be an idea to ha"e the student %ho iscurrently spea)ing hold up a &speech bo7& $lag.

(rigin: This acti"ity is $rom the party game: &Cn%rap the

chocolate.& * bar o$ chocolate is in the middle o$ the room,

%rapped in se"eral layers o$ paper. *nyone %ho thro%s a si7

-or is it double si7 %ith t%o dice has to put on a hat, coat

and glo"es, pic) up the )ni$e and $or), and try to get at the

chocolate. '$ someone else thro%s a si7, they ta)e the hat, etc.

and dig into the bar. *nyone %ho gets to eat some chocolate,

ho%e"er small a piece, drops out o$ the game so that othersget a chance.

Title: Three card shu$$le

Type: *s), ay and Loo)

Method: tudents in pairs ha"e three cards. They put the cards $ace

up on the table, and one student tries to remember the order.The other student turns the cards $ace do%n, and is allo%ed

to slo%ly shu$$le them into ne% positions, t%o at a time. They

can ma)e only three changes. That students then as)s,

9What+s this; pointing to one card. The $irst student tries

to remember.

Title: P Whats ThisType: *s), Loo) and ay

Method: tudents ha"e three cards each. They pair up and do P.

The loser has to select a card, sho% it to the %inner and as)

&Whats this& '$ the %inner can supply the correct ans%er,

they ta)e the card $rom the loser. The aim is to get the most

cards and not lose any.


6/8

Title: P Three ard 8uess

Type: *s), Loo) and ay

Method: tudents ha"e three cards each. They pair up and do P.

The loser has to select a card, but sho%s only the bac) o$ thecard to the %inner. The loser as)s: &'s this a ruler& The

%inner has to guess, &es, it is,& or &6o, it isnt.& '$ the

%inner guesses correctly, they ta)e the card. tudents then

change partners.

Title: 8uess the card.

Type: *s), ay and Loo)Method: !"ery student has three cards. tudents choose a partner

and do P. The loser has to point to one o$ their cards and

as) a esG6o >uestion: 9's this a pen.; The %inner has to

guess i$ it is or not. '$ the %inner is correct, they ta)e the

card $rom the loser. tudents change partners. !nd the game

%hen se"eral students ha"e lost all their cards.

Title: /lind >uestions.

Type: *s), ay and Loo)

Method: Cse a page $rom the students boo) or ma)e a sheet %ith the

eight or ten items on it. tudent * closes their eyes and puts a

$inger on one corner o$ the page. Partner / puts tudent *s

$inger onto one o$ the pictures and as)s: &Whats this&

tudent / guesses.

Title: Fishing %ith magnets

Type: Loo) and ay

Method: *ttach paper clips to lots o$ cards. Put some magnets on the

end o$ a string attached to a short rod. tudents $ish $or a

card and read it.


7/8

Title: !ight cards in a ro%.

Type: Loo) and ay

Method: tart %ith all the eight cards $ace up in a ro%. Teams o$

students say their eight cards. Then they turn o"er the $irstcard and say all eight again. They proceed to turn o"er one

card at a time until they can correctly say all eight cards $ace

do%n, in order.

Title: Telepathic students

Type: Loo), *s) and ay

Method: Prior to the class -or acti"ity tell one student the secret. Puta selection o$ teacher+s cards at the $ront o$ the class. The

9telepathic; student goes out o$ the room, and can+t see or

hear the decision. The other class members, or the teacher,

choose one item. The telepathic student is called bac) in. The

teacher proceeds to point at the cards, in no particular order

and the other students as) the >uestion: 9's it the baboon;

'$ the teacher points to the top o$ the card, the telepathic

student replies: 96o, it isn+t.; /ut, i$ the teacher points to the

bottom o$ the card, they respond: 9es, it is.; This isrepeated se"eral times, and i$ some other students catch on,

they can become telepathic, too.

Title: ount the guesses

Type: Loo), *s) and ay

Method: tudents are in pairs and ha"e either a page o$ up to eight

items, or eight cards. (ne student chooses an item but does

not say %hich one. The other student guesses: &'s it the

table& For each %rong guess, the $irst student gets one

point.

Title: Fill in the Ma?e

Type: Listen and WriteMethod: Method: Ma)e a ma?e %ith about 51 blan) s>uares $rom the


8/8

start to the $inish, and a $e% blind alleys. 8i"e each student a

die. tudents hold the dice up in their hands until you dictate

the item they ha"e to %rite. Then they thro% the die once

only, and %rite the item in the number o$ s>uares indicated

on the die. There is a sample ma?e in Word HI $ormat here-001) bytes.

Title: Room Maps

Type: Loo) and Write

Method: Prior to the class, place cards or photocopies o$ items under

the des)s in a classroom. Dra% a map o$ the class %ith all thedes)s. Ma)e a copy %ith the ans%ers. tudents $ill in the

map, %riting the item onto the des) on the map.

Title: Rail%ay Riots

Type: Loo) and Write< opy, Read and Loo)

Time: 02 to 41 minutes.

Method: Prepare a set o$ about 0J &stations.& !ach station %ill ha"e

its o%n name as a picture item, and the ne7t destination as

either a picture or a %ord. The station signposts are spread

around the room. The students ha"e a blan) map %ith Eust

one starting station %ritten in. They read the %ord and $ind

the station. Then they copy or %rite the ne7t destination on

their map. When they ha"e completed the $ull circle, they are

$inished. There is a sample o$ rail%ay riots in Word HI

$ormat here-I5) bytes.
http://www.reggie.net/teaching/word97/maze.dochttp://www.reggie.net/teaching/word97/railriot.dochttp://www.reggie.net/teaching/word97/maze.dochttp://www.reggie.net/teaching/word97/railriot.doc

Documents

Fun Ways to Teach Phonics