w-w-w- wordo!

I started by reading the words on each card, but Maddy and Owen wanted to begin playing, so I scrapped that, said All right, let’s go then! and we began to play.

It was right before bed, and they were eating Cheerios as their snack, so we used Cheerios as bingo markers. Nothing like being able to eat your game pieces when you’re done playing. . . You can really use anything–Foamies, real bingo chips, small erasers, stickers–whatever’s close.

Our WORDO boards in action–Cheerios and all.

I flipped a card from the pile, and I read it out loud. I would say, Am. Am. A-M. I am tired from swimming today. Am. Look closely to see if you have ‘am’ on you board.

We all checked to see if we had the word, then placed our Cheerio down if we did. When a winner got three in a row, he shouted, WORDO! and read each covered word to make sure he really won. We helped if anyone needed it–and often they needed some reminding.

And that’s it. Since our boards only had 9 squares, we played cover-all for the last game, and we really couldn’t shout because Cora had just gone to bed. But overall, I think Maddy and Owen enjoyed it. Easy, fun, and simple.

Here are some variations of this game for different levels of readers. Consider:

-writing 9-12 words on a board and having students write their own words in each box, creating their own boards;

-doing above and then having students switch boards;

-giving students small word cards, having them cut the cards out then glue them onto the boards;

-having students jump up and read the words before they place their Cheerio down;

-having students write their winning words at the end of the game, after they shout, ‘WORDO!’

This game is from Pat Cunningham’s Phonics They Use: Words for Reading and Writing (2000). It’s a seriously incredible resource for teachers, and it’s been reprinted several times since 2000, but as slim as it is, it is packed full of fantastic–and easy–games and activities to use with emerging readers. I haven’t had a need to check out the later editions, but I’m willing to bet they rock.

One of my favorite sites, ABC and 123, featured Sight Word games one day last week. More great ideas!