Reading Skills

Games

Beginning & Ending

Sounds
15 Fun & Easy Reproducible Games
That Build Fundamental Reading Skills

by Liane B. Onish

New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney

Mexico City New Delhi Hong Kong Buenos Aires
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Hi, Mom!

Scholastic Inc. grants teachers permission to photocopy the reproducible pages in this book for classroom use only.
No other part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without
written permission of the publisher. For information regarding permission, write to
Scholastic Inc., 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.
Cover design by Norma Ortiz
Interior design by Gerard Fuchs
Cover illustration by Anne Kennedy
Interior illustration by Rusty Fletcher and Maxie Chambliss
ISBN: 0-439-46598-2
Copyright 2004 by Liane B. Onish.
All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Inc.
Printed in the U.S.A.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

40

11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Contents
About This Book

.............................4

Bingo Tic-Tac-Toe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Go F-i-s-h . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Sort It Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
The Bees Knees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Train Tracks

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

My Baby . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
First and Last Lineup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Clue-ful . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
-ing Charades . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Concentrate-d . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Word Jumbles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Vowel Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
10 Months . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Picture This . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Threes Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Blank Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

About This Book

Games make learning fun! This book features 15 exciting, easy-to-make and easy-toplay card games that will help children develop phonics skills, vocabulary, and
reading fluency. As children learn to recognize beginning and ending sounds, they
will read with greater speed and accuracy.
Most of the games can also be played with other beginning or ending sounds not
featured on the cards. Use index cards to make additional sets of game cards to
reinforce different initial and final sounds and inflectional endings from your
curriculum. Suggestions for more challenging play and variations are included, for a
total of 34 different games.

How to Use This Book

Prepare the cards for each game in advance. Introduce the games one at a time,
modeling how to play with pairs, small groups, or the whole class. Some of the games
may be fun for children to play at home. Make copies of those games for
students to take home. Games are a great way to encourage family involvement.

How to Make the Cards

Photocopy the pages onto heavy paper so that the text or pictures do not show
through the other side. Laminate if possible. Then cut apart the cards.

How to Store the Cards

Keep the cards for each game in a large, resealable plastic bag. Label the bag with
the name of the game, the skill or skills it reinforces, and the number of players. For
older children or for your own reference, photocopy the directions and keep them
inside the bag.

Who Goes First?

Make a set of alphabet cards with 26 index cards. Have each player pick a card.
The player whose card is closest to A (or Z) goes first. The player with the next
closest letter goes second, and so on. You can also use childrens first, last, or
middle initials to determine order of play.

4
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Bingo Tic-Tac-Toe
Skill: Blending consonants and vowels to make words

Materials:

Players: Small groups or whole class

Object: To get three words in a row (down, across, or diagonally)

Materials:
Bingo Tic-Tac-Toe game
boards (pages 67)
14 letter cards:
b, c, d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r,
s, t, w
Pencils

Blingo
Add these digraph and
blend cards: ch-, sh-, th-,
bl-, cl-, f l-, gl-, pl-, sl-. Use
with both games.

How to Play
1. Use index cards or the blank card page (page 48) to make the
letter cards. Mix up the cards and place them facedown in a pile.
2. Photocopy and distribute the Bingo Tic-Tac-Toe I game board to
each child.
3. Play as you would play Bingo. Turn over the top card and read
the letter. Children write that letter on a blank on their game
board. Continue reading the top card and setting it aside until
one player has completed three words in a row and calls
Bingo! (Use the pile again if needed. Players may add a second consonant to make a blend or cluster. Players may also use
the same letter twice on one blank.)
4. Repeat with the Bingo Tic-Tac-Toe II game board.

Slingo
BINGO TIC-TAC-TOE I
Add these -blend cards: sc-,
sk-, sm-, sn-, sp-, sw-, scr-,
str-, spr-, spl-. Use with game
board I.

Bingo Clusters
Add these ending cluster
cards: -ft, -ld, -mp, -nd, -nt,
-rd, -rk, -st, -ll. Use with
game board I.

_a_

p
_o_t

h
_e_m

w
_i_l l

_e_
b
d

_o_

_u_

c n
_a_

r_i_
5

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name ______________________________________________ Date _______________________

_a_

_o_

_e_

_i_

_e_

_o_

_u_

_a_

_i_

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 6

BINGO TIC-TAC-TOE I

Name ______________________________________________ Date _______________________

BINGO TIC-TAC-TOE II

page 7

_oa_ _ee_ _oa_

_oi_ _oo_ _or_
_ou_ _ar_ _ir_

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Sorting
Go F-i-s-h
Hats Races
Skill: Using letters to make words
Players: Two to four

Materials:
Materials:
2 sets of 14 letter cards: b, c,
d, f, g, h, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w
5 vowel cards: a, e, i, o, u
(page 9)
9 optional cards: ai, ee, ea, oa,
oo, ar, ir, or, ur (pages 910)

Object: To get rid of ones cards by spelling one or more

words of four letters each

How to Play
1. Use index cards or the blank card page (page 48) to make
and cut apart two sets of 14 letter cards. Photocopy and
cut apart the five vowel cards.
2. Mix up all the cards and deal six to each player. Spread

Plus Blanks
Use several blank cards on
which players can write a letter
needed to complete a word.

Go Fish for Fish

For younger children, use letter
cards to spell out 1012
words. Make three or four sets
of cards for just those words.

Go for Final e Fish

Add four cards to spell longvowel words.

out the remaining cards facedown in a pile in the center of

the table. This is the fish pond.
3. Players look at their cards and arrange them to spell words.
Players remove sets of four cards that spell a word and
place them facedown in front of them.
4. Play as you would play Go Fish. The first player asks the
player to his or her left for a specific card that would make
a word with the cards currently in his or her hand, or one
that might make a word later in the game. If the asked
player has the card, he or she gives it to the first player,
who then asks any other player for another card. The first
players turn continues until the asked player does not have
the card and says Go fish. The player then takes a card
from the fish pond.
5. The player who said Go fish then asks the player to his
or her left for a card.
6. Continue playing until one player has used all his or her
cards to make words. That player shows the others all the
words he or she spelled.

8
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

ee

page 9

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 10

ea oo ir
ur

ai oa ar or

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Sort It Out
Skill: Sorting hard and soft c and g words
Players: Individuals, pairs, or teams
Object: To sort all cards into the correct boxes

Materials:
4 boxes to hold cards
4 picture cards: candy, city,
girl, giraffe (page 12)
20 word cards:
Hard c: candy, carry, cap,
can, cape
Soft c: city, cell, cellar,
cent, cement
Hard g: girl, gate, geese,
get, gift
Soft g: giraffe, gentle, George,
giant, ginger (pages 1214)

Materials:

How to Play
Attach a picture card to the outside of each box.

Individuals:
1. Mix up all the word cards. Place the boxes within reach.
2. Set the timer for one minute (or more, depending on age).
3. The player sorts the word cards by initial sound.
4. At the end of one minute, the player counts the number of
cards in each box.

Pairs:

Timer

1. Use two sets of cards. Mix up each set of cards and give one
set to each player. Place the four boxes between the players.
2. Players sort the word cards by initial sound.

More Sorts
Make additional word cards:
Hard c: card, cash, coast,
coil, come
Soft c: center, cereal, circus,
celery, circle
Hard g: goat, goal, guitar,
good, gone
Soft g: gem, gym, germ,
general, genius

3. The first player to accurately sort all his or her cards wins.

Teams:
1. Place the four boxes on a table at the front of the room.
2. Use a set of cards for each team. Mix up each set of cards
and place them facedown in a pile in front of each team.
Teams line up at the back of the room.
3. The first runner on each team takes the top card, runs to the
front of the room, and places the word card in the correct
box. Then the player runs to the back of the line and the next
player goes.
4. The first team to accurately sort all their word cards wins.

11
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

city

girl

giraffe

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 12

candy

page 13

carry

cap

can

cape

cell

cellar

cent

cement

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

geese

get

gift

gentle

George

giant

ginger

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 14

gate

The Bees Knees

Great for
outdoors or
open spaces

Skill: Identifying words ending in /s/ or /z/

Materials:
2 picture cards: bees,
octopus (page 16)
7 /z/ word cards: cheese,
maze, please, raise, was, cars,
shoes (pages 1617)
7 /s/ word cards: pass, plus,
yes, miss, kiss, gas, circus
(page 17)
Chalk (for outdoor play) or
masking tape (for indoors)

Large Group
Bees Knees
Add these words for large
groups:
/s/: less, toss, us, boss, this,
bus, mess, guess
/z/: cookies, pennies, days,
breeze, quiz, sneeze, noise, rose

Players: Two groups of eight

Object: For players to sort themselves into two groups by
ending sounds

How to Play
1. Photocopy and cut apart the picture and word cards.
Review picture names, emphasizing ending sounds.
2. Draw a large S and a large Z with chalk on opposite sides
of the playground. Indoors, use masking tape to make the
letters on the floor or wall.
3. Mix up the cards and distribute them randomly, one
per player.
4. When you say Go, the player with the bees picture card
finds the others who have word cards that end in /z/. The
player with the octopus picture card finds the players with
word cards that end in /s/. The picture card players round
up all the other players and take them to the space marked
S or Z. Word card players can help by finding a partner
with the same ending sound.
5. The game ends when all players are in the correct groups.

Bees Knees Time

Time how long it takes the
class to correctly sort themselves into two groups. Record
the date and time. Play three
or four times over a month and
compare times.

15
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

maze

please

raise

was

cars

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 16

cheese

page 17

shoes

pass

plus

yes

miss

kiss

gas

circus

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Train Tracks
Skill: Identifying words that begin with the same blend
Players: Two to four players

Materials:
8 picture cards: train, bread,
crown, dragon, frame, grapes,
prince and princess, three
(page 19)
16 word cards:
br: bright, bring
cr: crab, crayon
dr: dress, dream
fr: free, freckles
gr: great, grade
pr: prize, pretzel
tr: trade, traffic
thr: throw, thread
(pages 2021)
24 word cards:
br: bridge, broom, brag
cr: crunch, crust, cross
dr: drive, drink, drop
fr: friend, frozen, fruit
gr: group, grip, gravity
pr: program, practice, project
tr: tribe, trunk, tree
thr: through, throat, throne

Object: To get rid of ones cards by adding them to the

r-blend
trains
Materials:
Materials:

How to Play
1. Photocopy and cut apart picture and word cards. Use index
cards or the blank card page (page 48) to make 24 more
word cards (see list in Materials box). Review picture names.
2. Mix up the picture cards and place them facedown in a pile.
3. Mix up the word cards and deal to players. (Its okay if one
player has one more card than the others.)
4. Turn over the top picture card. Players take turns adding one
card at a time that begins with the same blend. Players
place their word cards next to the picture card, forming a
card train. After all players have added their cards, turn
over the next picture card and repeat.
5. The first player to get rid of all his or her cards wins.

Scooters
Play with -blends. Use magazine pictures of a
scooter, statue, strawberries, sweater, and spoon.
Use index cards to make word cards:
sc: scale, scalp, scar, scold, scarf, scare, scuba,
scout, scooter, score
st: stable, stage, stair, stapler, start, star, step,
stick, stitch, stop
str: straight, strainer, strange, straw, stream,
street, stretch, strike, stripe, strong
sw: swam, swan, sway, sweep, sweet, swift, switch,
swing, swallow
sp: space, spark, speak, speech, spend, spike,
spill, sponge, sport, spot

18
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 19

3
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

bring

crab

crayon

dress

dream

free

freckles

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 20

bright

page 21

great

grade

prize

pretzel

trade

traffic

throw

thread

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

My Baby
Skill: Discriminating between long e and long i, alphabetizing
Players: One or more

Materials:
8 long-e word cards: baby,
beauty, daddy, family, happy,
mommy, sleepy, sticky
(page 23)
8 long-i word cards: by, cry,
dry, fly, my, pry, try, sky
(page 24)
Timer
Time card (below)

My Bigger Baby
Add some or all of these word
cards to the game:
long : many, story, dirty,
pretty, easy, sixty
long : spy, why, guy, fry, shy

Object: To sort words into two groups by ending sound, then

alphabetize each group

How to Play
1. Photocopy and cut apart the word cards. Make a set of
each for each player. Make a My Baby Time Card (below)
for each player. Read the cards aloud to the class, focusing
on ending sounds.
2. Mix up the word cards and place them facedown in a pile.
3. Start the timer. Players turn over the cards and sort them
into two groups by ending sound.
4. When finished, players arrange each group in
alphabetical order.
5. Stop the clock when all players have alphabetized both
groups of cards.
6. Record the time on the time card. Play several times and
compare scores.

Name: ______________________________

22

MY BABY TIME CARD

Date: ____________ Time: __________

Date: ____________ Time: __________

Date: ____________ Time: __________

Date: ____________ Time: __________

Date: ____________ Time: __________

Date: ____________ Time: __________

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 23

baby

beauty

daddy

family

happy

mommy

sleepy

sticky

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

cry

dry

fly

my

pry

try

sky

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 24

by

First and Last Lineup

Skill: Identifying beginning sounds, alphabetizing
Players: Whole class

Materials:
Materials:
Index cards (1 per child)
Pencils or markers

Object: To line up using the first or last sounds of

childrens names

How to Play
1. Distribute index cards. Children write their first names on
the cards.

Z to A
Start the line with Z and end
with A.

2. Guide children to line up alphabetically by the first sound in

their first name. Say, Whose name begins with the /a/
sound? and so on. Or have small groups of children
arrange themselves in alphabetical order and then help
the groups merge. Challenge older children to
organize themselves.
3. Repeat the game using the last sound of childrens first
names, first sound of their last names, or last sound of their
last names.

25
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Clue-ful
Skill: Identifying beginning and ending sounds

Materials:

Players: Teams of three or four players

Object: To guess all words correctly

Materials:
24 clue cards
(pages 2729)

How to Play

Chalkboard and chalk or

chart paper and marker

1. Photocopy and cut apart the clue cards. Put each set of clue
cards in a separate pile.

Pencils and paper

2. Divide the class into teams of three or four. Give each team
a pencil and index cards or small pieces of paper.

Full of Clues
Divide the class into small
groups and give each
group five or six index
cards. Assign a beginning
or ending letter or sound to
each group. Do not let any
group hear what letter
another group is using. Have
each group write clues on
index cards for their letter.
When all groups have their
clues, have each one read
them to the other groups.
Let the class guess what
letter or sound all the clues
have in common.

3. Select a group of clues (for instance, begins with z). Say,

The answers to the clues in this category begin with the
sound /z/. Write the letter on the chalkboard or chart
paper.
4. Read the first clue. Teams confer quietly and record their
answers on paper. When all teams have their answers, ask
each team to read theirs aloud. Teams score five points for
each correct answer. You might give an additional point for
correct spelling.
5. Repeat with another set of clues.
6. Play until one or all teams have 20 points.

26
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 27

begins with z:
an animal with stripes

begins with z:
nothing

begins with z:
closes up a jacket

begins with z:
a place where
animals are kept

ends with b:
turn this to open
a door

ends with b:
a place for a baby

ends with b:
the work you do

ends with b:
a scout or baby bear

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

begins with v:
place for flowers

begins with v:
what you speak with

begins with v:
an ice cream flavor

ends with ch:

where the sand is

ends with ch:

sofa

ends with ch:

12 of these make
a foot

ends with ch:

noontime meal

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 28

begins with v:
card with a heart

page 29

begins with th:

November holiday

begins with th:

where to see a movie

begins with th:

ten minus seven

begins with th:

this may come with
lightning

ends with th:

take this to get clean

ends with th:

12 of these make
a year

ends with th:

you learn addition
and subtraction
in this class

ends with th:

a direction
opposite south

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

-ing Charades
Skill: Identifying the inflectional ending
Players: Groups of eight
Object: To collect the most cards

Materials:
8 word cards: clean, grow,
hop, paint, skate, sleep,
swim, tickle (page 31)

How to Play
1. Photocopy and cut apart the word cards. Make a set of
cards for each group. Mix up the cards and place them
facedown in a pile in the middle of each group.
2. The first player in each group takes the top card and reads
it silently, without showing it to the others.

More
Use the blank card page
(page 48) to make additional
word cards for the game:
climb, wake, sink, run, dive,
cut, freeze, stretch.

3. The player acts out the word as the group guesses the
action. The correct answer should be phrased like this:
[Childs name] is _______ing.
4. If the answer is correct, the team helps the player spell the
-ing form of the word aloud. The player writes the word on
the line and keeps the card. (If cards are laminated, use a
dry-erase marker.) The teammate who correctly guessed the
action picks the next card and acts out that word for his or
her group. The team with the most cards at the end wins.

30
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 31

clean

grow

______________________________________

______________________________________

hop

paint

______________________________________

______________________________________

skate

sleep

______________________________________

______________________________________

swim

tickle

______________________________________

______________________________________

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Concentrate-d
Skill: Building words with suffixes
Players: Two or more

Materials:
Materials:
8 endings cards: -ed, -d,
-ing, -ly, -s, -ness, -er, -est
(page 33)
16 word cards: bike, chain,
dress, hint, kind, light, note,
pack, ride, rough, sharp,
smooth, sweet, tall, tame,
wild card (pages 3435)

Add

and

Use index cards or the blank

card page (page 48) to add
these words for the ending
: lunch, bus, toss, rash,
switch, box, beach, wish. For
the ending
, make cards
for: f l, cr, dr, tr, fr, sk, d, p.

Wild Cards
Concentrate-d

Object: To collect the most word-plus-ending pairs

How to Play
1. Make two copies of the ending cards. Photocopy and cut
apart both the ending and word cards.
2. Mix up the cards. Place them facedown in a 5 by 6
(plus 2) array.
3. Play as you would play Concentration. The first player turns
over two cards. If the cards show a word and an ending
that makes a new word, the player keeps the pair and turns
over two more cards. The word plus ending should be correct as is, without spelling changes. For example, bike + -d
is a pair, but bike + -ed is not. The turn ends when the two
cards do not make a word without spelling changes. Then
the next player takes a turn.
4. The wild card is blank. When a player turns over a wild
card he or she may count it as any word or ending to make
a pair. When the game is over, the player with the wild
card can take the one remaining card. The player with the
most pairs wins.

Use four or more wild cards.

Players can write any word or
ending on the blank card to
make a word.

32
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 33

-ed

-d

-ing

-ly

-s

-ness

-er

-est

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

chain

dress

hint

kind

light

note

pack

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 34

bike

page 35

ride

rough

sharp

smooth

sweet

tall

tame

wild
card

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Word Jumbles
Skill: Manipulating letters to spell words
Players: Two to four

Materials:
Word Jumbles Game Board
(page 37)
Word Jumbles Scorecard
(page 38)
16 vowel cards: a, e, i, o, u, e, e,
ee, ai, ea, oa, oo, ar, ir, or, ur
(pages 910)
14 single letters: b, c, d, f, g, h,
l, m, n, p, r, s, t, w
6 ending cards: -ed, -d, -ing,
-ly, -s, -ness, -er, -est
(page 33)
9 digraphs and blends: ch, sh,
th, bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl
10 s-blends: sc, sk, sm, sn, sp,
sw, scr, spl, spr, str
9 ending clusters: ft, ld, ll, mp,
nd, nt, rd, rk, st

Object: To use adjacent letters on the game board to spell the

most
words
Materials:
Materials:

How to Play
1. Use the blank card page (page 48) to make the consonant
cards listed in the Materials box. For each game, use
vowel, single consonants, and ending cards (28 cards).
Add one set of digraphs/blends, s-blends, or clusters. Make
a set of cards for every two groups of players.
2. Photocopy a Word Jumbles Game Board (page 37) for
each child. Give each player a Word Jumbles Scorecard
(page 38). Mix up the cards.
3. Players place one card in each box on the game board.
Set the timer for three minutes.
4. Play as you would play Boggle. When you say Go,

Timer

players list the words they can form using the letters going
across, up, down, or diagonally.

Pencils

5. At the end of three minutes, players add up their scores.

Players score one point per letter in each word: two points
for each two-letter word, three points for three-letter words,
Word Jumbles Scorecard
and so on.
Sample
Sample
game:

scorecard:

Word Jumbles Game Board

oo

sp

or

-ing

WORDS

POINTS

mat
spat
am
taming
sea
seat
too
at

3
4
2
6
3
4
3
2
SCORE

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Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

27

page 37

Word Jumbles Game Board

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name ______________________________________________ Date _______________________

Word Jumbles Scorecard

WORDS

POINTS

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________

__________________________

________
SCORE ________

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Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Vowel Power

Great for
outdoors or
open spaces

Skill: Identifying initial vowel sounds

Players: One or two groups of 15
Object: To find all the pictures that begin with the same vowel

Materials:
15 picture cards:
a: ants, airplane, apple
e: elf, earring, easel
i: ice, igloo, instruments
o: oven, orange juice, October
u: unicycle, underwear, umpire
(pages 4041)
5 Vowel Power cards:
a, e, i, o, u

How to Play
1. Use index cards or the blank card page (page 48) to make
one set of Vowel Power cards.
2. Photocopy and cut apart the 15 picture cards (one set per
group). Review picture names, focusing on initial sounds.
3. Place the Vowel Power cards at one end of the room.
Distribute picture cards facedown.

4. When you say Go, players turn over their picture cards and
find classmates who have pictures beginning with the same
Vowel Stories
letter. When the three players have found each other, they
Challenge children to make up
can claim their Vowel Power card (you might designate one
a story using their three words.
child to give out the vowel cards).
5. The first group to claim their Vowel Power card wins.

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Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 41

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

10 Months
Skill: Manipulating letters to create new words

Materials:

Materials:or pairs
Players: Individuals

Materials:

Object: To spell the most words using the letters of the months

Materials:
10 envelopes
66 letter cards:
J A N U A R
F E B R U A
M A R C H
A P R I L
M A Y
A U G U S T
S E P T E M
O C T O B E
N O V E M B
D E C E M B

Y
R Y

B E R
R
E R
E R

10 Months Scorecard
(page 43)
Pencils and paper
Dictionary

Materials:

How to Play

Materials:

1. Use index cards or the blank card page (page 48) to make
the 66 letter cards. Put the letter cards for each month
(except June and July) in an envelope. Write the name of
the month on the outside of the envelope.
2. Distribute envelopes and 10 Months Scorecards to players.
3. Players check the contents of the envelope by first using the
letter cards to spell the name of the month.
4. Players use the same letters to spell other words and record
them on paper. Older children can use the
dictionary to check spelling.
5. Score one point per letter (record on scorecard). Play again
and challenge children to beat their previous score.

One Envelope,
One Year
Put these 26 letters in an
envelope: A, A, B, C, D, E, E, E,
F, G, H, J, L, M, N, O, O, P, R, R,
S, T, U, U, V, Y. Challenge
players to use them to spell
the 12 months of the year.

42
Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Name ______________________________________________ Date _______________________

10 Months Scorecard
FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

page 43

JANUARY

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Picture This
Skill: Brainstorming lists of words by beginning and ending sounds
Players: Groups of three to five
Object: To illustrate the most words

Materials:
16 picture cards:
banana, dinosaur, fence,
hammer, monkey, penguin,
rainbow, robot, sun, top, violin,
worm, hand, leaf, pig, nickel
(pages 4546)
Pencils and paper
Large sheets of drawing
paper for each group
Drawing materials

How to Play
1. Photocopy and cut apart the picture cards. Review
picture names.
2. Give each group a picture card and pencils and paper.
3. Groups make two lists: words that begin with the same
sound as the first sound in the picture and words that end
in that sound.
4. Then groups use their word list to compose a drawing
incorporating as many of the words as possible.
5. Groups write labels, sentences, or a paragraph about the
picture, underlining the words that begin and end with the
same letter as the picture word.
6. The group that uses the most words in their drawing wins.

Dinosaur
Picture: ___________________________
D
Begins with the ___sound:

D
Ends with the ___sound:

Dad
__________________

red
__________________

dog
__________________

mad
__________________

desk
__________________

sad
__________________

dime
__________________

bud
__________________

door
__________________

mud
__________________

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Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

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Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

Threes Company
Skill: Spelling words with three or more letters
Players: Groups of four to six players
Object: To get rid of all ones letter cards by spelling words

Materials:
62 index cards:

How to Play

2 sets of letters a to z
5 vowels: a, e, i, o, u
5 es: e, e, e, e, e

Fours & Fives

Replace some consonants with
blends and digraphs: ch, sh, th,
bl, cl, f l, gl, pl, sl, sc, sk, sm,
sn, sp, sw, scr, spl, spr, str.

1. Use index cards to make a deck of 62 letter cards. Make

one deck for each group of players.
2. Mix up the cards well. For four players, deal each player
seven cards. For five or six players, deal six cards. Place the
rest of the cards facedown in a pile in the center of the table.
This is the stock pile. Turn over the top card and place it next
to the pile. This is the discard pile.
3. Players organize the cards in their hands to spell words of
three or more letters.
4. Play as you would play Rummy. The first player takes the top
card from the stock pile, or the faceup card from the discard
pile. Then the player places the cards that form one or more
three-letter words on the table (as many words as possible).
To end the turn, the player discards an unwanted card by
placing it faceup on the discard pile.
5. The next player takes a card from either the stock pile or the
discard pile. If the player has a three-letter word, he or she
puts it down on the table. The player may also get rid of a
card or cards by adding a letter to a word already on the
table. Each turn ends with the player discarding a card.
6. The first player to get rid of all his or her cards wins.

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Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources

page 48

Use this page to make letter and word cards for the games and variations.

Reading Skills Card Games: Beginning & Ending Sounds Liane B. Onish, Scholastic Teaching Resources