Racetrack 2-4 players
Procedure
1. Shuffle the word cards and deal six to each player. Turn the rest facedown to become the deck 2. 2. Playing pieces are placed anywhere on the board and moved according to the number on the spinner. 3. When a player lands on a space, read the word and then look for words in your hand that have the same pattern. Pull all of the cards in your hand that have the same pattern and place them in a pile in front of you. If you land on a star, you my dispose of any oddball cards you have or you may choose the pattern. 4. The cards placed in the winning pile are replaced by drawing the same number from the deck before play passes to the next player. If you put two cards down, then you will draw two cards before the next person’s turn. 5. A player who has no match for the pattern must draw a card anyway. 6. The game is over when there are no more cards to play. The winner is the player with the most word cars in the winning pile.
Spelling Game 2-4 players
1. Each person rolls the dice. The person with the highest number will start. The second player is the person on the left of the first player. 2. The second player draws the top card from the stack of words. The player reads the word aloud to the first player. The first player must spell the word aloud. If the word is spelled correctly, the person rolls the dice and moves the number of squares on the dice. If you misspell the word you do not move. 3. The game is over when a player reaches the end of the path.
Train Station
2-4 players
Procedure
1. Each player selects a game piece. 2. The first person rolls the die and places the game piece on the appropriate space. That person must say the word and identify the vowel and say another word that contains the same vowel sound. If you are unable to identify the vowel or say a matching word you go back to the space you were on before and your turn is over. 3. The game is over when a player reaches the end of the path.
Classic Card Game
2-5 players
Procedure
1. Each player is dealt seven cards. 2. Roll the dice to see who goes first. The person with the highest number is the first player. 3. The first player places a card down, reads the word and identifies the vowel pattern that will be followed. 4. The next player places a card down that matches the identified vowel pattern. 5. The play continues around the circle until all of the players are out of the first identified vowel pattern. 6. Players pass if they do not have a word card to match the pattern. 7. Players forfeit a turn if they place a card down that does not match the identified pattern. 8. The player who last played the pattern card begins the new round. This player choose a different card from their hand, places it in the middle and declares what vowel pattern is to be followed. 9. The game is over when a player is out of cards.
Letter Spin
2-4 Players
1. Each player draws nine cards and turns them face up on their boards. 2. The first player spins and removes all of the picture or word cards that match the sound or pattern indicated by the spinner. The cards go into the player’s “point pile.” Replace the empty spots on the game board with new cards before the next player goes. 3. If you do not have any cards on your game board that matches the pattern that the spinner landed on, you miss your turn. 4. The game is over when a player has removed all of the cards from their board and there are no more replacement cards left. The player who has the most cards in their point pile wins.
Sheep in a Jeep
2 players
Procedure
1. Each player places a game marker at the start position. 2. One player spins and moves that number of spaces on the game board. 3. The player reads the word on the space. If the student is able to read the word correctly and writes a word that rhymes with their word then he or she adds a sheep to their jeep. If you are not able to read the word correctly or write a rhyming word, then you do not add a sheep to your jeep. 4. The game is over when a player reaches the end of the path.
Jeopardy
4-5 players
Procedure
1. One player is the game host. The other players roll the dice to determine who will be the first player. 2. The first player picks a category and an amount for the host to read. The host reads the clue and the player must respond by identifying the word and spelling it correctly. 3. The player receives the card if the answer is correct. This player chooses another clue (a player can only have two turns in a row). If the player misses, the player on their left may answer the clue. 4. The game is over when there are no more clues left on the board. The players add up their points and the one with the highest points wins.
Scattergories
3-5 players
Procedure
1. Each player has a Scattergories word study game card and an answer sheet. 2. The timer is set for 2 minutes. 3. All players quickly fill in the first column of their answer sheet using the patterns in the first column of the game card. Answers must fit the category and must use the given vowel pattern. 4. Scoring a round: Players take turns reading their answers aloud for each number. Players score their own answer sheets by circling an acceptable answer that does not match any other player’s answer. Continue reading answers until all 10 categories have been scored. Score one point for each circled answer. Record the score at the bottom of the column of the answer sheet. 5. Starting a new round: Set the timer again; continue playing using the same category list as in the previous round. Fill in the next column with new answers. 6. Winning the game: After three rounds, players total the three scores on their answer sheets. The player with the hightest score is the winner. 7. Rules for acceptable answers: The same answer cannot be given twice in one round. A player cannot answer push for both us and ush 8. Challenging answers: While answers are being read, other players may challenge their acceptability. When an answer is challenged, all players vote on whether it is acceptable. Players who accept the answer give a thumbs-up sign. Players who do not accept the answer give a thumbs-down sign. Majority rules. In the case of a tie, the challenged player’s vote does not count.
Building Words
2-4 players
Procedure
1. Five cards are dealt to each player. Players look in their hands for patterns. 2. Unwanted cards are discarded and new cards are drawn to keep a hand of five cards. 3. Each player has a chance to draw up to four cards from the deck one time to create a better hand. 4. The possible combinations are a pair (hat, rat); two pairs (hat, rat, bone tone); three of a kind (bone, phone, tone); four of a kind (phone, bone, tone, cone); three of a kind plus a pair (bone, phone, tone, rope, mope) or five of a kind (phone, bone, tone, cone, drone). 5. Determining winners: 5 of a kind 4 of a kind 3 of a kind plus a pair 3 of a kind 2 pairs 1 pair
Word Study UNO
3-4 players
Procedure
1. Each player is dealt five cards. The remaining cards are placed facedown and the top card is turned faceup. 2. Players alternate and discard a card that changes only one letter at a time, or by playing one of the special cards. 3. Skip, Draw 2, and Wild cards may be used successively to move form one pattern to another. A player who cannot discard must draw from the pile. 4. As players alternate turns, you are attempting to discard all of your cards. A player who has only one card remaining must say “UNO”. IF the player forgets, another player can tell the player with one card to draw another card. 5. The game ends when one player runs out of cards.
Homophone Win, Lose, or Draw
4+ players
Procedure
1. Divide the players into two equal teams. 2. One player form each team will be the artist for that round. The artist must draw a picture representing the given homophone. 3. A card is pulled form the deck and shown simultaneously to the artists for both teams. As the artists draw, their teammates call out possible answers. When the correct word is offered, the artist calls on someone to spell both words in the pair. 4. A point is awarded to the team that provides the correct word and spelling.
Homophone Rummy
2-6 players
Procedure
1. For 2 players: Deal out 10 cards to each player For 3 or 4 players: Deal out 7 cards to each player For 5-6 players: Deal out 6 cards to each player 2. Players check their hands for already existing pairs. Once a pair is discovered, the meaning for each word is given in order to receive points. In giving definitions, the players may use the actual word in a sentence to show the meaning. Each homophone pair receives 1 point and any additional homophone match receives an extra point. 3. The remainder of the deck is placed in a central location as the drawing pile in which the first card is turned up. 4. The person on the left of the dealer goes first. Each player draws from the deck or the discard pile. The player lays down any pairs as described in step 2. The player must then discard one card to end the turn. If a card is taken form the discard file, all cards appearing below the card wanted also have to be taken. Also the top card must be used in a homophone pair. 5. The game is over when one player has no cards left.
Terse Verse Rhyme
2-5 players
Procedure
1. As a group decide on an object (pail). 2. Then think of rhyming words that correspond with the object (whale) 3. Draw a picture of the terse verse without labeling the picture. 4. The group must figure out the terse verse.