Word games first grade

36 Fun Word Games for Kids To Help with Vocabulary & Literacy

If kids (and some adults) had it their way, they'd play games all day. Fortunately, fun word games — targeted toward growing literacy —  can help a lot when it comes to developing kids' reading and writing skills. 

As they play, kids can grow their vocabulary by pronouncing and learning to spell each new word. You'll notice their confidence increases and its positive effect on their schoolwork. What could be better?

To benefit from your child’s love for play, make educational games a regular part of your family time. Older and younger kids benefit from these games, too. You'll be impressed by the number of new words they learn.

Throughout this post, we'll cover how word games help your kids, offer several games to choose from, and outline how Prodigy supports your child with game-based learning.

Ready to get started?

Below, we've outlined how word games offer great value to kids.

Key benefits of word games for kids

Educational games are a boon for parents and kids. Not only do these games occupy young minds, they support literacy in a fun way. Word games make learning nouns and other parts of speech enjoyable.

Let's explore how word games benefit your kids:

• Boosts kids' ability to concentrate and focus on learning.
• Cultivates problem-solving skills. Kids learn to approach problems logically and come up with solutions to help them win the game.
• Increases vocabulary and memory. An improved memory enables kids to recall vocabulary and build upon what they've learned.
• Improves spelling and reading skills. They can practice spelling and advance their reading comprehension through daily game-playing.
• Playing games makes kids happy. It's the perfect time for them to socialize, especially if they're enjoying educational games with siblings or friends.
• Word games can offer categories to expand vocabulary. Examples of categories include colors, shapes, sounds, drawings, animals, family, and friends.

Word games provide a great way for families to bond while relishing games that promote literacy.

Online word games

Online word games serve a greater purpose than most parents realize. Start using these games at an earlier age to:

• Build reading skills. Word games can help lay the foundation to grow their comprehension skills further.
• Help your child's developing brain process information faster. Games challenge your child to keep up with fast-paced apps.
• Teach your child how to strategize and adapt to changes with complex games. These are transferable skills for problem-solving and future career opportunities.
• Develop confidence and promote teamwork.
• Learn compassion, empathy, and kindness. Well-being apps provide the perfect framework to enhance their emotional development.

Stay current in the digital world by playing new games. Learning how to use devices and computers at an early age prepares your child for school and their career.

Here's a list of several games geared toward different age groups. There's something here for everyone:

1. Prodigy English

Best for: 1st to 6th grade

Prodigy Education's newest adventure invites children to build reading and language skills in a fun, adaptive environment. Every question kids answer gives them more energy for building objects, earning coins and creating a world of their very own!

As your child plays and learns, you can follow along with their progress in your free parent account.

2. Wordsmith

Best for: Older kids, 6th grade and up

Wordsmith uses a tile board where 2 to 4 players come up with words within a time limit. You can get a score preview before you make a move. Whoever earns the most points, wins the game.

Use your Android or iPhone to play this game.

3. Spectacular Spelling Play

Best for: Ages 3 to 6

An adorable cartoon character, Princess Presto, demonstrates how to pronounce letters such as "z" and "oo" to spell the word "zoo". She offers basic instruction and delivers positive encouragement to children as they develop phonemic awareness.

4. Word Ladder

Best for: 1st to 3rd grade

Word Ladder incorporates music to make this basic and entertaining game fun. It teaches kids how to write simple words based on an accompanying image. It's a terrific game to build your child's vocabulary skills.  

5. Aim 2 Spell

Best for: Kindergarten to 8th grade

Vocabulary Spelling City created this amazing app to teach kids how to spell and boost their vocabulary. Students choose one letter at a time from a list to spell words. Fun!  

6. Word Scramble

Best for: Older kids, 6th grade and up

Word Scramble invites kids to take a selection of vowels and constants to spell a word. For example, rearrange the letters "BCRMALES" to spell "SCRAMBLE". This game is perfect for older kids who enjoy an amusing challenge.

7. Word Search

Best for: 3rd grade and up

Challenge your kids' knowledge by playing this educational puzzle game. Choose puzzles from different categories, like television shows, animals, food & drink, and movies for children.

You can play this game on your computer, tablet, or phone. If you prefer to go offline, you can print the games to enjoy with your family.

8. ABCya Letter Blocks

Best for: Pre-K to 6th grade

ABCya Letter Blocks boasts fun spelling games for kids across a broad age range. You'll find a bunch of cool games like Alphabats and Koala Paddle Boards. Kids can make their own puzzles, too.

9. Wordshake

Best for: 1st to 6th grade

The British Council created this multi-purpose website to help kids grow their reading, vocabulary, spelling, and listening skills. Wordshake has a 16-letter grid where kids make up words in three minutes or less.

10. Merriam-Webster Games

Best for: Children with substantial vocabulary, 6th grade and up

Parents and kids can have a lot of fun filling out crossword puzzles and quizzes. Energize family time with an entertaining yet competitive game to boost vocabulary.

11. PBS Word World

Best for: Ages 3-5

Word World excels at preparing children for school. They learn how to recognize and use letters to create words, vocabulary development, and emotional wellbeing. All episodes focus on a fun journey interrupted by an issue that can be solved with one word.

Looking for more games? We've got you covered! These 20 online browser games will keep your child engaged and motivated to learn.

Traditional word games

Almost everyone has played a classic word game using a pen and paper. Some of the most beloved word games benefit kids' English fluency, deepen vocabulary and enhance writing skills. Best of all, these word games are portable!

1. I Spy

Best for: Preschool to 3rd grade

The I Spy game encourages kids to learn how to take turns to speak without interruptions. It's a great social skill-builder for kids of all ages.

I Spy works perfectly as a multiplayer game. One person chooses an object and prompts the others to guess the correct answer. For example, they start with, "I spy with my little eye... something thin and yellow". When someone guesses the answer is a pencil, that person wins the game.

2. Crossword puzzles

Best for: 1st to 6th grade

Crossword puzzles make learning new words more fun. They're a great way to build vocabulary and boost spelling skills. Printable crossword puzzles come in various themes, including antonyms, dental health, state capitals, chemistry, and other neat topics.

3. Spaceman

Best for: 1st to 6th grade

An alternative and less problematic alternative to Hangman, Spaceman follows the same rules and uses easy to draw shapes.

In this version of the pen-and-paper game, you try to find the missing letters that make up a word. When you have enough letters, guess the correct word before the spaceship is complete.

4. Word search puzzles

Best for: Preschool to 8th grade

Word searches help kids learn to spell, enhance productivity, develop social skills and build problem-solving abilities.

Click here to find word search puzzles based on your child's grade level. These printable worksheets will entertain your child while improving their concentration and spelling skills.

5. Shopping list

Best for: Ages 3-7

The Shopping List board game enables children to develop memory skills and promote observational or social abilities. Created for two or more players, kids shop against other players. Whoever grabs everything on their list first wins the game.

6. Tutti Frutti

Best for: Ages 4 and up

Parents, get your kids interested in playing with fruit! This board encourages kids to find and put together two identical fruit halves. The first person to have the most whole fruits wins!

Tutti Frutti’s strengths include focus, concentration and speed. Your child will love this lively game.

7. Letter Ladders

Best for: Grades 1 to 6

Letter Ladders need two players or more. If you don't have a whiteboard at home, a pen and paper work great.

Start by writing words like "hope" at the top. Ask your kids to change one letter at a time to add new words in a column. So, if you wrote "hope", the next word could be "rope". Begin shifting letters to come up with new words like "ripe" or "knife" to add to your list of words.

Letter ladders enhance focus, literacy, observation spelling and vocabulary skills.

8. Broken Telephone

Best for: 1st to 6th grade

Broken Telephone works best when you have three or more players. It's a fun game for the whole family that encourages kids to listen carefully, be patient and take turns.  

Select one person to come up with a word or short phrase like "what's for dinner" or "silence is golden". Start by whispering the phrase in the next person's ear. If they misunderstood the phrase, it cannot be repeated to them. Keep whispering the same phrase until you arrive at the last person who repeats the phrase as they heard it.

Be prepared for a lot of laughs when words come out wrong!

9. Think Pink

Best for: Ages 4 and up

Show your kids how to come up with rhyming pairs like "blue dew" or "owl towel". The words don't need to have similar spelling. They just need to sound alike.

Rhyming promotes language development, listening, and writing skills. Oh, and it's a lot of fun!

10. Words in Words

Best for: 1st grade and up

Distribute a pencil and paper to each player. Select one person to come up with a word. Each player must write that word at the top of their paper. The object of the game focuses on taking letters from the keyword and coming up with new words. The person with the most words wins the game.

Vocabulary games

Vocabulary games make a world of difference in your child's life. Begin working with them at an early age to enhance their learning throughout their school years.

Here's a list of benefits associated with vocabulary games:

• Increased memory
• Improved problem-solving skills
• A great confidence boost
• Learn spelling rules, grammar, and, of course, vocabulary
• It's fun and motivates kids want to continue learning

We've found ten vocabulary games you can enjoy at home.

1. Word association

Best for: Ages 6+

Basic word association games start with one word. Ask your child to come up with a word that comes to mind. If possible, it should connect to the keyword. You can find keywords from categories like food, hobbies, sports, colors, and countries.

There are many word association games to choose from:

• Synonyms
• Antonyms
• Relatable words
• Rhymes

Each of these games promotes literacy and an increased vocabulary.

2. Pyramid

Best for: 1st to 8th grade

Pyramid requires several players to make it a fun game for your family. It promotes team-building, cooperation and increases your child's vocabulary.

To play this game, divide the members of your household into teams. One person on each team draws a pyramid and adds six categories in three rows — one at the top, two in the middle and three on the bottom — to create a triangle shape.

Source: GetWorksheets.com

Whoever holds the pyramid must give clues to their teammates so they can guess the correct category. You'll receive a point for each correct guess.

For example, if the category is things that fly, the clue giver could choose to give hints such as:

• Bat
• Kite
• Bird
• Airplane
• Helicopter
• Rocket ship

The goal is to have your team correctly guess as many categories in the pyramid as possible.

Remember to impose a time limit based on your child's age.

3. Synonym

Best for: 1st to 6th grade and ESL students

Synonyms help kids to achieve a greater understanding of words with similar meanings.

Use a paper and pen to write a short list of five to ten words. Instruct your child to write a word with a similar definition beside the keyword.

4. Question Cube

Best for: 1st to 4th grades, multiple players of 3 or more

Use a beach ball or a soft cube toy to tape words to the sides of the object. These words can be a synonym, adjective, or a noun. On one side of the cube or ball, paste "use this word in a sentence".

Toss the ball to your child and whichever side comes up, he/she should answer the question. If your child answers correctly, they can throw the ball or cube to someone else in the group. Should your child answer incorrectly, they're removed from the game and asked to observe. The last person standing wins!

5. Scrabblez

Best for: 4th to 12th grade

You can use Scrabble to accompany this version of the game. Use letter tiles to come up with several words and write their scores on a score sheet. Make this a true vocabulary game by asking your child to use each word in a sentence.

6. My Word Meaning

Best for: 1st to 6th grade

This vocabulary-building exercise works well to help children understand words as they're used in sentences.

Before you read a book to your child, write three new words for them. Ask them to write down their interpretation of the word's meaning.

When you're done reading, ask your child if he/she has a better understanding of that word now that they've heard it used in a sentence.

My Word Meaning builds comprehension and makes vocabulary studies more clear.

7. Go Fish

Best for: 1st to 12th grade

Go Fish remains a popular card game played by generations. But there's a way to turn this game into one that challenges kids with new words.

Write five to 15 words that your child is not familiar with. Give each member of your family an even number of cards. As each person draws a card, one player asks a question such as "do you have a word that means "happy"? If not, they're told, "Go Fish".

The first person to come up with the most correct words wins.

8. Picabulary

Best for: 3rd to 12th grade

Picabulary offers an effective way to build vocabulary. Invite your kids and their friends to join the fun.

Divide your group into 2 or 3 small teams. Choose one person in each team to make drawings on a tablet, whiteboard, or a large piece of paper.

Start the game with one word. The artist attempts to draw the word without using letters or numbers. The first team to shout the correct word wins the game.

9. Vocabulary checkers

Best for: 1st to 12th grade

Everyone loves playing checkers! Incorporating vocabulary adds a creative spin to this classic game.

Print a checkerboard and use playing pieces such as coins, bingo tokens or small toy statues. Each person should fill out a vocabulary word on their checkerboards. If a member of your family doesn't use the word correctly in a sentence, they cannot make their move.

10. Memory with Vocabulary

Best for: Kindergarten to 8th grade

Here's a rewarding game that connects meaning between words and pictures. Your kids can draw visual representations of a few new words using paper and colored pencils. When two or more kids partner together, they attempt to define those words and use them in a sentence.

Family word board games

Make family game night more exciting when you try a variety of educational board games. Your kids will be too busy having fun to notice they're getting a valuable vocabulary lesson.

Below, you'll find the top five picks for family word board games:

1. Scrabble

Best for: Ages 8 and up

Scrabble works best when you have two to four players. The game requires the use of letter tiles and a grid board comprising 15x15 squares. Each player uses tiles to create words. To win the game, someone must have all of their tiles on the board.

2. Boggle

Best for: Ages 12 and up

Boggle has 16 lettered dice that you shake and allow to settle into each compartment. Using a three-minute timer, each player records the number of words they find on paper. The catch is they can't use the same cube twice.

Hasbro makes another version of this game for preschoolers called Boggle Junior. Kids develop spelling, sorting, and concentration skills.

3. Pictionary

Best for: Ages 8 and up

You don't need artistic abilities to enjoy this hilarious game. Select one person to make a drawing and everyone else has to figure out if the drawing is a person or a curious object.

Pictionary adds fun to developing drawing skills and vocabulary.

4. Scattergories

Best for: Ages 13 and up

Players must think fast as they work against a sand timer. Each person writes answers from various categories that begin with a specific letter determined by rolling the dice. Kids are great at coming up with hilarious answers. The more answers each player has, the more points they receive.

5. Bananagrams

Best for: Ages 7 and up

This sweet little game comes with a banana-shaped pouch with letter tiles. Players work quickly to form many words to build a word grid. The first person who uses all of their tiles achieves "Top Banana" status.

You can find these board games at big box stores or smaller retailers that cater to children's books and toys.

Game-based learning for literacy and vocabulary

Kids love playing fun games. When you devote time to game-based learning or play-based learning, your child learns critical thinking skills, motivation and goal-setting. You'll notice their confidence increases as they gain a handle on vocabulary and literacy.

Want more ways to encourage your child to love learning? Try Prodigy English!

Kids can explore an open world as they create items, earn coins and meet new characters. Every time they correctly answer a reading or language question, they’ll gain more energy to use as they create a world of their very own. 

1st Grade Sight Word Games Your Child Will Love!

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One of the best ways you can help your child learn to read sight words is through engaging and fun educational games. I have pulled together this list of my absolute favorites for 1st grade sight word games your child will love!

Table of Contents

A List Of First Grade Sight Words

Although I rarely use grade level in our learning,  as a reference, I thought it would be good to take a look at an official list of sight words for first grade.

Why Children Struggle To Learn Sight Words

Many children struggle when presented with a sight word as part of their reading practice. This is because sight words rely solely on familiarity and memorization for the child to be able to identify and read it. 

The younger your child is, the less exposure they’ve had to these words, and the less likely they are to be able to immediately recall them. 

Even if your child is well beyond the first grade, these words can cause difficulties for many readers, and may require an out-of-box approach to learning them. 

The Power Of Adding Play To Learning To Read

If you’ve been following our site for any length of time, you’re already know that we are game obsessed.

Children are doing so much more than simply having fun when they are engaged in play. Playing games works on a host of skills, including:

• Verbal communication
• Self-regulation
• Turn-taking
• Sharing
• Listening
• Cooperation
• Focus and attention
• Following directions
• Creativity
• Social skills
• Learning to handle wins and losses
• Cognitive skills such as counting, color/shape/pattern recognition, strategy, problem solving, early literacy, etc.

It has been said that play is the science of childhood.  There is something to be said for the hands-on, experiential learning that playing games together provides. Research has shown that student outcomes are much better in both understanding and retention when an element of play is added to the learning.

First Grade Sight Word Games: Multi-Sensory And Hands-On

These games are perfect for practicing sight words. All of them contain hands-on and multi-sensory learning that is ideal for this age group. 

Sight Words Splat

Sight Words Splat is a card game that helps kids practice quick recall of sight words. 

Zingo

Zingo from Think Fun is a personal favorite. It’s the Bingo of sight word games with a little extra multisensory action as kids “feed” the cards into the Zingo case. 

Matching Letter

Matching Letter helps with the basics of reading sight words, and also spelling them!

Dino Stomp

Dino Stomp is perfect for kids who love to move as they learn. Stomp on the sight words as you practice. 

Pop For Sight Words

Pop is an easy, grab and go game to help your first grader practice their sight words.

Sight Word SWAT

Sight Word SWAT is fun even for mom! Kids literally swat sight words as they practice with their very own “fly swatters”. This one is a favorite!

More First Grade Sight Word Games

I have curated an entire list that can help you see all that’s available for first grade sight word games. In addition to the above games, you may also want to consider:

• Slam Shifts!
• Rhyming Puzzles
• Sight Word Magnets
• BINGO cards for sight words

Looking For More Educational Games For Kindergarten and First Grade?

Playing educational (and non-educational) games with your first grader is something you’ll never forget!

Looking for  more gameschooling resources?

Never Board Learning is a private online community for creative parents and educators who embrace play-based learning and gameschooling. This is a wonderful way to add more educational games and interest-led learning to your homeschool routine.

Never Board Learning features a private community forum (not Facebook), guest speakers, live Q and As, day-in-the-life family spotlights, a private blog, and access to a growing printable resource library. 

Play can boost connection, fuel learning, and revolutionize your homeschool routine. We all know play is an essential part of child development, but how do you fit it in when you have a huge homeschool to-do list?

In this digital course, you’ll learn how to add more play to your homeschool day with gameschooling. Gameschooling is the intersection of play and homeschooling and it can change your entire homeschool atmosphere for the better! 

Join the fun today!

Visit the NBL and MLP Amazon Storefront for more gameschooling, homeschooling, and book recommendations!

Word games for elementary school - NAUMENOK

Now there are quite a lot of word games for children. But today I want to share with you an interesting and rather multifaceted, in my opinion, game. The game is suitable for both preschoolers and younger students. It all depends on what task the child will perform. This game can be used for:

• reading and writing skills; nine0006
• speech development;
• skills of syllabic sound-letter analysis and synthesis;
• attention;
• logic;
• memory;
• thinking;
• development of spelling vigilance;
• consolidation of generalizing concepts.

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