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Teaching Ideas for Using Make a Match Game - Practising Blending for Reading
Blend to read each word and find the pictures that match the words.
Phonics Learning Opportunities
To practise blending for reading.
To motivate children to read words.
Organisation
Whole class, small group or 1:1.
This game is ideal for children to play independently.
Teaching
ideas
- Whole class
If it is a word card, ask a child to soundtalk the word and then blend to say the word. Ask the whole class to repeat the soundtalking and the blended word.
If the card is a picture card, ask the class what they think the picture shows. Ask the class to show you with their fingers how many phonemes this word contains. Ask a child to tell you the sounds that make up the word. Ask the whole class to repeat the sounds. Encourage them to point to each of the fingers they are holding up as they say each sound.
At this point, children could have a go at writing the word on whiteboards - but this may make the game go too slowly and frustrate children who want to play the game.
Repeat with several cards until you start identifying matches between pictures and words. Ask the class to do something (hands up, make a beeping sound, clap, link fingers, shout "Match" etc) when they think they know where to find two matching cards.
After a few cards, the class should become familiar with the routine of playing this game and will be able to join in with the blending and segmenting very quickly. Encourage this speed and challenge the class to complete the game as quickly as possible. Record the final time taken somewhere (I jot it on the corner of my whiteboard) and the next time the game is played, challenge the class to beat this time.
Independent activities
Children can easily play this game without support. If more than one child is playing, ask them to take it in turns to play a complete game and see who scores the quickest time. Alternatively, try sticking up a Fastest Times Sheet (available to subscribers) on the wall near the computer or leave a stack of Make a Match Certificates (available to subscribers) beside the computer. If children achieve a quick time that they are very proud of, encourage them to write their best time on the high score sheet or help themselves to a certificate and fill in their name and their best time. Encourage them to think about and practise any words that they found tricky and that slowed them down.
Generally speaking, the better children's blending gets the quicker times they will achieve but remind them that there is an element of luck to this game. Don't let them get too disheartened if they don't beat their best time.
Extensions
Please remember these are just ideas. You know your children best and can adapt this game in anyway you like to help them learn to blend and segment.
Print out picture cards for Phase 4. Play any matching pairs games that you can think of e.g snap, pelmanism etc. It works well to have 2 children (or 2 pairs or 2 small groups) working with identical packs of cards and racing to match all the pairs of cards. Alternatively, time a child, pair or group matching the cards and encourage them to try to beat their best time each time they play.
Encourage older children to invent their own games using these cards.
Paper Resources (Word)