Easy to Prep Individualized Letter Name and Sound Games

We are working diligently on letters names and sounds in our classroom.  On Tuesday, while we were playing our Name that Letter game (see below), one of my kindergarteners came to the letter P and said, "Miss Gill, I know this one. " My thoughts, "YES.....YES....YES!" I even think there might have been a fist pump in the air. I was so excited. Anyway, the kiddo then says, "It's the letter Poo!" Ha! So close.

Here's a look at the Name that Letter game. The object of the game is to clear your card. We use just basic letter cards for this. I teach capital and lowercase letters together so these cards are a mix. We say all of the letters together a couple of times and then cover our letters with these clear colored chips. I then work my way around the reading table and "steal" chips from the kids. If they can read the letter under the chip, I keep the chip. If not, the chip goes back on the letter and they have to practice it until I come back to them. I also use this game for letter sounds and sight words. The kiddos love it and I love that it is very individualized, easy to plan for, and fast paced.

Another game we play is Roll and Read. The object of the game is to roll the dice and read/say the letter that corresponds to that letter. I got the mat from Primary Essentials from her R-Blends Roll and Read freebie. For this game, we are currently using magnet letters. If the kiddos can read the letter, they replace the letter with a new letter. If not, they practice the letter and keep it on the mat until they roll the number again and are able to read it. Just like the chip game, this game is very individualized, easy to plan for, and fast paced. I also change this game as we grow in our reading skills. Currently we are doing letter names and sounds, but soon it will be replaced with different phonics skills and sight words.