Learning English the Play Way – Fun Language Games for Kids

Image Credit:  Personal Creations 

As a kindergarten teacher and mother of a three year old, one of my biggest challenges is to get kids to comprehend and communicate effectively. Over the years I’ve found that formal lessons don’t work for kids that young; teachable moments, friendly conversation, and above all, English games are probably the most useful teaching tools available to parents and teachers. So I’ve compiled a list of play activities that help expand children’s vocabulary, improve  comprehension skills  and become better readers and writers.

Dictionary Definitions

This simple English game teaches kids to learn how to use a dictionary and improves comprehension skills.

You will need

·         A dictionary

·         Index cards

·         Pencils for everyone

How to play

·         Choose an uncommon word from the dictionary (absquatulate, emmetropia, zoolatry, etc.)

·         Spell it out or write it on the chalkboard.

·         Invite everyone to define the word (even if they don’t understand it) and write their definition on an index card.

·         Collect all the cards and read them out loud.

·         Students must guess which definition is the correct one.

I Went Shopping

This variation of the classic memory game doubles up as a group vocabulary exercise.

How to play

·         Invite one child to start the game saying “I went shopping and bought an apple.”

·         The player sitting next to him must add a new item in alphabetical order to the shopping list. “I went shopping and bought an apple and a baseball.”

·         The game continues until you reach z. If a child cannot name anything, he must be “punished” by naming two things in the next round.

Spot the Blooper

This fun listening game for young learners teaches them how to contextualize – an important step towards learning to read and write.

You will need

·         A familiar fairy tale or nursery rhyme

How to play

·         Choose a story or song your child has heard often and is familiar with.

·         Read or recite it slowly but substitute wrong words, names or places in an obvious way. For instance, “Jack and Jill went up the road.”

·         Have your little one listen carefully and call out “Blooper!” whenever you make a “mistake.”

·         For the next round, use substitutions that sound similar to the original ones or have similar meanings. For instance, “Twinkle, twinkle little car.”

Letter-Sound Hopscotch

Kids have always played this classic game with numbers; now you can use it to build your kindergartener’s phonics skills.

You will need

·         Sidewalk chalk

·         Small rock

How to play

·         Draw a hopscotch grid with the chalk.

·         Instead of numbers, write letters in each of the boxes, except the crossbar (the squares where both feet can land at once). The crossbar must contain two letters whose sounds can be combined, for instance “S” and “H” or “C” and “H.”

·         Now, invite your child to aim the rock into the first square.

·         When he hops onto it, he must say the letter, pick up the rock and aim it into the next square.

·         When he lands onto the crossbar with both feet, he must say the two sounds together with “SH” and continue with the game.

·         He must do all of this without losing his balance.

Sight Words Water Drill

Teach your little one some important sight words with this fun outdoor water activity for summer.

You will need

·         Driveway or sidewalk

·         Sidewalk chalk

·         Water

·         Damp sponges

·         Stopwatch

How to play

·         Find a clean spot on the sidewalk and invite your child to write some sight words (there, with, for, on, etc.) from her spelling homework.

·         Soak the sponges with water and take turns throwing them at a particular word. How long does it take for the word to disappear under the watery onslaught?

·         Once the word is gone, see if he remembers how it was spelt. If he can’t remember it, start again with the chalk and the sponge.