Top 10 Literacy Games for Kids to Play

Reading games for children can be found online or in a kids’ store. These educational games for children can encourage them to use their imaginations and help them better understand letter sounds and word patterns. Some literacy games, focused on a single word or concept, can be adapted for older children and more advanced readers, whereas others cannot be adapted for older children. For example, when playing an alphabet game, children can learn about the different shapes of the letters by manipulating the letters.

Listed below are some of our favorite literacy games for preschoolers. You can play these with your child or teach them yourself by following the tips below.

What Are Literacy Games?

Literary games for children help young readers improve their language skills by exposing them to the alphabet and words. These assist young readers in learning sight words and vocabulary through brightly colored and visually appealing activities to make them more memorable. These games are also a fantastic way to instill a love for learning in children.

Literacy games are a fantastic way to arouse children’s imaginations and motivate them to read. The games on computers and video games are easily available and can be played anywhere. Choose games that accurately represent the themes, alphabet, and characters found in a book or movie to attract your child’s attention. Additionally, these games are entertaining for children.

The games listed below are some of the most well-known literacy games for children. Let’s look at a few examples of these.

Amazing Indoor Literacy Games for Kids

The following are some examples of entertaining and educational indoor literacy games to get you started. When it comes to a game design, children can either do it themselves or ask their teachers to do it for them, depending on their age.

The type of game is determined based on the number of letters a child can utter, and their level of concentration, the type of focus word or game that will be played will be determined. It is recommended that parents start with eight to ten words for children under five years old and gradually increase the number of words based on the increasing level of concentration.

1. Move & Groove

What You Will Need 

• Pieces of paper or cardboard sheet
• A pen
• Scotch tape 
• Some groovy tunes

Instructions

1. Before you begin writing anything down, make a list of all lowercase letters on a sheet of paper to refer to.
2. Make a word and ask your child to figure out what the first letter/alphabet is by comparing the capital letters to each other.
3. Invite the younger members of your group as a group.
4. To begin, instruct them on how to form an initial letter by placing both hands on top of their heads.
5. The first thing they do is perform dance moves based on the letters of the alphabet.
6. The music comes to a halt, and an open letter is held aloft for all to see.
7. They can make meaningful connections between the letters.
8. Repeat the process! Make a second attempt.

2. Words Sound Game with Rainbow Hopping

What You Will Need 

• A handful of paper sheets of different colors
• Markers in black
• A dice
• A circular template/round bowl

Instructions

1. It is necessary to use two sheets of paper to create four circles of each color.
2. Repeat the process three times after placing one circle in the rainbow order.
3. Each circle should contain a letter of the alphabet.
4. Create a rainbow pattern on the floor by arranging the circles in a circle pattern.
5. Rolling the die (dice) in front of the letter will determine how many spaces the child will be allowed to move forward.
6. They are free to walk or jump over them.
7. After moving around the circles many times, children should be able to recognize the letters and explain how they sound to their parents or teachers.

3. ABC Games Using Paper Plates

What You Will Need 

• Plates made of paper
• Marker pens
• Scissors 
• Ribbons 
• Tape
• Softball

Instructions 

1. Create a few letters of the alphabet on your paper plates by writing them with a marker.
2. The heads of the plates must then be perforated so that each plate has two holes in its center.
3. Make a banner by threading ribbons through the tops of each dish and tying them together.
4. Play our letter game by draping the banners (with tape) over a doorway or ample open space to serve as a backdrop.
5. Before you begin, make sure that you have a softball in your possession.
6. When you yell an alphabetic letter at the banners, you must strike the letter with the softball before it flies away from the field.
7. As your children become more proficient at striking the letters, you may increase the frequency you fly the flag.

4. Alphabets Vacuuming

What You Will Need 

• Paper bits
• Vacuum cleaner 
• Marker pen

Instructions

1. A small piece of paper can be used to create letters and words and other expressions in the alphabet using the letters and words of the alphabet.
2. In both uppercase and lowercase, fill in the blanks for the following sentences: Simple sight words; words from the same word family.
3. Scattered paper bits all over the floor will create a massive smear pattern!
4. As soon as your child has correctly read or spoken the word, instruct them to run the vacuum and collect any small pieces that may have fallen from the table or floor.

5. Tic-Tac-Toe with the Alphabet

What You Will Need 

• Print boards
• Marker pens

Instructions

1. Consider the first letter of a word that begins with that letter.
2. When you come up with a word, you say it out loud
3. And then write it on the board with your marker.
4. Similar to the classic game of tic-tac-toe, the winner is the first person to collect three markers in a row.

Interesting Outdoor Literacy Games for Kids 

One of the most effective ways to teach children about the alphabet is through engaging outdoor games. This game can be played by hiding objects around the playground that begin with the letters of the alphabet. Those of a certain age can take a turn and attempt to guess the word. Writing cryptic clues that help the kids guess the word is an excellent way to get them to practice reading aloud. Then ask them to match the object to the sound it makes. They will gain an understanding of the different letters of the alphabet.

Some of the most interesting outdoor literacy games for kindergarten kids can help your child develop vocabulary, improve spelling, and more. 

1. Painting with Splat Sight Words

What You Will Need

• Watercolors
• Roll sheets
• Sharpies
• Pebbles
• Fly-swatter

Instructions 

1. Create a list of sight words on a piece of paper.
2. Pebbles should be placed on the paper to keep it in place.
3. Some of the phonics shall be called out.
4. Call them out loud and then smack them with the paint-covered swatter.

2. Knock-down the Phonics

What You Will Need 

• Letter blocks
• Remote-operated car 

Instructions 

1. Place the blocks so that the automobile strikes them rather than rolling over them.
2. Create index cards with a few of the letters on each card.
3. Call out one of the letters and wait for the child to discover it before hitting it with the car.
4. Then, allow the child to strike the next letter in the word using the remote-controlled racing vehicle.
5. You could use other educational elements such as numbers, arithmetic problems, letters, and figures as an alternative to letters or words.
6. Alternatively, the child can identify a sight word and use the remote-controlled racing vehicle to demolish it as quickly as possible.

3. Letter and Number Learning Game – Construction Race

What You Will Need  

• Building bulldozers (optional) 
• Stones 
• Papers 
• Pastels

Instructions

1. Pick 2-six letters to focus on and draw them one at a time on bits of paper, with one alphabet for every page.
2. Select digits 1-6, then scribble them on the top of every page, considerably tiny. Examples may be seen in the main picture at the top of this site.
3. Set the numbers 5-6 feet away, with rock on every page to prevent them from being blown away by the wind.
4. Place a gravel quarry 5-20 paces away.
5. Inform the children that there are building sites.
6. Every location needs 12 boulders to create a structure, but the trucks can only load two simultaneously.
7. Work with your youngsters to bring adequate stones to every location to create the structures. 
8. Frequently make use of the alphabet you’ve selected.

4. Find & Rhyme: Gross Motor Rhyming

What You Will Need 

• Dishes made of inexpensive plastic (to make good frisbees)
• Hula-hoops
• A sharpie

Instructions

1. Focus on writing some phrases on the plates.
2. Fill in the remainder of the plates with as many matching phrases as you believe will provide your youngster with the appropriate difficulty level.
3. Put the anchor phrases (cake, car, band, and hats) in the hoops.
4. Try hiding other plates.
5. Prepare your children; instruct them not to take all of the dishes.
6. Once they locate a dish, hurry and pair the phrases.

5. Word Family Fishing

What You Will Need 

• Bug-catching nets 
• Ping-pong balls
• Artists’ tapes
• A waterproof pen
• A plastic pail
• Some water

Instructions

1. The net handles should be secured with a piece of artist’s tape.
2. Place a dot at the start and end of each word family on each net.
3. You can select from the following words: _op, _at, _ack, and _an.
4. Make words out of each phrase by using your ping-pong balls as a stencil and tracing them onto the paper.
5. Writing them on both sides of the paper makes them more visible and easier to find and understand.
6. Provide your children with fishing nets and instruct them to use the nets to search for words that end with the same sound as the one on the net.

With very little effort on the player’s part, these games can be played almost anywhere and with very little preparation. The creation and perfection of some are straightforward, whereas others are more complex and time-consuming to accomplish. Nevertheless, they’re all quite entertaining. Make sure to keep these literacy games for kids handy for both you and your child, regardless of which option you choose.

Also Read:

Fun Word Games for Children
Creative Writing Games and Activities for Kids
Innovative and Fun Brain Games for Children