Games and consolidation activities are super important for Structured Literacy. We really want to see students master a concept before moving on to the next concept. Games are a great way to provide this consolidation!
Now that we are spending so much of our time thinking about online instruction, I thought it would be a good idea to share some ideas for online games and consolidation activities. I completed a significant chunk of my 100 hour Orton Gillingham Practicum working online with students, and discovered quite a few sites that are worth exploring. Some of the sites are paid, and some are not. I’m including both in this post, and will leave it up to readers to decide if a paid site is worth exploring.
Bingo Games
Every love Bingo! I’ve found 2 sites that are great for creating bingo games.
- Bingo Baker currently costs $24.95 for a lifetime membership
- membership includes both PDF and online versions
- the big bonus for this site (and what makes it worth considering purchasing), is that you can use this site to create Bingo cards with pictures as well as words or numbers
- you can create an unlimited number of games and save the games to return and edit later
- My Free Bingo Cards is free, which is a bonus
- the site has both downloadable PDF and online options
- only words can be used in this site – it doesn’t have the option of uploading pictures
- you can make an unlimited number of bingo cards, but they cannot be saved (you can download and save the PDF, or save the link in another document to be used later, but links and PDFs are not saved as part of the site)
Flippity
Flippity has a wide range of activities available, including:
- Concentration games (can use pictures)
- Manipulatives (editable – can be words, bases + affixes, onset/rime, etc.)
- Online interactive board game
- Spinners
Pros of Flippity: this is a free site, and once you figure out how to use it, is great for making a range of literacy activities
Cons: this site is a bit finicky – you are supposed to be able to add pictures to many of the activities, but many saved pictures show up as a broken link. There are certain sites that seem to work better though – I found that most pictures worked from these sites :https://pixabay.com/, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page_
Word Wall
Word Wall has free accounts and a paid accounts:
Free Account:
- a free account allows you to create 5 games (and only 5 – I thought you could create 5, delete, then create more, but you can’t, BUT – it allows to you access all public games created by others – there are a lot!!
- if you try the free site and would like to use the games I’ve created, feel free – you can search for them under the username: lee28
Paid Account:
- ranges from $8 – $12 per month
- $12 allows access to all games
- Multiple games (Pacman, balloon pop, whack-a-mole, concentration)
- Quizzes, word searches, crosswords, matching activities, spinning wheels
- allows you to embed pictures into games, so the site can be used for phonological awareness activities with students who are not yet fully reading
Class Tools
Class Tools is a game site that is fun for students. The paid subscription costs approximately $25 Canadian Dollars per year. The site has old arcade style games that are played on a question/answer basis. Students have to choose the correct answer in order to keep playing. This site has:
- Pacman
- “fling” the teacher (a version of “Angry Birds”)
- Space Invaders
- Pong
- Asteroids
- Word Shoot (and others)
It is a bit finicky to set up, and my students report that it isn’t always free of advertisements (which the paid version is supposed to be), but the students really enjoy the games and the sound effects. I’ve found it worth the $25.00. A bonus is that you can add your own avatar to the “fling the teacher” game, which students love!
Pink Cat Games
Pink Cat Games also has “Paid” and “Free” accounts
Free Account:
- Allows you to search pre-made games
- Allows you to play a small selection of games for free (see below example)
Paid Account:
- $40 US for a year’s subscription
- Allows access to full range of games
One of the key bonuses is that, like Word Wall, you can embed pictures into the games. This allows you to make games that are book for Phonological Awareness and don’t require a student to be fully reading to play.
Links to Games
Below is a PDF containing the links to various games I have created, mostly on Word Wall. As I continue to create, I’ll add links to other sites as well. Enjoy!
Along the learning journey 