Playtime Learning
Vowel Digraph Game
Practice Combined Letter Sounds with Memory Games
After your child has learnt those initial phonics sounds, they will begin to learn combined letter sounds or digraphs.
Vowel digraphs are when two vowels are put together to make a new sound, like ‘oo’ in ‘moon’ or ‘ee’ in ‘green’.
Here we have created a pair matching game which helps kids to practise reading words with the vowel digraph ‘ee’ in them.
Players have to match easy word pairs together to remove them from the game. The player with the most pairs at the end wins.
Summary:
Time: 10 minutes
Ages: Little kids to Big kids
Difficulty to set up: Easy peasy
Skills: Reading vowel digraphs and memory game
You will need:
- Free Vowel Digraph Word and Picture Cards (sign up below to get these by email)
- OR white card and pen to draw on your own images and words for the cards
- Scissors
Step 1: Create your memory cards with vowel digraphs
This memory game focuses on practising words with the vowel digraph ‘ee’.
To play you can either:
Make your own DIY cards:
- write out 6 easy words each with the letter ‘ee’ on white card.
- write each word twice so that you have 2 identical cards to match to one another in the game.
- add a drawing above each word if you would like (optional).
Use our free memory card printables:
- sign up using the above form to receive a pdf of the memory cards by email.
- print them out on thick paper or mount each word onto card.
For our memory game we have chosen the words:
bee, tree, feet, seed, eel and green.
Step 2: Cut out the phonics cards
Cut out the words and pictures to make rectangular cards.
You should have matching pairs for each word.
Step 3: Play the memory game
To start playing the memory game you:
- Jumble up the word cards.
- Place them face down on the floor in a grid.
- Take turns to turn over 2 cards at a time.
Can your child sound out the words on each card?
Help them to read out each word. The images do guide them, but they should also try to sound out the letters individually and then together to read the word.
Do the two cards match?
If not they must turn them over again and let the next player have a go.
As with all memory games, both players should try to remember which object was under which card for the next round.
If the two turned-over cards do match then your child can pick them up and take them out of play.
Who’s the Winner?
Keep playing the memory game, taking turns to turn over 2 cards at a time, until all the pairs have been matched.
With each turn your child will be practising reading out those ‘ee’ words.
Who has the most pairs at the end?
The player with the most pairs at the end of the game wins.
No matter who the winner is, your child will have practised reading those ‘ee’ words, probably without even realising it.
They should feel much more confident in reading and sounding them out.
Extending the Memory Game
If you both enjoyed this game, you can adapt it to practise other vowel digraphs as well.
Maybe you could play one with the ‘oo’ sound?
moon, spoon, broom, zoo, hoop, boot.
