Here's a game I invented which is fun,
challenging and helpful in learning to read
when the child is approaching or practicing at
the level of reading simple 3-letter words.
I stapled several small sheets of paper on top
of each other and cut two slits, so there were
three sets of strips of paper hanging down.
I wrote a letter on each strip, carefully choosing
them so that most combinations would be real
words.  
   When it's your turn, you read the word, then
lift one of the strips to reveal the letter beneath.
Once a strip is lifted, it stays up for the rest
of the game.  Then it's the next person's turn
to read the new word that has been formed, and lift
another strip, etc.
   This game is easier than just reading arbitrary
3-letter words, because on each turn, two of the
letters are the same as a word which has already 
been read, so the child just has to substitute in
one new sound.  To make it easier, the adult can
always go first.
   Playing this game is excellent practice in
joining sounds together into words (rather than
memorizing how to spell specific words).
   I tried to avoid words with negative
connotations and to focus on positive words like "hug"
and "fun", or neutral words such as "rug".
(Now that I think of it:  the game can be set up
to always end with a positive word.)

Combination 1.

   For example:  The letters on the strips might say:

   C   A   P
   M   E   N
   T   I   LL
   P   
   F

(OK, I cheated.  In one case it's an easy two-letter
combination instead of a single letter.  Well, sometimes
you have to fudge things a bit to get a combination
that will produce a lot of words.)

In this case, when you start, the word "CAP" is showing.
The adult says "CAP" and lifts one strip.  Perhaps the
person lifts the "C", revealing the "M".  Then the child
looks at it and reads "MAP", and so on.  
    When a non-word appears, either you can just read it
and laugh at it "That's a funny word!" and continue the
game, or the adult can quickly apologize for not designing
the game better and a different strip can be selected.
Sometimes the adult can guide the game in the right
direction so that more real words are formed, by careful
choice of strips or by occasionally advising the child
which strip to select.  It's important to be very careful
to avoid a situation where the child feels as if he/she
is being criticized, or has lost a point or has played
badly, if he/she chooses a strip which leads to a non-word,
or if he/she reads a word and it turns out to be a non-word.
   The game ends when there is only one strip left in each
set.  In this case, the last word is "FILL".  Or, sometimes
we played that you keep going, making a two-letter word,
a one-letter word and finally an empty word, which you can
have fun saying (or not saying?) with your mouth closed,
which made us laugh.

   For beginners, it's best if the consonants on the left
are sounds that can be held steadily: for example f,v,
s,z and so on, rather than stops like t,b etc.  This
makes it easier because the child can hold the sound,
saying "fffffff..." while looking at the vowel and
trying to remember what sound it makes.  

  Here's one for beginners, then:

Combination 2.

      Z   A   P
      F   I   N
          U

... ending with the word "FUN", and here's another
one for beginners, ending with "HUG".  The letter
"H" is not so easy to hold the sound of, but I put
it in to end with a positive word:


Combination 3.

     M   A   P
     R   O   G
     H   U


Combination 4.

    J    O   G
    H    U   N
    B    A   NG
    R    I


Combination 5.

    R    A    M
    F    U    N
    S    I    LL

With the above game, you can form the following words:

ram ran run fan fun sun sin fill sill 

(avoid forming "full" or "fall" since the
vowel sounds change.)


Combination 6.

    B    U     D
    C    A     T
    H    O     P
    D          G

With this combination, you can form:
bud but bad bat cad cut cat hat hot cap cop hop hog dog (hag dot etc.)


... or how about going from "CAT" to "DOG"? just for fun.
Variations of combination 6:

Combination 6A.

    C    A     T
    B    U     D
    H    O     P
    D          G

(too many non-words in the middle of the game?)


Combination 6B.

    C    A     T
    H    O     P
    D          G


Have fun learning to read!

Catherine Woodgold    2004/04/24     http://www.ncf.ca/~an588/par_home.html