Teen Tutor Training Slideshow (in Google Slides)
My Pile, Your Pile
My Pile, Your Pile is a fun game to play that sparks a little competition!
The goal is to have a bigger pile than your opponent. Here’s how you play:
1. Create a deck of cards (start with 10) with 5-6 words. One word is written on each card, but feel free to add multiple cards with the same word! The more they show up, the more times your child will get to practice the word!
Example of my deck: the, is, want, going, play, want, want, is, the, want
2. Show your child one card at time. If your child knows the word quickly and correctly, it goes in their pile. If it is still a word they are learning it goes into the parent’s pile. If the student says the wrong word or says “I don’t know,” tell them the correct word so they can be ready for it the next time.
3. Keep a record of how many words your child collects so they can see their progress!
Want a challenge?
-Make your deck bigger!
-Make a deck with words that work the same (endings, blends, common spelling patterns)
-Use words that change the vowel (hot, hat, hit, hut)
Tic Tac Toe with Words or Letters
The goal is the same as regular tic-tac-toe, but you can choose to play with letters or words. This will help your child practice reading, spelling, and seeing words they are learning. To win, you have to get three in a row (vertically, diagonally, or horizontally).
For each turn, have your child say the word they’ve chosen, write the word, and then check the word by putting their finger under it as they read the word.
I like to write the word as a model at the top of the board as a reference.
Ideas for words to use:
-Try to use words that your child has shown you they know from their sight word list (also called “snap words”).
More challenging: Have your child think of words they know and see if they can add blends to make a new word (day–>stay) or add endings (look–>looking).
Even more challenging: Have your child try to use 2-syllable words (outside) or 3-syllable words (fisherman).
Concentration (Memory)
Concentration is a fun game that anyone can make and play! Here’s how you play:
1. To set up a game of concentration, first create your deck. Choose 4 words you’d like to practice and make a pair of cards for each word. You’ll end up with 8 individual cards, with each word showing up twice in your deck. You can add pairs of words to make your deck bigger!
2. Next, shuffle the cards well and then place each card face down in 2 rows of 4 cards each. Many of my friends like to mix them on the table instead of shuffling.
3. Each player takes a turn by turning two cards over. Be sure to keep your cards in the same spot. Read both words out loud. If the cards match, then the player picks up the cards and keeps them. If they don’t match, the player turns the cards back over. I like to play with the rule that if you make a match, you get to go again. You can choose how you’d like to play at home!
Want to make it more challenging?
Instead of having two words that are exactly the same (day, day), try to match two words that work the same (day, play). You can try to match blends, endings, syllables, or even words that mean the same (cool, chilly).
Word Parking Lot
Here’s how to play:
1. Make a “parking lot” and fill in the spaces with letters or words you are working on. You could use a piece of paper, a box, or even a cookie tray! On a separate piece of paper, make a list of all of your words.
2. Write the same words on a deck of cards (one word per card) or create a die with one word on each side.
3. Have your child draw a card from the deck or roll the die, read the word, and park their car (or other toy) with the matching word.
4. Continue the game until the child has parked in all the spaces. You can use your list of words to keep a tally for each word, or you can practice writing the words too!
Video:
Sight Word Go Fish:
Write 12 pair of sight words on the cards, then play the game the same way you would play the classic game “go fish”. Each player gets 3 cards, the rest of the cards go into the go fish pile. The youngest player goes first. The youngest player reads one of the sight words and asks “Do you have the word ‘they’”. If the other player has it they give them the card and the turn is repeated. If the other player does not have the card they say “go fish” and the player picks a card from the pile. Then it is the other players turn. The object of the game is to get the most matches (but really it’s about reading the sight words).
Rainbow Writing:
The tutor writes one sight word large in black marker on a piece of blank white paper. The student reads the sight word and traces the letters in the words with various color markers. After each time the student traces the word the student should read the word. Encourage the student to look at all the letters. The is a word that has 3 letters and is spell T – H – E.
