Words in Words (a Literacy Board Game)

Our youngest son is doing a great job on his journey to becoming a fluent reader. I've been surprised to see some of the words that he gets hung up on, though. When he knows the sight word "ate," for example, I expect him to read "gate" with relative ease. Not so, though. 

This activity is an effort to help him see words inside of words, which sometimes (not always) will be just the cues he needs to read them more quickly.

What You Need to Play
2 players
2 different game pieces (we used LEGO minifigures)
Free PDF of the cards and game board (download it here)
Dot stickers (or tape)
Heavyweight card stock (8 pieces)
Scissors or paper cutter
Marker

Assembly
Download and print the 8-page PDF file on heavyweight card stock. 

Cut out the game cards so that each has a word at the top and blank rectangle at the bottom.

Fold the cards in on themselves and write the word that's inside on the outside in marker. Use a dot sticker (like what you'd use for pricing yard sale items) folded over the top edge to seal each closed.

Put these in a pile or bowl.

How to Play
Both players put their game pieces on the START circle. The youngest player picks a game card, reads the word in marker and tries to figure out what word is inside that word (without scrambling the letters!). Once they have a guess, have them open the card.

If the word they discovered inside the main word is on the inside of the card in red, they move their game pieces the number of letters in that word. For example, if the child selects the card with the word 'seen' on it, and says 'see' is the hidden word, they'll move their game piece three spaces since there are three letters in the word 'see.' 

If there are multiple options on the inside of the card, the player can only move their game piece the number of letters in the word they guessed (so if they said 'an' and not 'ant' in elephant, they move TWO spaces, not three).

The player to reach the finish first is declared the winner.

I was shocked at how well my youngest son did with this and how much his older brother also enjoyed playing with him. If we're going to keep the enjoyment going, it looks like I'll have to make even more cards!