For this vowel pair game, you need one bingo card with 25 squares per player, plastic counters and blank index cards. (See Reference 2.) Write one vowel pair per index card. Prepare unique bingo boards for each player. The center square of the board should be marked "Free." Write a different vowel pair word in each of the remaining 24 squares.
Give each student 20 counters and a game board. Draw a card and pronounce the vowel pair. Students that have a word containing that vowel pair should place a counter over that word on the bingo board. The first player to get five covered squares across, down or diagonally wins the game.
Divide the class into teams of five or six. You pronounce a vowel pair sound. The first player on each team will write the vowel pair and a word that uses the pair. Award one point each for the correct vowel pair and a correct word using that vowel pair. In cases where multiple vowel pairs make the same sound, award double points for any vowel pairs and words beyond the first one. Allow each player to have several turns.
In this game, players look for pairs of words that share the same vowel pair. (See Reference 3.) You need 40 blank index cards for each team of two students. Write words containing vowel pairs on the index cards. Don't repeat the same word, and be careful you have a mate for each vowel pair you use.
Players should be seated facing each other. Tell them not to show others their cards. Each player starts with five cards. The remaining cards are placed in a pile, face down in the center of the table. A turn consists of taking a card from the pile and trying to match it with a card in the player's hand that uses the same vowel pair. If he finds a match, the player must show both cards to the other player, state the rule that applies to the vowel pair, pronounce the words, place the cards in his match pile and take another card. If he can't find another match, the other player gets a turn. The game ends when one player uses up all his cards, or when the pile in the middle of the table is empty. Award a point for each matched card, and subtract a point for each card left in a player's hand.
For this game, divide the students into teams of five or six. Write a word on the board, leaving out the vowel pair. The first player on each team should write the missing vowel pair on paper and hold it up. Award a point for correct answers. The next player on each team gets a different word. Allow players each to have several turns.