This game is for first or second graders to practice breaking down words into syllables. Choose a word for the students to break into syllables. Write a word on the board and say it out loud. Have the students clap their hands to the syllables of the word. For example the word monster has two syllables "mon" and "ster." So the students will clap two times while saying monster. Another option is to have the students come up with the words and the class will clap while saying the syllables. The student who comes up with the longest word or word with the most syllables will be the winner.
A child needs to recognize that the words in the English language are made up of letters that have sounds. One game that helps a child recognize the relationship between words, letters and sounds is the beginning and ending sound game. In this game the teacher will write a letter on the board and the students have two minutes to come up with as many words as possible beginning or ending with that letter and write them down. Students will raise their hands to share their word list with the teacher and class.
This game is played with first-grade students. Create picture cards of words the students are familiar with. Hold up the cards so the students can see the pictures. Sound the word using "snail talk" or stretching out the word slowly so that each sound can be clearly heard. For example, the color "brown" can be sounded out slowly "bbrrowwn." Have the students take a minute to guess the word. The pictures are used for hints for the students who need it. Ask the students what the word is and have them sound it out using "snail talk" as well.
A student who is aware of the individual phonemes in words will be able to manipulate words by removing sounds from words and recognize words that have a missing beginning sound. Have the students sit in a circle on the floor. Choose a student without the class knowing and remove the first letter of the name and sound it out like that. For example the name "Jimmy" without the first letter "J" is "immy." Say "immy" and let the class guess which student's name the teacher is saying by pointing to the student. When the students have a firm grasp on this game, let them remove the first letters from words on their own and have the class guess what the word is.