When children are learning their sounds, play Sound Bingo. Make bingo cards with letters listed rather than numbers. When calling a letter, say the sound instead of the letter. This game helps children connect the sounds with the letters. Flashcard games also work well with kindergarten students. They will love to play War against their friends. Give a pair of children a stack of sight words, a white board and markers. Have the children take turns selecting cards and writing the sight word on their board for the peer to read. If the peer reads the word correctly, she gets the card. This game involves reading and writing kindergarten-appropriate words.
Put children into groups of four to six to play a button game. Give each group a bag of cards with number words (such as "one" and "two") written out. When a child pulls a card from the bag, he must count out that number of buttons. Use numbered these cards, also teach your pupils to play Add One. In this game, when they pull a card, they must add one to the number to get the correct answer. As students get better at adding, increase the number to add two and three.
There are many free computer games available online. Starfall.com has games that focus on learning phonics and teaching children how to read. Starfall.com, created in 2002, has a variety of reading games to meet a variety of abilities. PBS has free online games that range from science to music games. Games based on their children's programs are also available, such as a Curious George game and a Sid the Science Kid game. Kindersite.org also has options on their game board that are separated by age range. Once a child completes a game, this site makes it easy to decide which game to try next.
Teaching children rhymes and rhythms helps their reading skills. Build musical games into your classroom. Kindergarten is a good age to begin learning how to play musical chairs. Set clear rules for your students, such as no running. Play familiar music, and encourage students who are out to join in with singing. Have students sit in a circle to play "Pass the Bag." Get a soft beanbag, and have students pass the bag around as they sing a song at each other. Have your kindergartners recite parts of a familiar poem together, and, when the class comes to a rhyming part, the child with the beanbag needs to toss it to a friend.