Halloween Bingo is a wonderful way to practice letter sounds for kindergarten. They get to play a game with their classmates while coloring Halloween-themed images. Most importantly, they learn to recognize words that start with the similar phonemes.
When it’s Halloween week in your classroom, incorporate this game for a festive way to practice letter sounds for kindergarten.
Halloween Bingo Helps with Phonemic Awareness
This type of practice really helps develop phonemic awareness. Because children have their individual sheets, they have the freedom to make their own decisions, giving them the chance to practice their phonics skills. Being able to distinguish certain sounds from one another is key in developing phonemic awareness.
For early learners just getting to know their letter sounds, start with beginning phonemes. For example, your bingo chart might target the phoneme /k/. The bingo chart might contain Halloween images such as:
- Cat
- Cape
- Cobweb
- Coffin
- Cauldron
- Candy
Also be sure to include some words that do not start with /k/. You might add images such as:
- Pumpkin
- Witch
- Goblin
- Ghost
- Spider
It is important to throw in a few images that do not start with the target phoneme. This way, children have the opportunity to distinguish and learn what words do not share the same letter sounds.
Prepare for Halloween Bingo
We’ve included an empty bingo chart with sixteen squares. To add images to the chart, just open it in Adobe Acrobat and click “Tools” > “Edit PDF” > “Add Images.”
We recommend playing a round of bingo that focuses on one phoneme (but still includes several words that begin with different phonemes). For some ideas, take a look at our sample bingo lists.
Once you’ve decided which target phoneme to practice, fill out the Halloween Bingo Chart with images. When assembling your chart, create just one bingo combination. This way, everyone reaches Bingo at once, making learning phonemes simpler. This is especially helpful if your students are new to playing bingo.
For more ideas, click here.
How to Play Halloween Bingo
Get your little ghouls prepared to be play Halloween Bingo! Once you’ve printed out the bingo charts, pass them to each student. Provide colorful crayons to use so students that color in the images.
Step 1: Explain to your students that they will first spend time coloring in these Halloween characters. This gives them the opportunity to visually study the image and the words associated with the image. It also gives them the time to familiarize themselves with the chart.
Once everyone has colored in their friends, explain to your students that today, they will be playing Halloween Bingo and learning about words that start with the letter sound /k/. Everyone will be working together to complete the game.
Step 2: Explain that to play Halloween Bingo, they want to create a straight line down or across the chart. But, they can only circle images that start with the sound /k/. Additionally, they are only allowed to circle the image when you call it out.
Step 3: Once everyone is prepared to play Halloween Bingo, pick an image off of the bingo chart. Pronounce the word clearly for all to hear and have your students repeat the word. Then, ask “Does __ start with the sound /k/?” If it does start with phoneme /k/, encourage your students to circle the image.
When a selected image does not start with phoneme /k/, reinforce that is does not. “No, __ does not start with the sound /k.”
Continue this exercise all throughout until the class has reached Halloween Bingo! Then, review all the images that start with the target phoneme.
Practice Letter Sounds for Kindergarten with Professor Pup’s Academy
Kindergarten is a perfect time to start practicing phonemes. Fortunately, letter sounds for kindergarten can be taught easily with the right tools. Games like Halloween Bingo are a huge help! They keep students engaged and entertained while practicing all the skills they need to learn how to read.
At Professor Pup’s Academy, our goal is to make teaching letter sounds for kindergarten as simple as possible. Each and every one of our programs is designed for early learners. Plus, Professor Pup is simple to integrate into your classroom.
If you want a simple and effective solution to teaching letter sounds for kindergarten, consider implementing Pup’s Quest for Phonics into your class. We have over 40 unique lessons already planned out for you. Want to know more? Visit our School Edition page to see how you can get a free trial.